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Questions and Answers
What was the purpose of using the screw-like speculum orum on resistant Africans?
What was the purpose of using the screw-like speculum orum on resistant Africans?
To force feed them
During what time period was the Transatlantic Slave Trade the most destructive?
During what time period was the Transatlantic Slave Trade the most destructive?
1700 to 1808
Why is the term 'enslaved' used instead of 'slave'?
Why is the term 'enslaved' used instead of 'slave'?
To emphasize that slavery was an involuntarily imposed condition
When did England's Royal African Company have a monopoly on English trade to Africa?
When did England's Royal African Company have a monopoly on English trade to Africa?
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When did slavery end in Brazil, which had the largest proportion of enslaved people trafficked across the ocean?
When did slavery end in Brazil, which had the largest proportion of enslaved people trafficked across the ocean?
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What was the estimated survival rate of enslaved Africans from the interior to the colony, according to historian Jill Lepore?
What was the estimated survival rate of enslaved Africans from the interior to the colony, according to historian Jill Lepore?
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When did South Carolina prohibit the African slave trade and when did it reopen it before the federal ban in 1808?
When did South Carolina prohibit the African slave trade and when did it reopen it before the federal ban in 1808?
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When was the international slave trade officially ended by the British?
When was the international slave trade officially ended by the British?
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In what year was slavery abolished in the United States after the Civil War?
In what year was slavery abolished in the United States after the Civil War?
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When did Brazil abolish slavery, making it the last country in the Western world to do so?
When did Brazil abolish slavery, making it the last country in the Western world to do so?
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Describe the six primary regions that contributed the majority of enslaved Africans during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
Describe the six primary regions that contributed the majority of enslaved Africans during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.
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What did W.E.B. Du Bois describe the Atlantic slave trade as?
What did W.E.B. Du Bois describe the Atlantic slave trade as?
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How many African captives are estimated to have been transported via the Middle Passage across the Atlantic?
How many African captives are estimated to have been transported via the Middle Passage across the Atlantic?
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What was the purpose of the triangular trade route that involved the Middle Passage?
What was the purpose of the triangular trade route that involved the Middle Passage?
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What was the approximate mortality rate of African captives during the Middle Passage?
What was the approximate mortality rate of African captives during the Middle Passage?
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Study Notes
- Clint Smith's "Crash Course Black American History" episode discusses the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which lasted from late 15th to late 19th century.
- Six primary regions contributed the majority of enslaved Africans: Senegambia, Sierra Leone & Windward Coast, Gold Coast, Bight of Benin, Bight of Biafra, and West Central Africa (Kongo and Angola).
- W.E.B. Du Bois described the Atlantic slave trade as the "most magnificent drama in the last thousand years of human history," referring to its horrific nature.
- An estimated 12.4 million people were transported via the Middle Passage across the Atlantic.
- The Middle Passage was the second leg of the triangular trade, with Europe supplying Africa with goods, Africans exchanged for goods in the Americas, and Americas exporting sugar and tobacco back to Europe.
- Approximately 2 million African captives died during the Middle Passage, often thrown overboard.
- Only about 5% of enslaved Africans were brought directly to the United States, with the largest proportion (41%) going to Brazil.
- Conditions on slave ships were horrific, with people packed closely, forced to relieve themselves in the same areas, and no ventilation, leading to rampant disease.
- Enslaved Africans were often prisoners of war, criminals, or poor members of society, sometimes traded by other Africans.
- Violence, including sexual violence, was a common occurrence during the Middle Passage.
- Enslaved Africans resisted in various ways, from individual acts like refusing to eat to collective acts like revolts.
- The screw-like speculum orum was used to force feed resistant Africans, causing injury and pain.
- The period from 1700 to 1808 was the most destructive time for the Transatlantic Slave Trade, with two-thirds of enslaved Africans trafficked to the Americas and a staggering death toll.- Historian Jill Lepore estimates that out of every one hundred Africans taken from the interior, sixty-four survived the trip to the coast, forty-eight survived the Atlantic journey, and twenty-eight to thirty survived the first three to four years in the colony.
- The term "enslaved" is used instead of "slave" to emphasize that slavery was an involuntarily imposed condition.
- England's Royal African Company, established in 1672, had a monopoly on English trade to Africa and was active in the slave trade from 1675 to 1725.
- South Carolina prohibited the African slave trade in 1787 but reopened it in 1803, bringing over 35,000 enslaved people to the state before the federal ban took effect in 1808.
- The transatlantic slave trade was ended in the United States in 1808, but illegal trading continued. The British had ended the international slave trade in 1807.
- Slavery was abolished in Britain in 1833 and in the United States after the Civil War in 1865.
- Spanish and Brazilian traders continued the slave trade until the late 1800s. Brazil, which had the largest proportion of enslaved people trafficked across the ocean, was the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery in 1888.
- The transatlantic slave trade was a cruel and violent centuries-long project that shaped the world in significant ways, with lasting impacts on black and white life.
- Crash Course is a production of Complexly and is supported by patrons on Patreon.
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Description
Test your knowledge on the history of the Transatlantic slave trade, covering topics such as the Middle Passage, regions involved, resistance efforts, and its impact on different countries. Learn about key figures like W.E.B. Du Bois, England's Royal African Company, and the eventual abolition of slavery.
