Study Notes on African Explorers and the Slave Trade

African Explorers in the Americas

• Ladinos: Free and enslaved Africans with Iberian culture who were the first Africans in what became the U.S.
• Functioned as cultural mediators, liaisons, diplomats, missionaries, and interpreters.

Slave Trade Overview

• Transatlantic Slave Trade:
  • Estimated 12.5 million Africans shipped to the Americas.
  • Only about 5% directly transported to the U.S. (notably Charleston, SC).
  • Major slave trading zones: Senegambia and Angola.
• Chattel Slavery: The practice where enslaved individuals were treated as property.
• The three-part journey involved the forced transport of Africans to the Americas.

Historical Context

• Columbus’s Discovery (1492):
  • Funded by Spanish monarchs to seek a western route to India.
  • Resulted in the Columbian Exchange, leading to a global exchange of goods and significant indigenous population decline due to Afro-Eurasian diseases.
• Colonization & Competition:
  • After Spanish involvement, the Portuguese, French, British, and Dutch sought wealth in the Americas.