The Atlantic Slave Trade

Question 1

How many Africans were forcibly migrated to the New World during the Atlantic slave trade?

Answer 1

Around 12 million

Question 2

What was the mortality rate on slave ships during the Atlantic slave trade?

Answer 2

Approximately 12 to 15 percent

Approx. 1.5 million people did not survive the perilous sea voyage

Altogether, for every 100 slaves who reached the New World, another 40 had died in Africa or during the Middle Passage.

Question 3

What was the primary destination of enslaved Africans?

Answer 3

West Indies, Latin America, and South America

Approx. only 5%, were brought to Britain’s North American colonies

Question 4

Which regions of West Africa were prime sources of enslaved labor?

Answer 4

Senegambia
Guinea Coast
Gold Coast
Slave Coast

Question 5

How were African people enslaved?

Answer 5

• Captured in wars
• Slave raids
• Criminal punishment
• Victims of banditry
• Debt bondage

Majority of Africans enslaved and sold were not previously enslaved.

Africans considered captives as members of separate nations

Question 6

What was European involvement in the slave trade?

Answer 6

Established bases along the West African coast where they purchased enslaved Africans in exchange for goods.

C17, England, France, Denmark, Dutch & Portugal had slave trading posts

Question 7

What was African involvement in the slave trade?

Answer 7

The slave trade was a complex and multifaceted system that involved the active participation of both Africans and Europeans, with Africans playing various roles in the capture, enslavement, and sale of their fellow Africans.

About two-thirds of the slaves sent to the New World were male.

Question 8

Why did Africans enslave Africans?

Answer 8

• Merchants, and traders thrived by enslaving some people and selling others abroad.
• Birth rates often exceeded agriculture’s capacity to feed the population.
• Drought, famine, or periods of violent conflict might lead a ruler or a merchant to sell slaves.
• Many rulers sold slaves to obtain trade goods such as textiles, alcohol, and other rare imports, which were essential for ensuring the loyalty of their subjects.

Question 9

What did The Europeans trade with African traders and rulers in exchange for enslaved people?

Answer 9

• Firearms and ammunition
• Textiles and clothing
• Alcohol
• Ironware and metal goods
• Beads and other decorative items
• Cowrie shells
• Tobacco
• Manufactured goods