Unit 2a: The Trans-Atlantic and Domestic Slave Trade

The Creole

Madison Washington + 18 others revolt & kill ship captain

Went to Bahamas because slavery was illegal there

They were free

The Amistad

Captives killed the captain

US navy captured & imprisoned them

John Quincy Adams argued their case and they were deemed free and sent back to America

The Igbo Landing

75 Igbo people rebelled on ship → planned to go to St. Simons Island

Onshore, enslavers we’re waiting for them

All Igbo people committed suicide

• souls @ peace because they died in water

  • “Water brought us here it will take us away”

  • Reclaiming what was lost, spiritual peace

• Inspired culture and folklore about resistance and strength

  • “Flying African”: symbol of hope

    • People robbed of an afterlife found a way to do so

Gullah Geechee Culture

Originated from Ogeechee river in Georgia; SC, etc.

Enslaved women + generations

Creole + African; “broken English”

Crucial in enslaved storytelling and oral traditions (it was illegal for enslaved ppl to read & write)

Tools during slavery

• African basketry unknown to whites

• Preserved culture and skills from Africa

Ma’afa Commemorations

Ma’afa = great tragedy

New Orleans

Family and culture

Way of commemorating trans Atlantic slave trade

• 2000 yearly tradition (concerts, marches, etc)

• Result: people of descent can reflect on history and remember/ancestors

• Separate and evolve TAST

• DOOR OF RETURN

  • “La Porte du Retour”

  • You can do as you wish

“Stowage” by William Cole

Modern art of slave ship

Circles around it are ironing boards

• Cole’s mother was a domestic housekeeper (form of oppression and exploitation)

• Diff African cultures, tribes, and ethnicities identifies being taken from them