Crash Course Black American History - Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade

Introduction

• Presenter: Clint Smith
• Topic: The Trans-Atlantic slave trade (late 15th century to late 19th century)
• Warning: Discussion includes challenging topics like sexual violence and extreme violence for thorough historical understanding.

Overview

• Spanned nearly 400 years.
• Regions affected: Senegambia, Sierra Leone and Windward Coast, Gold Coast, Bight of Benin, Bight of Biafra, West Central Africa (Kongo and Angola).
• W.E.B. Du Bois described it as a "magnificent drama in the last thousand years of history" (not in a positive sense).

Slave trade to US

• Only about 5% of enslaved Africans brought to US.
• 41% went to Brazil, millions to Caribbean and South America.

Middle Passage

• Part of triangular trade:
  • 1st leg: Europe to Africa (goods like textiles, iron, firearms).
  • 2nd leg: Middle Passage (enslaved Africans transported to Americas).
  • 3rd leg: Americas to Europe (goods like sugar, tobacco).
• Estimated 12.4 million people transported.
• ~2 million died during the Middle Passage; thrown overboard.
• Conditions on ships: tightly packed, chained, unsanitary.

Enslaved People's Narratives

• Olaudah Equiano’s account in his autobiography describing fear and horror.
• Captured Africans often didn’t know what lay ahead.
• Africans sometimes sold by other Africans: prisoners of war, criminals, or poor people.
• Difference between African slavery and intergenerational, hereditary chattel slavery in Americas.

Horrific Conditions

• Diseases: yellow fever, malaria, smallpox, dysentery.
• Physical conditions: cramped, stench, lack of ventilation.
• Violence, torture, sexual violence common.

Resistance by Enslaved People

• Acts of resistance: revolts, refusing to eat, jumping overboard.
• Economic impact: suicide attempts undermined financial incentives.
• Some believed ocean would carry them home.
• Devices for force-feeding: speculum orum, hot coals, thumb-screws.
• Surviving was also a form of resistance.

Statistics and Impact

• Peak period: 1700-1808, around two-thirds trafficked.
• Death toll: Only ~28 to 30 out of 100 would survive to live in the colonies.
• Language note: “enslaved person” emphasizes personhood.

Key Players

• England’s Royal African Company had a monopoly on English trade to Africa (1672-1725 most active).
• South Carolina's repeated engagements with slave trade laws and practices.

Ending the Slave Trade

• 1808: US federal government ended international slave trade.
• 1807: Britain ended international slave trade.
• Domestic slave trade continued in the US.
• British abolition of slavery in 1833; US after Civil War.
• Brazil continued until 1888, the last in the Western world.

Conclusion

• Long-lasting global impact on black and white life.
• More to be covered in future episodes.
• Production credited to Thought Cafe and funded by Patreon.

References

• W.E.B. Du Bois, Orlando Patterson, Marcus Rediker, Jill Lepore, Ira Berlin
• Olaudah Equiano's autobiography

Relevant Links

• Crash Course on Patreon: Support the series for continued free education for all.
• Thought Cafe (Animation Team)

Subscribe for More

• Future episodes to cover further impact and history.

Emoji Summary

📚 - Educational, historical summary on Trans-Atlantic slave trade.