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7th PERIOD - Understanding the Scope of the Trans‐Atlantic Slave Trade

Last updated over 1 year ago
17 questions
Understanding the Scope of the Trans‐Atlantic Slave Trade
From the homepage of Slave Voyages (www.slavevoyages.org), select "Trans-Atlantic" at the top of the page and then choose "Estimates" from that menu. The general table shows data about the number of enslaved people brought aboard slave ships from 1501--‐1866. The table shows the countries to which enslaved Africans were taken.
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1. According to the estimates on this table, how many enslaved people were brought from
Africa to the Americas from the 1500s--‐1800s?

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How many enslaved people were brought to the United States?

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Using the “Table” and the “Timeline” (with tabs at the top of the page), determine the 100--‐
year period in which the most enslaved people were brought from Africa to the Americas.
The data is compiled by 25--‐year periods on the table. Example answers: 1525--‐1625 or 1650--‐1750

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The number of enslaved people brought to the United States dropped significantly after
1825 according to the table. What accounts for this steep decline? (Recall information from the video from yesterday - the answer comes at the end in the last 2ish minutes)

Researching Specific Slave Ship Voyages
Directions: Answer the following questions completely. In each exercise, you will read about a specific ship voyage. Use the database’s search engine to determine the ship voyage being described. From the homepage of Slave Voyages (www.slavevoyages.org), select “Database” under "Trans-Atlantic" at the top of the page. Choose among the variable options above the table to narrow your search parameters. When the correct voyage is listed in the Search Results, click on the voyage to receive more detailed information.

When reading the descriptions of the voyages, look for the following information. It will be helpful to underline or highlight key information as you are reading about each voyage. This information will help you locate the voyage using the database search engine.

1. Slave ship
2. Captain
3. Year of the voyage
4. Place where the enslaved persons were purchased and the place where the ship arrived
5. Number of enslaved aboard the ship
Exercise 1
In 1781, under Captain Luke Collingwood, the ship Zong had sailed from Africa for Jamaica with some 440 slaves, many of whom had already been on board for weeks. Head winds, spells of calm, and bad navigation (Collinwood mistook Jamaica for another island and sailed right past it), stretched the transatlantic voyage to twice the usual length. Packed tightly into a vessel of only 107 tons, enslaved Africans began to sicken. Collingwood was worried. Acompetent captain was expected to deliver his cargo in reasonable health. Of course, dead or dying slaves brought no profits. There was a way out, however. If Collingwood could claim that the enslaved people had died for reasons totally beyond his control, insurance would cover the loss.

Collingwood ordered his officers to throw the sickest slaves into the ocean. If they were ever questioned, he told his officers to say that due to the unfavorable winds, the ship’s water supply was running out. If water had been running out, these murders would be accepted under the principle of “jettison” in maritime law. A captain had a right to throw some cargo—in this case, human beings – overboard to save the remainder. In all, 133 slaves were “jettisoned” in several batches.

When the Zong’s owners later filed an insurance claim for the value of the dead slaves, it equaled more than half a million dollars in today’s money. The insurance company disputed the claim. This was not a trial for murder. It was a civil [private, not criminal] insurance dispute. Collingwood died from illness associated with the voyage prior to answering charges in court.
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Where was the principal region from which slaves on the Zong were purchased?

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How many days did the Middle Passage voyage last?

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What percentage of enslaved people died during the voyage?

Exercise 2

The last two slave vessels to arrive in the United States from Africa were the Wanderer and the Clotilda. Find each of these vessels and answer the following questions, using complete sentences.
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According to the “Voyage variables,” what was an important outcome of this voyage (Wanderer 1858)?

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(Wanderer 1858) Using the “Voyage map,” describe the itinerary. Where did the ship begin? How many enslaved Africans were taken aboard and from where? Where did the ship land and how many enslaved Africans were disembarked?

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(Clotilda- 1860) According to the “Voyage variables,” what was an important outcome of this voyage?

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(Clotilda- 1860) Using the “Voyage map,” describe the itinerary. Where did the ship begin? How many enslaved Africans were taken aboard and from where? Where did the ship land and how many enslaved Africans were disembarked?

From the Gentleman’s Magazine, October 1773

“Part of a letter from the coast of Africa, gives a melancholy account of the New Britannia, Captain Deane, who, having 230 slaves on board, some of the black boys belonging to the ship found means to furnish them with carpenters tools, with which they ripped up the lower decks, and got at the guns and powder; being overpowered, however, by the crew, they then set fire to the magazine, and blew up the vessel, but which not less than 300 souls perished.”

The ship was short on crew members because of illness. So free African sailors were hired and they gave tools to the enslaved Africans. During the insurrection, an enslaved person jumped overboard because the sailors were gaining control of the ship. Deane went out in a small boat to retrieve them. Then the gunpowder exploded. Only Deane and the slave survived and rowed back to the nearby African coast.
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Search by the captain’s name for all of the voyages that the captain led. Describe his career. How many slave voyages did he lead and during what years? Where were the enslaved Africans purchased and disembarked? Answer using complete sentences.

Exercise 4
From A Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Venture, a Native of Africa:But Resident above Sixty Years in the United States of America, Related by Himself by Venture Smith. (New London, 1798), excerpts from Chapter 1. CHAPTER I. CONTAINING AN ACCOUNT OF HIS LIFE, FROM HIS BIRTH TO THE TIME OF HIS LEAVING HIS NATIVE COUNTRY

I was born in Dukandarra, in Guinea, about the year 1729.

My father’s name was Saungin Furro, Prince of the tribe of Dukandarra. My father had three wives. Polygamy was not uncommon in that country, especially among the rich, as every man was allowed to keep as many wives as he could maintain. By his first wife he had three children. The eldest of them was myself, named by my father.

Invaders pinioned the prisoners of all ages and sexes indiscriminately, took their flocks and all of their effects, and moved their way toward the sea. On the march, the prisoners were treated with clemency, on account of being submissive and humble. Having come to the next tribe, the enemy laid siege and immediately took men, women, children, flocks, and all their valuable effects. They then went on to the next district, which was contiguous to the sea, called in Africa, Amamaboo [Anomabu]…. All of us were then put into the castle and kept for market.

On a certain time, I and other prisoners were put on board a canoe, under our master and rowed away to the vessel belonging to Rhode Island, commanded by Captain Collingwood and the mate, Thomas Mumford. While we were going to the vessel, our master told us to appear to the best possible advantage for sale. I was bought on board by one Robertson Mumford, steward of said vessel, for four gallons of rum and a piece of calico, and called VENTURE, on account of his having purchased me with his own private venture. Thus I came by my name.
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Which ship brought Venture Smith to America and in what year?

Exploring the African Names Database

Slave ships kept accurate records of the number of enslaved people brought aboard the ship
and disembarked later. However, ship records did not record information about individual
slaves. The British abolished the slave trade in 1807 and then began patrolling the African
coast to catch ships attempting to transport enslaved Africans illegally. The African Names
Database contains information on Africans liberated from slave ships captured by British cruisers between 1819 and 1845. There are over 90,000 African people documented in this database.

Switch to the African Names Database from the top of the page. On the first page, you will see the enslaved people held aboard the ship Fabiana in 1819.
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How many enslaved people were held on the ship Fabiana on its 1819 voyage?

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Were most of the enslaved people male or female?

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What was the average age of the enslaved people?

Explore the African Names Database. There are 67,004 names included, only a small portion of people who were shipped across the Atlantic. In order to focus on a smaller number of names, change the query to match your gender and age. Use these limits to search.

Once you have looked over your options, choose two people and complete as much information as you can about their journeys. Use the “voyage ID” link to collect additional information.
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Record the Information you find in the chart attached here