KEY - Chapter 2.5: Beginnings of Slavery in the Americas
Define these key terms:
o Immune – having a natural resistance to disease
o Middle Passage – voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies; disease, malnutrition and harsh conditions killed many en route
o Diaspora – a scattering of a people, like enslaved Africans in the Americas
Need for Workers· Plantation agriculture required many workers
· Millions of Native Americans had died from diseases
· Spanish priest Bartolomeo de las Casas suggested using enslaved Africans to replace Native Americans / The Slave Trade
· 1510 – Spanish gov’t legalized sale of slaves in colonies
· Middle Passage – Triangular Trade route
· 1520s-1850 – about 12 million enslaved Africans à the Americas
· Slaves were considered to be property
· Often harsh treatment / The Slave Culture
· Many different languages & cultures
· Families were vital, but often broke down by selling relatives
· religion – Christian w/African traditions à self-worth and hope
· spirituals, art, dance
In your spiral, create a 3-column chart headed like the one below. Take bulleted notes in the graphic organizer. Use words and phrases, not complete sentences.
Summing it up
1. Why did so many Native Americans die after coming into contact with Europeans?
They had no resistance to diseases brought by Europeans.
2. Why did plantation owners turn to enslaved Africans as a labor force? How did this lead to the creation of the transatlantic slave trade?
Many native Americans had died of disease and a lot of labor was needed for Plantation farming
3. What was the Middle Passage?
The leg of the Triangular Trade Routes that shipped Africans to the Americas; most inhumane leg of the routes
4. Explain how enslaved Africans were treated after they reached the colonies in the Americas.
They were not given many rights in the colonies, they were considered property. They received harsh penalties for minor offenses. Runaways were often tortured and sometimes killed. Some masters treated them kindly, others were more severe in their treatment.
5. What are spirituals? A common form of religious expression among slaves. These songs and folktales helped them tell their stories of sorrow, hope, agony, and joy.
6. How did religion and family provide a refuge from the harsh life enslaved Africans were forced to endure? Both served as refuges from their harsh lives as slaves.
7. Review your notes on the slave trade. Create a chart like the one below to explain the causes and effects of the slave trade.
Some possible answers:
- need for labor on - 12 million Africans enslaved in Americas
colonial plantations - harshly treated
- disease killed many - Middle Passage killed many
Native Americans - families scattered/broken up
8. Pg. 63, Interpreting Maps. Answer the 2 questions in complete sentences that restate the answer.
Slave forts were located on the coast so captives could be transported by ship to Americas and on rivers to access the inland areas.
Geographic factors leading to slave trade included the climate of the Southern colonies, which led to cash crops.