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ATLANTIC SLAVERY

ATLANTIC SLAVERY. Introductory class. Today. :- develop a comparative understanding of the subject of slavery, and of the importance of Atlantic slavery; :- look at some of the sources and methods historians can use to study the subject.

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ATLANTIC SLAVERY

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  1. ATLANTIC SLAVERY Introductory class

  2. Today :- develop a comparative understanding of the subject of slavery, and of the importance of Atlantic slavery; :- look at some of the sources and methods historians can use to study the subject. :- and in the final part, compare both oral sources and the trans-Atlantic slave trade database.

  3. Question • What do you know as a class about Atlantic slavery at the beginning of the course, and how it is relevant to learning about the history of West Africa?

  4. Atlantic Slavery, History and Historiography • A Whiggish history….? Not really… • African history and the historiography of slavery – the place of the Abolition discourse • Slavery leads to a picture of a barbarised Africa which needs saving through colonialism/conversion/ development • We cannot study African history without slavery, but we must be aware of the historical context that implies

  5. Some Distinctive Features of Atlantic Slavery • Economic production: many systems of slavery around the world (eg North African, Roman) did not use slaves primarily for profit • Racial characteristic: slaves in other world systems were often from a diversity of ethnic backgrounds • The exclusionary nature of the institution: Atlantic slavery excluded people on the basis of background; however slavery was often in West Africa a way of incorporating outsiders and expanding a society

  6. A further question… • How should we study Atlantic slavery, and why does it matter to West African schoolchildren today?

  7. Sources used: Written Historical Sources • Impressionistic, descriptive accounts • Economic or legal data including :- Numbers of slaves shipped and types of goods exchanged for :- Ethnic origins of slaves, especially in Spanish America in 16th-17th centuries

  8. Non-quantitative elements for discussing Atlantic slave trade • Cultural, social and political consequences • Ritual and production consequences • Those who died before reaching the coast or in wars fought to procure slaves – by no means the whole story

  9. Best source for economic/legal data • www.slavevoyages.org • Guide to using the resource here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YwVvIHHCw0

  10. Question • Divide into small groups (5 people) – identify positive features and problems with using this type of evidence as a resource

  11. The database • www.slavevoyages.org • Total estimate 12,221,536 between 1501 and 1866 • 1501-1600 – 277,506 • 1601-1700 – 1,875,631 • 1701-1800 – 6,494,619 • 1801-1866 – 3,873,580

  12. Other Sources • Oral histories • Patterns of social organization • Analysis of contemporary rituals reflecting hidden histories

  13. Question • What can we learn from oral sources, and how might they complement other available sources?

  14. Case Study for Analysis of Atlantic Slavery • Toby Green, The Rise of the Trans-Atlantic Salve Trade in Western Africa, 1300-1589 (Cambridge University Press, 2012)

  15. Case Study (1): Region studied, Caboverdean Region, 16th-17th centuries

  16. Case Study (2) Caboverdean region in the Atlantic World, 16th-17th Centuries

  17. Written Sources used (next 2 slides) • 1, written accounts of Capeverdean traders from the 16th century • 2, summaries of ethnicities of Africans arriving in the New World from the Archivo General de las Indias (Seville)

  18. Case Study (3): Oral sources used from the Oral History Archive, Fajara, The Gambia http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cu43kh8yZ1s

  19. Summary Discussion • What sources do historians use to analyse the history of the Atlantic slave trade? • What are the potentials and problems inherent to these sources? • What questions should senior secondary school students ask of this history: its relevance today, its problems, and how it should be studied and written about?

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