Slavery in Africa:

1. Slavery in Africa: The African Slave Trade

2. Images of Slavery: Are any of these images familiar to you? Why?

3. Slavery in Africa Before European Contact • Slave Trafficking Centuries Old • West African Kingdoms • Mali & Songhai • War Spoils • Ancient Practice Nile River Valley • Egypt – Nubians • Trans-Saharan Trade • 10th Century C.E. • Type of Slavery Differentiated • Domestic • Familial • Chattel

4. The Age of Exploration • Portugal • Henry The Navigator • Vasco da Gama • Gold, Spices, Slaves • Africa • Coast of West Africa • Trading Ports • New Trade Routes

5. European Influence: Sugar & Slavery • Sugar Plantations • Sao Tome & Principe • W. Coast Africa • Portuguese • Established in New World • Portugal & Spain (S. Amer.) • Late 15th Century • African Slaves Preferred • European Criminals Succumbed • Tropical Diseases • Native Americans Succumbed • Diseases and Maltreatment • African Survival Rate High

6. European Influence: Sugar & Slavery European Slave Exports (estimates) 1500’s – 275,000 1600’s – 1,000,000+ 1700’s – 6,000,000 1800’s – 2,000,000+ *6% to N. America

7. African Slave Markets • African monarchs saw slave income potential • Europeans lacked means/motivation to capture slaves • European demand increased African slave raids • Europeans Willing to create conflict between Africans • Traded for gold & manufactured European goods

8. African Slave “Castles” Description of Elmina Castle Elmina, like other West African slave fortresses, housed luxury suites for the Europeans in the upper levels. The slave dungeons below were cramped and filthy, each cell often housing as many as 200 people at a time, without enough space to even lie down. The floor of the dungeon, as result of centuries of impacted filth and human excrement, is now several inches higher than it was when it was built. Outbreaks of malaria and yellow fever were common. Staircases led directly from the governor's chambers to the women's dungeons below, making it easy for him to select personal concubines from amongst the women.

9. African Slave “Castles” “Door of No Return” El Mina Castle - Ghana “The Dungeon” El Mina Castle - Ghana

10. Triangular Trade & “The Middle Passage” • Direct route carrying slaves from Africa to The New World • Journey Could Last Several Months • Est. 15% of Slaves Died Aboard Amistad Film Clip

11. Demographic & Social Consequences in Africa • Some regions became sparsely populated • Angola, Congo River Basin, Parts of E. Africa • Men targeted more than women • Disproportionate number of women in many societies • As high as 20% to European destinations were children • Able-Bodied Men Lacking to Cultivate Land • Economy and Society Suffer as a result • European models replace traditional African economic and social structures

12. Abolitionist Movement and The End of the Slave Trade • French Enlightenment Philosophies Spread Through Europe 18th Century • Slavery deemed immoral • Slavery Deemed Inefficient Economically • Adam Smith • British led abolitionist movement • Navy Patrolled African Coast For Slave Ships • Created Freed Slave Colony (Sierra Leone) • Sugar Availability Rose Greatly Late 18th Century • Slave Uprisings Frightened Europeans • Haiti, 1791 • By 19th Century End, Slave Trade Outlawed Internationally Interactive Map Link: Abolition

13. Making Connections: Discuss these questions with a partner • How do you think the decline of the slave trade helped lead to European “New Imperialism” in Africa during the late 19th century? • Do you think the decline of the slave trade had an effect on missionary work in Africa? Why/How?