Chapter 25

Africa and the Atlantic World

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African States, 1500-1650

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The States of West Africa and East Africa Developed over the eighth to the sixteenth centuries Kingdom of Ghana (9th century to 13th century)

Not related to modern state of Ghana (further north and in the interior, not on the coast)

Tran-Saharan gold and salt trading

nation was source of wealth; used camels Accounts of Arabic-speaking traders

describe the kingdom Becomes fully Muslim by 1100s;

declines and become incorporated into

the Mali Empire

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Kingdom of Ghana

The States of West Africa and East Africa Mali Empire (13th-16th century)

Grew along the Niger River Valley Traded gold, salt, copper, and slaves Military power was based on

semi-professional army; relied on

archers, some with poisoned arrows Muslim religion mixed with traditional ancestor worship

Songhay Empire (1464-1591) Expands in the early 1500s as Mali Empire declines; trading city of Gao is

its capital Sunni Ali (r. 1464-1493) created effective army and navy that patrolled the

Niger River; brought other cities like Timbuktu under control All emperors are Muslim and even create an Islamic university at Timbuktu Musket-bearing Moroccan army destroys Songhay forces in 1591; a series

of regional city-states exert local control in the void left by Songhay decline

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Swahili Decline in East Africa

Portuguese Vasco da Gama

skirmishes with Africans on

eastern coast, 1497-1498, on his

way to India. Portuguese fleet returns in 1502,

and forces Swahili city-state of

Kilwa to pay tribute By 1505, Portuguese gunships

dominate the black Muslim,

Swahili-speaking ports of the East African coast.

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Portuguese image of Kilwa made some time before 1572

Swahili Decline in East Africa

East African Cities of the 1500s

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The Kingdom of Kongo

Relations with Portuguese beginning 1483 King Nzinga Mbemba (Afonso I, r. 1506-1542)

converts to Roman Catholicism Useful connection with Portuguese interests Viewed Christianity as supporting royal rule Christian saints align with many traditional Kongolese

spirits A zealous convert, Afonso attempted to convert

population at large

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The King of Kongo and European Ambassadors

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Slave Raiding in Kongo

Initial Portuguese attempts at slave raiding Soon discovered it is easier to trade weapons for

slaves provided by African traders Dealt with several authorities besides Kongo

Kongo kings appeal without success to slow, but not eliminate, slave trade (especially in regard to the enslavement of nobles of his family)

Relations deteriorate, Portuguese attack Kongo and decapitate king in 1665

Improved slave market develops in the south

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The Kingdom of Ndongo (Angola)

Ndongo gains wealth and independence from Kongo by means of Portuguese slave trade

But Portuguese influence resisted by Queen Nzinga (r. 1623-1663) Posed as male king, with male concubines in female dress

attending her

Nzinga establishes temporary alliance with Dutch in unsuccessful attempt to expel Portuguese Decline of Ndongo power after her death Ndongo becomes the Portuguese colony of Angola (they do not

withdraw until 1975)

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The Kingdom of Ndongo (Angola)

Queen Nzinga Meeting with Europeans in 1657

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Regional Kingdoms in South Africa

Chieftains in South develop trade with Swahili city-states of the east coast

Great Zimbabwe: Great walled city-state that dominated gold-producing area of the modern-day state Zimbabwe from roughly 1100 to 1400.

Dutch build Cape Town in 1652, and become increasingly involvement with southern African politics Encounter Khoikhoi people (often called “Hottentots” by

Europeans) British colonies also develop and eventually compete with

Dutch settlments

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Islam in Sub-Saharan Africa

Pre-Islamic paganism involved animism and ancestor worship

Islam develops in commercial centers Timbuktu becomes major center of Islamic

scholarship by sixteenth century African traditions and beliefs blended into Islam Islam often changed gender relations and

standards of female modesty

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The Fulani

Began as a nomadic pastoral people of West Africa who had moved into cities by the 1600s

Started a movement to impose strict adherence to Islamic norms

Around 1680, the Fulani begin military campaigns to enforce sharia in West Africa

Their influence extended to south as well

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Christianity in Sub-Saharan Africa

Like African Islam, Christian practice was syncretic with African beliefs

The Antonian movement flourished in the early eighteenth century Founded by Dona Beatriz, a charismatic Kongolese noblewoman,

who claimed she was possessed by the spirit of St. Anthony of Padua (13th-century Franciscan monk and patron saint of Portugal)

She promotes distinctly African Christianity Jesus was a black man Kongo was the holy land Heaven was for Africans

Christian missionaries persuade King Pedro IV of Kongo to burn Dona Beatriz at the stake

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Social Change in Early Modern Africa

Trade with Europeans brings new goods to Africa New crops from Americas

South American manioc (cassava) becomes the staple bread flour (must be boiled; raw cassava has considerable amount of cyanide)

New World crops peanuts and maize become important supplements to Sub-Saharan crops of bananas, yams, rice, and millet

Increased food supply boosts overall population growth despite heavy losses via the slave trade

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Population Growth in Africa

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

1500 1600 1700 1800

Millions

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Foundations of the Slave Trade

Slavery in Sub-Saharan Africa dates to antiquity, well before Europeans arrive War captives, criminals, debtors, and people expelled

from clans were made into slaves Distinct from Asian and European slavery

No private property, therefore wealth defined by human labor potential, not land: status in kinship network

Slaves often assimilated into owner’s clan, especially a woman who gave birth to a child for the family

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The Islamic Slave Trade

After eighth century, Muslim traders created a much bigger demand for slaves, bringing them back to the Middle East and Mediterranean for sale

African peoples acquired slaves by raiding villages, and then selling them to Arab traders on Swahili coast or at trans-Saharan trading depots

Arab traders depend on African infrastructure to maintain supply

European demand on west coast caused demand to rise to even greater heights

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The Early Slave Trade

Portuguese raid west African coast in 1441, take twelve men and meet with stiff resistance.

Discover it is less risky to buy slaves from African dealers rather than take them by force.

1460: By this time Portuguese traders bought 500 slaves per year and sold them to work as miners, porters, domestic servants in Spain and Portugal

1520: 2,000 per year to work in sugarcane plantations in the Americas

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Slaves at Work in a New World Mine

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The Triangular Trade

1) European manufactured goods (especially firearms) sent to Africa

2) African slaves purchased and sent to Americas

3) Cash crops purchased in Americas and returned to Europe

Each leg of this voyage was not usually carried out by the same ship. For example, by the late 1700s, slave ships were specialized to carry only human cargo.

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The Atlantic Slave Trade, 1500-1800

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The Middle Passage (Africa to Americas) African captors force-marched slaves from the interior to

holding pens at coast

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Nineteenth-century drawing of enslaved African war captives being marched

The Middle Passage (Africa to Americas) Spanish first bring slaves directly from Africa to Caribbean in

1518 (some may have arrived via Portuguese as early as 1501) Portuguese brought slaves directly from Kongo and Angola to

Brazil by the 1530s Middle passage under horrific conditions:

4-6 weeks (shortest passage was to Brazil) Cramped quarters; high rates of disease; extreme

temperatures and dampness in ships’ holds; adult males were put in chains; horrible smell

Mortality initially high, often over 50% in the 1500s and 1600s, eventually declined to 5% by late 1700s

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The Middle Passage (Africa to Americas) Total slave traffic, 1500s to 1800s: twelve million Approximately four million die before arrival Competition between European slave-trading nations:

1500s: Trade dominated by Portuguese 1600s: Competition between Portugal, Spain, England France,

Netherlands 1650: Netherlands briefly becomes dominant slave trading nation 1700s: Trade dominated by the British (Liverpool, Bristol, and

London merchants)

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Average Yearly Volume of African Slave Exports by Century

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Impact on African Regions

Rwanda and Bugunda of the Great Lakes region and the Masai and Turkana herding peoples of the eastern plains escape the effects of the slave trade being far from the west coast slave ports

Some societies benefited economically from slave trade: Asante, Dahomey, and Oyo peoples

These slave trading states became despised by neighboring peoples

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Social Effects of Slave Trade

Total African population expands due to importation of American crops

Yet millions of captured Africans removed from society, deplete regional populations

Distorted sex ratios result Two-thirds of slaves were male, 14-35 years of age Less males encouraged polygamy and women acting in

traditionally male roles

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Political Effects of Slave Trade

Introduction of firearms increases violence in pre-existing conflicts

More weapons, more slaves; more slaves, more weapons

Dahomey people create an entire army dedicated to slave trade

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African Slaves in Plantation Societies Most slaves brought to tropical and subtropical regions First plantation established in Hispaniola (Haiti and

Dominican Republic) in 1516 Later Mexico, Brazil, Caribbean, and Americas Sugar was the first major cash crop

Later: tobacco, rice, indigo, cotton, coffee Plantations heavily dependent on slave labor Racial division of labor

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Destinations of African Slavesfrom the 1500s to the 1800s

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Regional Differences Caribbean, South America: African population

unable to maintain numbers through natural means Malaria, yellow fever Brutal working conditions, sanitation, nutrition Gender imbalance; tiny number of female slaves

Constant importation of slaves North America: less disease, more balanced sex

ratio Slave families encouraged as prices for slaves rise in

eighteenth century

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Resistance to Slavery Working slowly for masters Sabotaging plantation equipment (plows or sugar refining

equipment) Flight to maroon settlements in mountains, swamps, or jungles

outside of the reach of colonial authority New World Slave Revolts (not a complete list!)

Danish West Indies in 1733 Stono Rebellion in South Carolina in 1739 Tacky’s War in Jamaica in 1760 Dutch Guyana in 1763 St. Domingue in 1791 (Haiti founded in 1804) Gabriel Prosser’s Revolt in Virginia in 1800 Denmark Vesey’s Revolt in South Carolina in 1822 Nat Turner’s Revolt in Virginia in 1831 Multiple revolts in Cuba across the 1800s

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Slave Revolts

Only one successful revolt French-controlled Saint-Domingue (1791-1804) Renamed Haiti

Elsewhere, revolts outgunned by Euro-American firepower

Vicious suppression of revolts, especially in places like the Caribbean where slaves greatly outnumbered whites

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African-American Culture Diversity of African cultures concentrated in slave population; slaves in the

same ship often could not even speak to each other. No sense of “African” identity before arrival in the Americas.

African American culture blends many different African cultures Creole Languages: Gullah (coastal South Carolina) and Geechee (coastal

Georgia). African-based languages survived to a greater degree in places that had high slave concentrations and minimal contact with Europeans; otherwise slaves adapted European language adapted with African influences.

Religion: Christianity adapted to incorporate African traditions; religions like Voudou in Haiti, Santeria in Cuba, and Candomblé in Brazil blend Christianity and African beliefs

Music: Much of American popular music blends African rhythms with Anglo-Irish melodies: spirituals, blues, jazz, soul, hip hop, rock, etc.

Foodways: Southern cooking and New Orleans cuisine especially blends African traditions and ingredients with European ones, as in gumbo.

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The Abolition of Slavery

Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797), former slave author’s best-selling autobiography Humanized the trauma caused by slavery Some evidence he was born in South

Carolina rather than Benin Economic costs of slavery increase

Military expenses to prevent rebellions Late Eighteenth Century: Price of sugar

falls while the price of slaves rise. Wage labor becomes perceived as

more efficient Wage-earners can spend income on

manufactured goods, while slavescannot

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End of the Slave Trade

Abolition of Atlantic Slave Trade 1803 – Denmark 1807 – Great Britain 1808 – United States (20 year period mandated by Constitution expires;

internal domestic trade between states still allowed) 1814 – France 1817 – Netherlands 1845 - Spain

Possession of slaves remains legal Clandestine trade continues to 1867 (some New York

City merchants were involved with the trade, even during the Civil War)

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Toward Emancipation

Abolition of Slavery 1833 – British Colonies (owners are compensated by the government) 1848 – French and Danish Colonies (compensated) 1863 – Netherlands (compensated) 1865 – United States (with a bloody civil war; no compensation) 1886 – Cuba (a law in 1880 made slaves indentured servants) 1888 - Brazil (by royal decree; institution was in decline)

Saudi Arabia and Angola continue slavery as a legal institution until the 1960s

Many experts consider the varieties of human trafficking that still exist modern forms of slavery

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