The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

1. Analyze the pictures below. For each picture, describe what you see, including as many specific details as you can. What do you think was the original purpose of these images?

Triangular Trade:

2. Write the definition for triangular trade (above) in your notes.3. List several of the resources each continent traded with one another.

a historical term indicating trade among three regions, specifically, Africa, Europe and the Americas.

What caused the Triangular Trade?

4. Define natural resources in your notes.

• Africa had resources that could be traded with other nations, such as gold and silver, but they were lacking manufactured goods that England and the New World could provide. This created a trading system between the three continents.

What caused the Triangular Trade?

• Pretty soon, European countries such as Great Britain, Portugal, France and the Netherlands began establishing permanent colonies in Africa as well as the New World.

• This gave Europeans access to natural resources that created great wealth…

• …however, while the European countries were becoming more and more wealthy, Africa was being stripped of resources – human resources.

What caused the Transatlantic Slave Trade?

• There was an incredible need for strong laborers to help build and pioneer this new land.

• Also, there was a need for plantation workers so that additional natural resources (such as sugar, molasses, and tobacco) could be traded with Europe.

The Transatlantic Slave Trade

• The need for labor created the beginning of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, where millions of Africans were sold by African tribes or captured into slavery and sold for a massive profit.

• Slaves could be bought for $20 and sold in the Americas for up to $120 dollars.

• Eventually, the demand for labor was so strong Europeans no longer traded manufactured goods for slaves, but began capturing Africans against the will of the African people.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

European nations would capture or trade manufactured goods for African people and sell them in the New World for profit.

Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade• Slavery was not new to

Africa. Various kingdoms would force people into labor.

• However, the number of slaves skyrocketed when Europe began exploiting Africa.

• Nearly 12 million people were sold into slavery.http://player.discoveryeducation.com/index.cfm?guidAssetId=7F138E7E-5E26-430D-9BAB-478C16F64B0F&blnFromSearch=1&productcode=US#

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade5. What emotions do you

see in these pictures?6. How can you tell some

men are supervisors?7. Why are these

supervisors not white?8. In conclusion, what do

you believe ishappening in thesepictures?

Stop 1: West African Villages

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave TradeStop 1: West African Villages

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave TradeStop 2: Trading Post/Cape Coast Castle

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Europeans set up trading posts to trade manufactured goods for the naturalresources of Africa. The one pictured above was located in Ghana and called theCape Coast Castle. Eventually, these sites became places to house thousands of slaves who awaited their dreaded journey to the new world. Around 1000 maleslaves and 500 female slaves occupied the castle at any one time in separatedungeons. Each slave would be locked up for 6-12 weeks, waiting for their turnto board one of the ships. The dungeons must have been unbearable withhundreds of slaves crammed in together and no toilet facilities. The pictureabove (to the left) is a picture of “The Cave of No Return” where slaves wouldexit the trading post and board their ships.

Stop 2: Trading Post/Cape Coast Castle

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

9. What was your first impression of the Cape Coast Castle?

10. Why is this trading post located on the coast?11. How can you tell this trading post was built by

Europeans?12. At this point in the journey, what would you be

feeling if you were one of the captured slaves?

Stop 2: Trading Post/Cape Coast Castle

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

The Middle Passage was the journey from Africa to the Americas. Ship captains were known as “tight packers” or “loose packers” depending on how many people they were willing to fit on a ship. Most ships held 400, but it was not unusual to have 600-700 people per ship. People were treated as cargo. The trip would take nearly 50-90 days. Due to their packed conditions, Africans would have to lie in each other’s sweat, urine, feces, and blood. The heat was unbearable and un-breathable.

Many people would refuse to eat; some even committed suicide. The ship’s crew would brutally force the slaves to eat so that they would not die, because if someone died they could not be sold for profit. The slaves would often be beaten with a device called a cat-o-nine-tails, which would leave horrible wounds on the slaves.

Stop 3: Middle Passage

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

This diagram shows how slaves would be transported aboard a ship.

Stop 3: Middle Passage

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Slaves were treated as cargo, and packed as tightly as possible ontothe ship to maximize potential profits.

Stop 3: Middle Passage

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

This photograph from the 19th

century shows the scars of aslave who had been severelybeaten with a whip.

Stop 3: Middle Passage

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

13. What was your first impression of the Middle Passage?

14. Why were slaves beaten during the Middle Passage? 15. With that many people in such a small area, what

types of problems do you think occurred? 16. If you were on the Middle Passage, how would you

cope with the conditions?

Stop 3: Middle Passage

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave TradeStop 4: The Slave Auction

Stops Along the Transatlantic Slave Trade

17. What are these imagescommunicating? / What isthe purpose of theseimages?18. Where would theseimages be found?19. Note the color of the manby the stage in the pictureabove. How could he havegotten a job at a slaveauction?20. What was the purpose ofthe Transatlantic SlaveTrade?

Stop 4:

Effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

• 10-16 million African people were sold into slavery, leaving a significant portion of African without its strongest men.

• Families were torn apart.• European colonies thrived and became

extremely wealthy while Africans were exploited and lost great wealth.

Effects of the Transatlantic Slave Trade

• The southern colonies (later US states) became economically reliant on slavery.

• Ironically, the American ideals of liberty and equality were born from a culture that believed in and relied upon a system of slavery that was based on race.

• Tensions over slavery would plague the colonies and new United States of America from the time of its inception until the American Civil War in the 1860s.

• Racial tensions between European Americans and African Americans remains a prevalent issue in modern American culture.