The Atlantic Slave Trade
Chapter 20 Section 3
I. Causes of African slavery
A. Slavery already
existed in Africa 
different than
slavery in Americas
1. Slavery similar to serfdom  slavery ended after certain # of
years in servitude
2. Slaves could marry, own property, and even own slaves
3. Slavery not hereditary
4. Slavery lacked racism
B. Spread of Islam in 7th c.  led to
increase in slavery & slave trade
1. Justified by belief that a non-Muslim could be
bought & sold as slaves
2. Slaves had some legal rights & opportunity for
social mobility
3. Slaves could escape bondage  i.e. by
marrying into family they served
C. Demand for Africans  increased with
the colonization of the Americas
1. Europeans saw advantages of
using Africans in the Americas
a. Exposure & immunity to
European diseases
b. Experience in farming
c. Less likely to escape  did
not know new land
d. Skin color made easier to
identify & catch escapees
II. Atlantic slave trade became
massive enterprise
A. By the time it ended in
1870, nearly 10-12
million Africans were
enslaved
B. Spain took the lead in
importing Africans
1. Slaves worked on
plantations, gold &
silver mines
C. Portuguese surpassed Spanish in slave
trade
1. Brazil dominated sugar market 
increased demand for cheap labor
2. More than 40% of Africans in slave trade
went to Brazil in 17th c.
D. England became leading carrier of
enslaved Africans
1. Transported nearly 1.7 million Africans to their
colonies in West Indies
2. 1672 – King of England chartered the Royal African
Company
3. 1698 – English Parliament ruled that any British
subject could own slaves
III. African cooperation & resistance
A. African rulers & merchants
played willing role in
African slave trade 
captured Africans to be
enslaved
1. European traders waited in
ports on coast of Africa
2. African slaves were traded
with Europeans in
exchange for gold, guns,
etc.
B. Some African rulers voiced their
opposition
1. Lured by profits, rulers continued to
participate
2. Merchants found new trade routes to avoid
oppositional rulers
IV. The Journey
A. The Triangular Trade – transatlantic
trading network
1. Europeans transported manufactured goods to the
west coast of Africa
2. Goods exchanged for captured Africans
3. Africans brought across Atlantic & sold in West
Indies
4. Merchants brought sugar, coffee, & tobacco from
West Indies back to Europe
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3
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B. The Middle Passage  the voyage that
brought captured Africans to New World
1. Africans packed into
dark holds of large ships
2. Africans endured
whippings & beatings
from merchants
3. Diseases swept through
vessel  millions died
4. Many Africans committed suicide by
drowning
5. Nearly 20% of Africans aboard each
ship perished during trip
Plan of a Slave Ship
V. Slavery in the Americas
A. Harsh life upon arrival in
Americas
1. Sold to highest bidder 
worked in mines, fields, or as
domestic servants
2. Little food, lived in small
huts
3. Worked long days & suffered
beatings
4. Lifelong & hereditary
condition
B. Resistance & rebellion
1. Africans developed way of life based on
their cultural heritage
a. Musical traditions & stories of ancestors
2. Resisted by making
themselves less
productive  broke
tools, moved slowly
3. Thousands ran
away
4. Open revolts 
numerous uprisings
VI. Results of slave trade
A. Effects in Africa
1. Numerous cultures lost generations of their
fittest members
2. Families torn apart & never reunited
3. Introduced guns to the continent of Africa
B. Effects in the Americas
1. Slaves contributed greatly to economic &
cultural development of Americas
a. Survival of colonies depended on their labor
b. Africans brought their expertise in agriculture
c. Brought their art, music, religion, &
food to influence American societies
Olaudah Equiano
- Kidnapped & sold into
slavery as a child
- Eventually earned price of
his freedom by careful
trading & saving
- Later became involved in
movement to abolish the
slave trade
- His narrative describes the
horrific Middle Passage &
experiences of slaves
Published “The Interesting
Narrative on the Life of
Olaudah Equiano” in 1789