Factors of the Slave Trade
By: LINA PYON
Triangular Trade
- Was a route that ships were able to sail according to what they were importing or exporting
- It was created because of the high demand for slaves in the western hemisphere
- Those involved were America, Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean
- Europe gave manufactured goods such as cloth, metal, and firearms to Africa in exchange for slaves
- Africa gave slaves to America, in exchange for sugar, rum, and tobacco, then go to Europe
- Was a Triangle Route because of the goods exchanged, but ships mostly traveled between two places, not a full cycle
Middle Passage
- A Trans-Atlantic journey that captured slaves would have to take when they were being exported to the Americas and the Caribbean
- The passage had terrible conditions because the slaves were viewed as just human cargo, so they didn't care for their health. Though when their "precious cargo" started to decrease in numbers because of the horrendous conditions they started to build better and larger ships that could carry more water and provide a better area for the slaves
Volume of Slaves
- Started to increase during the 17th century
- Highest point was the 18th century, averaging around 53.000 slaves exported per year
- Many benefited by capturing slaves and selling them to Europe
- Some sold slaves in exchange for firearms in order to build a better more protected state like the Asante, Dahomey, and Oyo
Political & Social Effects of the Slave Trade
- Because of the large amount of exported African people, the population decreased tremendously
- Especially males because they were the most wanted slaves because they could do more work for one person instead of keep having to buy more slaves because they aren't able to go the work or because they keep dying
- This resulted in an overload of females in Africa, which forced many women into polygamy or hard labor because the males weren't there to do it
- The trading increased conflicts and violence within Africa societies because since they could just capture slaves in exchange for goods, many started to do that
- Societies would especially trade captured slaves for firearms, which caused them to get even more powerful and dangerous to places such as Angola because Angola was in proximity to slave ports
http://www.tubechop.com/watch/4509003
Citations
- http://www.slideshare.net/cbgobble/columbian-v-triangle
- http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/ushistory/triangulartrade.htm
- http://www.jungnewyork.com/venus.shtml
- https://jspivey.wikispaces.com/Factors+of+Analysis+B