Over the course of more than three and a half centuries, west africa exported about half of the roughly 12. Slavery in africa whether slavery existed within subsaharan african iron age kingdoms before the arrival of europeans is hotly contested among african studies scholars. These people were packed onto to crowded ships, and brought to the new world, the americans, as a source of free labor. There is evidence that enslaved people from some parts of africa were exported to states in africa, europe, and asia prior to the european colonization of the americas the atlantic slave trade was not the only slave trade from africa, although it was the largest in volume and. The peoples of west africa had a rich and varied history and culture long before european slaver traders arrived. They were forced to treat africans as equals, he told time. First, the slave trade discouraged statebuilding and encouraged slave raiding. West africa and the role of slavery united states history i.
Whereas the majority of slaves are being taken from west africa, the impact of the slave trade is probably greater in central africa. The survey of this vibrant scholarly tradition throws light on major theoretical and interpretive shifts over time and. The moors of west africa and the beginnings of the. The plantations were established in the americas instead, and the expensive transatlantic slave trade was necessary to bring them labour. There were additional routes to the new world from mozambique, zanzibar and madagascar on the east side of africa. Slave trade from africa to the americas slavery in america, an educators site made possible by new york life slave trade routes from africa to the americas during the period 16501860 are shown. Drawing on extensive archival records, this digital memorial allows analysis of the ships, traders, and captives in the atlantic slave trade. In fact, the slave trade map not only lends substance to this early form of international trade, but also, by showing the courses it took, illuminates the impact of the system. The majority of african captives were exported from the coast of west africa, some 3,000 miles between what is now senegal and angola, and mostly from. A north east story scotland, africa and slavery in the caribbean. West africa and the atlantic slave trade walter rodney.
During the first part or leg, european goods such as alcohol, firearms and textiles were shipped to west africa. Slavery origins of slavery slavery in the caribbean and the americas was a relatively modern phenomenon, however slavery and other forms of enforced or bonded labour were not unknown to the northern and western europeans who colonised the caribbean and americas. Recent revisions of estimates for the volume of the transatlantic slave trade suggest that approximately 11,863,000 slaves were exported from africa during the whole period of the atlantic slave trade, which is a small upward revision of my 1982 synthesis and still well within the range projected by. In the early 1500s, slaves were transported from west africa to america through badagry. Slavery origins of slavery home the national archives. In this sense the slave trade was the result of african strength. Muslims from the barbary states north african countries such as algiers. The internal trade was conducted within the african continent itself. Slaves for the transatlantic slave trade were initially sourced in senegambia and the windward coast. How did it shape the fortunes of an entire continent.
It focuses on the past 500 years, a period that witnessed dramatic transformations in african political and social systems, as well as the consequences of european expansion, the advent of the atlantic slave trade, and the expansion of islamic polities in the west african sahel. This population, while divided into numerous ethnic, linguistic, and political. Other west africans devised short and longterm mechanisms to resist the slave trade including. Looking at the relationship between gdp per capita today and participation in the slave trade centuries ago, nunn 2008 4 finds that the slave trade had a negative longterm effect on economic performance. A map depicting the three most wellknown west african kingdoms. Unlike the nazis fiveyear holocaust in world war ii, it was not driven by hatred and a. Although slavery has been practiced for almost the whole of recorded history, the vast numbers involved in the african slave trade has left a legacy which cannot be ignored. The compatibility of the slave and palm oil trades in dahomey, 18181858 elisee soumonni4.
In addition to abolishing the slave trade, britain took on a policing role, sending naval vessels to the atlantic coast of western africa to seize slave ships. Around 1650 the trade moved to west central africa the kingdom of the kongo and neighboring angola. Daniel domingues da silva here applies the voyages database to critique. The british forts and trade posts of subsaharan west africa afforded britain the ability to. Pdf west african archaeology and the atlantic slave trade. Historians have marshalled a vast array of sources and offered rich and compelling explanations for these two great tragedies in human history. Landscapes of the slave trade in senegal and the gambia.
By 1444, slaves were being brought from africa to work on the sugar plantations of the madeira islands, off the coast of modern morocco. Slavery and slave trade in west africa, 14501930 patrick manning. The warfare, disruption, underdevelopment, and population decline resulting from the slave trade had a profound impact on west africa. Over a period of about 400 years, about 1015 million african people were kidnapped and sold into slavery. The three databases below provide details of 36,000 transatlantic slave voyages, 10,000 intraamerican ventures, names and personal information. The name is derived from the regions history as a major source of africans that were taken into slavery during the atlantic slave trade from the early 16th century to the. Slave trade history sites in west africa tripsavvy. Understand the changing and international nature of the slave trade by correlating specific countries with their century of greatest involvement in the slave trade 3. This barter occurred chiefly between the medieval era and the early 20th century. The atlantic slave trade from west central africa, 17801867, a recent edition within the cambridge studies in the african diaspora series, asserts that west central african economic agency was essential to the continued supply of african bodies to the atlantic slave trade after abolition of the trade by european powers. Slavery has existed throughout the world since ancient times, and trading in slaves has been equally universal. Effect of the slave trade on west africa schoolworkhelper. Nevertheless, the 1526 voyage set out from the other major portuguese factory in west africa sao tome in the bight of biafra though the slaves almost certainly. The major european slave trade began with portugals exploration of the west coast of africa in search of a trade route to the east.
Animated interactive of the history of the atlantic slave trade. Its important to grasp how events in west africa were connected to those in north africa and even in europe by the 11 th century. Research the history of the transatlantic slave trade 2. The curious history of slavery in africa cornell research.
The arab slave trade is the intersection of slavery and trade surrounding the arab world and indian ocean, mainly in western and central asia, northern and eastern africa, india, and europe. African societies and the beginning of the atlantic slave trade article. Lovejoy bio this special issue of african economic history focuses on documents on the legal dimensions of slavery and the efforts of colonial regimes, particularly british and french, to understand the local context of slavery and then to reform the institution in ways that would. From slave trade to legitimate commerce edited by robin law. Benin and ghana are current designations of areas called differently at the time of. Unable to tax land, which had little value, african states had to rely on trade taxes for revenue. It involved trade between north africa and west africa on the one hand and east, central and southern africa on the other hand. The second set of documents document 2 is the correspondence seized by the british in the occupation of lagos in 1851 and include materials in portuguese and the translations of these documents that were undertaken by british officials so that the efforts to suppress the slave trade from west africa could be better enforced. The gambia river, running from the atlantic into africa, was a key waterway for the slave trade. Pdf the archaeological record has revealed the advent of the atlantic trade. Rodney argues that the slave trade fundamentally altered african economies. The name is derived from the regions history as a major source of africans that were taken into slavery during the atlantic slave trade from the early 16th century to the late 19th century. West africa during the atlantic slave trade surveys archaeological data from senegal to the cameroon. Jan 26, 2018 the transatlantic slave trade began around the midfifteenth century when portuguese interests in africa moved away from the fabled deposits of gold to a much more readily available commodity slaves.
From 1690 until england abolished the slave trade in 1807, it was the leading carrier of enslaved africans. As the figures indicate, most african slaves were bound for brazil and the caribbean. A fascinating record of the mass abduction and abuse of an estimated 12. Combining contemporary individuallevel survey data with histori. Between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, the transatlantic slave trade brought twelve million enslaved africans across the atlantic ocean to the new world as part of a broad exchange of trade goods between england, west africa, south america, the west indies, and the united states. By the seventeenth century, the trade was in full swing, reaching a peak towards the end of the eighteenth century. Asante empire, asante also spelled ashanti, west african state that occupied what is now southern ghana in the 18th and 19th centuries. A number of west african people kept out of slave trade, refusing to negotiate with europeans at all. During the atlantic slave trade, this coastal region was referred to as the gold coast. Slave ports in west africa in 1750 are shown, identifying those held by the british, french, dutch. Overview of the slave trade out of africa, 15001900 charts the routes slave traders followed from africa to various international ports.
My country ghana, formerly called the gold coast became. The west african palm oil trade in the nineteenth century and the crisis of adaptation martin lynn3. Slavery has long existed in human societies, but the transatlantic slave trade is unique in terms of the destructive impact it had on africa. West africa historical gis and the liberated africans. In the triangular trade, arms and textiles went from europe to africa, slaves from africa to the americas, and sugar and coffee from the americas to europe. This edited collection, written by eleven leading specialists, examines the nineteenthcentury commercial transition in west africa. It is reported that badagry exported no fewer than 550,000 african slaves to america during the period of the american independence in l787. Describe the early development of the slave trade 2. This sequence of maps looks at the origins and growth of the trade, at the way it worked, both for europeans and africans, and at the impact it had on all areas involved. Earlier statistics on the dutch trade reveal only a slight difference in sex ratios between west africa and westcentral africa. The slave trade and the origins of mistrust in africa.
Where to find slave trade destinations in africa afro. Modern scholars estimate that this trade is checking population growth, although not actually diminishing it. In dutch shipments between 1637 and 1645, west africa exported 1,791 males in a total trade of 3,086, or 580 per cent male, while westcentral africa exported 1,286 males in a total trade of 2,064, or 633 per cent. A brief overview of the transatlantic slave trade david eltis. Analyze three eyewitness accounts of slavery to appreciate the emotional costs of slavery 5. The nearby elmina castle, originally built by the portuguese in 1482, is also a slave trade monument. While west africans made up the vast majority of the enslaved, the east coast of africa, too, supplied slaves for the trade. The transatlantic slave trade greatly debilitated the economy of west africa. Identify the ways in which the slave trade was a business in trading with slaves as one of many commodities 4. In 1450, a west african population of perhaps 20 to 25 persons million lived in relative stability. By the time the slave trade ended, the english had transported nearly 1. Decisionmaking in the age of abolition indiana university press, 2017, looks at three slave owners and their responses to the abolition of slavery in the late eighteen hundreds. Slavery was prevalent in many parts of africa for many centuries before the beginning of the atlantic slave trade. Britains involvement in west africa s slave trade began through a royal.
Herbst, 2000 of africa argues that the relative absence of large states in precolonial africa was the result of sparse population. The practice of slavery continued in many countries illegally into the 21st century. The slave coast is a historical name formerly used for that part of coastal west africa along the bight of benin that is located between the volta river and the lagos lagoon. Fiction the principal impediment to the improvement of the geography of africa, seems rather to arise from the jealousy of the inhabitants of the seacoasts, in permitting. For instance, the jola of casamance senegal, and the baga modern guineawho were unbeatable in battledid not participate in the slave trade. You can read the introductory maps for a highlevel guided explanation, view the timeline and chronology of. Slave trade, the capturing, selling, and buying of slaves. This map shows the routes that were used in the course of the slave trade and the number of enslaved people who traveled each route. Recent revisions of estimates for the volume of the transatlantic slave trade suggest that approximately 11,863,000 slaves were exported from africa during the whole period of the atlantic slave trade, which is a small upward revision of my 1982 synthesis and still well within the range projected by curtin in 1969. And not just across the atlantic, but around the globe.
The transatlantic slave trade, which persisted for 366 years and resulted in the forced deportation of 12. The demand for slaves remained high since production in the americas was expanding and a slave s life on plantations was brutal and often relatively short. Between 1501 and 1867, the transatlantic slave trade claimed an estimated 12. Oct 05, 2012 africa and the transatlantic slave trade. The atlantic slave trade began almost as soon as europeans sailed into west african waters. While people may assume that one singular slave trade took place, the database maps demonstrate that many existed. After fleeing palestine the jews settle in west africa. A map shows the main transatlantic routes out of africa. Located 20 miles upriver from freetown, sierra leone, the slave castle and trade was established by the british. Slavery and the slave trade in eastern africa preliminary mss submitted on 2 april 2014 to unescos volume on forced migration of africans, to appear on unescos website for the slave.
This was during a time that the atlantic slave trade route was the most successful trade route. V historic personalities who fought against the black slave trade, slaves. Jun 25, 2015 this interactive, designed and built by slates andrew kahn, gives you a sense of the scale of the transatlantic slave trade across time, as well as the flow of transport and eventual destinations. The gold trade was already spreading to influence commerce and society in the mediterranean, and it was at around ce that west african gold was first minted for markets in europe. The largest and most wellknown is the transatlantic slave trade where, beginning in the 15th century, slaves were shipped from west africa, west central africa and eastern africa to the european. Project muse the atlantic slave trade from west central. By the 18th century, it had become a vast industry, with britain taking the lead.
The united states banned the slave trade in 1808, followed by the netherlands in 1814 and france in 1817. The first slaves were brought to the americas in 1510 notice. A trade route, shaped much like a triangle, began between europe, africa, and the north and south american colonies. The slave trade and the origins of mistrust in africa by nathan nunn and leonard wantchekon we show that current differences in trust levels within africa can be traced back to the transatlantic and indian ocean slave trades. Nov 11, 2014 this map of the week, unfortunately not a cheerful one, is a map of the slave trade from africa to the americas from 1650 to 1860. Slavery and the slave trade in the context of west african. Asante empire historical empire, africa britannica. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Where to find slave trade destinations in africa afro tourism.
The first atlantic system was the trade of enslaved africans to, primarily, south american colonies of the portuguese and spanish empires. African slaves were also brought to what is now the united states. Each responded in a different way, says greene, but their responses were not unique to them. Slaving states, whose economy is based in servicing this trade, have arisen in west and central africa. Africa britain and the ending of the slave trade, s. Over the past six decades, the historiography of atlantic slavery and the slave trade has shown remarkable growth and sophistication.