AFRAS 170A Quiz #1: African Origins, Middle Passage, Black People in Colonial North America

Which of the following best describes "seasoning" for the newly arrived slaves?

a.the process of becoming accustomed to and learning new skills for their lives in the Americas

How did African women's experiences differ from African men's on board slave ships?

b.African women experienced sexual violence by the ships' crews. This high level of violence, and its psychological effects, may have led to their lessened sex drives once the women arrived in the Caribbean and Latin America.

What steps did the Europeans take to reduce the risk of rebellion at the slave factories in Africa?

b.Families and ethnic groups were separated.

What was not true about the rapid spread of disease on slave ships?

b.Generally, ship doctors used a primitive form of inoculation to prevent the worst diseases.

When was the Atlantic trade abolished and by whom?

Britain - 1807

What was "the scramble"?

Captains established standard prices, herded them together, let buyers rope the slaves they desired together

What religion did Portugal hope to spread?

Christianity - against the muslims

Maroons

Communities of escaped slaves

John Rolfe

Credited for keeping Jametown's economy alive with the productio of Tobacco

The Triangle Trade's route was:

England to Africa to Indies and back

What were 3 advantages to Europe regarding the Slave Trade?

1. Economic opportunities 2. Financed many businesses 3. Government taxes - tax on human imports

What was the Ghana empire known for?

1. Gold & Salt trade 2. Matrilineal pattern 3. Almoravids (muslims) conquered it in 1076

What was the significance of the Munhu Matapa civilization?

1. Had amazing architecture / craftsmanship 2. Europeans couldn't believe Africans built it!

What were the 3 criterions?

1. Many died 2. Had to adapt to new food/climate 3. Learn new language

What was the Mali empire known for?

1. Sundiata Keita was founding father - ruled for 13 centuries 2. Leader was Mansa Musa who led the greatest pilgrimage to Mecca

What was the Songhai empire known for?

1. Sunni Ali Ber - "The Great" = believed in several religions 2. Askia Mohammed - largest army in West Africa and promoted education, lost followers who weren't Islamic

How many Africans were uprooted from the European Slave Trade?

100 million

In ________, ___________ becomes first colony to legalize enslavement

1641 , Massachusetts

Bacon's Rebellion

1675 - an uprising against American Indians and the colonial government in the Virginia Colony over taking reprisal action for alleged thefts by the Native Americans.

Bartolome de Las Casas

A catholic missionary who had the idea to use Africans soldiers as slaves

Asiento

A contract

What law did Maryland pass in 1639?

A law that prohibited use of Christian baptism to free Africans from enslavement

Largest number of captives went to ____________

Brazil

Jamestown

First British colony - 1607

Elmina

First Slave Factory in 1481

John Cabot

First explorer to Americas

John Newton

Former captain of slave ship, then a priest that repented his involvement on the ship

What was the first empire in West Africa? Years?

Ghana - 300 - 1240 ACE

What was the second empire in West Africa? Years?

Mali - 1240 - 1400 ACE

Who / in what year was Songhai defeated?

Moroccans defeated Songhai in 1591

Indentured Servitude

Parents indentured their children to Masters who controlled their lives/labor in return for being taught a profession

Papal Bull of 1493

Pope Alexander VI gave Spain South-western land in South America & gave Africa to Portugal

Papal Bull of 1455

Pope Nicholas V claimed that there was no moral conlifct in slavery with God and people believed him since he represented God

What was the third empire in West Africa? Years?

Songhai - 1475-1594 ACE

Chattel Slavery

Slaves treated as legal property

Most fatal disease aboard the ships?

Smallpox

Seasoning

The process by which slaves were broken into slavery

The Spanish and Portuguese dominated the early slave trade with the Africans. Which nation ousted them from this status in the early seventeenth century?

a.Holland

Which European country took the lead in exploration and colonization in the early 1400s?

a.Portugal

Many slaves were sold once they reached the West Indies. What was typical of the sale process?

a.Slavers allowed the slaves some time to rest and recuperate before sale.

Europeans found native populations in the areas of North and South America. Why did they need labor from Africa?

a.The Native Americans quickly began to die in huge numbers from diseases imported by the Europeans.

Which of the following is not true of Creoles or older Africans?

a.They were considered less valuable than other Africans for many reasons.

Enslaved people in the Americas became __________ , or personal property. When they became slaves they often lost many of their legal and customary rights.

a.chattel

Until the early sixteenth century, for what were the early slaves captured by the Portuguese used?

a.domestic servants

How was work divided among the slaves during seasoning in the West Indies?

b.Masters generally split the slaves up into several gangs, with the strongest men doing the heaviest work, the older slaves and women doing weeding, and children assisting in light tasks.

Which of the following does not characterize doctors of slave ships at the time?

b.Since slavers wanted to keep as many slaves alive as possible, ships' doctors had an unusually sophisticated knowledge of medicine at the time.

Which statement about the nature of the Islamic slave trade prior to European entry is true?

b.The Islamic slave trade was not based primarily on race.

What do we learn from the story written by Olaudah Equiano, a former slave?

b.The middle passage was an incredibly difficult experience for Africans, torn from their home and families and forced into horrifying conditions.

Why did the British want to take over the slave trade in the late seventeenth century?

b.They needed labor for tobacco cultivation in Virginia and Maryland.

Which of the following is not a reason why Africans enslaved other Africans, and sold them to Europeans?

c.African tribes were forced under threat of annihilation or war to sell other Africans to the Europeans.

Who was the first known Portuguese merchant to begin to formally trade for slaves with the Africans?

c.Ruy do Siqueira

How did a planter decide if a slave had been "seasoned"?

c.The slave seemed psychologically stable, and did not participate in armed rebellion or suicide attempts.

How did an African become a slave?

c.Their town or village was conquered by another African army.

What disease took the lives of most slaves while on board the slave ships?

c.smallpox

Which accomplishment was not a first for (or sponsored by) the Portuguese?

c.the discovery of the New World

Where did most of the slaves from Africa go?

c.to Brazil, to work on the sugar plantations

What do we learn from the story of John Newton, a British slave-ship captain?

d.Both that Christians could be cruel, harsh slavers and that some never saw a contradiction between trading in human cargo and their religious beliefs.

Slavery in the Americas developed along different lines than had slavery in Africa. Which of the following was not one of those differences?

d.In West Africa, female slaves were only used to make cloth, while they generally did hard agricultural work in the Americas.

Which of the following was not a characteristic of a typical slave ship?

d.Slave ships were generally poorly constructed, and were more likely to fall apart on their way to the Americas as make it there.

Which was not a reason why the British abolished the Atlantic slave trade in 1807?

d.The British had begun to believe that racism was scientifically incorrect and should not be a part of their belief systems.

Which of the following is true about the path a slave—once captured—took to the market in Africa?

d.The slaves were tied together with ropes, or had "yokes" around their necks during the journey.

How did the early Europeans usually obtain their supply of slaves?

d.They obtained their slaves through trade with native African tribes.

What was the international reaction to England's abolition of the slave trade?

d.When many African nations began warring after the abolition, some European colonies had an excuse to establish colonies there.

Slave rebellions were not an uncommon experience on slave ships. Which of the following was not a common way for slaves to rebel or resist their imprisonment?

d.by stealing life boats and rowing back to shore prior to the ship leaving for the Americas.