The Transatlantic
Slave Trade
Why did the Europeans want
African slaves?
When did the transatlantic slave
trade occur?
How many Africans were
transported out of Africa?
Slave exports from Africa on the Trans-Atlantic Route
Period
1450-1500
1500-1600
1601-1700
1701-1800
1801-1900
Total
Number of slaves
%
81,000
328,000
1,348,000
6,090,000
3,466,000
2.9
12.0
54.2
30.9
11,232,000
100.0
Where did the enslaved Africans
come from?
Where were the enslaved
Africans taken?
Trans-Atlantic Exports by Region 1650-1900
Region
Number of Slaves
Senegambia
479,900
Upper Guinea
411,200
Windward Coast
183,200
Gold Coast
1,035,600
Bight of Benin
2,016,200
Bight of Biafra
1,463,700
West Central
4,179,500
South East
470,900
Total
10,240,200
%
4.7
4.0
1.8
10.1
19.7
14.3
40.8
4.6
100.0
Trans-Atlantic Imports by Region 1450-1900
Region
Number of Slaves
Brazil
Spanish Empire
British West Indies
French West Indies
British North Amer.
& United States
Dutch West Indies
Danish West Indies
Europe (and Islands)
Total
%
4,000,000
2,500,000
2,000,000
1,600,000
500,000
35.4
22.1
17.7
14.1
4.4
500,000
28,000
200,000
4.4
0.2
1.8
11,328,000
100.0
Prior to the arrival of the
Europeans, what was slavery like
in Africa?
How did Europeans acquire
African slaves?
Some people assert, “Africans
sold their own people into
slavery.”
Is this a fair statement?
What was the Middle Passage?
What were conditions like?
What was the Triangular Trade
Route?
What was the abolitionist
movement? Who led it?
When was slavery abolished in
Great Britain, the United States
and Brazil?
What effects did the transatlantic
slave trade have on Africa?
What African countries did freed
slaves found?
What did you learn that surprised
you the most?