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

1) Notes on Atlantic Slave Trade pg 435-440
__//**Atlantic Slave Trade**//__ //__MI: As European nations developed and were capable of visiting new areas of Africa, they came into contact with the many African kingdoms. As their empires developed, and labor became necessary, the African were taken as slaves, and used as laborers.__//
 * Portuguese ships pushed down the African coast and reached the Cape of Good Hope in 1487
 * The Portuguese began to establish factories in the area for trade with foreign people
 * Trade began to develop between the Portuguese and the native Africans. Originally goods such as ivory, pepper, and gold were traded to the Portuguese


 * Missionary efforts were made to convert the rulers of the local kingdoms to Christianity
 * Missionary attempts were successful in Kongo, where **Nzinga Mvemba** brought his whole kingdom to Christianity
 * Portuguese tended to see Africans as savages and pagans, however they also believed them to be capable of performing civilized behavior and conversion to Christianity


 * Originally in port cities, the Portuguese were interested in goods that they could use, however over time they developed into patterns of wanting slaves
 * Slaves had not been used since the age of the Roman Empire, as the middle ages used serfdom more
 * Sub-Saharan African trade occured on the battle frontier of the Christian and Muslim empires, bring black slaves into the Mediterranean


 * Slave trade eventually became a common practice used by the major empires
 * Originally European nations would conduct raids to capture slaves, however they would obtain a very few amount of slaves
 * Eventually Europeans found that trade was a much more sufficient way to obtain slaves in greater amounts than raiding


 * As the colonies in America developed, they began to create plantations for crops were labor demand was high
 * As a result of the needed labor in the new world, slaves were imported by the masses to the new world to work on the plantations
 * By 1600 slave trade predominated over all other kinds of commerce on the African coast.

__//MI:As the new world grew in the economy, the amount of slaves exported heavily increased in value, and millions of slaves were heading to the new world by the height of the era.//__
 * //__Trend Toward Expansion__//**
 * Between 1450 and 1850 it's estimated that about 12million Africans were shipped across the Atlantic. Also an additional 3 million where shipped across in the Islamic world
 * On the passage it's expected that the mortality rate of the slaves on board was only 10% to 20%
 * The heavy areas of the New World that got the most amount of slaves were the sugar plantation areas of the Caribbean and Brazil


 * The reason for continuous importation of slaves was due to the low fertility rate among slaves in the New world as a result of their being more males imported than females
 * The one exception to this rule was in southern north America, where the temperate climate allowed for the survival of slaves
 * Slaves were never more than 1/4 of the population in that area, however in the plantation areas of the Caribbean and Brazil slaves made up 80 to 90% of the population


 * The Atlantic slave trade drew slaves from across the continent and its concentration shifted over time
 * Slaves were exported from Senegambia originially but than it changed to central Africa, and also areas such as the Gold Coast and Slave Coast
 * As a result of the constant slave trade, the region developed wars

__//**Demographic Patterns**//__ __//Mi:The Atlantic slave trade caused a population decrease in Africa especially in the amount of men, as men were the ones usually chosen to be sold into slavery.//__
 * Atlantic slave trade heavily focused on the trade of men over women and children
 * Men were wanted due to the rising need of laborers in the new world
 * Mortality rates were also risky to have women and children participate in the Atlantic slave trade


 * The Atlantic slave trade had a huge demographic impact on certain parts of Africa
 * The population is estimated to have been one-half of what the population would've originally been had it not been involved in the slave trade
 * Once new resources were introduced the population Africa was able to increase again and was able to recover from the population decrease caused by slave trade

//__MI: Once introduced, slave trade became a role in the economies of the growing world. Once it became essential in the Americas, triangular trade was established.__//
 * __//Organization of the Trade//__**
 * The growing dependence of slaves on plantations in the new world, led to competition for slaves among nations
 * Companies such as the **Royal African Company** were created to get slaves for nations, so they would have their own supply
 * A good amount of slaves were captured along the coast and in Africa as a result


 * Europeans tried not to work in the involvement of being on the ships or involved in Africa as the mortality rate was high due to disease
 * Healthy male slave was called **Indies piece** and their value was fractiond off to be the value of the children and women
 * Europeans who could tried to avoid being involved in the slave trade


 * Slave trade was a good profitable business during the era
 * By itself however slave trade proved not to be such a profitable business in the long run
 * As the order of events was established, an idea called the **triangular trade** was created due to slaves being shipped the new world. Than goods being shipped to Europe from the new world that they produced. And finally people going to Africa to get more slaves

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2) Notes on pg 440- 448=== //__MI:Slavery had been existing in Africa even before the arrival of Europeans. It took part between different nations, and slavery was sued to extend their power.__//
 * //__African Societies, Slavery, and the Slave Trade__//**
 * Europeans of justified enslavement of Africans by pointing out that slavery had already existed on that continent
 * African societies developed many forms of servitude and the Muslim Trans Saharan trade was still on going
 * Slaves were used to increase ones power and lineage


 * Slavery was an important institution before the arrival of the Europeans but the introduction of the Atlantic slave tread lead to new oppurtunities and intensification of slavery.
 * The enslavement of women in Africa, promoted the practice of polygamy
 * The position of women in the society was lowered


 * Islamic concept of slavery was viewed that nonbelievers would become slaves
 * It was seen as illegal to make Muslims slaves
 * Rule however was changed with people capturing and making enemies into slaves even if they were Muslim


 * Slaves in Africa were used to obtain goods such as gold, salt and caravan work
 * The slave condition in Africa allowed for the Europeans to quickly trap and capture people due to rulers wants for more slave and would supply the Europeans with other slaves
 * Generally foreign people to an African state were enslaved, unless they committed a crime

__//**Slaving and African Politics**//__ __//MI:European presence in Africa put a strain on the people to develop and pursue slave creation to give to the Europeans//__
 * Gun powder empires expanded into the sub-Saharan Africa region 1500- 1750, which transformed the preexisting societies in the region
 * Hierarchies were enslaving people and Europeans were capturing people to turn into slaves for their use
 * Europeans caused internal affairs in nation and the fear of losing power caused the stopping of centralized states from being created in Africa

//__**Asante and Dahomey**__// __//MI:As the Europeans entered more into Africa and established contacts with them, the empires in Africa often evolved to to their presence, and developed a system of trade based on slave trade//__
 * On the Gold Coast, the empire of **Asante** rose to power during the slave trade period
 * Settled in the region of Kumasi, a region with gold and kola nut production
 * Near trading centers of Hausa and Mande


 * After the had gained access to firearms from the Europeans, the ruler **Osei Tutu** created the title **asantehene**, to designate the supreme civil and religious leader.
 * He linked together they many Akan clans of the region under the authority of the asantehene
 * Developed and united the region under multiple of reforms


 * The Asante maintained their power by getting firearms from the Europeans
 * Asante had a supply of prisoners from the wars they fought that they could trade as slaves for these weapons
 * Slave trade made up two-thirds of Asante's trade


 * Kingdom of Benin of the Slave Coast was at its height during the European arrival
 * Benin trade with the Europeans involved pepper, texiles, and ivory, however it wasn't focused heavily on slave trade
 * The ruler of oba limited the amount of slaves that could be traded to the Europeans, which made Benin not a heavy source of slaves


 * The kingdom of **Dahomey** emerged as a power during the 17th century from its center in Abomey
 * When the Europeans arrived, the firearms they got from them allowed for the rulers to create an autocratic and brutal political regime based on slave trade
 * Attracted more Europeans to the area when Dahomey seized the coastal city of Whydah


 * Dahomey maintained a trade revolving around slaves for firearms
 * Trade was controlled by the royal court, whose armies were used to capture more slaves to be sold
 * Raiding armies even included women


 * As Dahmey took control of the area, it imposed its own traditions and customs by eliminating the ruling families of the area
 * Emphized slave trade and became a slave state
 * Showed the absolutism being expressed in Europe


 * The societies still were seen as creative however, with skilled artisans who performed cratfs such as bronze casting, woodcarving, and weaving
 * Benin and Yoruba had great crafters, who created life likes scuptures and creations
 * Eventually Europeans came to appreciate the art of these areas and even asked for designs and creations from the Africans

__//MI:On the east coast of Africa, the Swahili trading cities continued their commerce in the Indian Ocean, adjusting to the military presence of the Portuguese and Ottoman Turks. Trade to the interior continued to bring ivory, gold, and a steady supply of slaves.//__
 * __//East Africa and the Sudan//__**
 * In east Africa, the trade along the Indian Ocean, brought ivory, gold, and a steady supply of slaves into the region
 * Portuguese established a plantations on islands such as Mauritius in the Indian Ocean, which relied on east Africa for slaves
 * Slavery became a prominent feature of the east African coast


 * Luo people developed dynasties amoung states of the large lakes in central Africa
 * Created a government ruling over the Bantu speakers
 * Buganda near Lake Victoria formed a monarchy to rule the land
 * Region not as influenced by European influence


 * Dan Fodio a Muslim scholar preached reformist ideologies against the Huasa kingdoms, and caused a jihad
 * Esatblished the new powerful Sokoto state, under a caliph whose authority was establishes over multiple cities
 * Captured people were turned into slaves, and were forced to perform labor

__**//White Settlers and Africans in Southern Africa//**__ __//MI:In Southern Africa, a Dutch colony eventually brought Europeans into conflict with Africans, esp. the southern Bantu-speaking peoples. One of these groups, the Zulu, created under the Shaka a powerful chiefdom during the 19th century in a process of expansion that affected the whole region.//__
 * The southern area of Africa was occupied by the San and Khoikhoi
 * Practiced farming with iron tools along the Limpopo River and later spread to regions much more better for farming
 * By the 16th century they occupied southern Africa and spoke multiple languages and farmed with iron and copper tools


 * Lived in hamlets made up of several extended families
 * Men worked as artisians and herders
 * Women farmed, and did housework. They also organized their labor communally


 * Political chiefdoms characterized the Bantu people in the south
 * Chiefs held power through support of relatives and with the acceptance of the people in the region.
 * Chief authority had great variation


 * In 1652 the Dutch East India Company established a colony on the Cape of Good Hope to serve as a post for ships traveling to Asia
 * As the boers moved into the lands, they saw the Africans as slaves to use for labor, and multiple wars and conflicts led because of their belief
 * By 1800 the Cape colony had about 26,000 slaves


 * The British took control of the Cape colony in 1815. They helped the settlers to clear out the Africans from the farming lands
 * Wars for the farming and grazing lands continued between the two groups
 * Eventually the Boers staged the **Great Trek** to go north of government interfearence when Europe abolished slavery

//__MI:Among the Nguni peoples, major changes had taken place. A unification process had begun in some of the northern chiefdoms, and a new military organization had emerged.__//
 * __//The Mfecane and the Zulu Rise to Powe//__**r
 * With new unification, the new leader Shaka, a brilliant military technician, for,ed loose forces into organized lineages
 * Introduced new iron weapons, such as a spear used for close range, and new battle tactics to use against the boers
 * The army remained a permanent institution and regiments were housed in different villiges. Fighters for the army had to fight and complete their service to be able to marry.


 * Shaka's own Zulu chiefdom became the center of this new military and political organizations which absorbed and destroyed its neighbors
 * Shaka was so strict and ruled with an iron fist, so he was assassinated in 1828, but his succesors built on his structure
 * Zulu remained the most impressive military force in black Africa untull the end of the century


 * The rise of the Zulu and other Nguni chiefdomes, led to the begging of the **mfecane**, or wars of crushing and wandering
 * The **Swazi** adapted to aspects of the Zulu model, after survivng from European conflict
 * One state **Lesotho** sucessfully resisted the Zulu example

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3)Notes: pg. 448- 454:
__//**The African Diaspora**//__ MI: Slave trade was the way that Africa and the Americas became linked in history. With the exportation of slaves and African goods occurring, Africa began to join the mercantile world trade.
 * Slave trade was the means in which the history of the Americas and Africa became linked
 * The import of firearms, Indian texiles, Indonesian cowrie shells, and American tobacco into Africa and the exportation of ivory, gold, and especially slaves demonstrated Africa's new intergration into the mercantile structure of the world
 * Prices of slaves began to rise in the 18th century, and trade increasingly favored Africans especially in the trading cities of Whydah, PortoNovo, and Luanda

__//MI: After becoming a slave, they were separated from their friend and family, their homes were destroyed, and they often saw death coming next as they boarded ships to take them to the new world if they could survive the journey.//__
 * __//Slave Lives//__**
 * For slaves, slavery meant the destruction of their villages, and separation from friends and family
 * Slaves were brought to towns than boarded onto ships after their capture. These ships stored them in cargo areas, where the slave ships took them across the Atlantic to the Americas
 * The **Middle Passage** or slave voyage to the America's, was one in which the slaves wouldn't survive very often as mortality rates being so high due to the harsh conditions on the journey

__//MI:As slaves were brought over to the Americas to replace the Indian and indentured workers, they took their occupations, and their was really no task a slave wouldn't do.//__
 * //__Africans In the Americas__//**
 * Slaves who were carried across the Atlantic to the Americas were often taken to plantations and mines
 * The plantations used slaves to grow the semitropical, and tropical crops that Europe wanted, especially for crops such as sugar, rice, cotton, and tobacco.
 * The plantation system used by the Spanish and Portuguese were imported into the New World


 * African slaves became more widely used than native Indians because they were accustomed to herding, metallurgy, and intense agriculture
 * Even the indentured servants became less needed when slaves became popular on the plantations
 * Slaves didn't always work on the plantation, they were also artisans, vendors, and servants, however they heavily practiced agricultural work

//__MI: While slaves were still slaves, their place of origin and where they were being held, had a big impact on their everyday lives.__//
 * __//American Slave Societies//__**
 * Their was a distinction between slaves of African birth, called **saltwater slaves**, and those who were born in the Americas, called **Creole slaves**
 * Creole slaves were given more opportunities to aquire skilled jobs, or to work as house servants rather than working in the fields and mines
 * Creole slaves had a higher chance of gaining their freedom from their owners than saltwater slaves


 * Many slave rebellions in the Caribbeans and Brazil were organized by African saltwater slaves
 * Jamaica had similar instances with Akan people causing uprisings
 * Angolans led a massive slave escape in Brazil


 * Slaves formed the majority of populations in some areas, where plantation lifestyle was common
 * African slaves were heavily used in places like Peru, Jamaica, and San Domingo
 * Creole slaves made up most of the slave population in North America due to slaves being mated together and manualism was less common

//__**The People and Gods in Exile**__// __//MI:Africans brought as slaves to the Americas faced a peculiar series of problems. Working conditions were exhausting, and life for most slaves often was difficult and short.//__
 * Family formation was difficult among slaves, as the ratio of males to female where increasly large, with very few females present
 * Families were also often separated at sales, or forced to do different jobs where they were, which kept them sepeaated
 * Still slaves lived in family units, and marriges were not sanctioned by a religion or master


 * Multiple aspects of African culture survived even as slaves where brought over and stayed present even as they worked and got invovled in American life, such as religion, and language
 * Thus and Afro-American culture began to emerge
 * Religion was a contiuing thing for slaves


 * Slaves were converted to Catholicism by Spanish and Portuguese, and members of a Black Afro-American church emerged
 * Some joined Protestant denominations in North America
 * Religious ideas of Africans did not die though


 * On the English islands, **obeah** was the name given to the African religious ideas and practices
 * A practice in Brazil called **candomable** and Haitian **vodum**, developed African religions
 * Religious ideas where able to be brought over from Africa through the Middle Passage


 * Resistance and rebellion did occur in some places, led by African slaves for religious or personal reasons
 * A Muslim slave in Brazil led a rebellion against white and nonbeliving people
 * Multiple plots of rebellion were discovered in other communities


 * Communties of runaways and escape slaves began to form in different areas of the new world
 * **Palmares** an enormous runway slave kingdom existed in Brazil
 * A large number of slabe run off were in the **Suriname** forest

__//**The End Of the Slave Trade and the Abolition of Slavery**//__ __//MI:The end of the Atlantic slave trade and the abolition of slavery in the Atlantic world resulted in economic, political, and religious changes in Europe and its overseas American colonies and former colonies. These changes, which were manifestations of the Enlightenment, the age of revolution, Christian revivalism, and Industrial Revolution, were external to Africa, but one again, they determined the pace and nature of change within Africa.//__
 * Slavery began to be questioned during the age of the enlightenment, and also as political, and economic interest were begginning to change
 * Attempts to abolish and influence these agreements on countries was started by England, where **William Wilberforce** led abolition movements
 * Slavery was finally abolished completely in the world in 1888, with it finally ending in Brazil