Atlantic+Slave+Trade+-+18th+Century

=Middle Passage and Transatlantic Slave Trade = =18th Century =

Definition:
The Transatlantic Slave Trade consisted of three par
 * First. The outward passage was from Europe to Africa carrying manufactured goods such as copper, guns, ammunition, and pots.
 *  Second. The middle passage, the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, was from Africa to the Americas or the Caribbean, carrying African slaves (men, women, and children) and sometimes other goods (for example the plant Indigo). This journey took up to three months.
 *  Third. The homeward passage was from the Americas to Europe, carrying sugar, tobacco, rum, rice, cotton and other goods

More on the Middle Passage:
====About 10 to 15 million of West African slaves were shipped to The Americas because they were the cheapest form of labor available to work the farms and mines because the native American population had been reduced. Most African slaves were shipped to the West Indies, Central America, and South America. ==== ====The conditions of the middle passage, from West Africa to America, were horrible and many slaves died or committed suicide. People were crammed on the ships and barely had move to room. sometimes men were chained to each other or the floor of the ship. Women were often abused. Disease was a major problem on the ships and caused many deaths.====



Historical Background and Reasons for Slave Trade:
Expanding European empires in the New World lacked one major resource: a work force Africans were good workers The Portuguese’s initial exploration and discovery of West Africa was a factor in the reasons for the start of the Slave Trade. The Portuguese were looking for good relationships with West Africa, hoping to lead to trading.
 * They often had experience of agriculture and keeping cattle
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> They were used to a tropical climate
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> Resistant to tropical diseases
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> They could be "worked very hard" on plantations or in mines
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">They were cheap labor

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Abolition of Slave Trade:
<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In 1807 Great Britain passed a bill banning the slave trade. In January the next year the United States followed by banning the importation of slaves. The acts did nothing to stop the trade of slaves within the nation's borders, but did end the overseas trading of slaves. To enforce these laws, Britain and the United States both patrolled the seas off the coast of Africa. They stopped suspected slave traders and took away the ship when slaves where found. The slaves was then transported back to Africa.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Positive Effects:

 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The slaves brought cheap labor to the colonies for agricultural farming
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Drastically increased the population in America
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Boosted American economy
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Increased Trade

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Negative Effects:

 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Slave trade led to more racist views ====
 * ====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Destabilized and harmed African societies ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Primary Source Link:
====<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"> [|Primary Source] ====

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a speech by William Wilberforce in 1789. He expressed how he wishes Africans will be reimbursed for all the work they have done. He explains how much other societies relied on African slaves. He is educating people so that one day Africa can be re-payed, for example, by "trade upon true commercial principles".