Transatlantic Slave Trade- Terms and people

Diaspora

The dispersion of any people from their original homeland.

Triangular Slave Trade

A historical trade system where enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas, raw materials were sent to Europe, and manufactured goods were sent to Africa.

Forts / Factories / Castles

Structures built along the African coast for the purpose of trade, including the capture and holding of enslaved people.

Asiento

A contract granting the right to sell a certain number of enslaved Africans to the Spanish colonies.

Bight

A curve or recess in a coastline, river, or other geographical feature.

Coffle

A line of animals or enslaved people fastened together for transportation.

Middle Passage

The middle leg of the triangular trade route where enslaved Africans were forcibly transported across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.

Bias

A tendency to favor one perspective or group over another, often leading to unfair treatment.

The Brookes

A slave ship known for its diagram illustrating the cramped conditions enslaved Africans endured during transport.

Slavers

Individuals or groups involved in the capture, transport, and sale of enslaved people.

Olaudah Equiano

An African writer and abolitionist who wrote about his experiences as a slave and his journey to freedom.

Alexander Falconbridge

A British surgeon who documented the horrors of the slave trade and advocated for its abolition.

Austin Bearse

A sea captain from Cape Cod who provided transportation for fugitive slaves in the years leading up to the American Civil War.

Tight Packers

Slave traders who packed enslaved Africans closely together on ships to maximize profit, often at the cost of their health and safety.

Doldrums

A region of the Atlantic Ocean near the equator where sailing ships often get stuck due to lack of wind, affecting the transport of enslaved people.

The Amistad

The illegal kidnapping of people.

The Zong

The ship that experienced the massacre of over 130 enslaved Africans.

Indentured Servitude

A practice in Europe where poorer people worked under masters for a set period of time.

John Newton

A slave abolitionist who used to be enslaved; wrote “Amazing Grace.”

Rough dates for the

16th–19th century / 1501 to 1900

Insurance practices regarding the slave trade

Enslaved people’s ears were cut off as proof; some were drowned so owners could still be compensated.

What was the first nation in the AST

Portugal

Mortality aboard ship

Death from suicide

Islamic trade vs. AST

Islamic traders often captured enslaved people themselves

Differences in demand

Islamic trade focused more on women and young people for concubinage than manual labor.

Why early European demand for slaves was low

They already had other sources of labor.

Where over half of enslaved Africans were shipped

Brazil and the Caribbean.

Diseases on slave ships

Smallpox and yellow fever.

Reasons mortality decreased in the 1700s

Health improvements.

Planter

Wealthy white landowners who used enslaved labor to cultivate crops on their estates.

Seasoning

A process used on newly arrived Africans to force them to adapt to plantation routines.

Creoles

Enslaved people who were born in the Americas.

New Africans

A term for Africans who survived the Middle Passage.

Great Gang

A group of enslaved workers considered the strongest and assigned the most demanding labor.

Driver

An enslaved person appointed to supervise work gangs and punish those who did not meet expectations.