Start ThinkingDescribe a situation where someone has had
Start Thinking—Describe a situation where someone has had complete control over you. How does it make you feel?
We hold these truths to be self evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights: that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The Development of the Peculiar Institution
Demand for African Slaves • Throughout the Middle Ages, slavery was deeply entrenched in Italy, Sicily, Crete, Iberia and the Balkans, especially after the Black Death and other plagues created a labor shortage—It was not racebased since most slaves were white. • Prior to the 16 th century, the primary market for African slaves was Southwest Asia, where most were used as domestic servants. • Turning Point—In 1453, the Ottoman capture of Constantinople halted the flow of white slaves into Europe from the Black Sea region and the Balkans— AND demand dramatically increased with the discovery of the Americas in the 1490 s. • Cash Crops—Cane sugar was introduced to Europe from Southwest Asia during the Middle Ages—Tobacco was grown in the British colonies and was also very labor intensive. • Europeans viewed Africans as a better source of slave labor than native people because natives knew the land could escape more easily, and Africans already had immunity to European diseases.
How were Africans Caught in the Slave Trade? • 34 percent were prisoners of war. • 30 percent were kidnapped. • 11 percent through their judicial processes. • 7 percent sold into slavery by superiors or relatives. • 11 percent unknown. The United States closed the Slave Trade in 1808, although black-market trading continued until American slavery was abolished in 1865. The Atlantic Slave Trade finally closed in 1886 -1888 when Cuba and Brazil abolished slavery.
Slaves were often transported considerable distances down river (in this case the Congo) to be sold to Europeans.
African slavers from coastal regions would travel far into the interior to obtain slaves. They were generally better armed, having obtained guns from European merchants in trade for slaves. Slaves are yoked with a forked branch and fixed in place with an iron pin across the back of their necks. The slightest tug on the branch could choke the prisoner.
The Europeans built several castles and forts, along the coast of West Africa—These fortresses, otherwise known as 'factories, ’ were the first permanent trading stations built by Europeans in Africa—Elmina, established in 1482 by the Portuguese, was the first of such trading forts.
Slaves left to die because they were too weak to make the trek to the coast.
Prisoners could be held in slave sheds, or barracoons, for several months whilst awaiting the arrival of European merchants.
Middle Passage The journey from Africa to the Caribbean lasted six to ten weeks. Despite their chains and lack of arms, Africans rebelled so frequently that ship owners took out insurance to cover losses from mutinies.
The Ship Zong heading for Jamaica in 1781—The captain ordered 132 persons drowned after the outbreak of disease and lack of water convinced him they would die anyway. AND his insurance would cover his losses.
Mortality Rates (12 million landed alive) • 16 to 20 percent died during the Middle Passage. • 16 -20 percent died in holding cells. • 15 percent died while marching to coast. • 20 -25 percent died in the wars where captured. • 10 to 20 percent died when they migrated inland to escape slave trade. • 10 to 20 percent died when their best men were enslaved (starvation). • Many more died of disease, suicide, murder, etc. after landing. 20 to 35 million died overall.
Packing the Ship Tight: overstock to ensure survival numbers. Loose: lower the mortality rate to ensure survival numbers. From a pamphlet by Thomas Clarkson, London, 1839.
From Africa to the Americas: Trading slaves became an important element in the growth of the Triangular Trade.
Effects on Africa • The slave trade was one of the most noticeable effects of European presence in Africa between 1500 and 1800. • European influence did not extend beyond the coastal regions except in a few areas—South Africa and Mozambique showed signs of permanent European presence. • Traditional African political systems were affected little by European presence.
What makes slavery of the Americas “Peculiar”? 1. Labor system. 2. Assignment of Status—a hierarchy or “pecking order. ” 3. Denial of ALL rights. Slaves in African and Muslim societies and in Classic Slavery never gave up all their rights and slavery was NOT based on race. American slavery was race-based and the STIGMA of slavery followed blacks into freedom. American slavery defined a status for blacks and whites.
The Case of Benin in West Africa Only a few Europeans lamented what they were doing to traditional African societies. One Dutch slave trader remarked, “From us they have learned strife, quarrelling, drunkenness, trickery, theft, unbridled desire for what is not one’s own , misdeeds unknown to them before, and the accursed lust for gold. ” The slave trade had a devastating effect on some African states. The case of Benin in West Africa is a good example. A brilliant and creative society in the sixteenth century, Benin was pulled into the slave trade. As the population declined and warfare increased, the people of Benin lost faith in their gods, their art deteriorated, and human sacrifice became more common. When the British arrived there at the end of the nineteenth century, they found a corrupt and brutal place. It took years to discover the brilliance of the earlier culture destroyed by slavery. —From Spielvogel’s World History, 417
Olaudah Equiano (Gustavus Vassa, the African) Is Sold Into Slavery, 1756 The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave ship which was then riding at anchor and waiting for its cargo. . When I looked round the ship. . . and saw. . . A multitude of black people of every description chained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted my fate; and quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck and fainted. . I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native country [Nigeria] or even the least glimpse of hope of gaining the shore. . I was not long suffered to indulge my grief; I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so that with the loathsomeness of the stench and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat. . . But soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables, and on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast. . . and tied my feet while the other flogged me severely. . One day, when we had a smooth sea and a moderate wind, two of my wearied countrymen who were chained together. . . Preferring death to such a life of misery, somehow made through the nettings and jumped into the sea, immediately another quite dejected fellow. . . also followed; and I believe many more would very soon have done the same if they had not been prevented by the ship’s crew. . . From The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa the African.
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