Africa+and+the+Slave+Trade

notes pg.435-440

The Atlantic Slave Trade


 * __main__: the slave trade expanded to meet demand for labor in the new american colonies. sugar plantations and the gold rush recquired this labor.
 * portuguese established **__fac__t__ories__** (forts and trading ports with resident merchants)
 * __**El Mina**__- most important factory...allowed portuguese to exercise control with only a few personnel
 * port. not strong enough to enforce their will on west african states
 * much of port. success resulted from their ability to penetrate african trade routes, which they could also add special items
 * trade was basis of port. relations with africans
 * Missionary efforts were made to convert the rulers of Benin, Kongo, etc.
 * **__Nzinga Mvemba__**- ruler of Kongo brought christianity to his whole kingdom
 * enslavement of Mvemba's subjects led to try and end the slave trade and limit Port. activities
 * **__Luanda__**- basis for Portu. colony of Angola
 * in the middle ages slavery was replaced by serfdom
 * port. voyages opened direct channal to sub-saharan africa
 * sugar production demanded many workersand constant labor under difficult conditions
 * by 1600, the slave trade predominated over all other kinds of commerce on the african coast

Trend Toward Expansion
 * __main__- the 18th century was was the great age of the atlantic slave trade sometimes there were more slaves than natives in an area. as other countries developed sugar production, they also needed more slaves
 * about 3 million slaves lived in the americas
 * the only way to mantain or expand the numbers of slaves was by importing more from arica since a lot of them were dying
 * english and frecnh began to grow sugar too so they also had important terminals for slavers
 * the older trans-sahara, red sea, and east african slave trades remained in the hands of Muslims
 * by the 17th century, west central africa became the main supplier of slaves

Demographic Patterns
 * __mai__n- the atlantic slave trade concentrated on men, so women and children mostly occupied their homeland in africa.
 * planters and mine workers seeking for heavy labor, mean are stronger
 * not eager to buying children because of the high levels o mortality
 * african societies preferred to keep women and children as slaves or to extend existing kin groups
 * as atlantic trade developed, new crops were introduced to africa that provided new food resources for the population and helped recover from losses to the slave trade

Organization of the Trade
 * __main__- control of the slave trade or a portion of it generally reflected the political situation of Europe. the royal african company ensured that england got slaves too.
 * for 1 and a half centuries, the port. controlled most of coastal trade and were major suppliers of spanish america and brazil
 * growth of slave-based plantation colonies in Caribbean led Europeans to compete with port. Dutch became major competitors when they seized El Maiza in 1637
 * **__Royal African Company__**- gave england their own source of slaves
 * each nation established merchant towns or trade forts from which a steady source of captived would be obtained
 * tropical disease in africa
 * slave trade proved deadly to all involved
 * **__Indies Peice__**- what a healthy man was called
 * some groups used their position to tax the movement of slaves
 * in the long run, profitability levels of the slave trade were not so high
 * not a major source of the capital needed for the Industrial Revolution
 * **__triangular trade__**- slaves to america, sugar and tobacco to europe, european products to africa and it started again
 * contributed to the formation of emerging capitalism in the atlantic world
 * slave trade was a miin reason why africa was linked to increasing integrated economy of the world

notes pg. 440-448

African societies, Slavery, and the Slave Trade


 * main- slave trade influenced african forms of servitude and the social and political development of african states...new powerful states in the Sudan and east and west africa
 * people were considered things
 * slavery was one of the few ways one would increase their status
 * Before the Portuguese reached the African coast, slavery was already evident in African societies, rulers used them as servants, concubines, soldiers, administrators, and field workers.
 * Slaves were used as servants, concubines, soldiers, administrators, and field workers.
 * Slavery was already present in the African society before Europeans reached the coast. They lived under harsh conditions, and almost always viewed as inferior.
 * Many Sudanic states enslaved captured Muslims.
 * African kings did not enslave their own people, unless their people were criminals, but instead they enslaved their neighbors.

Slaving and African Politics
 * Main Idea: The European presence in Africa led to an increase in foreign trade, it also gave the Europeans the opportunity to capture slaves from the central states of Africa.
 * Many African states were small and fragmented, inevitably leading to instability, due to frequent wars driven by competition amongst states. The recurring wars promoted the importance of military.
 * The presence of the Europeans in the African coast led to closer contacts with trading industries; when they received too much power, the Europeans established forts to prevent centralization.
 * The West and central states had access to European goods, such as firearms, iron, horses, cloth, tobacco, and other goods; then redirected their trade towards the coast.

Asante and Dahomey
 * Main Idea: Asante's slave trade made up 2/3 of their economy while Dahomey's slave trade was center of theirs. In these states, the slave trade was necesary for their economy.
 * The **Asante** state- members of the Akan clan - was ruled by **asantehene** (similar to emperor) **Osei Tutu** became to conquer surrounding areas.The Dutch took action in 1700.
 * Slaves made almost 2/3 of Asante's trade.Gold making up the rest.
 * The kingdom of Benin was at the height of its power when the Europeans arrived. Due to the power of the oba, slave trade was limited.
 * Once the kingdom of Dahomey had access to firearms, it enabled rulers to create a brutal political regimes based on the slave trade.
 * Ruling in Africa was similar to the ruling in Europe
 * Crafts such as bronze casting, woodcarving, and weaving flourished.
 * Europeans came to enjoy African arts.

East Africa and Sudan
 * Main Idea: Islamization played an extensive role on their religious beliefs, trying to convert the people of Africa to Islam while slavery was taking over most of the economic system
 * The Swahili trading cities were constantly exporting ivory, gold, and an abundance of slaves.
 * Swahili, Indian, and Arabian merchants followed the European model and set up clove-producing plantations using African slave laborers.
 * Zanzibar had a slave population of about 100,000 slaves, all of which were African.
 * The Luo peoples, contributed to the development of related dynasties among the states in the are of the large lakes of east central Africa.
 * The process of Islamization led to a new and violent stage that not only linked it to the external slave trade and the growth of slavery but also produced long-term effects.
 * The Muslim reform had a great impact on the **Fulani** ( a postoral people who were spread across a broad area of western Sudan).
 * Literacy became more widely dispersed.
 * In the western and central part of Sudan, slave labor rose, especially along trade routes. They developed peanuts.

White settlers and Africans in Southern Africa
 * Main Idea: Along with the Boers came a great dependence on the slave trade, but were soon seized by the British in 1815...before the arrival of the Dutch East India Company, the Bantu-speaking peoples occupied much of southern Africa.
 * The southern end of the continent was little affected by the slave trade.
 * The Bantu-speaking peoples took up much of Southern Africa, they practiced mainly agriculture and herding; worked iron and copper into tools, weapons, and adornments; and traded with their neighbors.
 * Cheifs held power with the support of relatives and with the acceptance of people. Their were lots of pressures from competition.
 * In 1652, the Dutch East India Company established a colony at the Cape of Good Hope for ships sailing to Asia. The colony depended on slave labor brought from Indonesia and Asia, but soon turned to the locals.
 * As Boers were pushing northward, the southern Bantu were extending their movement to the south.
 * British seized control of the Cape Colony in 1815.
 * Voortrekkers (English-speaking immigrants), created a numerous amount of Boer states. They staged their Great Trek far to the north to be free of government interference.

The Mfecane and the Zulu Rise to Power
 * Main Idea: The Zulu focused on strictly military power after power fell into the hands of military tactician Shaka who led his warriors into the mfecane.
 * A unification process had begun in some of the northern chiefdoms, and a new military organization had emerged. In 1818, Shaka reformed the loose forces into regiments organized by lineage and age.
 * This new military organization began to destroy his neighbors. His cruel behavior led to enemies within his own people.
 * The rise of the Zulu and other Nguni chiefdoms was the beginnning of the **mfecane**, or wars of crushing and wandering.
 * **Swazi** adapted aspects of the Zulu model.
 * However, **Lesotho** resisted the Zulu example.
 * The Zulu power was crushed in the 1870s by Great Britain.

notes pg. 448-454

The African Diaspora
 * main idea: In the Americas, slaves became a large part of the population and african cultures were adapted to new environments and conditions.
 * slave trade linked the americas with africa
 * prices of slaves rose steadily in 18th century
 * terms of trade increasingly favored the african dealers

Slave Lives
 * main idea: The Middle Passage was traumatic to slaves coming to America because of the harsh treatment and horrible conditions they were exposed to not to mention the diseases that were formed because of their closeness on the ships for long hours at a time.
 * slavery meant destruction of their villages or their capture in a war
 * conditions were deadly
 * too crowded and way too much time in the ship...very bad conditions
 * the slaves' situation sometimes led to suicides or resistance and munity on the ships
 * when they arrived in America, their language, beliefs, artistic traditions, and memories of their past were still with them

Africans in the Americas
 * main idea: Slaves were mainly brought to the plantation areas of America where most labor was needed, especially for sugar production and later cotton and tobacco and rice plantations.
 * native americans were used in brazil and hispaniola
 * the plantation system of farming with a dependant or enslaved workforce characterized the production of many tropical and semitropical crops in demand in Europe, so the plantation became the locus of african and american life
 * slaves also worked in mining, artisans, street vendors, household servants,
 * although most were agricultural laborers, africans ranged in any job

American Slave Societies
 * main idea: each american slave-based society reflected the variation of its european origin and its component of african cultures
 * saltwater slaves- almost invariably black and their american-born descendents
 * Creole Slaves- mulattos as a result of sexual exploitation of women slaves
 * hierarchy of status evolved where free whites were at the top, slaves were on the bottom, and free people of color had an intermediate position
 * creole and mulatto slaves were given opportunities to acquire skilled jobs or to work in houses rather than in fields or mines
 * also they were more likely to get freedom by manumision, voluntary freeing of slaves
 * distinction between african and creole slaves divided the community
 * brazil also had a great number of african slaves but it had a more diverse population and economy, as well as a tradition of manumitting slaves and high levels of miscegenation, so slaves only made up about 35 percent of the population
 * slavery in north america was less influenced by africa

The People and Gods in Exile
 * main idea: some slaveholders tried to mix up the slaves on their plantations so that strong african identities were lost but colonial dependence on slavers who consistently dealt with the same region tended to undercut these policies
 * family formation was difficult b/c there were so little female slaves
 * family members might be seperated by sale or by a master's whim...but most slaves lived in family units
 * afro-american culture reflceted through specific african roots adapted to a new reality
 * slaves were converted to catholicism by spaniards and portuguese
 * obeah- name given to african religious practice
 * brazil- candomble...haiti- vodun...(african religions flourished)
 * 1835 in Bahia...muslim african slaves organized revolt against whites and nonbelievers
 * communities of runaway slaves formed
 * palmares- in brazil (17th century)...enormous runaway slave kingdom with many villages and population of 8000 to 10,000 people
 * they resisted portuguese and dutch attempts to destroy it for over a century
 * suriname- former dutch plantation colony...large number of slaves ran off in the 18th century and started a mini war against people who tried to hunt them down in the rain forest

The End of the Slave Trade and the Abolition of Slavery
 * main idea: the end of the slave trade and abolition of slavery was because of economic, political, and religious changes in EUROPE and the american colonies.
 * enlightenment, age of revolution, christian revivalism, industrial revolution, were external to africa
 * some african societies started trading other goods like oils, peanuts, cotton, etc. so dependence on slave trade was deccreased
 * opponents of slavery and brutality of the trade appeared in mid-18th century b/c of new intellectual movements going on in the West
 * england was the key to ending the slave trade as it was the major maritime power of the period
 * William Wilberforce- abolitionist
 * British navy was used to enforce abolition of slave trade by capturing illegal slave boats
 * full abolition of the americas was in 1888 when brazil abolished it