
The Middle Passage
Middle Passage
The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of Africans were forcibly transported to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade. Ships departed Europe for African markets with manufactured goods, which were traded for purchased or kidnapped Africans…
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade or transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, and existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of t…
How many slaves survived the Middle Passage?
Slave ships were a stew of human misery and terror. These were the defining experiences of all Africans crossing the Atlantic—for those eleven million who survived to landfall, and the million and more who did not survive. The most famous description of the Middle Passage is that of Olaudah Equiano. Doubts persist about his place of birth, but his account, perhaps the memory of his African parents repeated to their son, is the closest we have to a graphic first-hand re-creation of life in ...
What is an example of triangular trade?
Triangular Trade Essays (Examples)
- History of Africa. The Portuguese reached the Gold Coast of Africa in 1439. ...
- African Slavery. Slavery has existed since the beginning history, and references can be found throughout the Old Testament and other ancient writings from around the globe.
- English French Theatre Similarities and. ...
Why did triangular trade begin?
Then, what caused the triangular trade? The Atlantic slave trade. A main cause of the trade was the colonies that European countries were starting to develop. In America, for instance, which was a colony of England, there was a demand for many labourers for the sugar, tobacco and cotton plantations. Why was the triangular trade so important?
What were conditions like on the Middle Passage?
What were conditions like on the middle passage Conditions on board ship during the Middle Passage were: The men were packed together below deck and were secured by leg irons, [ The space was so cramped they were forced to crouch or lie down.

Which part of the triangular trade is called the Middle Passage?
The slaves grew the sugar that was used to brew rum, which in turn was traded for more slaves. In this circuit, the sea lane west from Africa to the West Indies (and later, also to Brazil) was known as the Middle Passage; its cargo consisted of abducted or recently purchased African slaves.
Why was the middle passage a critical part of triangular trade?
It was one leg of the triangular trade route that took goods (such as knives, guns, ammunition, cotton cloth, tools, and brass dishes) from Europe to Africa, Africans to work as slaves in the Americas and West Indies, and items, mostly raw materials, produced on the plantations (sugar, rice, tobacco, indigo, rum, and ...
Is the Middle Passage the same as the triangular trade quizlet?
The Middle Passage was the stage of the triangular trade in which millions of Africans were shipped to the New World as part of the Atlantic slave trade. The term Great Awakening can refer to several periods of religious revival in American religious history.
What was the middle passage of the triangular trade quizlet?
Triangular Trade Route: 1)A ship would leave from a colonial port loaded with goods to take to Africa, to trade with slaves. 2)"Middle Passage"transporting slaves from Africa and bringing them to West Indies for training in the sugar plantations.
What is the main idea of the Middle Passage?
The Middle Passage was the stage of the Atlantic slave trade in which millions of enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas as part of the triangular slave trade.
What factors led up to the triangular trade?
The factors that led up to and fueled the Triangular trade was the discovery of land and slavery.
What were the 3 passages of the triangular trade?
three stages of the so-called triangular trade, in which arms, textiles, and wine were shipped from Europe to Africa, enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, and sugar and coffee from the Americas to Europe.
Which leg of the triangular trade became known as the Middle Passage quizlet?
The voyage of the slave ships from Africa to the America's was called the middle passage because it was the middle leg of the triangular trade.
Why is called the triangular trade?
It was called the triangular trade because of the triangular shape that the three legs of the journey made. The first leg was the journey from Europe to Africa where goods were exchanged for slaves. The second, or middle, leg of the journey was the transportation of slaves to the Americas.
What was the main purpose of the triangular trade quizlet?
The atlantic triangular trade routes involved the transfer of slaves, raw materials, and manufactured products between countries in three regions. Traders took slaves from Africa to the americas, raw materials from the americas to Europe, and finished products from Europe to Africa and the americas.
What parts of the world were involved in the triangular trade quizlet?
A term that describes the trade routes of three different countries during Colonial times: Europe, Africa, and the Americas (including the West Indies).
Why was the triangular trade important to the southern colonies?
As slave labor was in high demand in the colonies, the triangular trade was lucrative for Europe, which allowed the trade to remain robust for centuries. The slave labor supplied to the colonies allowed for the proliferation of plantations, which in turn helped with the growth and prosperity of the New World.
What were the 3 passages of the triangular trade?
three stages of the so-called triangular trade, in which arms, textiles, and wine were shipped from Europe to Africa, enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, and sugar and coffee from the Americas to Europe.
What is triangular trade and why is it important?
Mercantilism led to the emergence of what's been called the “triangular trade”: a system of exchange in which Europe supplied Africa and the Americas with finished goods, the Americas supplied Europe and Africa with raw materials, and Africa supplied the Americas with enslaved laborers.
Why did Europeans ship goods to Africa as part of triangular trade?
Answer and Explanation: European merchants would ship goods like guns, alcohol, textiles, and trinkets to African tribes in exchange for prisoners they had captured from enemy tribes. These prisoners, once sold to Europeans, became slaves on American and Caribbean plantations in the New World.
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.
What was the Middle Passage?
Middle Passage, the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World. It was one leg of the triangular trade route that took goods (such as knives, guns, ammunition, cotton cloth, tools, and brass dishes) from Europe to Africa, Africans to work as slaves in the Americas and West Indies, and items, mostly raw materials, ...
How big was the space for the slaves?
So that the largest possible cargo might be carried, the captives were wedged belowdecks, chained to low-lying platforms stacked in tiers, with an average individual space allotment that was 6 feet long, 16 inches wide, and perhaps 3 feet high (183 by 41 by 91 cm). Unable to stand erect or turn over, many slaves died in this position. If bad weather or equatorial calms prolonged the journey, the twice-daily ration of water plus either boiled rice, millet, cornmeal, or stewed yams was greatly reduced, resulting in near starvation and attendant illnesses.
Where did the triangular trade originate?
These routes began in England, where goods were shipped to Africa. In Africa, the goods were then traded for slaves bound for the Americas. Known as the Middle Passage, the forced voyage from the freedom of Africa to the auction blocks of the Americas was a physical and psychological nightmare that lasted several weeks or months. Having unloaded their cargoes in the colonies, the ships returned to England laden with tobacco, sugar, cotton, rum, and other slave-produced items. This trade pattern continued with some modifications into the early nineteenth century.
Why did the slave trade flourish in the colonies?
Raiding parties might also kidnap Africans from their villages and sell them as slaves. African slaves were viewed as chattel, and because they had no government to protect them or place to hide in the British colonies, the slave trade flourished.
How did slaves die?
slaves probably died en route to the colonies, primarily from diseases resulting from overcrowding, spoiled food, and contaminated water. Many also died of starvation and thirst. Yet captains most feared slave mutinies, 250 of which scholars estimate took place. As a result, those slaves who were disruptive or likely to cause a mutiny were thrown overboard or shot to death. Nevertheless, although some enslaved Africans did resist, they had little means either to protect themselves or to escape. Such hopeless misery led many slaves to commit suicide by jumping overboard or by refusing to eat. Because of the stench and disease, many slave ships had to be abandoned after about five years. Eventually ships were built especially for human cargo, with shackling irons, nets, and ropes as standard equipment.
How many slaves were on the ship?
Later slave ships could carry as many as 400 slaves with a crew of 47. Slaves were chained in pairs (the right arm and leg of one chained to the left leg and arm of another), and men and women were separated from each other. All of them were forced to lie naked on wooden planks below deck in extremely hot quarters. At times, small groups of slaves were allowed to come on deck for exercise; some of them were forced to dance. Women and children could occasionally roam the deck, but men were allowed on deck for only a short while.
How did slavery affect the colonies?
While the slave trade resulted in the economic stagnation and destruction of many African tribes, it greatly benefited both England and the colonies. Since slavery created thousands of jobs (in shipbuilding, shipping, etc.), helped to spur the growth of cities (such as London, Liverpool, New York, and Boston), and created profits for investment, some tried to justify its abuses. For example, James H. Hammond, a slave owner who later became governor of South Carolina, once said that slavery was “the greatest of all the great blessings which a kind providence has bestowed.” Many others like Hammond ignored or refused to respond to the horrors associated with the Middle Passage. Slavery, Hammond claimed, “allowed Whites to tame the southern wilderness and turn it into an agricultural wonderland” and gave a slave owner the “leisure to cultivate his mind and create a society notable for its culture and gentility.”
Why do people trade voluntarily?
ECON 5.7.5.1 Conclude that people trade voluntarily because all parties expect to benefit
Which colony was the first to recognize slavery?
Yet both Maryland and Virginia were in need of a more permanent source of labor: slaves. Although Massachusetts was the first colony to recognize slavery, Maryland and Virginia soon followed, with both colonies legalizing slavery during the 1660s.
How long did the Middle Passage last?
The Middle Passage itself lasted roughly 80 days, on ships ranging from small schooners to massive, purpose-built "slave ships.". Humans were packed together on or below decks without space to sit up or move around. Without ventilation or sufficient water, about 15% grew sick and died.
What was the first slave trade?
Boston was part of this global story. The first slave trade voyage from the American colonies sailed out of Massachusetts. The ship Desire left Salem in 1637, carrying Native American captives from the Pequot War to be sold as slaves in the Caribbean. When it returned with the first known Africans imported into the northern English colonies, Boston was its most likely port of return. It is estimated that 166 transatlantic voyages embarked out of Boston. Local newspapers carried over 1,000 ads for the sale of slaves during the 18 th century, which took place everywhere from ships to markets, warehouses, coffee houses, and homes. Boston was further complicit in the Triangle Trade as a major exporter of rum, which was made from sugar produced in the Caribbean and sometimes sold in exchange for slaves in Africa. Ironically, commodities like sugar and molasses drove colonial Bostonians to revolution: leaders likened taxation on these goods to slavery even as the trade continued to prop up slavery itself.
How many Africans were transported across the Atlantic?
From the 16 th to the 19 th centuries, approximately 12 million Africans were transported across the Atlantic as human property. The most common routes formed what is now known as the "Triangle Trade" connecting Europe, Africa, and the Americas.
When did the United States ban the transatlantic slave trade?
In 1808, Britain and the United States agreed to ban the transatlantic slave trade. Slavery itself flourished in the United States until the Civil War, becoming the defining issue of national political life.
How many slaves were sent to Brazil?
From 1560 to 1850, about 4.8 million enslaved people were transported to Brazil; 4.7 million were sent to the Caribbean; and at least 388,000, or 4% of those who survived the Middle Passage, arrived in North America.
