Why did Europeans create a new Slave trade?

Notes

Slavery In Africa
 Arabs in 7th century AD build empire in Middle East, including parts of Europe and Northern
Africa
 Islam motivated Arab expansion
 Koran prohibits enslavement of Arab people
 Solution to slavery issue found in Africa
 Powerful tribes and kingdoms in Africa (Berbers, Songhay, Mandingo) kept slaves
 City state of Kano relied on forced labor for food production
 Africa provided the slaves desired by Arabs
 Slaves in Africa had potential to be freed with good behaviour

The Europeans And The African Slave Trade

 African states on West Coast separated from main trade routes by dense forest
 Looked to Europeans as new source of trade
 Portuguese explored African coast from early 15th century and captured African slaves
in 1441
 Arabs previously controlled African slave trade, but now had a rival
 Portuguese built fort at Elmina on west coast of Africa in 1480s
 Portugal dominated Atlantic slave trade from Elmina and other similar places
 Europeans began to explore Americas, leading to next stage in history of slavery
 Britain and other European countries followed Portuguese example and took slaves from
West Africa.

What Was Africa Like?

 Some Africans were fisherman, hunters, or gatherers living in simple homes
 Some were part of highly civilised societies, such as the kingdom of Songhay
 Kingdom of Songhay had well-organised government, schools, and great city of
Timbuktu
 Timbuktu's university claimed to have knowledge of eye surgery and anaesthetics
 North Africa had busy ports and market towns that traded in gold, ivory, crafts, skins,
nuts, and slaves
 Traders came from as far away as India.

Slavery Reaches The Americas

 European countries began to develop colonies in the Americas in late 15th century
 Europeans fought each other to enlarge their colonies
 Faced difficult conditions such as extremely hot weather
 Needed labor to build settlements and farm the land, used Native Indians initially
 Many Native Indians caught diseases brought from Europe, leading to high death toll
 Needed stronger type of worker, solution was obvious: Africa
 Portuguese had a thriving slave trade in Africa and began sending slaves to Americas
  By 1600, 80% of slaves were bound for the New World.

Slavery And The Plantations

 Slaves used in Caribbean, Central and South America to work on plantations
producing sugar, coffee, rice, cotton, and tobacco
 British used slaves in North American colonies, first group arrived in Jamestown,
Virginia in 1619
 At first, Black slaves were indentured servants, with possibility of freedom after
working hard for a few years and being given land
 In Southern British colonies, plantation farming became main activity, leading to
increased need for more slaves and development of 'triangular trade'
 Slaves in Americas rarely freed, lived and died as slaves
 In late 1700s, Colonies broke away from Britain, formed United States of America
 Northern areas abolished slavery, but in South (where cotton was 'King') it became
more important than ever.

Q1
Slaves were required in the New World because the European colonists had to deal
with challenging circumstances, like scorching temperatures, and needed labour to
construct communities and farm the land. Although many perished from diseases
imported from Europe, native Indians were still exploited. Africa, where the
Portuguese already had a thriving slave trade, offered the stronger type of labour
that was required. Slaves were employed to work on plantations that produced
sugar, coffee, rice, cotton, and tobacco in the Caribbean, Central and South America,
and North America.

Q2
In a few crucial ways, the slave system practised by Africans differed from slavery in
America:

 If they worked hard and didn't cause any difficulty, African slaves could eventually
look forward to being set free.
 The mighty kingdoms of Songhay and Mandingo, as well as powerful tribes in Africa
like the Berbers, held slaves for uses like food production.
 Slaves were mostly employed in America as labour on plantations that produced
cotton, sugar, coffee, rice, and other agricultural products.
 As the number of plantations increased, more and more slaves were required, and a
"triangular trade" emerged. Black slaves in America were originally intended to be
indentured servants who could be freed after a few years of work. Rarely were these
slaves released, and they lived in.

Q3
Arabs played an important role in the history of African slavery as they were the first
to engage in the slave trade in Africa. They needed slaves to build an empire in the
Middle East, but Islam forbids them to enslave their own people, forcing them to
look elsewhere and find solutions in Africa. I found African tribes and rulers were
important because they were involved in the slave trade, owning and selling slaves
to the Arabs. Some African states, such as Kano, were known to have used forced
labor for food production.
The African nations of the West Coast, important and separated from the main trade
routes across the Sahara by dense forests, began to look to Europeans for trade.
When the Portuguese began exploring the African coast in the 15th century, they
captured a group of 12 African slaves, making them rivals of the Arab slave trade.
The Portuguese dominated the Atlantic slave trade from their forts on the west
coast of Africa, and had a major impact on the history of slavery in Africa. They
started sending slaves to America and later other European countries like Britain
followed their example.
Britain played a key role in African slavery, using slaves in its North American
colonies since the arrival of the first group of slaves in Jamestown, Virginia in 1619.
It later became the United States and continued to use slaves, especially in the
South, where cotton was the main crop.

The Slave triangle benefitted Europeans as it provided them with a large and cheap
labour force for their American colonies, which was crucial for the growth of the
plantation economy and the development of the New World. Also, it generated
significant profits for European merchants, ship owners and plantation owners who
were involved in this trade. Another way that it benefitted Europeans is that it
helped stimulate European economies by creating new markets for goods and
promoting trade between European nations. The slave trade was a factor in the
economic development and expansion of Europe.