Chapter 1: New Slave Trade & Chapter 2: Trading Post Zones

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms from the notes on the Atlantic slave trade and early African trading posts.

Atlantic slave trade

The transatlantic system starting in the 1400s in which Africans were captured, enslaved, and transported across the Atlantic to Europe and the Americas.

1400s (15th century)

The century when the Atlantic slave trade began.

Portuguese

Among the first European traders to enter Africa to acquire slaves in the 1400s.

Trading post zones

Coastal trading posts established by Europeans along the African coast to buy enslaved people; limited inland presence.

3–5 miles inland

The farthest distance Europeans extended into Africa from the coast during early slave trade—about 3 to 5 miles.

Disease as a driver

Old World diseases contributed to rapid declines of Native American populations, aiding the expansion of Atlantic trade by reducing resistance and increasing accessibility to enslaved people.

Native American population decline due to disease

European-introduced diseases decimated Native American populations, impacting the timeline of colonization and enslavement.

Not the first slavery

Slavery existed long before the Atlantic slave trade; this chapter describes the new Atlantic system, not humanity's first slavery.

Non-dominant European presence in Africa

In early Atlantic trade, Europeans did not dominate Africa militarily; they relied on coastal trade posts rather than deep inland conquests.