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Chapter 2
Middle Passage
I. European Exploration ~ Colonization (Section 1)
Western European countries expand during 15th century because they . . . – Explore, conquer, and colonize– Trade
• Eastern markets of India, China, and Japan• New World
– Demand for laborers led to Atlantic slave trade!
II. The Slave Trade in Africa
Been around for a LONG time! African kingdoms and Islamic nations conduct
brisk commerce– Not race based (as it will be in America)– West African slave trade dealt mainly in women
and children (to serve as concubines and servants)
III. The Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade
In 15th century, slaves used as domestic servants on Iberian Peninsula (Spain/Portugal)
Slaves purchased from African traders– Portugal and Spain dominated slave trade in 16th
century (1500s)– Dutch dominated 17th century (1600s)– English dominated 18th century (1700s) – think
Roots and the Lord Ligonier ship
IV. Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade
High demand for labor in 16th century to work in– Spanish gold and silver mines– Portuguese sugar plantations– Tobacco, rice and indigo
SEE Figure 2-1 and Table 2-1 (Chapter 2)
Estimated Annual Export of Slaves from Western Africa to the Americas, 1500-1700
Estimated Slave Imports by Destination, 1451-1870
Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Slavery was harsher in the Americas,
because it was– Based on race– Mostly males
• Believed to be stronger for labor– Focused on agricultural work– Known as “Chattel” (a type of slavery) where the
slaves lost rights as human beings
Growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade (cont.) Triangle trade and profits
– Slave, tobacco, and sugar profits funded Industrial Revolution
– See Map of Triangle Trade
Triangle Trade: Who Gets What?
V. The African-American Ordeal: Capture to Destination
Slavery: byproduct of war between the West African kingdoms
European traders provided firearms to West Africans – they did not instigate fighting
The African-American Ordeal: Capture to Destination (cont.)
High mortality rate– Exhaustion, suicide, murder– Endured long, forced marches to the coast
Factories (fortified structures) served as – Headquarters for the traders– Warehouses for the trade goods– Pens or dungeons for captives/slaves
Factories: This one from the Gulf of Guinea (modern Nigeria)
From Thomas Astley, A New and General Collection of Voyages, 1746 Courtesy of the Library of Congress
Cape Coast Castle (Ghana)
President Obama’s Trip to Cape Coast Castle http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0gm
Doon_yC0&feature=related
CNN w/ Anderson Cooper
The Crossing (Middle Passage)
40 to 180 days to reach the Caribbean Pirates attacked Spanish ships Frightening experience for all who
sailed
“The Slavers” (slave ships)
Small and narrow ships Two slaves per ship-tonnage formula Most captains were “tight packers”
– Ignored formula in the name of profits
From the Collection: The Atlantic Slave Trade and Life in the AmericasJames S. Handler and Michael L. Tuite Jr.(c) 2006 Virginia Foundation for the Humanities and University of Virginia
Slaves were forced to spend the voyage sitting on deck of the ship Wildfire
The Slavers (cont.)
“Many slaves became seasick or developed diarrhoea (sic). Unable to move because they were chained into their positions, the slave's deck became a stinking mass of human waste. Slaves who had developed sores where their chains had rubbed their skin, had festering wounds often with maggots eating away their flesh.”
http://www.historyonthenet.com/Slave_Trade/middle_passage.htm
The Slavers (cont.)
Crowded, unsanitary conditions– Slaves rode on planks 66” x 15”
• only 20”– 25” of headroom
– Males chained together in pairs – Kept apart from women and children– High mortality rates
• One-third perish between capture and embarkation
A Slave’s Story
Olaudah Equiano– Writes autobiography of his capture/voyage
Conditions Suicides Smells Feedings
– See VOICES
A Captain’s Story
John Newton
– Evangelical Christian
– Slaver captain
– Anglican priest• Repentance• Amazing Grace
Provisions for the Middle Passage Slaves fed twice per day
– Poor and insufficient diet• Vegetable pulps, stews, and fruits • Denied meat or fish• Ten people eating from one bucket• Unwashed hands spread disease• Malnutrition, weakness, depression, death
Sanitation, Disease, and Death Astronomically high before 1750
– Poor sanitation• No germ theory prior to early 20th century• Malaria, yellow fever, smallpox, dysentery
After 1750– Faster ships– Hygiene and diet better understood– Early forms of smallpox vaccinations
Resistance and Revolt at Sea
Uprisings were common– Most rebellions before sailing– Some preferred death to bondage– Justification for harsh treatment by slavers
Cruelty
Middle passage horrors exaggerated– Historian Eric Williams
Cultural context Exceptionally cruel
– Slaves had half the space allowed indentured servants and convicts
– Slavery suitable only for non-Christians– Brutal treatment by crew members
African Women on Slave Ships Less protection against unwanted sexual
attention from European men African women worth half the price of African
men in the Caribbean markets Separation from male slaves made them
easier targets Historian Barbara Bush
– Middle passage horrors depressed sex drives
VI. Landing and Sale in the West Indies Pre-sale
– Bathed and exercised– Oiled bodies to conceal blemishes and
bruises– Hemp plugs
VII. Seasoning
Modify behavior and attitude Preparation for North American planters
VII. Seasoning (cont.)
Creoles– slaves born in the Americas
– worth three times price of unseasoned Africans Old Africans
– Lived in the Americas for some time
New Africans– Had just survived the middle passage
Creoles and Old Africans instruct New Africans
VIII. The End of the Journey
Survival – One-third died
• Men died at a greater rate than women
– Adapted to new foods– Learned a new language
• Creole dialect well enough to obey commands
– Psychological ~ no longer suicidal• Africans retained culture despite the hardships
and cruel treatment• Created bonds with shipmates that replaced
blood kinship
IX. The Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade Cruelties help end Atlantic slave trade
– English abolitionists• Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce, and Granville
Sharp• Moral crusade and economy less dependent on slave
trade• Great Britain bans Atlantic slave trade in 1807 • Patrols African coast to enforce • United States Congress outlaws slave trade in 1808• Guinea and western central African kingdoms oppose
banning slave trade
X. Conclusion
Nine to eleven million Africans brought to the Americas during three centuries of trade– Millions more died– Most arrived between 1701 and 1810– Only 600,000 reached the British colonies
of North America