Africa+and+the+Africans+in+the+Age+of+Atlantic+Slave+Trade

20.1 Notes (pages 435-440) //Main Idea: Initially, the slave trade began when Portugal established "factories" along the African coast to satisfy domestic labor shortages. However, the demand for slaves increased after the Portuguese holding of Madeira began producing sugar.// - Portuguese ships reached the Cape of Good Hope in 1587 and established factories (forts wand tradings posts with resident merchants) --> The most important factory was El Mina (situated int he gold-rich forest zone) - Factories established with the consent of local rulers (who benefited from being exposed to European products and Portuguese defense) - Portuguese recieved ivory, pepper, animal skins, and gold - Sometimes traded with other African merchants (Mali and Songhay) - Portuguese were able to take advantage of pre-existing trade routes - Trade was basis of relationship with Africans: however, other political, religious, and social relations followed ---> Missionary efforts in Benin, Kongo, and other kingdoms (Kongo became Christian after ruler Nzinga Mvemba converted - To Portuguese Africans = savages capable of conversion to Christianity - Foundation of Luanda (Angola) and outpost on Mozambique Island - Other European nations followed Portugal's lead (Dutch, English, and French setup trading stations and exerted influence through military and diplomatic means) - 1441 - Portugal starts to import slaves --> traded with African rulers (in 1460, 500 slaves/year imported) - Additional motivation to slave trade caused by emergence of sugar plantations in Madeira and later on Brazil to fill labor demands //Main Idea: Between the 15th century and the 18th century, the number of slaves involved in the trans-Atlantic triangular trade increased dramatically.// - Between 1450 and 1850, 12 million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic (only 10-11 million arrived b/c of 20% mortality rate) - As many as 1/3 captured slaves died as a result of forced marches and slaving wars - In the 18th century, 7 million slaves exported (in the 19th century Brazil took an additional 1 million slaves) - Number of slaves needed b/c mortality remained high and fertility was low (not many women) --> loss of life - US = exception; slave population tended to expand through natural population growth and made up 1/4 of the population while in the Caribbean slaves made up 80-90 percent - Caribbean and Brazil = major slave destinations (Brazil = 3.5 - 5 million slaves; 42% of total) - Majority of Slaves exported from Senegambia region (from west central Africa in 17th century); also important were the Gold Coast and the Slave Coast (Benin - 10,000 slaves a year) ---> wars in Central Africa started as a result of the slave trade //Main Idea: The slave trade caused demographic shifts not only in the New World but also in Africa as well, whose population was around 1/2 of what it would have been without the slave trade by 19th century.// - Most female slaves = concubines and domestic servants - Slave trade centered around men (b/c of nature of work they were performing) - Some figures suggest that Africa's 25 million population was 1/2 of what it would have been w/o slave trade) --> result of male-dominated character of trade and captive women and children in Africa) --> eventually new food crops helped population recovery //Main Idea: A// n //increasingly complex trade system was established between Europe and Africa to facilitate exchange of slaves.// - Control of slave ports indicative of power of European nations (Portugal dominant until 1630; Dutch became competitors after they seized El Mina in 1637; by 1660s, England engaged in slave trade for colonies in Jamaica, Barbados, and Virginia --> creation of Royal African Company; French major carrier in 18th century) - Europeans who went to ports faced inherent dangers in disease (10% of the Royal African Company's employees returned to England) - Europeans paid local rulers w/ currency (gold bars, iron bars, etc)--- Spanish "Indies piece" system (women and children less expensive) - Each nation tried to establish a monopoly on slave trading in certain regions; private merchants tried to circumvent this - Slavery immensely profitable (300% returns on voyages + shipbuilding industry boost) - Became dangerous (profit margins - 5-10%; still more stable than many other careers) - Triangular trade became central in Atlantic economy (slaves sent to New World; raw goods sent to Europe; manufactured goods sent to Africa) - Slavery contributed to continuing development of capitalism
 * The Atlantic Slave Trade**
 * Trend Towards Expansion**
 * Demographic Patterns**
 * Organization of the Trade**

20.2 Notes (pages 440 - 448) //Main Idea: The introduction of the European slave trade lead to a shakeup of political organization in Africa.// - Interactions with Europeans changed the character of slavery in Africa (but preexistence of slavery in Africa may have helped speed European process) - African societies = nonegalitarian --> had slaves tied to kinship networks before full-scale Atlantic trade - Enslavement of women = central feature of African slavery (lead to practices like polygyny, creaion of large harems, lower social status of women) - Some Muslims like Ahmad Baba of Timbuktu spoke out against slavery - Africans would often enslave their neighbors --> led to large centralized states //Main Idea: African politics saw a marked change towards consolidation and centralization in response to the slave trade.// - states in western and central Africa were small and fragmented ---> slave trade lead to wide scale consolidation, usually through warfare - a counter movement to large scale slavery saw some societies form ideas about self-sufficiency and anti-authoritarianism - coastal states attempted to gain power over slave trade, but were in competition w/ European built factories - towards the interior, African states grew more powerful w/ slave trade //Main Idea: The African states of Asante and Dahomey benefited particular from this new slave trade system.// - Asante - state that benefited heavily from slave trade; leader title = asantehene; Osei Tutu helped to expand nation through military reform and idea of unity; received formal recognition from the Dutch; most powerful state on the Gold Coast (sold slaves and gold) - State of Benin tried to avoid major participation in the slave trade - Dahomey = state whose trade dealt with guns and slaves; eradicated royal families and customs of the area in expansion; King Agaja gained control of Whydah, important coastal port; exported 1.8 million slaves between 1640 to 1890 //Main Idea: East Africa, although it retained a strong Bantu-speaking base, was swept by another wave of Islamic expansion, especially in Sudan.// - After the Songhay decline, Fulani people turned toward violent, radicalized version of Islam. - Commerce continued on the east coast (Swahili coast) of Africa with a European presence - Trade to the interior included slaves, ivory, and gold (slaves from the east coast were exported to Arabia and the Middle East to serve as domestic servants) - Plantations in places like Mauritius (some offshore islands had slave populations of up to 100,000) - Interior of East Africa had many people from Bantu language group - Islam spread through Sudan (new Sufi variant via Fulani people) //Main Idea: South Africa saw major demographic shifts during the 18th and 19th century because of European intrusion from the Dutch and British.// - Dutch Colony in South Africa came in violent contact w/ Bantu-speaking tribes - In 16th century, Bantu people occupied southeastern Africa while hunters lived in Kalahari desert in the West - Chiefdoms comprised the main political unit (created competition for leadership positions) - Cape Colony farms employed Indonesian, Asian, and African slaves - Independent boer states = voortrekkers (Great Trek happened with British took control of formerly Dutch Cape Colony and banned slavery in 1834) //Main Idea: The Zulu and other tribes rise to power lead to continually warfare called mfecane, including clashes with white Boers.// - Zulu unified under Shaka Zula in 1818 -> reformed military organization, new weapons, tight authoritarian control - Rise of African states lead to mfecane (wars of crushing and wandering) --> leads to mass migrations because of constant warfare - Zulu clashed with South Africa Dutch called Boers, who moved north after British took control of South Africa 20.3 Notes (pages 448 - 448) //Main Idea: Slaves were transported in and forced to work in awful conditions.// - Slaves were often loaded onto ships in horrid conditions by the hundreds before their trans-Atlantic journeys; morality rate was around 18% before the 18th century - The Middle Passage was the name for this treacherous journey - Still, Africans retained traditions, cultures, and beliefs and mixed them with New World cultures //Main Idea: Slaves supplied the main labor force for the New World.// - Mixed race and creole slaves were often assigned to work as domestic servants rather than in the field (manumission) - Indigenous slaves eventually became replaced by African slaves in New World (they were often times better able to cope with the strenuous conditions. - Although most slaves were agricultural laborers, others had other occupations like artisans, street vendors, and household servants //Main Idea:// //Different social hierarchies were formed after saltwater slaves were imported to America.// - Saltwater slaves = slaves that were imported from Africa in the trans-Atlantic middle passage - Creole slaves = mulattos - Strict hierarchies formed as a result; whites on top; slaves on the bottom; free coloreds in the middle - African religious leaders still had influence within the African slave community - In Caribbean slave plantations lead to 80% of the population being black; Brazil had 35 percent slaves - In America, whites began relying on African slaves to reproduce, instead of importing them from Africa //Main Idea: Africans tried to retain their sense of culture through religion and other means and often lead to revolt.// - Slaves retained their sense of African culture, but they did have to amend them to fit constraints of the New World - Slaves were converted to either Catholicism (Spain and France) or Protestantism (England), but African religions of obeah, candomble, and vodon still continued to exist in some form - Resistance and rebellion key trend in slave history: Recalcitrance, runaway communities, Palmares, Suriname --> AfroAmerican culture //Main Idea: The slave trade ended after a confluence of economic, political, religious, and philosophical pressures.// - economic, political, and religious changes in Europe lead to abolition - Influenced by the Enlightenment, the age of revolution, Christian revivalism, and perhaps the Industrial Revolution - Still hard to identify direct and simple link between economics and end of slavery - Anti-slavery intellectuals (Adam Smith, Jean-Jacques Rousseau) criticized slavery on moral grounds - William Wilberforce helped the British to initially end the slave trade; Spain, Portugal and others followed (finally abolished in Brazil by 1888)
 * African Societies, Slavery, and the Slave Trade**
 * Slaving and African Politics**
 * Asante and Dahomey**
 * East Africa and the Sudan**
 * White Settlers and Africans in South Africa**
 * The Mfecane and Zulu Rise to Power**
 * Slave Lives**
 * African in the Americas**
 * American Slave Societies**
 * The People and Gods in Exile**
 * The End of the Slave Trade and the Abolition of Slavery**