• 5/1 Focus:
– To meet their growing labor needs,
Europeans enslaved millions of Africans in
forced labor in the Americas.
• Do Now:
– What made the kingdoms of West Africa
wealthy?
Origins of the Slave Trade
• Slavery historically
existed in many parts
of the world
• Spread of Islam into
Africa increased
slavery there
– Slaves often had legal
rights and some social
mobility
– Slavery in Africa was
not hereditary;
children were
considered free
Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade
• European
landowners
needed a large
supply of
workers on
American
plantations
Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade
• Spanish attempts to use
Native Americans as
laborers were not
successful
• Large death rate due to
disease and overwork
• Bartolome de la Casas
convinces Spanish to stop
using Native Americans
• English use of
Indentured Servants
was expensive
• People who worked for a
set period in exchange for
passage to the Americas
Origins of the Atlantic Slave Trade
• Europeans began buying
large numbers of
Africans to fill labor
shortages in Americas
• Most slaves came from
coast of West Africa
– Were supplied by African
rulers in exchange for
guns or trade goods
– Kidnapped by Europeans
on slave raids
By the 1600s Portugal, Spain, France, Holland, and England were involved in
the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Most captured Africans were taken to colonies in the Caribbean and South
America, then to North America. Only a small percentage came directly to the
North American colonies
Triangular Trade
• Trade routes that
linked the
Americas, Europe,
Africa, and the
West Indies
• Sea routes
formed a triangle
The Middle Passage
• The voyage from Africa to
the Americas on slave
ships
• Hundreds of captive
Africans were crammed
into tight quarters below
deck in terrible conditions
• Millions died from disease,
brutal mistreatment, and
suicide on the trip
The slave ship Brookes with 482 people packed onto the
decks.
Interior of a Slave Ship, a woodcut illustration from the publication, A
History of the Amistad Captives, reveals how hundreds of slaves could
be held within a slave ship. Tightly packed and confined in an area with
just barely enough room to sit up, slaves were known to die from a lack
of breathable air.
• Africans were crowded and chained cruelly aboard
slave ships.
Effects of the Slave Trade
• Millions of
Africans were
sent to the
Americas
– Importation of
slaves into the
U.S. ended in
1807
Effects of the Slave Trade
• Disrupted traditional West African
political structure and society
– Outbreak of local wars
– Loss of population
– Disappearance of small countries and
societies
– Formation of African states dependent on
the slave trade
Effects of the Slave Trade
• Labor of African slaves helped build the
economies of American colonies
• People of African descent spread
through the Americas and Western
Europe
– Led to the diffusion of African culture
Closure
• Where did most slaves involved in the
Atlantic slave trade come from?
• What was the Middle Passage?
• What was triangular trade?
• 4/19 Focus:
– European Expansion into the Americas had an
enormous impact, resulting in many
exchanges that altered the lives of people
around the world.
• Do Now:
– What was triangular trade?
Columbian Exchange
• The exchange
of plants,
animals, and
diseases
between
Europe, Africa,
and the
Americas
Effects of the Columbian
Exchange
• Introduction of new crops from the
Americas to Europe, Africa, and Asia
leads to population growth
• Increased cultural diffusion
– Europeans were influenced by Native
American foods as well as African farming
methods, cooking styles, and music
Columbian Exchange