The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Question 1

Describe the stages of the triangular trade (5)

Answer 1

• Ships sailed from Britain to Africa, carrying manufactured good
• Slave ships mainly departed from Liverpool, Bristol, and London
• Slave ships left West Africa carrying slaves to the West Indies
• The Middle passage could take between a few weeks to several months
• Ships carrying cotton, tobacco, sugar, would sail back across the Atlantic

Question 2

Explain the poor living and working conditions of slaves on plantations (6)

Answer 2

• Given poor quality food so were malnourished
• Subject to brutal punishment such as whipping for low effort work
• Exhausted by working 12 hours
• Intense heat made working extremely hard
• Women were often mistreated by owners
• Subject to injury whilst working such as when working a sugar making machine

Question 3

Describe the Conditions during the Middle Passage (6)

Answer 3

• Male slaves were chained together by their hands and feet
• Females were sexually exploited by the crew
• Diseases were widespread, for example, dysentery
• Slaves were held on board using a tight packing system
• Overcrowding caused extreme heat in the hold
• Slaves that refused to eat were force fed

Question 4

Explain the Negative Impact on the Caribbean Islands (6)

Answer 4

• Natives such as the Arawaks were killed by foreign diseases
• Plantations took over small farms causing a loss of employment for local farmers
• Large natural areas were destroyed to make room for sugar farms
• Slavery led to an increase in racist ideologies
• An overreliance on sugar production hurt the economy
• Profits from slave produced good were reinvested into the Caribbean but instead Britain

Question 5

Explain why resistance on plantations was mostly unsuccessful (6)

Answer 5

• Slaves were branded and were therefore usually tracked down quickly after escaping
• Slaves usually came from different tribes so found it hard to communicate
• Slaves were deterred by the strict punishments for those who rebelled
• Rebel ringleaders were executed publicly, which put others off resisting
• Slaves were often too hungry and tired to have the energy to rebel
• Slaves had very little free time so it was hard to plan resistance

Question 6

Describe the methods used by abolitionists (6)

Answer 6

• Former slaves educated the public
• Women organised a boycott of all slave produced sugar
• Equiano wrote an autobiography and toured Britain doing speaking tours
• Wilberforce presented an abolition bill each year for 18 years
• Clarkson travelled to ports collecting evidence
• Sharp publicised stories about the trade

Question 7

Describe the experience of slaves in slave factories (6)

Answer 7

• Slaves were examined by doctors upon arrival
• Slaves that rebelled would be put in punishment cells
• Slaves were shackled whilst in the factories
• Women would suffer sexual exploitation
• Slaves would be whipped for any wrongdoing
• Slaves were fed very little to keep them docile

Question 8

Explain how the slave trade benefited the British economy (6)

Answer 8

• Created employment for sailors and dock workers
• Shipbuilders benefitted due to an increase in demand for ships
• Iron merchants benefitted due to an increase in demand for shackles
• Growth of banking and insurance industries in London
• Glasgow benefitted from increased tobacco trade
• Profits from the slave trade provided the capital for the Industrial Revolution

Question 9

Describe the methods used to discipline slaves on plantations (4)

Answer 9

• Flogging with a whip for working slowly
• Branded with a hot iron
• Rebel ringleaders were publicly executed
• Runaways had their feet mutilated

Question 10

Explain why it took so long to abolish the slave trade (6)

Answer 10

• Popular amongst the wealthy as it brought great wealth
• Brought employment to cotton, shipbuilding industries so was popular amongst these workers
• Many MPs had financial interests in the trade so wished to see it continue
• Many MPs were bribed to ensure they continued to support the continuation of the trade
• The slave trade still enjoyed the support of the King
• The products produced by the slave trade were in high demand and it was thought that slavery was required to meet the demand