This document provides background on the Atlantic slave trade. It explains that Europeans initially planned to use Native Americans for labor on plantations and farms but they faced problems with disease, familiarity with the land making escape easy, and lack of experience with hard labor. This led Europeans to turn to African slaves as a new source of labor. The slave trade developed a system where slaves from Africa were transported to the New World, often to Brazil at first, to work on plantations and farms. Over 12 million Africans were ultimately enslaved in the Americas through this system, with around 400,000 landing in what is now the United States.

1. AMERICAN HISTORY:
UNIT 1 LECTURE 3
TH E ATLANTI C S LAV E TR ADE

2. BACKGROUND TO SLAVE TRADE
• Both sugar
plantations and
tobacco farms
required a lot of
labor. Europeans
had planned to use
Native Americas for
labor.
Problems with Native
People as workers:
• A. Familiarity with
land/easy to escape
• B. Disease
• C. Not used to hard
labor

3. BACKGROUND TO SLAVE TRADE
• Because of these problems,
Europeans in the New World look
to a new source for workers African Slaves
• Slavery already occurred in West
Africa – Europeans take
advantage of it

4. DEMAND FOR SLAVES IN THE NEW
WORLD
For Europeans in America, African
slaves were a good solution. Why?
1. They were resistant to disease
2. They knew how to farm
3. Didn't know the land
4. Skin color made them easy to
identify

5. THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
• ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE soon develops.
• ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE = the buying
and selling of Africans for work in the
New World.
• Starts with Spanish and Portuguese –
Most slaves end up in BRAZIL

6. ENGLISH COLONISTS NEED FOR SLAVES
• When the English colonized America,
they often brought INDENTURED
SERVANTS
• INDENTURED SERVANT - A person who
agreed to work in America for a
specific period of time in exchange for
passage.

7. INDENTURED SERVANTS
Problems with Indentured Servants 
• Eventually they are allowed to go free.
• Freed Servants Need Land
• Causes conflicts in society

8. BACON'S REBELLION
• Group of Virginians some of them freed
servants - demand
Indian lands
• Governor of VA
wants to keep
peace, sides with
Indians
• Rebels, led by
Nathaniel Bacon,
burn Jamestown and
nearly kill the
governor

9. RESULTS OF BACON’S REBELLION
• Scares the Nobles of Virginia
• Start looking at a source of labor that
won't cause these types of problems African slaves.
• Why?
Because they will never be free!

10. THE SLAVERY BUSINESS
• England and English
Colonies quickly
become largest
carrier of slaves
• From 1690 to 1807,
English transport ~
1.7 Million slaves to
Americas
• 400,000 land in
todays U.S.

11. TRIANGULAR TRADE
Transatlantic trade involving slaves, raw
materials, and manufactured goods.
1

12. THE MIDDLE PASSAGE
• Trip from Africa to
the Americas was
known as the
Middle Passage
• Marked by
terrible cruelty
and awful
conditions

13. FINAL FIGURES
• Over 12 Million Africans were enslaved
in The Americas
• Only about 5% came to the modern
U.S. – Most to Southern Colonies
• The SLAVE TRADE was outlawed in 1808

14. 1. From http://www.irespect.net