5.3.

4  Study: The African Colonial Experience Study Guide

World History Honors Sem 1 Name:  
Date:  

Use this study guide to keep track of the important concepts covered in this activity. If you need help
answering any of the questions, check with your instructor. Save these study guides for review when
preparing for quizzes and tests.

Write the definition to each of the key terms below.

Word Definition

Middle Passage The stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of people from
Africa were shipped to the New World across the Atlantic Ocean.

Olaudah Equiano (ca. 1745 – 1797) A former slave and abolitionist who published one
of the first autobiographies to include a firsthand account of slavery.

plantation economy The large-scale production of crops such as tobacco, cotton, rice, and
indigo. Slave labor was required to make this economy successful.

Write a short answer to each question.

1. Before Europeans got involved, what did the African slave trade look like?

Before the Europeans began the Atlantic slave trade, powerful kingdoms like Ghana and Mali traded
slaves throughout Africa and sent them to the Muslim world and to Asia.

2. Why did Europeans first come to Africa?

Europeans wanted to trade with African nations for resources that they needed. European explorers were
also looking for a way around Africa so they could reach Asia without having to deal with the Ottoman
Empire.

3. What is the Middle Passage?

The Middle Passage is the voyage that captives were forced to endure from Africa to the Americas,
where they were sold as slaves. The conditions were terrible, and many people died on the journey.

4. What is the African diaspora?

The African diaspora refers to the spreading of Africans throughout the Americas as a result of the
Atlantic slave trade.

5. What economic factor contributed to the rise of the Atlantic slave trade?

After diseases killed much of the indigenous populations, European colonists in the New World needed
labor to work on their plantations. The Atlantic slave trade provided a way for colonists to get a new
source of forced labor.

6. How did the Atlantic slave trade contribute to the devastation of Africa?

The Atlantic slave trade exported many millions of strong and healthy Africans from the continent. This
loss, combined with the warfare generated by the increased supply of weapons traded to African groups
in exchange for slaves, had long-lasting and devastating effects on Africa.

Expand your thinking on questions raised in this activity.

7. Think about the way the Khoisan people and their allies responded to Dutch settlers in southern
Africa. How does this compare with how the Aztecs responded to Spanish conquistadores in the
Americas?

Answers will vary. Below is one way you may have answered.

The Khoisan were able to successfully fight back against the Dutch and, at least temporarily, prevent
them from establishing a large colony.They could do this because they allied with other African peoples
and because they had some immunity to European diseases. The Aztecs, by contrast, were involved in
political struggles with other indigenous Americans and were being decimated by disease at the same
time.

In one or two sentences, write the "big idea" or main point of this study.

The development of the Atlantic slave trade, which would devastate Africa for centuries to come, was
fueled by the European desire for cheap labor on plantations in the New World. Many of the cultures of
Africa were disrupted and would never be the same.
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