The African Slave Trade – CCC
The origins of modern slavery clearly lie with the introduction of sugar to Europe. Until the Crusades, Europeans
knew nothing of sugar and relied on honey and fruit to sweeten their bland diets. However, after they learned from the
Arabs about sugarcane and the labor-intensive process required to produce it, Europeans established sugar plantations in
the Mediterranean and on various islands off the coast of Africa. The immense difficulty and danger of plantation work,
the limitations on serf labor, and the lack of workers all led to slavery as a source of labor for sugar plantations.
At first, the (white) Slavic people from near the Black Sea were the source of slave labor on the sugar plantations,
but when the Ottomans took control of Constantinople, the supply was cut off. The Portuguese were exploring the coast
of Africa at the time, and found an alternative source of slaves available for sale. So, when sugar plantations took hold in
the Americas, Europeans had already established links to West African slave sources.
Africa became the primary source of slaves due to a process of elimination. Slavic people were no longer
available, Native Americans quickly perished from European diseases, Eastern Europeans were technically “Christian” and
therefore off limits to other European Christians, and indentured servants were expensive and temporary. In addition,
Africans were already skilled farmers, they had immunity to both tropical and European diseases, they were not Christian,
they were easily accessible, and there were large numbers available.
The slave trade within Africa was conducted almost entirely by Africans themselves. A few early efforts by the
Portuguese at slave raiding along the coast convinced them that such attempts were unnecessary and unwise, for African
societies were quite capable of defending themselves and Europeans tended to die like flies from tropical diseases when
they entered Africa.
Slaves came mostly from the societies of West Africa, between what is Mauritania and Angola today. At first, the
slave trade focused on the coastlines, but as time went on, the slave traders penetrated further into the interior as the
demand for slaves increased. Slaves were generally prisoners of war, criminals, debtors, and people who had been
“pawned” during times of difficulty. Those who were captured and sold were normally outsiders, vulnerable people who
were not part of the mainstream society.
Europeans generally waited along the coast, either in a ship or a fort, and African merchants brought slaves to the
Europeans for purchase. From capture to sale along the coast, the process was in the hands of the African merchants.
Slaves were usually captured in the interior, sold several times on a difficult journey to the coast, sometimes branded like
cattle, and held in filthy, dark slave dungeons while waiting for transportation to the Americas. They were generally
bought with goods, instead of money. These goods included European and Indian cloth, European metal goods (like pots
and pans), guns and gunpowder, tobacco and alcohol, and various decorative items like beads.
An English sailor named Richard Drake, who worked on a slave ship for fifty years, wrote:
“…The largest males were packed first in the hold, sitting cross-legged in rows, back to back. They
faced each other closely, and a hundred were thus crammed into each schooner [boat] under decks.
The women and girls were all stowed in one hold. After securing these below, about fifty were tied
around the masts and rails of both vessels; and by this time every available foot of space had been
covered with black flesh. The slaves are to get two meals a day, of boiled beans or rice; each has a
light wooden dish and spoon tied about the neck.”
The main outcome of the slave trade was the links established between Africa and the rest of the world.
Africa became a permanent part of the trade route at the same time as millions of Africans were moved to the
Americas. West African economies were connected to the new European-centered world economy. In addition,
while the slave trade did not result in the same population collapse in Africa that occurred in the Americas, it did
slow Africa’s growth at a time when other parts of the world were expanding. It is estimated that sub-Saharan
Africa represented about 18% of the world’s population before the slave trade, but only about 6% after it ended.
The slave trade also resulted in the stagnation of economics and politics. The slave trade did not
stimulate the economy of Africa because the few Africans who did benefit from the slave trade were not
investing in their own economy. In addition, no technological advancements happened in agriculture or
manufacturing during this time, partially due to the fact that no one was investing money in them. The only
thing that people wanted from Africa at this point was people, not products. In small societies, the sense of
insecurity and loss threatened communities and occasionally caused the collapse of a particular group. Larger
kingdoms fell apart as well, although more slowly, as the firearms brought by Europeans allowed smaller groups
to gain their independence. Some larger African societies did attempt to take advantage of the new commercial
opportunities and manage the slave trade in a way that would benefit themselves, but in the end, the African
slave trade brought nothing but heartache.
Slave Trade CCC Instructions
 Read the document and use three colors to highlight cause,
course, and consequence.
 In your notebook, organize the CCC into a flowchart like this:
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Cause
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Cause
Cause
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Course
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Consequence
Consequence
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Consequence
Use the information you have collected to answer the following
questions:
1. How did the slave trade affect the Americas?
2. How did the slave trade affect Africa?
3. How did the slave trade affect Europe?
4. Why were Africans targeted during the Atlantic slave trade?
Create a thesis/claim outline that answers the following:
 What was the most significant cause of the Atlantic slave
trade?