African Empires

1
African Empires
2
West African Empires

• Ghana N. Africa brought commodities to trade
  for Gold
• Mali replaced Ghana and its caravan routes
• Mansa Musa leader from 1307-1337, Muslim, made
  Timbutku the center for WORLD learning
• Songhai empire took over Mali around 1500 began
  to decline due to Spaniard, Portuguese influences
  in mid 1500s

3
East, Central, South Africa

• East Africa influenced by Arabic nations that
  acted as trade intermediaries, Swahili culture
  Swahili is Arabic for near the coast
• Central Bantu speaking speaking, brought goods,
  slaves to the East
• South Great Zimbabwe 1400s, famous for stone
  structures

4
SLAVERY Atlantic Trade

• Slavery has existed for thousands of years, it
  still exists today
• Slaves generally were used for manual labor
• Early forms of slavery involved conquered people
  not based on race
• Early African slavery involved Muslims trading
  slaves throughout the east as many as 18
  million were sold as slaves between 650 and 1905
  AD
• Europeans first interest was in GOLD not slaves

5
Portuguese Slave Trade

• 1444 Portugal takes 250 slaves from W. Africa
• 1550 over 50 thousand slaves in Europe
• Portuguese changed from raids to trading with W.
  African leaders for war prisoners
• By 1600 they had established trade connections
  down the W. African coast
• Elmina Castle

6
Atlantic Slave Trade

• By 1500 Spaniards were looking for slaves for
  mining and haciendas
• Plantations in the Caribbean
• Europeans needed manual labor in order to have
  large crops

7
Triangular Trade

• Europe sends weapons, horses to W. African
  leaders
• W. African leaders trade slaves for European
  weapons
• Slaves are sold to farmers, colonists in the
  Americas
• Tobacco and sugar are sold to the Europeans by
  the colonists
• Slaves were an integral part of system
• Over 2.5 million slaves were brought to the
  Americas by this system

8
Middle Passage

• Travel between Africa and Caribbean
• Captured in Africa, held in castles Elmina
• Overcrowded slavers would take three to six
  weeks to cross
• Up to 20 of slaves would die on trip
• Ships designed to carry as many slaves as
  possible head room as small as 2.7 ft.

Medford Historical Society
9
Slaves in British North America

• British used few slaves in N.A. at first
• Only 150 slaves in VA as of 1640
• 1641 colony of MA legalized slavery
• 1700 all British colonies had legalized slavery
• Slavery was more prevalent in Caribbean and Latin
  America

http//hitchcock.itc.virginia.edu/Slavery/.
10
Southern Colonial Slavery

• Most slavery in British colonies
• By 1708 1,000 new slaves a year into VA, S.C.
  slaves were 60 of population
• Why slaves in the south? Economics
• Tobacco, cotton, indigo largest crops on
  plantations
• Slaves treatment varied greatly all slaves had
  no freedom
• Overseers in charge of slaves often the most
  abusive
• Not all slaves on plantations often slaves
  would work with owners on small farms which may
  only have one slave
• Slavery became the most important part of the
  Southern Economy

11
Slavery in the Mid Atlantic

• New York, Pennslyvania, Delaware, NJ
• PA Quakers and Mennonites were against slavery on
  religious grounds
• Many worked in factories, building cities,
  skilled jobs
• Indentured servants kept need for slaves down
• Slaves were mistreated graves in NYC unearthed
  with over 400 slaves many with evidence of
  malnutrition or abuse

12
Slavery in New England

• Slavery was the least common
• More people spoke against slavery
• Slaves had more rights than the middle colonies
  and south
• Why was this so?
• Many were domestic servants
• SLAVES DID EXIST IN NEW ENGLAND