Unit One: Becoming
African America
• Africa is geographically, ethnically, religiously, politically, and culturally diverse
• West Africa is typically the ancestral homeland of most African Americans
• There are several ancient civilizations of West Africa
Africa
Ancient West African Civilizations
Religion
Language
Skills/Economy
Time Period
Leaders
Ghana Soninkepeople
Gold, precious woods, and kola nuts, salt, cloth, horses
500 a.d- 1076
Ghana-war chiefEmperors; princes
Mali Islam Mandingo
Salt and gold trade; farming; Conquering land
1307-early 1400s
Mansa Musa
Songhai Islam
Trade, Education (Timbuktu), Technology
1464-1591
Sunni Ali; Askia Muhammad
BeninForest
Traders, craft workers, wood, ivory, brass, bronze, roads
“Oba” = rulerEwuare
Pg 80-83
• Portugal & Spain led the way in European exploration in the 15th century
• In need of labor for their colonies in the “New World,” they focused on Africans
• There was already a thriving slave trade in Africa
European Exploration
• Africans traded slaves to Europeans, often times due to rivalries among tribes
• European demand for sugar drove up prices, making sugar plantations very profitable
• Because the cultivation of sugar is extremely labor intensive, the Native labor supply could not meet the demands of the sugar industry
Motives for the Expansion of Slavery
• African slaves were then imported to meet this demand
• Race was not a factor in the slave trade in Africa
• Usually slaves taken for use in Africa were used as concubines & domestic servants (women & children) or as soldiers (men)
• Slaves were often captured in warfare
• They were forced to trading posts on the coast
• Slaves were stuffed tightly in slave ships for the trip across the Atlantic Ocean
The Slave Trade in Africa
• Poor sanitation• Insufficient food• Widespread disease• Cramped conditions• Sexual abuse of
women by crew of ships
• Slaves would throw themselves overboard to drown
• Resistance & rebellion commonly occurred
Conditions on Slave Ships
Atlantic Slave Trade
• The “Middle Passage” was the middle leg in a triangular trade that linked Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
• On this middle leg, slaves purchased with European products were transported to the Americas
• Once there, they worked in agriculture, producing commodities for the European market
The Middle Passage
Triangle Trade
• Most slaves who survived the journey were first sold in the Caribbean (West Indies)
• They were “seasoned,” by learning their new jobs, environments, language, and rules
• Behaviors & attitudes were modified to break connections with Africa
• The goal was to produce efficient & effective laborers
• Slaves were subjected to the humiliation of examination & sale
• They were often purchased by British & later American plantation owners for work in North America
Seasoning Process
Seasoning Process
Seasoning Process
• Most slaves were men, used for agricultural labor
• Slaves became personal property, losing basic rights.
Characteristics of Slavery in America
The slave trade was outlawed:• Britain in 1807• United States in 1808
