HISTORY NOTES:
The Slave Trade (1600-1860):
- What is slavery?
● Chattel Slavery: Person = property
● Enslavement: The act of placing a person into slavery
● Common historical reasons behind enslavement around the world:
○ Exploitation for labor
○ Prisoner of war
○ Indebtedness
○ Conviction of crimes
- Historically, slavery has been typical feature of human civilization across Asia, Africa,
the Americas and Europe
- Ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt were heavily reliant on slave labor, which enslaved
people representing many different ethnicities.
- Modern Slavery:
● Human Trafficking: People are often tricked or forced into situations where they
are controlled by others, usually for labor or sex.
● Forced Labor: Many workers, especially in poor countries, are forced to work in
dangerous conditions for little or no pay.
● Exploitation of Children: Children are often forced to do dangerous tasks in
places like factories or farms
● Worldwide, about 50 million people are subject to slavery today.
The Atlantic Slave Trade:
- In West Africa, a large internal slave trade existed between 1300 and 1900.
- From the Age of Exploration onward, Europeans entered the African slave market,
establishing forts and outposts across the West African coast.
- Roughly 12 million Africans were sold and transported across the Atlantic over a
350-year period.
How it began: The Portuguese Trade
- Since the Treaty of Tordesillas only allowed the Portugese to operate in Africa, they
became the first Europeans to establish an Atlantic slave trade.
- They, in turn, sold slaves to the Spanish colonies in Latin America.
- The Portuguese also sent the first shipment of slaves to British North America in 1619.
- Eventually countries including Spain and Britain established their own operations in West
Africa.
Supply and Demand: America + Africa
- The growth of labor-intensive crops like sugarcane created a need for more laborers in
the Americas
- The use of indigenous people for this task proved unfeasible
- Africans were seen as a reliable pool of cheap labor
- Furthermore, African rulers were heavily incentivized to participate in the trade:
● More guns and Europe technology = wars with neighbors →
● Mor war = more slaves →
● More slaves = more intertribal warfare
The Journey: The “Middle Passage”
- A horrific journey across the Atlantic Ocean where enslaved Africans were crammed into
ships with little food, water, or space.
- Disease spread rapidly, and many died from sickness, starvation, and abuse.
- Captains and crew members used brutal methods to control the enslaved.
- Without the Middle Passage (a.k.a. The journey from Africa → America) there is no
triangle trade.
The Racialization of Slavery:
- The racialization of American slavery emerged as Europeans began to define enslaved
people as primarily African, linking them to perpetual servitude.
- Laws were passed that defined people of African descent as property, codifying slavery
along racial lines.
British America Before Slavery
- Indentured servants in colonial America individuals who worked for a set number of
years in exchange for passage to the New World
- Poor europeans had labor contracts (4-7 years) (not slaves but harsh conditions)
Virginia Slave Code
- The Virginia Slave Code of 1705 was a set of laws that made slavery a permanent,
hereditary condition for Africans and their descendants.
- It defined slaves as property and stripped them of basic human rights like the ability to
defend themselves or marry freely.
- These laws were designed to control slaves, prevent rebellion, and establish a racial
hierarchy.
Slave Codes: Code Noir
- The Code Noir (black code) was a set of laws passed by France in 1685 to regulate the
treatment of slaves in the French Caribbean and Louisiana. It defined the legal status of
slaves, reinforced the system of slavery, and mandated that enslaved people be baptized
as Catholics. It also included provisions for some protections, prohibiting the cruelest
punishments.
Slave Memoirs
- While few slaves left lengthy records of their experiences of the Atlantic slave trade,
some did, providing valuable insights to historians
- These memoirs were typically written b y slaves who achieved emancipation and were
able to reflect on their lives
Ayuba Suliemen Diallo
- A muslim slave from Senegal in West Africa, present day Senegal
- Diallo’s family had become wealthy through the slave trade. In 1730 while traveling, he
was captured and sold into slavery himself.
- Priest learns he’s muslim and organises for his freedom, then goes to London and “rubs
shoulders” with influential people.
- Incredibly, he eventually made his way home via England after two years as a slave in
Maryland.
- Goes back to his home, and yet starts selling slaves again. → Shows that selling slaves is
such a huge part of the African economy that it’s inevitable.
Video Notes
- Was never angry, even after everything he went through
- Rival tribe sold him into slavery while he was selling slaves
- Victim of the system that has enriched him and his family
- Survives on american plantation for two years
- Personification of the anti-slavery movement, becomes incredible argument against it
- Diallo refused to change to Christianity, stayed muslim
- His portrait = abolitionist propaganda
- Even after everything he went through, still went back to slave trading
His Image
“Am I not born a man?” The equality of humanity shown through this picture assists the
abolitionist movement.
His portrait was used as anti-slavery. He was an icon/figure of anti-slavery, due to him
going through all three “sides”; slave traders, enslaved, free.
Olaudah Equiano
- Olaudah Equiano was born in Nigeria and sold into slavery. He was taken to the West
Indies and later to the American colonies before being sold again to a British naval
officer, which allowed him to travel widely.
- After purchasing his freedom in London, he became an abolitionist. His autobiography
was published in 1789 and became one of the most powerful accounts of slavery, helping
to inspire the abolition movement in Britain.
Abolitionism and the End of the Slave Trade
- In Britain, the Abolition Movement began in the late 18th century, with the goal of
stopping the slave trade and eventually ending slavery.
- By the 1808 the slave trade ended, followed by slavery itself throughout the British
Empire in 1833. For decades, the British Royal Navy patrolled the Atlantic stopping
slave ships.
Somerset vs. Stewart (1772)
- A court case in England that helped set the stage for the abolition of slavery.
- A slave named James Somerset was brought to England by his owner, Charles Stewart,
but was later freed by the court.
- The ruling decided that slavery had no legal basis in England, making it illegal to forcibly
enslave someone within the country.
Abolitionists: William Wilberforce
- A British politician and a key leader in the abolition movement. Deeply motivated by his
Christian faith, he believed slavery was an evil that needed to be abolished.
- After years of campaigning, his efforts led to the passage of the Slavery Abolition Act in
1833.
Abolitionists: John Newton
- Formerly a slave trader himself, John Newton experienced a religious conversion that led
him to reject the slave trade and become a Church of England priest and anti-slavery
activist.
- He also wrote the hymn Amazing Grace, which describes his salvationand rejection of the
slave trade.
The Ottoman Slave Trade
- The Ottoman Empire engaged in a vast slave trade from the 15th to the 19th centuries,
acquiring 2-3 million slaves through warefare and raids.
- Slaves were used as servants, Janissary soldiers, and laborers.
- Janissaries were Christian children from the Balkans taken by Ottoman authorities,
converted to Islam, and enlisted in the military.
The Arabic Slave Trade
- The Arabic slave trade, which spanned over 1,000 years, primarily involved the capture
and transportation of people from Africa to the Arab world.
- Beginning around the 7th century, it saw the forced migration of 10-18m million people.
