THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

AMERICAN HISTORY: UNIT 1 LECTURE 3

BACKGROUND TO SLAVE TRADE

• Both sugar plantations and tobacco farms required a lot of labor. Europeans had planned to use Native Americas for labor.

Problems with Native People as workers:• A. Familiarity with

land/easy to escape• B. Disease• C. Not used to hard

labor

BACKGROUND TO SLAVE TRADE

•Because of these problems, Europeans in the New World look to a new source for workers - African Slaves•Slavery already occurred in West Africa – Europeans take advantage of it

DEMAND FOR SLAVES IN THE NEW WORLD

For Europeans in America, African slaves were a good solution. Why?1. They were resistant to disease2. They knew how to farm3. Didn't know the land4. Skin color made them easy to

identify

THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

• ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE soon develops.

• ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE = the buying and selling of Africans for work in the New World.

• Starts with Spanish and Portuguese – Most slaves end up in BRAZIL

ENGLISH COLONISTS NEED FOR SLAVES

•When the English colonized America, they often brought INDENTURED SERVANTS

• INDENTURED SERVANT - A person who agreed to work in America for a specific period of time in exchange for passage.

INDENTURED SERVANTS

Problems with Indentured Servants • Eventually they are allowed to go free. • Freed Servants Need Land• Causes conflicts in society

BACON'S REBELLION

• Group of Virginians - some of them freed servants - demand Indian lands• Governor of VA wants

to keep peace, sides with Indians• Rebels, led by

Nathaniel Bacon, burn Jamestown and nearly kill the governor

RESULTS OF BACON’S REBELLION

• Scares the Nobles of Virginia• Start looking at a source of labor that won't cause these types of problems - African slaves.•Why?

Because they will never be free!

THE SLAVERY BUSINESS

• England and English Colonies quickly become largest carrier of slaves• From 1690 to 1807,

English transport ~ 1.7 Million slaves to Americas• 400,000 land in

todays U.S.

TRIANGULAR TRADE

Transatlantic trade involving slaves, raw materials, and manufactured goods.

1

THE MIDDLE PASSAGE

• Trip from Africa to the Americas was known as the Middle Passage•Marked by terrible cruelty and awful conditions

FINAL FIGURES

•Over 12 Million Africans were enslaved in The Americas•Only about 5% came to the modern U.S. – Most to Southern Colonies• The SLAVE TRADE was outlawed in 1808

1. From http://www.irespect.net