Slave Capture Notes

Trading for Slaves

Several methods were used to capture Africans for the slave trade:

• Early traders, like John Hawkins, kidnapped Africans.

• Most Europeans traded with African chiefs, exchanging goods like cloth, iron, guns, and alcohol for slaves. Chiefs would sell captured criminals or those taken from rival tribes.

• Captures often occurred at night or during daily activities such as hunting or fishing.

Slave Factories

Captured individuals were marched to the coast and held in 'factories' until sold:

• The majority of slaves came from the Gold Coast of West Africa, including modern-day Ghana, Togo, and Nigeria.

• El Mina (Ghana) and Cape Coast Castle were significant slave factories, the latter being the largest, able to hold 1,500 slaves.

The Experience of Enslaved Africans

• Slaves faced brutal treatment, including being whipped and chained during their march to the coast.

• Upon arrival, they underwent health inspections by doctors.

• Their identities were often erased through branding, and they were forced onto ships destined for the West Indies.