Unit 2 : Freedom Enslavement and Resistance
Aim 2.1 : What roles did Africans play in the Americas?
Africans in the Americas
● In the early 16th century some free and enslaved Africans familiar with Iberian
culture journeyed with Europeans in their earliest exploration of the Americas;
among them were the first Africans in territory that became the US. These
Africans were known as Ladinos.
Atlantic Creoles
● Ladinos were part of a generation known as Atlantic creoles. Atlantic creoles
were Africans who worked as intermediaries before the predominance of chattel
slavery. Their familiarity with multiple languages, cultural norms, and commercial
practices granted them a measure of social mobility.
Africans Role to Spanish America
● Ladinos were essential to the efforts of European powers laying claim to
indigenous lands. Black participation in America’s colonization resulted from
Spain’s early role in the slave trade and the presence of enslaved and free
Africans in the parties of Spanish explorers who claim to “La Florida” Spain’s
name for an area that included Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia.
3 Primary Roles of Africans in the Americas
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Africans in the Americas played three major roles:
● As conquistadores, participating in the work of conquest, often in hopes of
gaining their freedom (enslaved)
● As enslaved laborers, working largely in mining and agriculture to produce profit
for Europeans
● As free skilled workers and artisans
Juan Garrido
● A conquistador
● Born in the Kingdom of Kongo
● Moved to Portugal
● A free man
● Known as the first known African to arrive in North America
● Explored present day Florida
2.2 : How did the Atlantic Slave Trade Impact the African Continent and
the World?
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
, ● The transatlantic slave trade lasted over 350 years (from the early 1500s to the
late 1800s), and more than 12.5 million enslaved Africans were forcibly
transported to the Americas. Of those who survived the journey, only about 5%
(approximately 388,000) came directly from Africa to what became the United
States.
● Enslaved Africans cultural contributions to the U.S varied based on their many
different places of origin. The interpretations of various African ethnic groups
produced multiple combinations of African-based cultural practices, languages,
and belief systems within African American communities.
● The ancestors of early generations of African Americans in mainland North
America derived from numerous West and Central African ethnic groups, such as
the Wolof (Senegambia), Akan (Ghana), Igbo, and Yoruba (Nigeria). Nearly half
of those who arrived in the U.S came from societies in Muslim or Christian
regions of Africa.
● The distribution patterns of numerous African ethnic groups throughout the
American South created diverse Black communities with distinctive combinations
of African-based cultural practices, languages, and beliefs.
Answer to Aim:
The slave trade disrupted life as they knew it. The population was dwindling and they were
focused on surviving, taking away time from modern developments and flourishing societies. A
society cannot thrive when it is constantly under threat of invasion. They were being robbed of
the best that their society offered.
2.3 A : How did the Transatlantic Slave Trade Impact Enslaved Africans
and the African Continent?
Atlantic Africans and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
● In the first part of the journey, which could last several months, Africans were
captured and marched from interior states to the Atlantic coast. On the coast they
waited in crowded, unsanitary dungeons.
● The second part of the journey, the Middle Passage, involved traveling across
the Atlantic Ocean, and it lasted up to three months. For most, the Middle
Passage established permanent separation from their communities. Aboard
slave ships Africans were humiliated, beaten, tortured, and raped and suffered
from widespread disease and malnourishment. Fifteen percent of captive
Africans perished in the Middle Passage.
Triangular trade
, ● Trade between Africa, the Americas, and Europe
● Slaves would be taken to the Americas, natural resources from the Americas
went to Europe, and then they processed the goods which were then sent to
Africa.
Middle Passage
● Dehumanizing transport of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the
Americas
Coffles
● Enslaved Africans were chained together in groups
● This was from the moment they were captured, until they reached the Atlantic
Coast.
● This is when they were first stripped of their individual identities
Barracoons
● The places in which people that had been captured were held before they were
brought onto a ship to be taken to the Americas
● Almost like a holding pen
Elmina Castle
● The portuguese built this castle to protect the gold trade but it eventually became
a significant part of the slave trade (used by the Dutch)
Slave Auction
● This is when the slave traders would talk about each slave’s attributions and
skills to be able to sell to the highest bidder
Tight vs Loose Packing
● Depends on how many people were packed onto the ship
The First Part of the Journey:
● The beginning of the end
● African captives of the Middle Passage began before the ship travel
● Captives endured a long trek (1000 miles or more) to the coast, where they were
often imprisoned for months before the transatlantic voyage
● Poorly fed and treated and walked in coffles (chained groups)
● Some captives forced to work as porters for the traders carrying food and other
goods
● Many died before they reached the coast. Due to harsh treatment and contracted
diseases from Europeans
● Auction
2.3 B : How Can Analysis of Writings by Enslaved People Help Us
Understand The Impact of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade?
Aim 2.1 : What roles did Africans play in the Americas?
Africans in the Americas
● In the early 16th century some free and enslaved Africans familiar with Iberian
culture journeyed with Europeans in their earliest exploration of the Americas;
among them were the first Africans in territory that became the US. These
Africans were known as Ladinos.
Atlantic Creoles
● Ladinos were part of a generation known as Atlantic creoles. Atlantic creoles
were Africans who worked as intermediaries before the predominance of chattel
slavery. Their familiarity with multiple languages, cultural norms, and commercial
practices granted them a measure of social mobility.
Africans Role to Spanish America
● Ladinos were essential to the efforts of European powers laying claim to
indigenous lands. Black participation in America’s colonization resulted from
Spain’s early role in the slave trade and the presence of enslaved and free
Africans in the parties of Spanish explorers who claim to “La Florida” Spain’s
name for an area that included Florida, South Carolina, and Georgia.
3 Primary Roles of Africans in the Americas
In the 15th and 16th centuries, Africans in the Americas played three major roles:
● As conquistadores, participating in the work of conquest, often in hopes of
gaining their freedom (enslaved)
● As enslaved laborers, working largely in mining and agriculture to produce profit
for Europeans
● As free skilled workers and artisans
Juan Garrido
● A conquistador
● Born in the Kingdom of Kongo
● Moved to Portugal
● A free man
● Known as the first known African to arrive in North America
● Explored present day Florida
2.2 : How did the Atlantic Slave Trade Impact the African Continent and
the World?
The Transatlantic Slave Trade
, ● The transatlantic slave trade lasted over 350 years (from the early 1500s to the
late 1800s), and more than 12.5 million enslaved Africans were forcibly
transported to the Americas. Of those who survived the journey, only about 5%
(approximately 388,000) came directly from Africa to what became the United
States.
● Enslaved Africans cultural contributions to the U.S varied based on their many
different places of origin. The interpretations of various African ethnic groups
produced multiple combinations of African-based cultural practices, languages,
and belief systems within African American communities.
● The ancestors of early generations of African Americans in mainland North
America derived from numerous West and Central African ethnic groups, such as
the Wolof (Senegambia), Akan (Ghana), Igbo, and Yoruba (Nigeria). Nearly half
of those who arrived in the U.S came from societies in Muslim or Christian
regions of Africa.
● The distribution patterns of numerous African ethnic groups throughout the
American South created diverse Black communities with distinctive combinations
of African-based cultural practices, languages, and beliefs.
Answer to Aim:
The slave trade disrupted life as they knew it. The population was dwindling and they were
focused on surviving, taking away time from modern developments and flourishing societies. A
society cannot thrive when it is constantly under threat of invasion. They were being robbed of
the best that their society offered.
2.3 A : How did the Transatlantic Slave Trade Impact Enslaved Africans
and the African Continent?
Atlantic Africans and the Transatlantic Slave Trade
● In the first part of the journey, which could last several months, Africans were
captured and marched from interior states to the Atlantic coast. On the coast they
waited in crowded, unsanitary dungeons.
● The second part of the journey, the Middle Passage, involved traveling across
the Atlantic Ocean, and it lasted up to three months. For most, the Middle
Passage established permanent separation from their communities. Aboard
slave ships Africans were humiliated, beaten, tortured, and raped and suffered
from widespread disease and malnourishment. Fifteen percent of captive
Africans perished in the Middle Passage.
Triangular trade
, ● Trade between Africa, the Americas, and Europe
● Slaves would be taken to the Americas, natural resources from the Americas
went to Europe, and then they processed the goods which were then sent to
Africa.
Middle Passage
● Dehumanizing transport of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the
Americas
Coffles
● Enslaved Africans were chained together in groups
● This was from the moment they were captured, until they reached the Atlantic
Coast.
● This is when they were first stripped of their individual identities
Barracoons
● The places in which people that had been captured were held before they were
brought onto a ship to be taken to the Americas
● Almost like a holding pen
Elmina Castle
● The portuguese built this castle to protect the gold trade but it eventually became
a significant part of the slave trade (used by the Dutch)
Slave Auction
● This is when the slave traders would talk about each slave’s attributions and
skills to be able to sell to the highest bidder
Tight vs Loose Packing
● Depends on how many people were packed onto the ship
The First Part of the Journey:
● The beginning of the end
● African captives of the Middle Passage began before the ship travel
● Captives endured a long trek (1000 miles or more) to the coast, where they were
often imprisoned for months before the transatlantic voyage
● Poorly fed and treated and walked in coffles (chained groups)
● Some captives forced to work as porters for the traders carrying food and other
goods
● Many died before they reached the coast. Due to harsh treatment and contracted
diseases from Europeans
● Auction
2.3 B : How Can Analysis of Writings by Enslaved People Help Us
Understand The Impact of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade?
