How did the trans-Atlantic slave trade start?

• Is there records of the event?

• What are the artefacts that correlate to said event?
• Do we have a proper record or date before Europe/the British joined in?
•
•

Who started or proposed the Trans-Atlantic slave trade?

• Was it proposed by the Africans or was it another country?

• Who was it established by?
• Who proposed the idea?
• Are there records of whom proposed the idea?
•

Why did it start?

• What was the thought process behind it?

• How did it start?
• Was it originally made for slaves or did that come later on?
• What was considered a more vital part originally, slaves or materials?
•
How did the trans-Atlantic slave trade start?

Who started or proposed the Trans-Atlantic slave trade?

Why did it start?

(Berlin, IB, 2009. The Origin of Slavery, https://tinyurl.com/4f94d96e)

• Informative, educational.
• Secondary source, as while it is
created by Ira Berlin a university
professor. They weren’t there during
slavery while they do use primary
sources in the article.
• The transatlantic slave trade started in the 15th • Ira Berlin wrote it
century, when Portuguese ships sailed down • To inform without bias
West African coast.
• The original intention was for Gold and Spice but
they found a more valuable commodity, human
beings.
• Slavery in Africa was classed as a migration,
forced and free. • It gives general information of the
• 11-12 million slaves slave trade.
• The rst black men and women arrived in • I learnt about general speci cs
mainland North America in the sixteenth century • It helps answer some general
• No matter what their sex, age, and nationality, information that will be bene cial for
Africans shipped to the New World endured the my written draft. But it doesn’t
trauma of enslavement. speci cally tailor to any questions
• •

• It’s reliable, but only spams the

decades of 1607-1754
• It’s written by a professor, but was
written in 2009
• It is written without bias, and isn’t
personal. This is shown by its lack of
personal pronouns.
• Has the potential to be outdated
information
• It’s reliable because it’s from a
professor and was acquired from a
professional source. As it’s .org,
meaning it’s an organisation.

How can this information be used? It gives a general overview of the time period, but majority of my questions ask about what
was before the British. So how well can I use this in my text? It focuses on the British and American, not so much the
Portuguese which is whom I’m more interested in.
(Royal Museums Greenwich, RMC, 2017. The History of the transatlantic slave trade, https://tinyurl.com/
5n78n265)

• It’s a secondary source

• It was created by the Royal
Museums Greenwhich.
• To inform about their Atlantic
gallery, meaning it lacks personal
bias
• their demand for slave labour was so great
• It is educational and informs,
that traders and their agents searched far involving details about major
inland, devastating the region aspects of the Trans-Atlantic
• Ivory, gold and other trade resources trade.
attracted Europeans to West Africa.
• Britain became the world’s leading slave-
trading country.
• Overcrowding, poor diet, dehydration and
disease led to high death rates. 450,000 of • It gives small overviews of major
the 3.4 million Africans transported in British pieces of information.
• It’s an information sheet by their
ships died on the Atlantic crossing.
Atlantic gallery
• Their forced labour produced commodities • It answers the reasonings behind it,
like tobacco, cotton and sugar, for which and questions on ‘Why did it start?’
there was a huge European demand. • Africa and enslavement, The Middle
• The rst meeting of the Society for E ecting Passage, Plantation conditions, and
the Abolition of the Slave Trade took place in dates about the abolishment were
London in May 1787 especially helpful.
• Although the British Parliament outlawed
slavery in 1807, a quarter of all Africans who
were enslaved were transported
• British colonies, the institution of slavery
• It lacks bias, as it’s for a Museum
carried on as before, until Parliament passed • However; it doesn’t go into detail,
an Emancipation Act in 1833. meaning it doesn’t tell you about
• speci cs instead a general overview
of topics.
• It is reliable, as it’s from a museum.
• It also has .uk, meaning it’s a top
level domain for the United
Kingdom.

It’s good for the General topic, however because it doesn’t go into speci cs I will have to source them from another
website. However, because of it’s useful for mainly the dates of emancipation. It’s a good source to use, if I want speci cs
later on I’ll nd a website that goes into speci c topics. Because of this website, and the dates it helped to understand the
British’s involvement.
(Low Country Digital History Initiative, LCDHI, 2023. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. https://tinyurl.com/yhevxfnh)

• It’s a secondary source

• It informs and educates
• Created by the LDCHI and
educational website, geared to teach
about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
•
• In the fteenth century, Portugal became the
rst European nation to take signi cant part in
African slave trading.
• in 1444, Portuguese marauders arrived in
Senegal ready to assault and capture Africans
using armour, swords, and deep-sea vessels.
But they were unsuccessful due to not being
suited for the shallow waters so they set up • It tells you about the the trade,
commercial trade instead. Working with the however I was interested in
leaders. ‘Establishing the Trade’
• The African leaders were more in command • I learnt about the Portuguese, and
then the Portuguese were. what was happening before the
• But later on the Europeans found that the British.
commercial trade didn’t generate enough • I helps answer majority of the
questions, as my questions are
slaves. So they encouraged more warfare and
focused on before the British.
made military alliances to produce more
slaves.

• Because it’s an educational text, it lacks

bias.
• It comes from a strong website, and I
know it’s reliable because of the .edu.
Showing it’s an educational website.
• For my speci c uses, it is good,
however for others who aren’t focused
on before the British joined in on the
established trade it may not be as good.

How can I use this information? Because of how well much information it contains about important aspects to my
assignment. I can’t nit pick what I need exactly, so my notes won’t be as long, because I’ll be returning to the site multiple
times. It’s very informative and will be great use to me, but I may not be able to recommend it to others who aren’t focusing
on before the British took part in the trade.
 W

(Wikipedia, WP, 2023. History of Slavery, https://tinyurl.com/2h4fz4af)

• It’s an educational source, geared

towards general slavery
• It’s a secondary source
• It was created and edited by multiple
editors, spanning from the 6th of
• Slavery was institutionalised by the time the rst civilisations March, 2023-22nd of August, 2023.
emerged (such as Sumer in Mesopotamia, which dates back (Website was accessed on 22nd of
as far as 3500 BC). Slavery features in the Mesopotamian
August, 2023 17:09.)
Code of Hammurabi (c. 1750 BC),
• This shows records of slavery before the British were involved. • They created it to inform others about
slavery

• It gives an overview of the history on

slavery.
• It would be informative about the
Trans-Atlantic slave trade but there are
better sources.
• What I wanted it for was for records
from the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
before the British were involved.
• It helped answer the question of
Artefacts and records from before
British involvement.
•

• Wikipedia is generally not considered a

trusted source. Even though it’s a .org
website, and editing restrictions are
much higher now then they were a few
years ago.
• It doesn’t tell me a lot of things about
the slave trade, however that wasn’t
what I was looking for in the source.
• It’s not fully reliable, and so while it
might not be biased now, someone can
edit it to make it biased.
• Overall making it a weak source.

While it is preferred to not use Wikipedia, I wasn’t able to nd another source that went into detail about it’s connection with the Trans-
Atlantic slave trade. Meaning, the source can’t fully be trusted. But I did a general source search of what was written in it. And it was
connected to the slave trade, because of the time periods and it’s Portuguese origin. Meaning, this bene ts me because it answers some
important questions about records and artefacts before British involvement.
 (Understanding Slavery Initiative, USI, 2023. Gallery of Artefacts, https://tinyurl.com/3u9e68fy)

• It’s an informational website, that

contains di erent artefacts.
• It contains Primary sources
• Created by the Understanding
Slavery Initiative, to inform and help
others understand slavery
• The information from this link shows a lot of di erent •
artefacts, images included.
• Its a good image vault to use throughout the assessment
as it displays a lot of di erent artefacts.
• Not limited to only depictions, but di erent items as well.
• Leg irons, slave sale poster (1892), punishment collar etc.
• All primary artefacts, that aren’t recreated.
•

• It tells you about di erent artefacts, and

what the correlate to.
• I learnt about may di erent artefacts and
what theyw ere used for during the Trans-
Atlantic slave trade
• While not geared towards my questions, it
will be good for images. And artefacts from
the trade.
•

• It’s more about the artefacts, which is

good for what I need the source for.
• It doesn’t go into general speci cs, giving
a small paragraph of information about
said artefact. Describing what it was used
for, and any important speci cs.
• It uses primary sources, however it’s
a .com website. Maning their are potential
reliability issues.
• In my overall reading, it did not appear
biased.

Overall, it’s useful for images, and artefacts but not general information. It would be perfect to provide images from the
Trans-Atlantic Slave trade, to use in the assignment. As I do not need more general information, this does not overall matter
to me.
(Thomas Lewis, T.L , 2023. Transatlantic slave trade, https://tinyurl.com/3u358myj)

• Its an educational source,

• Secondary source, but contains primary
source images.
• It was created by Thomas Lewis and
edited by Brittancias editors
• In 1713 an agreement between Spain and Britain granted • They created it to inform people about
the British a monopoly on the trade of enslaved people the Middle Passage
with the Spanish colonies.
• By the 1480s Portuguese ships were already transporting
Africans for use as enslaved labourers in sugar
plantations.
• No more then a few hundred thousands were taken to the
Americas before 1600. But as demand for the labour rose,
the largest numbers of enslaved people were taken to the
Americas during the 18th century. • It tells you about the origins of
• Economic incentives for warlords and tribes to engage in Transatlantic trade of enslaved people.
the trade of enslaved people promoted an atmosphere of
lawlessness and violence. Inciting devastating a ects to
• I learnt about the origins, such as
the region of Africa. Portuguese’s part in the trade.
• During the early years, the Portuguese generally • It helped me answer my question of if
purchased Africans who had been enslaved during tribal the slaves or the materials were more
wars. important.
• When the demand grew the Portuguese moved inward to • It also helped me learn about how they
forcibly take captives. were sourced, and how it a ected
• When Europeans rst became involved they mainly used Regions of Africa.
commercial channels to get slaves and generally
remained on the coast until later on.

• While it is a trusted source, and has

been edited it’s a .com website.
• Meaning it isn’t considered as reliable
as a .org, or .edu
• It tells me about the origins, meaning
it doesn’t focus on the abolishment.
• There’s no bias, but that doesn’t
mean it’s entirely reliable.

How can this be used in my assessment? It does help answer my questions about Portuguese involvement. And, I’ve used
and trusted the information provided by Brittancia before, and it is a reliable website. But it may not be considered the same
among my teachers, and peers. It’s overall a great addition to my information collection besides the potential to be
unreliable.

(
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was a trade between multiple countries that consisted of the
selling and buying of slaves, and other materials. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade greatly
a ected not just the economy, but the quality of life for many others both positively and
negatively. From the perspective of those on the receiving end of the slaves, it was positive.
As it bene ted their economy, labourers, and people that used slaves to manage their crops
and other plantations. However, it negatively a ected the di erent regions of Africa in which
slaves were stolen from. Not to mention the quality of lives for millions, whom were shipped
and sold to the receiving countries.

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was an international trade surrounded around the
commercial buying and selling of slaves from di erent regions of Africa. Through
commercial purchase along the west coast, and through other means such as
capturing them from farther in land. In 1444, Portuguese marauders arrived at Africas
coast in hops of capturing and enslaving africans. However, due to the shallow waters
they weren’t able to, so to achieve their goal they used commercial trade routes. Later
on, further into the 15th century the British joined in on the slave trade until it’s o cial
emancipation in 1833. Throughout this international trade, many slaves were bought
and taken from di erent regions of Africa to other countries.
 A glimpse into the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade.
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was a trade between multiple countries that
consisted of the selling and buying of slaves, and other materials. The Trans-
Atlantic slave trade greatly a ected not just the economy, but the quality of life for
many others both positively and negatively. From the perspective of those on the
receiving end of the slaves, it was positive. As it bene ted their economy,
labourers, and people that used slaves to manage their crops and other
plantations. However, it negatively a ected the di erent regions of Africa in which
slaves were stolen from. Not to mention the quality of lives for millions, whom (Understanding Slavery Initiative, USI, 2023.
were shipped and sold to the receiving countries. ‘Slave Trade, 1791’. https://tinyurl.com/
4tc2meek)

The Trans-Atlantic slave trade was an international trade surrounded around the
commercial and uncommercial buying and selling of slaves from di erent regions of
Africa. Through commercial purchase along the west coast, and through other means
such as capturing them from farther in land. “In 1444, Portuguese marauders arrived in
Senegal ready to assault and capture Africans using armour, swords, and deep-sea
vessels. But they were unsuccessful due to not being suited for the shallow waters so
they set up commercial trade instead. Working with the leaders.” (Low Country Digital
History Initiative, LCDHI, 2023. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. https://tinyurl.com/
yhevxfnh). Later on, further into the 15th century the British joined in on the slave trade.
(Understanding Slavery Initiative,
USI, 2023. ‘Abolition Campaign “British Parliament outlawed slavery in 1807” (Royal Museums Greenwich, RMC, 2017.
medallion, manufactured in The History of the transatlantic slave trade, https://tinyurl.com/5n78n265) However, it’s
Birmingham, 1834’, https:// o cial parliamentary emancipation was actually in 1833. Throughout this international
tinyurl.com/4x8r6y96) trade, many slaves were bought and taken from di erent regions of Africa to foreign
countries.
The change and continuity throughout the duration of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade
resulted in the in ux of demand for slaves. During the beginning of the slave trade,
commercial routes were generally the primary source of slaves. However when the
demand for slaves grew, commercial routes weren’t able to sustain the trade. “No more
then a few hundred thousands were taken to the Americas before 1600. But as
demand for the labour rose, the largest numbers of enslaved people were taken to the
Americas during the 18th century.” (Thomas Lewis, T.L , 2023. Transatlantic slave trade,
https://tinyurl.com/3u358myj). This resulted in devastating raids in the inner regions of
Africa, in search of slaves to fuel the growing demands of America. “-later on the
Europeans found that the commercial trade didn’t generate enough slaves. So they
encouraged more warfare and made military alliances to produce more slaves.”( Low
Country Digital History Initiative, LCDHI, 2023. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. https:// (Understanding Slavery Initiative, USI,
tinyurl.com/yhevxfnh). This growing demand greatly a ected the Trans-Atlantic slave 2023. ‘Slave sale poster, 1829’ https://
trade, which led to 11-12 million slaves having been forcefully transported to the tinyurl.com/ms6y34zb)
Americas.
The range of perspectives on the Trans-Atlantic varied
from slaves, to slave traders. From the perspective of
slave traders, the Trans-Atlantic slave trade had
bene ted America and Britain. “Their forced labour
produced commodities like tobacco, cotton and sugar,
for which there was a huge European demand.”( Royal
Museums Greenwich, RMC, 2017. The History of the
transatlantic slave trade, https://tinyurl.com/5n78n265).
Through primary sources such as depictions, it can be
seen that through the eyes of enslavers slaves were
viewed di erently from person to person. A caricature
titled ‘Taste in high life’ (Understanding Slavery Initiative,
USI, 2023. Gallery of Artefacts, https://tinyurl.com/
(Understanding Slavery Initiative, USI, 3u9e68fy), depicted a slave that was owned by a higher
2023. Gallery of Artefacts, https:// class family was being fawned over as ‘exotic’.
tinyurl.com/bdhvj7hh)
However, another depiction that showed the reality of
slaves titled ‘A negro hung alive by the ribs to a gallows’
(Understanding Slavery Initiative, USI, 2023. Gallery of (Understanding Slavery Initiative,
USI, 2023. Gallery of Artefacts,
Artefacts, https://tinyurl.com/3u9e68fy) showed just how https://tinyurl.com/47vadpss)
brutal slavery could be, and how much perspective
matters.
The Trans-Atlantic slave trade greatly a ected not just the economy, but the quality of life for many others both positively
and negatively. Through the consideration of causation, change and continuity, and overall perspectives we can get a
glimpse into the past and learn from our mistakes. Because if we forgot about the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, we forget
about those who were wronged. Whom were stolen from their land never to return home.