Section 4 Turbulent Centuries in Africa

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Chapter 16

• Section 4 Turbulent Centuries in Africa

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Section 4 Turbulent Centuries in Africa

• Enslaved Africans formed part of an
  international trade network that arose during the
  first global age. Encounters between Europeans
  and Africans had been taking place since the
  1400s.
• Africa was home to diverse societies, and Islam
  had become an important force in some parts of
  the continent. As Europeans arrived, they would
  bring their own influences to Africa.

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I. European Outposts in Africa

• In the 1400s, Portuguese ships explored the coast
  of Africa, looking for a sea route to India

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I. European Outposts in Africa

• They built forts along the African coast for
  trade, re-supply, and repair

Fort Anthony (Axim) Portuguese trading post,
1502. Destroyed by the towns people in 1514.
Second fort built by the Portuguese on present
site in 1515
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I. European Outposts in Africa

• Later, the Dutch, English, and French established
  forts and traded for gold, ivory, hides, and
  slaves

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II. The Atlantic Slave Trade

• Slavery has existed in Africa and around the
  world since ancient times

Greek Slaves
Babylonian Marriage Market
Egyptian Slaves
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II. The Atlantic Slave Trade

• In the 1500s, Europeans began to view slaves as
  the most important item of African trade

The king of Portugal sent ambassadors to
negotiate government-to-government commercial
treaties with African countries like the Kongo,
as shown in this image
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A. Europeans and African Slave Traders

• The Atlantic slave trade began in the 1500s to
  fill Spain's need for labor

Black Slaves Working on the Sugar Plantation
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A. Europeans and African Slave Traders

• African traders seized captives in the interior
  and brought them to coastal trading posts

Slave Coffle From Susanne Everett The Slaves A
group of animals, prisoners, or slaves chained
together in a line
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A. Europeans and African Slave Traders

• Demand for slaves in the Americas and luxury
  goods in Africa increased the slave trade

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B. Triangular Trade

• Atlantic slave trade formed one part of a
  three-legged network known as triangular trade

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B. Triangular Trade

• On the first leg, merchant ships brought goods to
  Africa to be traded for slaves

Gate of No ReturnCape Coast Castle, Ghana
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B. Triangular Trade

• On the second leg slaves were sent to the West
  Indies and exchanged for sugar, molasses, and
  other products

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B. Triangular Trade

• On the final leg, these products were shipped to
  Europe or colonies in the Americas

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C. Horrors of the Middle Passage

• For enslaved Africans, the Middle Passage was a
  horror

Body Positions of Slaves on the Slave Ship Aurore
This plan of a slave ship shows how 482 slaves
could be packed on board for the 5 to 10 week
voyage to the West Indies. The Brookes actually
carried 609 slaves on one voyage.
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C. Horrors of the Middle Passage

• Hundreds of men, women, and children were packed
  below the decks of slave ships

Packed into slave ships, captives were called
piezas de Indias Indies pieces. This was
supposed to mean that they met a standard size,
being large enough to work hard. If an individual
was not tall enough, the space could be "pieced
out" by adding a child.
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C. Horrors of the Middle Passage

• Slave ships became "floating coffins" - up to 50
  died from disease or brutal mistreatment

Africans being forced to 'dance for exercise
Punishment Aboard a Slave Ship, 1792
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C. Horrors of the Middle Passage

• Some Africans resisted, others committed suicide
  by leaping overboard

Africans taking control of La Amistad
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D. African Leaders Resist

• Some African leaders, such as Affonso I of Kongo,
  tried to stop the slave trade, but the system was
  too strong and profitable

1506-1540 AD, King of the Kongo became the first
ruler to resist the slave trade
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D. African Leaders Resist

• The almamy of Futa Toro outlawed the transport of
  slaves through Futa Toro

Almamy - from the Arabic al-imam, an Islamic
religious leader
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D. African Leaders Resist

• His victory was short-lived because the slave
  traders simply worked out a new route to the
  coast