Full Answer
Why was the Middle Passage important to the slave trade?
So many bodies of dead or dying Africans were jettisoned into the ocean that sharks regularly followed the slave ships on their westward journey. The Middle Passage supplied the New World with its major workforce and brought enormous profits to international slave traders.
What happened to the bodies of the slaves on the Middle Passage?
Their bodies were thrown overboard. The most concentrated period of the triangular trade was between 1700 and 1808, when around two-thirds of the total number of enslaved people embarked on the Middle Passage. Between the 16th and 19th centuries, 12.4 million Africans were enslaved by Europeans and transported to various countries in the Americas.
What is the best book on the African slave trade?
^ Basil Davidson, The African Slave Trade (1961), p. 95. ^ Eltis, David (3 January 2021). "The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database". ^ Thomas, Hugh (1999). The Slave Trade: The story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440–1870. New York: Simon & Schuster. pp. 422–423. ISBN 0684835657. ^ Steckel, Richard H.; Jensen, Richard A. (1985).
What was it like for slaves crossing the Atlantic?
Diagram of a slave ship from the Atlantic slave trade, ca. 1790-91, courtesy of Lilly Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana University. The conditions for enslaved Africans crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the Middle Passage were brutal and deadly.
How were Africans affected by the Middle Passage?
Most contemporary historians estimate that between 9.4 and 12.6 million Africans embarked for the New World. Disease and starvation due to the length of the passage were the main contributors to the death toll with amoebic dysentery and scurvy causing the majority of deaths.
Which of the following best describes the Middle Passage?
Which of the following best describes the Middle Passage? It was the middle leg of a three-legged journey, a leg in which slaves were transported from Africa to the Americas.
How would you describe the treatment of slaves?
Slaves were punished by whipping, shackling, hanging, beating, burning, mutilation, branding, rape, and imprisonment. Punishment was often meted out in response to disobedience or perceived infractions, but sometimes abuse was performed to re-assert the dominance of the master (or overseer) over the slave.
What was the Middle Passage summary?
The Middle Passage was the second leg of the triangular trade of enslaved people that went from Europe to Africa, Africa to the Americas, and then back to Europe. Millions of Africans were packed tightly onto ships bound for the Americas. Roughly 15% of enslaved people didn't survive the Middle Passage.
What was the Middle Passage quizlet?
Middle Passage refers to the travel of slaves from Africa to America. During the passage, about 15% of the slaves died; about 1 million died in all. Slaves were fed one meal per day, were shackled together, and stacked like wood. The Middle Passage was part of the Triangular Trade.
How were African slaves captured and sold?
The capture and sale of enslaved Africans Most of the Africans who were enslaved were captured in battles or were kidnapped, though some were sold into slavery for debt or as punishment. The captives were marched to the coast, often enduring long journeys of weeks or even months, shackled to one another.
How were slaves treated in Africa?
Slaves were often treated as part of their owner's family, rather than simply property. The distribution of gender among enslaved peoples under traditional lineage slavery saw women as more desirable slaves due to demands for domestic labour and for reproductive reasons.
How were slaves treated during the Civil War?
Some slaves were willing to risk their lives and families, while others were not. Many and perhaps most slaves were governable during the war, especially in the early years. Escaping slaves who were caught on their way to freedom were usually very harshly dealt with and frequently executed.
How did slaves cope with slavery?
Enslaved people adopted a variety of mechanisms to cope with the degrading realities of life on the plantation. They resisted slavery through everyday acts, while also occasionally plotting larger-scale revolts.
What are three facts about the Middle Passage?
CrampedEnslaved people were chained and movement was restricted.Enslaved people were unable to go to the toilet and had to lie in their own filth. Sickness quickly spread.Enslaved people were all chained together. ... The state of the hold would quickly become unbearable – dark, stuffy and stinking.
What is the theme of the Middle Passage?
Themes. 'Middle Passage' explores slavery as its central theme. After this, we meet the theme of bondage, where African men sandwiched below deck live with their feces. There's also the theme of sexual harassment; the crew abuse women kept above deck.
How many slaves died on the Middle Passage?
Between 1500 and 1866, Europeans transported to the Americas nearly 12.5 million enslaved Africans, about 1.8 million of whom died on the Middle Passage of the transatlantic slave trade.
What percentage of Africans were children during the Middle Passage?
Roughly twenty-six percent of Africans who endured the Middle Passage were classified as children; captains chained men for the longest periods to prevent rebellion; and enslaved women often suffered sexual assault from crewmembers.
What was the Middle Passage?
The Middle Passage. Diagram of a slave ship from the Atlantic slave trade, ca. 1790-91, courtesy of Lilly Library of Rare Books and Manuscripts, Indiana University. The conditions for enslaved Africans crossing the Atlantic Ocean in the Middle Passage were brutal and deadly. “Slaver” ships were specifically designed for maximizing the numbers ...
How many Africans died in the Middle Passage?
The conditions on slaver ships were so harsh and unbearable that from thirteen to nineteen percent of Africans died in the Middle Passage. Mortality rates were particularly high during the first few centuries of the trans-Atlantic trade, before shipping technology improved to shorten the length of the overall voyage.
What were the proceeds from the sale of the enslaved Africans used for?
The proceeds from sale of the enslaved Africans were then used to buy hides, tobacco, sugar, rum, and raw materials, which would be transported back to northern Europe (third side of the triangle) to complete the triangle.
What was the Middle Passage?
The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of West Africans were forcibly transported to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade. Ships departed Europe for West African markets ...
How many slaves were on each ship?
This equated to about 350 to 450 enslaved Africans on each slave ship, or 1.5 to 2.4 per ton.
What was the Transoceanic segment of the Atlantic slave trade?
Transoceanic segment of the Atlantic slave trade. Commercial goods from Europe were shipped to Africa for sale and traded for enslaved Africans. Africans were in turn brought to the regions depicted in blue, in what became known as the "Middle Passage". Enslaved Africans were then traded for raw materials, which were returned to Europe ...
How many slaves were there in the New World?
Most contemporary historians estimate that between 9.4 and 12.6 million Africans embarked for the New World.
How did slaves resist?
Slaves resisted in many ways. The two most common types of resistance were refusal to eat and suicide. Suicide was a frequent occurrence, often by refusal of food or medicine or jumping overboard, as well as by a variety of other opportunistic means. If a slave jumped overboard, they would often be left to drown or shot from the boat. Over the centuries, some African peoples, such as the Kru, came to be understood as holding substandard value as slaves, because they developed a reputation for being too proud for slavery, and for attempting suicide immediately upon losing their freedom.
What side of the triangle did the slave ship go on?
Special slave ships transported the human cargo, in wretched conditions, males and females separated, across the Atlantic (second side of the triangle). Mortality was high; those with strong bodies survived. Young females were raped by the crew.