Download Holt African American History Chapter 2

Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
The Atlantic Slave Trade
Section 1 Slavery Becomes a System
Section 2 The Middle Passage
Section 3 Africans in the Americas
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Section 1: Slavery Becomes a System
Main Idea
Slavery, which had been practiced around the world for
thousands of years, has a long history in Africa.
Reading Focus
• What was slavery like in ancient times?
• How did the arrival of Europeans in Africa affect the slave
trade?
• Why were Europeans eager for slaves from Africa?
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Building Background
Africa’s great wealth eventually attracted the attention
of other civilizations around the world. Soon there was
a growing demand for trade with the empires of goldrich West Africa. Among the leaders of this new trade
were Europeans, who found another valuable trade
good in Africa—slaves.
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
The Institution of Slavery
Slavery’s Origins
Other Functions
• Practice did not start with
Europeans; common since
ancient times
• Skilled workers—musicians,
weavers, carpenters
• Slaves used for manual
labor—physical work done
by hand
• Slaves vital form of cheap
labor; tended crops, built
temples, worked on farms, in
mines and on construction
projects
• Muslim rulers trained slaves
as professional soldiers
• In ancient Rome, educated
slaves served as teachers
• Others featured in theaters
and gladiator competitions
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
The Treatment of Slaves
• Slaves considered property of owners in all societies; their
treatment varied greatly
– In Africa children born to slaves kept with families
– In China owners were free to sell children of slaves, separating
families
– Some cultures regulated treatment of slaves
• Laws protecting them from cruelty
• In ancient Athens, striking a slave was against the law
• Slavery not based on race
– Slaves from wide variety of backgrounds and cultures
– Most slaves captured in war; others sold as punishment for
crimes
– Some born to slave parents or sold as payment of debt
– Considered as property of owner to be resold or given away
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Manumission
Freeing Slaves
• In ancient times, not uncommon for slaves to be freed
• Act of manumission practiced around the world
• Freeing slave considered honorable act
Examples
• Muslim holy book, the Qur’an, promotes idea of
manumitting (freeing) slaves
• Slaves freed after years of dedicated service; Roman
wills show slaves granted freedom upon owner’s death
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Draw Conclusions
Why might many ancient societies have practiced
slavery?
Answer(s):
To have a cheap source of manual labor;
to humiliate enemies conquered in war
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Africa and the Slave Trade
Slavery in Africa
Examples
• Institution existed for many
centuries
• Practiced by small kingdoms
and great empires
• Kanem and Bornu in Central
Africa raided nearby lands
• Egyptians and Nubians in North
Africa looked to south for slaves
Muslims
Sign of Wealth
• First entered Africa in 600s
• Expanded African slave trade;
captured or purchased Africans
from local rulers
• Traded all over Muslim world
• Served as household servants,
agricultural workers; crew
members, pearl divers
• 18 million slaves exchanged
from AD 650 to 1905
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
European Contact with Africa
• Muslim merchants traded slaves throughout Asia and
Africa, not Europe
– After collapse of Roman Empire (AD 476) Europeans isolated
– By 1100s countries of Europe ready to enter world trade again
• Period of great discovery during 1400s and 1500s
– Interest in trade and adventure led to exploration
– Reasons included
• adventure and fame
• spread of Christianity
• hope of wealth from trade
– Trade expeditions launched; lure of spices, jewels, and silks
– Africa was target for exploration
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Great African kingdoms
• Europeans heard stories of great wealth; tales of West African gold
• Mali’s legendary Mansa Musa
• European access blocked by strong Muslim kingdoms in North Africa
• By 1400s Portugal determined to find way to reach gold-rich Africa
Prince Henry the Navigator
• Portugal took early lead from his efforts; Henry gathered Europe’s
best sailors, astronomers, mapmakers
• Sent them off into Atlantic; convinced could get to Asia via Africa
• West African gold could finance future explorations
• Established trade in gold dust, salt; turned to valuable slave trade
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Recall
Why were European explorers initially interested in
Africa?
Answer(s):
To search for a sea route around Africa to
Asia and to gain gold to finance future
operations
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Africans and Europeans Trade for Slaves
Portuguese soon learned great wealth to be found in selling African
captives as slaves in European markets. With European settlement of
the Americas in 1500s, demand for labor skyrocketed.
Portuguese trade
Cheap labor
Methods changed
• Among first in
Europe to take part
• Planters islands in
Atlantic eager for
cheap labor
• No longer content
to raid villages;
turned to trade with
local African rulers
• First large-scale
shipment of slaves
arrived in Portugal
in 1444
• Triggered
increased interest
• Wealthy Europeans
sought slaves as
domestic servants
• 50,000 African slaves
in Europe by 1500
• Horses, cloth, or
grain for prisoners
of war; established
treaties with kings
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Europeans Send Slaves to the Americas
Importation of slaves to Americas minor, but profitable enterprise
• 1400s no great European demand for cheap manual labor
– But Spain, Portugal, and others expanded into the Americas
– Demand for slave labor soared
• Christopher Columbus
– Voyages of 1492 set off wave of European colonization
– Explorers attracted to wealth of resources in “New World”
– Riches to be found in gold, silver; crops of sugarcane, tobacco
– Mines and plantations (huge farms) established
• Required enormous amount of labor
– Needed to collect and process raw materials
– Initially used Native Americans as forced labor
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Resistance
Native peoples
• Growing resistance to enslavement
• Rapidly decreasing native populations
• Europeans forced to look elsewhere
Solution
• Look to African slaves—unlike Native Americans, African slaves resistant to
European diseases and could not successfully hide after escaping
• Familiar with farming methods; already worked as reliable laborers in Europe
Atlantic slave trade
• 1502 first black slaves imported to the Caribbean Americas by Portuguese
• First in small numbers, but growing demand led to active trade
• System of slaves from Africa to the Americas known as Atlantic slave trade
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Explain
Why did Europeans look to African slaves as a
source of labor in the New World?
Answer(s):
African slaves were less likely to
successfully escape; were immune to
European diseases; were familiar with
farming methods and had proven to be
reliable laborers
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Section 2: The Middle Passage
Main Idea
African slaves were transported by the millions to the Americas.
Reading Focus
• What role did the slave trade play in the triangular trade?
• What difficulties did captives face on the Middle Passage?
• What were some of the results of the slave trade?
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Building Background
The transatlantic slave trade was a key part of an
active international trade between the Old World and
the New World. Key to this trade system was the traffic
of African slaves across the Atlantic Ocean—a tragic
journey known as the Middle Passage.
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Triangular Trade
Spanish colonies
• Small numbers of African slaves to Americas in 1500s
• Spread of mines and plantations led to growing demand for slave labor
• Hispaniola and Cuba in the Caribbean; Portugal’s Brazil in South America
• Atlantic slave trade integral part of international trade system by end of
1500s
Other European powers
• Portugal and Spain joined by England, France, and the Netherlands by mid1600s
• Used slaves to work on plantations in Americas
• By mid-1700s British merchants dominated Atlantic slave trade
• Imported estimated 2.5 million slaves to Americas between 1701 and 1800
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Traffic of Slaves
Complex system
Different routes
• Trade complicated between
Old World and New World
• Europeans exchanged
manufactured goods (guns
and alcohol) for African
slaves
• Trade routes formed
triangular pattern across
Atlantic
• Triangular trade featured
exchange of goods between
Europe, Africa, and the
Americas
• Slaves transported along
Middle Passage to locations
in the Americas
• Merchants traded slaves for
raw materials (sugar,
molasses, lumber) which
were taken back to Europe
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Identify
What was the triangular trade?
Answer(s):
A trade system in which goods and
slaves were exchanged between Europe,
Africa, and the Americas
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
The Journey to the Americas
Middle Passage
Capture
• Most profitable leg of triangular
trade; slaves transported from
Africa to the Americas
• Millions were captured and
enslaved; sent to Americas
• Search began on West African
coast; majority of slaves
shipped from there
• European slave traders did not
capture slaves directly
Trading posts
Enslavement
• Obtained slaves from local
middlemen at coastal trading
posts, who got slaves from local
rulers in African interior
• Rulers received various goods
• After exchange captives
chained and marched to trading
posts like Gorée Island and
Elmina; there they waited to be
chosen for shipment
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Olaudah Equiano
• Needing good laborers, slave traders examined
captives to find healthy men and women
• Strong, young men in high demand
– One African, Olaudah Equiano, sold into slavery at
age eleven
– He later wrote about his capture and life as a slave
• Slavers
– After selection, branded and shackled captives
transferred aboard slave ships, called slavers
– They faced the horrors of the Middle Passage
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
The Middle Passage
Once aboard slave ships, African captives faced a frightening and
difficult trip to the Americas.
Voyage details
Attempts to escape
• Took three to six weeks to
complete; in crowded conditions
packed below ship’s deck
• For some death preferable to
slavery; jumped overboard or
refused to eat
• More slaves transported meant
more profit for ship captains
• Captives fought for freedom;
many accounts of uprisings on
slave ships
• Chained together, little room to
move; unsanitary conditions
• Disease and malnutrition
common; many did not survive
• Some successes, but most
uprisings failed; slaves subdued
and placed back in captivity
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Describe
What were conditions like on the Middle Passage?
Answer(s):
Captives faced crowded, unsanitary
conditions, with little food, exercise, or
fresh air.
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Effects of the Slave Trade
Impact on Africa
African kingdoms
• Human cost great
• 10 million to 12 million Africans
shipped to the Americas
• More died on forced marches,
on board ships, or resisting
• Entire communities devastated
• Wars common among rival
kingdoms to win captives
• Economically dependent on
European goods
Impact on the Americas
African diaspora
• Slaves played vital role in
settlement of many areas,
especially Brazil, the Caribbean
• Filled labor needs and helped
strengthen colonial economies
• Another result was spread of
African culture and traditions
• Scattering of Africans called
African diaspora
• Music, art, and religion spread
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Summarize
How were African kingdoms affected by the
Atlantic slave trade?
Answer(s):
Kingdoms were hurt by loss of their
people, by warfare to capture slaves, and
by economic dependence on European
goods.
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Section 3: Africans in the Americas
Main Idea
After arriving in the New World, blacks made many contributions
to the settlement of the Americas.
Reading Focus
• What different jobs did African slaves perform in the New
World?
• What role did Africans play in settling the Americas?
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Building Background
For slaves who survived the treacherous journey
known as the Middle Passage, the difficulties were far
from over. As they arrived in the New World, they were
often sold to the highest bidder. Thousands of miles
away from their homelands, they were forced to start
new lives as slaves.
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Slavery in the Americas
With no native labor force and hoping to take advantage of the rich
natural resources of the Americas, Europeans needed slave labor.
The Caribbean
• Primary destination with Spanish, English, and French colonies
• Huge plantations were set up for cash crops, agricultural products produced
primarily for profit, to be sold in Europe
• Crops included tobacco, cotton, and some sugar cane
• In 1640s large-scale sugar industry introduced with dramatic changes
• Sugar plantations required huge labor supply for planting, harvesting, and
processing; more and more slaves brought into islands
• From 6,000 slaves in 1640s, by 1682 number was 46,000
• Final total of four million slaves brought to Caribbean
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Caribbean slaves
Most on plantations
Great numbers, resistance
• Demanding and dangerous
work; 10 to 18 hours a day
• Slaves outnumbered colonists
on many islands
• Overseers employed to
manage and direct the work;
relied on violence
• Harsh laws implemented;
punishments included whipping,
burning, hanging
• Other difficulties with
exhaustion, disease, and lack
of food, medical care
• Some resisted; maroons were
runaway slaves that escaped to
isolated areas in Jamaica, Haiti,
and Cuba
• Planters imported slaves in
greater numbers from 1600s–
1700s
• Slave revolts usually failed, but
1791 revolt in Saint-Domingue
caused end to slavery there
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Mainland Latin America
Labor demand
• Other key destination for African slaves was Spanish and Portuguese
colonies in mainland Latin America; received 45 percent of all slaves
imported to Americas
• Need for slaves in Mexico, Peru, and Brazil to work mines, ranches, and
plantations
• Brazil had sugar plantations in 1540s; gold discovered in 1690s
• African slaves worked variety of jobs on sugar, coffee, and cacao
plantations; labored in Peruvian copper and silver mines; were cattle
ranchers, loggers, and fishers
• In large urban districts worked as domestic workers, merchants, and
skilled workers
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Slavery laws
Protection of slaves
Other protections
• In Mexico, Central and South
America protective laws passed
• Spanish legal code granted
right to marry; discouraged
breaking up slave families
• Catholic Church encouraged
owners to free their slaves
• Slaves free to learn reading and
writing
• Could purchase freedom
Difficult lives
Escaped slaves
• Despite laws, slaves often
overworked and mistreated
• Many ran away
• Often hid in mountains and
forests; developed Maroon
communities
• Established town near
Veracruz in 1608
• In 1630 established Republic of
Palmares in Brazil; Maroon
town lasted for 67 years
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
British North America
Colonists in North America imported far fewer slaves. Historians
estimate 600,000 or so of those transported went to North America.
• Group of 20 slaves sold in
Jamestown, Virginia in 1619
• Black and white servants signed
on as indentured servants
• As Christians not lifelong slaves;
earned freedom after number of
years of service
• Served as plantation labor,
domestic servants, and skilled
workers
• British colonies relied on
indentured servants
• Demand for slaves was low as
result of existing indenture system
• Worked in exchange for passage
• In 1640 only 150 slaves in Virginia
Growing need for permanent labor force changed level of satisfaction
with temporary labor gained from indenture system.
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Dissatisfaction with indenture
• Workers left jobs after period of service ended; employers had to find
and train new workers; indentured servants ran away and were hard
to find
– By late 1600s number of available European workers declined
– Shortage forced other labor supply; slaves were imported
• Increased number of slaves in North America
– Laws passed to regulate
– 1641 slavery legalized in Massachusetts; by 1700s slavery firmly
established in all British colonies
– New laws established for slaves to serve for life, children enslaved too
– Legal codes set restrictions on slaves; could carry no weapons, could not
travel without permission of owner
• Basis for American slavery began with these laws
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Contrast
How did slavery in British North America differ from
other regions?
Answer(s):
Far fewer slaves were imported;
temporary labor was originally more
common than slavery.
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Africans Help Settle the Americas
In addition to providing vital labor, Africans explored and settled new
territories and contributed to the region’s culture.
Exploration
Conquest and Settlement
• No doubt of role of Africans in
New World expeditions
• West African slave Juan Valiente
served as conquistador; awarded
estate ands slaves of his own
• Black slaves came with Balboa in
1513; Cortés had African slaves
as crew to Mexico in 1519
• Black crew member planted and
harvested first wheat crop in
Americas
• Estevanico crossed southwest
• Du Sable, a Haitian native,
founded permanent settlement in
area of Chicago; free blacks
helped settle Louisiana, Virginia,
North Carolina
• 1600s slaves developed profitable
rice crops in South Carolina
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
African Culture in the Americas
• Africans played crucial role in development of American culture
– Slaves continued to practice their African traditions and customs
– Over time traditions blended with European and native culture to create
unique culture of Americas
• Influence on music and food
– Brazilian capoeira, a blend of dance and martial arts, from Angolan slaves
– African musical instruments included the marimba, the banjo, and various
types of drums
– African foods include New Orleans Creole, a blend of African, Caribbean,
and European cooking
• Influence on religion and language
– Slaves blended African religious beliefs with Christian ones
– Mixed languages as shown in Haiti and Louisiana
• Great cultural diversity of Americas was the result
Holt African American History
Chapter 2
Reading Check
Explain
How did Africans help explore and settle the
Americas?
Answer(s):
They took part in early expeditions and
battles, helped explore unknown
territories, settled permanent
communities, and spread African culture