Lecture Notes: The Atlantic World and the Transatlantic Slave Trade

Introduction

• Transformation of the Atlantic world included impacts on the African continent.
• Slave trade became a primary economic pillar supporting global commerce.
• Europeans had established contact with some African peoples via ancient trading routes.

Early European Exploration and Trade

• 15th-16th centuries: Portuguese and Spanish explorers and traders sail along the African coast.
• Small trading posts established, creating entry points to West Africa and routes to the interior.
• Initial European interest in Africa: commodities like gold, ivory, and spices, not slaves.

Shift to Slave Trade

• Developments in America increased demand for labor, changing trade dynamics.
• Lucrative plantations established by Spanish colonists led to dwindling native labor populations.
• By 1600: African slave labor became a viable alternative.
• Buying and selling human beings became a major trade activity along West African coastline.

African Societies and Pre-European Slavery

• African continent had diverse societies, cultures, large kingdoms, and urban centers.
• Literacy and luxury goods trade was widespread in regions.
• Slavery existed prior to European involvement but was different, often resembling serfdom.
• Slavery was not based on race; racialization of slavery was a European concept.

European-Led Transatlantic Slave Trade

• Spanish and Portuguese lead, followed by Dutch, English, and French entrants.
• Depended on African trading contacts for supplies of enslaved people.
• Europeans built slave dungeons and forts but mainly traded from ships offshore.
• African participation was driven by influx of capital and European trade goods.

Impact on African States

• States investing in slave trade saw economic gains (e.g., Kingdom of Dahomey).
• Fortunes of states rose with the slave trade during its height in the 17th and 18th centuries.
• Slave trade altered traditional norms, leading to increased violence and capture efforts.

Roles of European Powers

• Emergence of new European powers in the slave trade: Dutch, English, French.
• English Royal African Company attempted to monopolize the trade but demand exceeded supply.
• Open access to the trade led to massive increase in slave transit.
• Up to 40,000 enslaved Africans transported annually by the British in peak years.

Economic Structure

• The transatlantic slave trade viewed as another form of oceanic trade by Europeans.
• Exchange of slaves for weapons, textiles, and luxury goods from Europe.
• Violence and unethical practices were common in the trade.

Middle Passage

• Middle Passage: 6-8 weeks of brutal transport from West Africa to the Caribbean/Americas.
• High mortality rates due to disease, violence, malnutrition, and psychological trauma.

Economic Boom in Europe

• Slave trade regulated by European governments for wealth.
• Slave-related trade boosted various sectors in Europe (textiles, salt, pottery, food).
• Slave-grown produce (sugar, rum, tobacco, rice, coffee) fed European markets and industrial growth.

Consequences of the Slave Trade

• Europeans benefited from new agricultural products and a global economy.
• African societies faced widespread devastation and underdevelopment.
• Slave trade caused long-lasting misery and economic decline in Africa.
• Continued poverty for descendants of slaves and affected African nations.