Aliyah Khan

March 03, 2022

Unit 2: The Creation of the African Diaspora

The Captives – Slavery in Canada and the US
The 18th Century Triangle Trade
 Ships rarely sailed empty: Transatlantic trade consisted of three journeys:
1. The from Europe to Africa carrying manufactured goods
2. The MIDDLE PASSAGE from Africa to the Americas or the Caribbean carrying
African captives and other ‘commodities’
3. The return passage to England carrying sugar, tobacco, rum, rice cotton and other
goods back to Europe
The Middle Passage
 The transportation of the captured Africans across the Atlantic to the colonies

How did the European traders use the concept of Divide and Conquer to ensure the
capture of African Slaves?
 By supporting the enemy of one tribe against the other, European slave traders
captured African Slaves
From the African Interior to the Slave Coast
o For weeks, months, sometimes as long as a year, they waited in the dungeons of the slave
factories scattered along Africa’s western coast
o They had already made the long, difficult journey from Africa’s interior – but just barely.
Out of roughly 20 million who were taken from their homes and sold into slavery, half
didn’t complete the journey to the African coast, most of those dying along the way.
 On the coast of Africa – slaves
were brought to the coast and
kept in BARRACOONS (slave
barracks), until they were
brought by slave merchants who
sent them to the new world.
Ex. Virginia Beach Riot
The Journey to the Americas: The Middle Passage
o The trip from Africa to the Americas took at least six weeks
o A ship often had 30 crewmen and carried about 300 slave men, women, and children. For
the slaves, it was a long and horrible trip. Had to endure inhumane conditions on the ship
o Slaves had both feet shackled to other slaves
o Sleeping deck was composed of un-sanded plank floors that had only 18 inches or less of
headroom. It was difficult to change positions without hurting one’s neighbor.
o Because the journey was so long and disease was easily contracted, about 10-20% died
on the way to the Americas.
 Slaves were often tossed overboard so that pirates would not be able to capture
their treasure and keep others from profiting from the capture.
 Aliyah Khan
March 03, 2022
Number of Africans exported to the Americas
 Estimated that 10 – 15 million Africans were transported across the Atlantic into slavery.
Many more had died during capture and transportation.
 Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch were the main slave traders, but by the 1730s the British
Atlantic slave trade was in full swing
 In the first third of the 18th century, Britain’s involvement in the slave trade grew
enormously.
 During the 1720s, nearly 200 000 enslaved Africans were transported across the Atlantic
in British ships
 By the 1790s, there were over 480 000 enslaved people in British Caribbean colonies
 For the rest of that century (until the abolition in 1807), the British became the world’s
leading slave traders. Between 1700 and 181-, they transported about 3.4 million
Africans
Harsh Facts
o Slaves were property. Have no legal rights, are not citizens, and live at the whim of
masters’ demands. They were sold and traded at auctions like property.
o Slaves could be willed to sons and daughters of white owners.
o “Seasoning” – Preparing African captives for their future as slaves; slaves were broken
in mental and physical torture to make captives obedient, submissive and passive
o Slaves were branded on cheek or breasts (shows ownership)
o Blacks were degraded for white superiority. Called “boy” or “n__er” or “n__ga”
o Families broken up. Sold to different regions; women forced to be sex slaves and
breeders
o Used whippings and other cruel punishments to control slaves
o Illegal to educate slaves. Lack of education = less chance of running away. It increases
the concept of inferiority
o Slavery was an unimaginably harsh and violent institution
o European Enslavement of Africans was based on race

Punishments
 Any sign of rebellion, laziness or “just as an example” – resulted in punishment
for men, women, and children
 When captured:
 Beaten
 Maimed
 Castrated
 Chained
 Collared
 Sold to sugar farms where life is worse and more die
 Aliyah Khan
March 03, 2022

Reasons used by early colonist to justify the slave trade

o Black were not citizens of the countries who were enslaving them, therefore, they
could be enslaved for life.
o Blacks were not Christians, thus they were inferior (animals)
o Blacks were more suitable than Aboriginals – they were not as susceptible to
European diseases
o Easy to locate in the population because of skin colour

Black Codes
 A series of restrictions meant to regulate and repress slaves
 Ex. Severely mutilated or killed for leaving the plantation without a pass
o Families could be separated / sold on the auction block
o Slaves accused of murder of rape were hung (no trial)
o 60 lashes for stealing (ex. food, water, clothing)

The African – A Threat to White Superiority

1. For some whites, slavery was seen as having introduced an alien and potentially
dangerous black population into what many hoped would become a white man’s country
(once they got rid of the Aboriginals
2. After the uprising in Haiti in the 1790s, the fear of a widespread slave rebellion served as
a reason to ban the importation of more slaves and abolish slavery altogether.
Plantation Terms
o Overseers
 Managed the slaves (they were usually small farmers, skilled workers, or the
planter’s younger sons or relatives)
o Drivers
 Assistants – picked from among the slaves. Praised by the owner for a job well
done, and despise by the slaves for working them too hard – a traitor
o Gang labor
 Organizing slaves into crews on big plantations, and the driver’s foreman, this
allowed overseers to assign groups of slaves to do specialized jobs (hoeing,
picking, plowing)
Roots written by Alex Haley
- 1st novel written by Alex Haley
- Two century drama of Kunta Kinte and the 6 generations who came after him
- He traced his own roots and tells the story of 39 million Africans of African descent
- 2nd a TV miniseries: 8 episodes and made history when it won 9 Emmy’s, a Golden
Globe, and a Peabody Award. Over 51% of North American households watched the
series when it first aired (January 23, 1977).
 Aliyah Khan
March 03, 2022
Alex Haley – Wrote a book called “ROOTS”

Black History Slavery

Additional Notes
Genealogical – studies of the line of descendants traced continuously from an ancestor