[WHAP] Africa and the Americas: The Plantation Complex

Dahomey

(ca. 1650-1894) AFrican kingdom in present day southern benin, reaching its height of influence in the 18th century. Its leaders sought regional power by raiding for slaves in other kingdoms and selling them for firearms and european goods

asante kingdom

(ca. 1700-1896) a rising state in 18th century west africa in the rainforest region of what is now ghana. Their wars of xpansion produced prisoners who were often sold into the atlantic slave circuit

they felt they were worth the investment becuase the enslaved africans could survive in now more dangerous carribean disease environment. through migration and trade contacts, wwest africasn had long been exposed to afro eurasian diseases and had developed a resistence to the same endemic diesease as had europeans

Although they were expensive, why did sugar planters feel enslaved africasn were worth the investment?

guns

As the prices for slaves rose during the 18th century, more and more ____ were imported into west africa

options for escaped slaves included: -joining pirate communities in the caribbean (despite brutality, they were relactively egalitarian) -forming autonomous communities of runaway slaces -settling among amerindian populations -maroon communities

If a slave escaped or was released, where would they go/how would they live? (4)

there was aso little physical distance between master and slave, where conditions of housing and diett were relatively equal, and wehrre the ability ot exploit the labor of slaves varried with it the responsibiility to protecct them

In africa, what was notable about the slavery in villages in regard to the life of the master and the slave

slave labor in the carribean

In the carribean, some of the great estates of the 18th century france and british were built on what

Atlantic plantation system

The coal point in the new set of interchanges among africa, europe, and the americas that peaked in the 18th century. Utilized african slave labor to produce large quantities of agricultureal products, partocularly sugar, for intl markets

slave societies were where slave holding is the heart of social and economic life

What are "slave societies"

enslaved africasn

What people solved the spanish problem of not being able to exploit labor

-africans were more likely to survive malaria and yellow fever -ironically, what should have ben a great advantage in life, the ability to survive in difficult disease environments proved to be a tragic disadvantage to the africans hauled across the ocena to toil on sugar plantations

What specific diseases were the africans more likely to survive? why was this a bad thing?

very high and low because of the harsh working conditions and poor diet

What was the mortality rate and the birthrate on sugar plantations? why

they were unable to effectively explout the labor of the indigenous amerindian inhabitants, who could stand niether the strain of teuropean rule nor the deadly effects of diseases to which they had no immunity. They eventually tried using european indentured sercants, but they were vulnerable to topical diseases like yellowe fever. *takeaway: niether europeans nor amerindians could provide suffiecient labor*

When the spanish first conquered the islands of the carribean, they were unable to do what?

in the americas, where european masters seldom acknowledgment responsibility for their own slave bourne offspring.

african practice stood in contrast to the situation in what place? explain

the complimentary preference of african masters for female slaves and european plantation owners for males ones

african slave raiders profited from what

they became insufficient

as demand from american plantations for slaves increased, what did traditional african sources of supply do

they would pawn the child to someone with sufficient resources to keep him or her alive. A child thus enslaved was not viewed as mere property of his or her master, rather, the chances were good that the child would be incorporated into the social networks of the masters village

before the african slave trade, if an african parent was poor, what would they do with their child

they might be traded in prisoner exchanges, redeemed for ransom, or kept as household sercants

before the rise of the atlantic slave trade, what were war captives used for/what did the Asante Kingdom do with them

tobacco (virginia) rice (carolina) indigo (carolina)

besides sugar, What was the other slave produced plantation crop in the americas

local lineages

descendants of outsiders (such as pawned children or war captives) would come to be identified with what

orignially, slaves and descendant of slaves had the chance of being integrated into society. However, as time and the AST came along, the ability to assimilate into society became a tougher task to complete, and the liklihood of seelling a slave became much higher *~warfare increased ~centralized political structures began to develope ~african merchants and political leaders who traded in slaves gained power and status*

describe how the african slave trrade transformed west african systems of slavery (3)

-male and female slaves were more blanced in numbers -better diet and higher fertility made slave popilation self reprodcuing in British NA -african resistance to enslavement was present here as it was in many other places

describe the british colonies (and plantations) of the Chesapeake

it was very widespread, salves were constantly looking for ways to escape their bondage and, fialing that, to resis their captivity in large or small ways

describe the spread of resistace to slavery

farming, herding

despite the slave trade, ___ and ___ remained the principal economic activities ina africa

yes

did equiano have freedom?

population

europe and asia experienced surges in what during the 18th centruy

it allowed for cultural expression and spiritual self assertion here . While white christians preached obedience now and rewards in the afterlife, slaves sung hymns of liveration and focused on biblical sotries relecant to their plight

even in places of British NA where european culture was dominant, what did relgion allow for (give example as well)

after several slave uprisings in the early 18th century, the british increased their attacks on the maroons. They eventually fought to stalemate, leading to a tearty that allowed the marooms autonomy in exchange for promise that they would hunt, capture, and return future runaways

eventually, what happeend between the maroon communities and british in jamaica

profits from sugar could improve their finances and social standing

for middle class entrepaneuers, what could the involvement in sugar plantations end up doing for them

terrible

if a slvae was recaptured after escaping, what were punishments like

they were gruesome

if traders, owners, or overseeers found a slave not cooperating, resisting, or being insuboordinate, what were the penalties like

european

in areas where africans were a smaller percentave of the population, as in most of british NA, what culture was highly influential

they merged their religious practices /beliefs with christianity

in both cuba and brazil, what did slaves, relgiously speaking, do

uncommon

in british nort america, was manumission common or uncommon

the slaves became, outside of the field -artisans -iron workers -frontier soldiers for expansionist european states

in many parts of america, africans were essential to the economy. They did this by having skills and jobs-what jobs did they have? (3)

-did the back breaking work: weeding, planting, harvesting, and turing the raw cane into a semiprocessed product for export -squeezed the juce out of the cane -sugar production was a agro industrial enterprise and factory like -slaves worked with boiling kettles, which were often dangerous and could even kill them

in regard to sugar making, what did slaves do

-amerindians -sometimes, on a larger scale, there would be cooperations between maroons and amerindians *note: runaway slaves would often assimilate with the differenct aerindian groups*

in some cases, runaway slaves would form alliances with who? go a little in depth

manumission

in some places, what was encouraged as an act of christianity

they found out that they could buy slaves in african markets and sell them for a considerable profit

in west african societies, such as the kongo kingdom, what did portuguese traders find out what they could do

had the rights of the fathers lineage

inn patrilinial societies, where descent us traced through the fathers likne, children of a free man and a slave woman had the rights of who?

-made little to no distinction vetween free blacks and slaves -equiano ~~on other occasions equianos trade goods were confiscated for no reason other than his vulnerability as a black man

legal codes in british nort america made little or no distinction between what? what one specific person experienced/witnessed the "brute" of the lack distinction (give example)

-women, children, elderly -african males

regarding manumission, who were the most likely to be freeed from slaverhy? who wasnt

maroon communities

self governing community of escaped slaves in the early modern caribbean and in coastal areas of Central and South america

-slave societies -african states came to rely on slaves not just as commodities for export but also to play essential domestic roles as soldiers and laborers -this meant that there were now kingdoms in africa where *slaves became essential to the functioning of the state and society*

some "societies with slaves" in africa soon became what? why? what did this mean for kingdoms in africa

usually men of property, either nobles with estates and aristocratic titles or middle class entrepaneuers

sugar planters were usually what type of people

economic growth

the loss of population through the export of slaces harmed what in africa

war captives

the slaves often available to the portuguese for purchase in west africa were often _____ previously

manumission

the voluntary freeing of slaves by their mastters

performed by lower status europen immigrants or by men of mized race (mulattos)

the work or overseeing slave labor was performed by who?

no

were slave populations in the sugar plantation world self sustaining?

(1)songs and stories derived from african cultural traditions might be used to ridicule a master using coded language he could notunderstand (2)religious rites--african, christian, or a synthesis of multiple belief systems and rituals--might serve as assertions of dignity adn spiritual resiliance (3) On slave ships, slaves would try to kill themselve by throwing themselves over board (4) insurrections, or uprisings against the master, slave trader, etc, were common on slave ships (5) some would simply escape

what did afrian slaves resort to as a way of resisting slave traders, owners, and overseers (5)

the harsh fate or working on a caribbean sugar plantation

what did equiano escape

*religion* is perhaps the area where africans oculd best resist the psychological and spiritual tourments of enslavement without risking flight or outright rebellion

what did many african slaves turn to as a result of their harsh life

-maroon communities -they farmed, fished, and occasionally pillaged british sugar plantations on the coasts

what did the african slaves that the spanish left behind in jamaica form? what were some things they did (3)?

british gave currency, rum, clothes, and guns for the asante's slaves/ unfortunate captives

what did the british trade with the asante

they paid no regard to them

what did the masaters on the sugar plantaions do in regard to pregnant women

it stimulated econmic decelopment in 18th century NA and ewestern europe

what did the need fior food , clothing, iron goods, machinaryfor sugar island cause

they would wrok them to death ~~ex. barbados: pop dropped by 45000 peeps

what did the overseers of the sugar plantation usually do to the slaves in regard to working

-female: female captives were more likely to be sold within west africas own slave markets -male: could be exported

what slaves did african masters prefer? european? explain why for both

their threat to the british came not so much from raiding but from the sanctuary that they could provide to other escaped slaves

what threat did the slaves (left behind by the spanish) in jamiaca impose on the british

working within the system -owner was a member of the quakers who opposed/ questioned slavery,equianopaid for his freedom, went to england, worked as a sailor, and even worked as a hairdresser

what unusual strategy for escape from slavery does equiano's life story show us

slowing down/subverting the work process

what was a common form of defiance executed by the slaves against slave/plantation owners

it was hard for them to adapt to that new environment

what was hard for slaves when they escaped and entered a new environment

in affrica the womens offspring would often be assimilated into the host community; in the americas assimilation into european society was hardly and option

what was notable about the descendants of slaves in africa and in the americas

land, people

what was plentiful in africa? what was scarce

*they were transformed into christian saints*, and these beliefs of the yoruba (which was in nigeria, but slaves from there went to the americas) are still venerated today in the cuban and brazilian *syntheses of catholiscism and african religion called santeria and candomble' *

what was the deal with the Yoruba peoples gods? what relgions did the synthesize

the atlantic slave trade

what was the new asante motive for military expansion

the organization of plantations in the west indies

what was the organization of carolina plantations similar to

-all persons were free unless proven otherwise -black men who escaped their masters and moved far enough away might "pass" as a free man

what was the policy on freedom in colonial latin america? how did this help the black man

-they were prefered for their productive and reproductive capabilities -they further sped up the process of assimiliation

what were female slave prefered for? what process did they speed up

they left behind hundreds of african slaves

when the spanish in 1655 fled jamaica during a british attack, who did they leave behind?

relgion

where africans wre greatest in number, what was also great in prescense

-in NE brazil and the caribbean, where 80% of enslaved africans were sent and where slavery was central to every facet of life ~~ex. coastal carolina and virginia

where did slave societies develop

-they were common in the islamic world and in africa itself ~~niger delta region: the slaves had a lower place in society but retained legal rights ~~ottoman empire: slaves played an important roles as soldiers and household servants, but since the basic agricultural work of the ottoman society was performed by freeman, the ottomans can be clasifified as a "society with slave"

where were "societies with slaves" common in? give exampe

european slave traders abd plantation owners

who got the biggest politicl and economic advantages out of the AST

they traded slaves for guns to build a military advantage over their neighbors

why did the Dahomey trade slave for gun?