Slave Trade and European Imperialism

1. Slave Trade and European Imperialism

2. The Slave Trade • When Europeans began to colonize the Americas, they used Native Americans for slave labor. • Diseases, however, decreased the population of Native American slaves dramatically. • The Native Americans were not used to diseases the colonists carried. • By the mid-1600’s, colonists in the Americas had turned to Africa as a new source of labor.

3. Triangular Trade • A pattern of trade known as triangular trade occurred between Europe, the Americas, and Africa. • Merchants from Europe brought manufactured goods to trade for captured and enslaved Africans in one leg of the triangle. • Africans were traded for items such as guns and cloth from Europe, and rum and gunpowder from the American colonies.

4. Triangular Trade • Another part of the trade triangle was known as the Middle Passage. Enslaved Africans were transported from Africa to the West Indies on crowded, dangerous ships. • They were traded for sugar, molasses, and other products in the Americas. • These agricultural goods were shipped to Europe and European colonies, making up the third leg of the trade triangle.

5. Triangular Trade • A Dutch ship that landed in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619 was the first known slave ship in North America. • The ship left Africa carrying 100 Africans, but arrived in Jamestown with only 20. • It was common for people to perish on slave ships. Often the ships carried hundreds of people in dangerous conditions. • They were chained together by their hands and feet. • The people were held in spaces that were only tall enough to sit in, so they were unable to stand up. • Illness spread quickly in the slave ships, and many Africans died in transit between Africa and the colonies.

6. Triangular Trade • They were chained together by their hands and feet. • The people were held in spaces that were only tall enough to sit in, so they were unable to stand up. • Illness spread quickly in the slave ships, and many Africans died in transit between Africa and the colonies.

7. Colonization of Africa • At first, European explorers would only explore the coasts of Africa. • The interior was unexplored and unknown. Exploration became safer as science improved. Most of Africa had been mapped by the mid-19th century. • Steamships and railroads allowed travel into the continent. • This started the age of colonialism. • Colonialism is the forced control of one nation by another nation.

8. Reasons for Colonization • Africa is a continent of vast wealth. • It has many raw materials such as cotton, rubber, ivory, and minerals that are not found in Europe. • South Africa is rich in diamonds and gold. • New industries in Europe needed metals like copper and tin. • The industrial revolution in Europe needed more raw materials.

9. Reasons for Colonization • Europeans also used Africa as a source of cheap labor. • African countries were new markets for European goods. • They wanted to keep a positive trade balance. • A trade balance is the difference in value between a country’s imports and exports. • The trade balance is favorable when exports are greater than imports.

10. Suez Canal • Colonizing Africa made it possible to create secure trade routes for European countries. • The Suez Canal was the most important trade route. • It is a man-made water route between Europe and Asia. • The Suez Canal is located in Egypt, and was completed in 1869. • Before its construction, ships had to travel around the continent of Africa. • Both the British and French wanted to control the canal. • Cities and forts on the coast of Africa helped protect trade ships.

11. European Way • Europeans wanted to change African culture to be more like European culture. • A missionary is a person who goes to a foreign country to spread his or her religion. • Missionaries brought Christianity to Africa. • They also tried to end the slave trade.

12. Beginnings of New Imperialism • The end of the 19th century is called the age of New Imperialism, which refers to countries competing for land and power. • The growth of European colonies in Africa is called “The Scramble for Africa”.

13. Great Britain • Great Britain and France fought for control of the region. • The British took control of the Cape Colony from the Dutch in the early 1800’s so that the French could not control it. • The British also controlled some forts in West Africa, which gave them control of the gold and ivory trade. • Britain took control of the Suez Canal and Egypt.

14. France • France wanted to increase its trade. • It also wanted to spread French culture. By 1848, the French established themselves in northern Algeria, their first colony. • Trade outposts were built in West Africa for the slave trade. • Most of the French-controlled land was desert. • The French also traded palm oil and timber.

15. Belgium • Belgium was also competing for African land. • King Leopold II purchased the Congo River basin with money from investors. • Belgians did not support the purchase. • The amount of land purchased was bigger than Belgium itself. • The king wanted to make sure that other European countries could not control the region.

16. Berlin Conference • The Berlin Conference was a series of meetings in Berlin, Germany, held by European nations from 1884 to 1885. • African rulers did not attend. • The European nations discussed Africa’s land and how they wanted it to be divided. • Ten percent of Africa was in European hands going into the meeting. • Europeans owned most of Africa by its end.