The Atlantic Slave Trade

Chattel Slavery Definition

• Owning humans as property

• Forcing them to work

• Taking away their freedom

Slavery in America

• Began with the first European colonists • At first Natives, then Africans• Most in Southern parts of the Americas• Worked mostly on farms:

– Cotton– Coffee– Sugar

The Gold Coast

The Gold Coast• 1471- Portuguese find gold there, and

establish settlements• Soon after the Atlantic slave trade begins• Other nations follow: Dutch, English,

Prussians

• Slavery already existed before Europeans came to Africa

• Europeans “globalized” it

Capture

• People were hunted and captured from their homes

• Targets were men and women aged 18-35

• Children were taken too

Capture Cont…

• Upon capture slaves were shackled and marched

• Marches could be up to 1000 miles to the coast (many would die)

• Large “Slave Castles” would hold slaves until they were shipped to Americas

• Some were held for a year or more

Slave Castles

• Holding cells in which captive slaves were held in Africa

• People crammed in (sometimes hundreds in a very small space)

• No light

• Openings from above for viewing and feeding

Slave Castle

Slave Holding Cell

Atlantic Crossing

• 60-90 days long• Slaves were crammed in close quarters• Combine:

– Sea sickness - Poor sanitation– Mal-nutrition - Disease– Torture - Rape

• Many people died• Some jumped overboard

Welcome to America

• Upon arrival survivors were cleaned, oiled, and auctioned

• After sale, slaves would be transported to their new homes

• Owners could force slaves to do anything they wanted

Crash Course Video on the Atlantic Slave Trade

Discussion:• What did you think of the video?

• Did anything surprise you in the video?

• What do you know about other forms of slavery other than the Atlantic trade?