Mr. Curzan AFAM

NAME: ________________________________ DATE: ________________ PER: ____

Investigative PacketInvestigative PacketInvestigative PacketInvestigative Packet

PART I: PART I: PART I: PART I: Slave TradeSlave TradeSlave TradeSlave Trade & C& C& C& Captureaptureaptureapture PART II: The CrossingPART II: The CrossingPART II: The CrossingPART II: The Crossing

PART III: Landing & SalePART III: Landing & SalePART III: Landing & SalePART III: Landing & Sale

INTRODUCTION: Analyzing artistic interpretations of the topic. They felt the sea-wind tying them into one nation of eyes and shadows and groans, in the one pain that is inconsolable, the loss of one’s shore. They had wept, not for their wives only, their fading children, but for strange, ordinary things. This one, who was a hunter wept for a sapling lance whose absent heft sang in his palm’s hollow. One, a fisherman, for an ocher river encircling his calves; one a weaver, for the straw fisherpot he had meant to repair, wilting in water. They cried for the little thing after the big thing. They cried for a broken gourd. —Derek Walcott, Omeros Who do you think “they” might be on this poem?

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What is the main idea or theme of this poem? Explain.

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What does the painting "say" to you personally?

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How has the artist used the elements of lines,

space, color, etc. to create meaning or content?

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What is your interpretation of the use of color?

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PART I: SLAVE TRADE & CAPTURE

STATION A: What four things do we know about the slave trade in Africa before the arrival of Europeans?:

i.

ii.

iii. iv.

Briefly describe how the illustration supports some of the facts you learned.

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Look at Prof. Catherine Ancholou’s commentary. According to her, what are at least 3 differences

between the slavery that existed in Africa, and the slavery system in the Americas?

i.

ii.

iii.

STATION B: According to Prof. Thomas Davis, why did Europeans rely on African slave labor in the New World? Provide 2 specific reasons:

i.

ii.

What were the goods grown or produced in the New World that required slave labor. Refer to the

map.

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Which year saw the sharpest increase total for exports of slaves from West Africa to the Americas?

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What could be the cause for such a dramatic change?

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STATION C: Which country had the highest total number of slave imports? _______________________________

Which one had the second highest number? _______________________________

Does this surprise you? Why or why not?

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Total the numbers for all of the countries/destinations: _______________________________ Slaves

According to the map, which four African ethnicities were the sources for the highest percentages of

slaves? (Look closely for the names of the ethnic groups).

i.

ii.

iii. iv.

Write a sentence that describes the some of the details on what slavery was like in the Americas (and

how it was different from what the Africans had practiced).

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Which two island nations (colonies at the time) had the highest percentages of African slaves?

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After study the graphics, briefly explain what the Triangular Trade was and how it worked. What was

being traded, and what for? How did each area depend on the other?

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STATION D: Read the passage entitled African Captives. What do you think “interethnic rivalries” mean?

________________________________________________________________________________ What is meant by the following sentence, “In fact, neither Africans nor Europeans had yet developed

the concept of racial solidarity.”?

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How did the Europeans benefit from the slave trade? How did the Africans benefit?

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Create your own captions for the two large pictures of captured slaves using evidence from the text

information at this station.

Caption A: ______________________________________________________________________

Caption B: ______________________________________________________________________

Examine the visuals related to branding. After viewing the sources, why do you believe slaves were

branded?

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What could you compare this with today?

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What are your reactions to the branding of slaves?

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STATION E: (PACKET STATION 1) Read and annotate (add notes or comments) the following text, then answer the questions that follow:

Elmina Castle, trading outpost and "slave factory", 1481

Forty years after Prince Henry's expeditions first

acquired gold dust and twenty-one years after the

Prince's death, Portugal began constructing a

trading outpost on Africa's Guinea coast, near a

region that had been mined by natives for many

years. Permission to build the outpost had been

reluctantly given by the chief of a nearby village,

on the condition that peace and trust be maintained.

Called "São Jorge da Mina" (Saint George's of the

mine), or simply "Elmina" (the mine), it was the

first permanent structure south of the Sahara built

by Europeans -- and for centuries it was the largest.

It also had the distinction of being the first of many permanent "slave factories" (trading posts that dealt in

slaves) that would be built along Africa's western coast.

The purpose of Elmina Castle, as well as the future outposts, was to give support to captains by providing their

vessels with a secure harbor. The outposts were heavily armed against assault from the sea. Interestingly, the

forts were not so heavily armed against attack from inland. An assault from a European foe (including pirates)

was more likely than one from Africans. To fend off attacks from the sea, cannons were needed, whereas light

gunfire was usually enough to deter an assault from the interior.

Slaves were typically captured inland, then brought to the outpost on an arduous journey that often lasted many

days -- half of all captives did not even make it to the coast. Once there, the slaves would wait, often for a long

period of time, until a ship arrived. They were traded for cowrie shells, iron bars, guns, basins, mirrors, knives,

linens, silk, and beads.

Elmina Castle saw several owners during the course of the slave trade, including the Portuguese, Dutch, and

English. By the 18th century, 30,000 slaves on their way to the Americas passed through Elmina each year.

Deportation through outposts like Elmina continued for nearly three hundred years.

Why was Elmina originally built? How did the Europeans get permission to build it?

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What type of goods were slaves traded for? Why would they have been valuable for Africans?

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STATION F: (PACKET STATION 2) Read and annotate (add notes or comments) the following text, then answer the questions that follow:

ALEXANDER FALCONBRIDGE

An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa (1788) Alexander Falconbridge was forced through poverty to work as a surgeon on slave ships. Witnessing the horrors of the trade, Falconbridge became an advocate for the slaves. He went on to become involved in Sierra Leone, a British antislavery resettlement colony in West Africa. The following passage outlines how slaves were obtained in Africa by kidnapping and examined by traders before being sold. … There is great reason to believe, that most of the Negroes shipped off from the coast of Africa, are kidnapped. But the extreme care taken by the black traders to prevent the Europeans from gaining any intelligence of their modes of proceeding; the great distance inland from whence the Negroes are brought; and our ignorance of their language (with which, very frequently, the black traders themselves are equally unacquainted), prevent our obtaining such information on this head as we could wish. I have, however, by means of occasional inquiries, made through interpreters, procured some intelligence relative to the point, and such, as I think, puts the matter beyond a doubt. I was likewise told by a Negro woman that as she was on her return home, one evening, from some neighbors, to whom she had been making a visit by invitation, she was kidnapped; and notwithstanding she was big with child, sold for a slave. This transaction happened a considerable way up the country, and she had passed through the hands of several purchasers before she reached the ship. A man and his son, according to their own information, were seized by professional kidnappers, while they were planting yams, and sold for slaves. This likewise happened in the interior pans of the country, and after passing through several hands, they were purchased for the ship to which I belonged. It frequently happens that those who kidnap others are themselves, in their turns, seized and sold. A Negro in the West Indies informed me that after having been employed in kidnapping others, he had experienced this reverse. And he assured me that it was a common incident among his countrymen. …During my stay on the coast of Africa, I was an eye-witness of the following transaction: a black trader invited a Negro, who resided a little way up the country, to come and see him. After the entertainment was over, the trader proposed to his guest, to treat him with a sight of one of the ships lying in the river. The unsuspicious countryman readily consented, and accompanied the trader in a canoe to the side of the ship, which he viewed with pleasure and astonishment. While he was thus employed, some black traders on board, who appeared to be in the secret, leaped into the canoe, seized the unfortunate man, and dragging him into the ship, immediately sold him…

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Who was Alexander Falconbridge? What did he originally do, and what did he become?

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According to Falconbridge, how are slaves being collected? What was doing it?

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After reading this description, why do you think this happened?

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CONCLUSION OF PART I… MOVE ON TO PART II: THE CROSSING

PART II: THE CROSSING

STATION G: Roughly how many Africans had been sold into slavery? __________________________________

How many of those slaves survived the march from Africa’s interior? _________________________

What is the meaning behind the “Middle Passage”?

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What were the three legs of the voyage, and what did each part of the trip carry?:

i.

ii.

iii.

Although it would have already been tightly packed, how many slaves could normally fit on the slave

ship named the Brooke? _______________________

According to records, how many had been transported within the same space? _________________

How many more slaves than usual was this number? (calculate the difference) __________________

Why do you think this happened, or why was it allowed?

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Read Barry Unsworth’s description of the Middle Passage and Interior of a Slave Ship. According to

these sources, what are at least 2 things that slaves could die from on the ship?

i.

ii. STATION H: Provide at least 4 details that you have learned about the slavers (slave ships):

i.

ii.

iii. iv.

Look over the text describing the provisions for slaves during the crossing. In a sentence or two,

explain what factors would have led to the poor health of slaves on the ship?

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According to Alexander Falconbridge's account, what exactly did the slave diet consist of?

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What would happen to slaves who refused to eat?

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What types of diseases would spread among the slaves on board the ship: i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

What was something occasionally done to prevent the spread of epidemics?

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What were some examples of “cruel measures” that the ship’s crew would use on slaves? Why?

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According to this text, how did the slaves

react to what was happening with their

sick? What did they do instead?

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Source: Boston Pilot 19 January 1861

STATION I: Describe the painting by Johann Moritz Rugendas.

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Since Rugendas had been an eyewitness, what do you think he hoped to show with his artwork? Do

you think it would have been effective? Why or why not?

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Can you make any comparisons between the Rugendas painting and the Africans on Slave Ships

drawing? What are your reactions to the drawing?

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When did most slave uprisings occur? __________________________________________________

What was a common side-effect of slave uprisings? _______________________________________

Summarize 4 things learned about the experience of women onboard the slave ships:

i.

ii.

iii. iv.

Examine the picture showing the torture of a female slave. What is your personal reaction?

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Below the picture in handwriting is a message about “BCapt. Kimber’s treatment of a Young Negro

Girl of 15 for her Virgin Modesty.” What do you think was meant by this?

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This illustration was created by abolitionists (people who wanted to end slavery). Why would they

have shown this? Do you think it would have been effective at its purpose?

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STATION J: (PACKET STATION 3) Read and annotate (add notes or comments) the following text, then answer the questions that follow:

OLAUDAH EQUIANO aka GUSTAVUS VASSA

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, Written by

Himself (1789)

Captured in Nigeria, Olaudah Equiano shared the fear of many captured Africans that the white men were going to eat him. More widely traveled than most slaves, Equiano was sold to the British and worked on ships for much of his life. Later able to purchase his freedom from his Quaker master, Equiano went on to become a staunch advocate in the British antislavery movement. This passage describes Equiano’s trip from Africa to America.

From Chapter 3, "The Slave Ship"

. . . I feared I should be put to death, the white people looked and acted, as I

thought, in so savage a manner; for I had never seen among any people such

instances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shewn towards us blacks, but also

to some of the whites themselves. One white man in particular I saw, when we

were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near

the foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the

side as they would have done a brute. . . .

The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so intolerably

loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us

had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that the

whole ship's cargo were confined together, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the place, and the

heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn

himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for

respiration from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many

died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation

was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable, and the filth of the necessary

tubs, into which the children often fell and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women and the groans of

the dying rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable.

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Where was Olaudah Equiano captured? ____________________________

List at least 4 things that Equiano describes about his time onboard the slave ship: i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

What happened to Equiano later in life? What did he become?

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STATION K: (PACKET STATION 4) Read and annotate (add notes or comments) the following text, then answer the questions that follow:

Alexander Falconbridge's account of the Alexander Falconbridge's account of the Alexander Falconbridge's account of the Alexander Falconbridge's account of the slave trade, 1788slave trade, 1788slave trade, 1788slave trade, 1788 In each of the apartments are placed three or four large buckets, of a conical form, nearly two feet in diameter at the bottom and only one foot at the top and in depth of about twenty-eight inches, to which, when necessary, the Negroes have recourse. It often happens that those who are placed at a distance from the buckets, in endeavoring to get to them, rumble over their companions, in consequence of their being shackled. These accidents, although unavoidable, are productive of continual quarrels in which some of them are always bruised. In this distressed situation, unable to proceed and prevented from getting to the tubs, they desist from the attempt; and as the necessities of nature are not to be resisted, ease themselves as they lie. This becomes a fresh source of boils and disturbances and tends to render the condition of the poor captive wretches still more uncomfortable. The nuisance arising from these circumstances is not infrequently increased by the tubs being much too small for the purpose intended and their being usually emptied but once every day. The rule for doing so, however, varies in different ships according to the attention paid to the health and convenience of the slaves by the captain.... …During the voyages I made, I was frequently witness to the fatal effects of this exclusion of fresh air. I will give one instance, as it serves to convey some idea, though a very faint one, of their terrible sufferings.... Some wet and blowing weather having occasioned the port-holes to be shut and the grating to be covered, fluxes and fevers among the Negroes ensued. While they were in this situation, I frequently went down among them till at length their room became so extremely hot as to be only bearable for a very short time. But the excessive heat was not the only thing that rendered their situation intolerable. The deck, that is the floor of their rooms, was so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequence of the flux, that it resembled a slaughter-house. It is not in the power of the human imagination to picture a situation more dreadful or disgusting. Numbers of the slaves having fainted, they were carried upon deck where several of them died and the rest with great difficulty were restored. It had nearly proved fatal to me also. The climate was too warm to admit the wearing of any clothing but a shirt and that I had pulled off before I went down.... In a quarter of an hour I was so overcome with the heat, stench and foul air that I nearly fainted, and it was only with assistance I could get back on deck. The consequence was that I soon after fell sick of the same disorder from which I did not recover for several months...

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What were the large, conical buckets used for? What was the problem with using them?

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According to Falconbridge, what was one of the worst problems that slaves suffered in board the

slave ship?

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How did Alexander Falconbridge feel about what he had witnessed? How do you know?

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STATION L: (PACKET STATION 5) Read and annotate (add notes or comments) the following text, then answer the questions that follow:

Living Africans Thrown OverboardLiving Africans Thrown OverboardLiving Africans Thrown OverboardLiving Africans Thrown Overboard

Heading for Jamaica in 1781, the ship Zong was nearing the end of its voyage. It had been twelve weeks since it had

sailed from the west African coast with its cargo of 417 slaves. Water was running out. Then, compounding the problem,

there was an outbreak of disease. The ship's captain, reasoning that the slaves were going to die anyway, made a decision.

In order to reduce the owner's losses he would throw overboard the slaves thought to be too sick to recover. The voyage

was insured, but the insurance would not pay for sick slaves or even those killed by illness. However, it would cover

slaves lost through drowning.

The captain gave the order; 54 Africans were chained together, then thrown overboard. Another 78 were drowned over the

next two days. By the time the ship had reached the Caribbean,132 persons had been murdered.

When the ship returned to England the owners made their claim -- they wished to be compensated the full value for each

slave lost. The claim might have been honored had if it had not been for former slave Equiano, then living in England,

who learned of the tragedy and alerted an abolitionist

friend of his. The case went to court. At first the jury

ruled in favor of the ship's owners. Since it was

permissible to kill animals for the safety of the ship,

they decided, it was permissible to kill slaves for the

same reason. The insurance company appealed, and the

case was retried. This time the court decided that the

Africans on board the ship were people. It was a

landmark decision.

On another voyage, on another ship, a similar incident

occurred. On La Rodeur in 1812, there was an outbreak

of ophthalmia, a disease that causes temporary

blindness. Both slaves and crew were afflicted. The

captain, fearing that the blindness was permanent and

knowing that blind slaves would be difficult if not

impossible to sell, sent 39 slaves over the rails to their

watery death. As with the captain of the Zong, he hoped

that the insurance would cover the loss.

According to the text, why were living Africans thrown overboard the Zong? Be specific.

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What was the decision made during the court case? Why was this significant?

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CONCLUSION OF PART II… MOVE ON TO PART III: LANDING & SALE

PART III: LANDING & SALE

STATION M:

What happened when slaves arrived in the West Indies and other parts of the New World? Write a

sentence that explains some of the details.

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How do the two illustrations support this information? What can you assume is happening?

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What was “seasoning” and why was it used?

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What 3 categories did planters divide their slaves into?: i.

ii.

iii.

Why were Creoles worth more than the others? Speculate based on the information you have.

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According to Slaves Preparing a Field, what was the job of an overseer?

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STATION N:

What are some of the keywords used to describe slaves for sale in the advertisements?: i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

What in particular is the Bance-Island ship claiming that their Negroes are free from?

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Examine the Slave Auction illustration. How could a sale impact the family that appears on the

auction block?

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Why might dealers be inspecting an already seasoned slave?

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STATION O:

How many slaves were estimated to die during the seasoning process? Why do you think the men

had such a high mortality rate?

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What are at least 3 things that changed for Africans in the New World?: i.

ii.

iii.

According to the map, how many creole languages developed in the New World?

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Which ones have you heard of before?

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Which African ethnic groups are most Jamaicans descended from?

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What is AAVE? Based on the information provided, how do you think it may have developed?

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What’s something interesting that you’ve learned after reading about Jamaican Patois or AAVE?

Explain what made it interesting to you.

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STATION P: (PACKET STATION 6) Read and annotate (add notes or comments) the following text, then answer the questions that follow:

African Culture in the AmericasAfrican Culture in the AmericasAfrican Culture in the AmericasAfrican Culture in the Americas

Africans in the New World played a crucial role in the development of

American culture. Once in the Americas, slaves often continued to

practice African traditions and customs, perhaps as a way of coping

with their life as slaves. Over time, many of these traditions blended

with European and native culture to create a new and unique

American culture. In Brazil, for example, Angolan slaves introduced

capoeira, a blend of dance and martial arts, that is still practiced today.

Slaves also introduced African musical instruments, such as the

marimba, the banjo, and various types of drums. Slaves brought

African foods to the Americas. For example, Creole food from New

Orleans is a blend of African, Caribbean, and European cooking.

Africans influenced religion and language in the New World as well.

Throughout the Caribbean and elsewhere, slaves blended African

religious beliefs with Christian beliefs. African traditions were kept

kept alive through stories, healing arts, song, and other forms of cultural expression. Sometimes this led to

new hybrid religions, like voodoo in Haiti, Santeria in Cuba, and Kumina in Jamaica. In addition, slaves

shaped language in the Americas. They often mixed words from their native African languages with the

European languages of their owners. An example of this is the mix of African languages and French that

took place in Haiti and Louisiana. Another example is the dialect of patois in Jamaica. The unique blending

of African and European cultures contributed to the great cultural diversity that exists throughout the

Americas to this day.

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Provide 4 examples of how Africans kept their traditions alive in the New World:

i.

ii.

iii.

iv.

What African cultural contribution in the Americas do you think was most significant? Why? ________________________________________________________________________________

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What percent of African tradition still exists in the West (Americas, Carribean, etc.) today? Why? _________% Explain Below:

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