Social science

• Transatlantic Slave Trade


  The trade of enslaving Africans and transporting them across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas
• How were people made slaves?


  1. Slave capture

  2. Slave trade

  3. Slavery in the American South
• Triangular Slave Trade


  The trade route between Europe, Africa, and the Americas, where goods and enslaved Africans were exchanged
• Rice plantations


  • Rice grown in West Africa for centuries
  • Slave ships took supplies to feed cargo of slaves across the Atlantic ocean voyage
  • Slaves grew left over rice in garden plots
  • Late 17th century - rice planted in Carolina
  • Ideal growing conditions (swampy lowlands) coupled with slave knowledge resulted in high yield of rice crop growth
  • 'Carolina Gold' - valuable export crop
• What did local African leaders attain by helping slave capture?


  They assisted in the capture of Africans who were then sold into slavery
• Transportation of slaves


  • Overcrowded
  • Unhygienic
  • Hot
  • Some tried to commit suicide by starving or jumping overboard
  • Slaves were force-fed to keep them alive
  • Half died before they reached America
  • Largest number of slaves came from modern day Ghana & Nigeria
• Slave Markets


  • Sold at auctions
  • Had to look 'their best'
  • Sores & wounds covered with tar or black polish
  • Skin oiled to look shiny & healthy
  • Buyers inspected before bidding
  • Teeth were checked, backs were checked
• Resistance


  What do you think this means
• Passive resistance


  Opposition-to, or "challenging", a stronger power by non-violent methods
• Passive resistance


  • Refusing to comply with specific commands or laws
  • Fasting or peaceful protests
  • Deliberate silence
• Active resistance


  Opposition or "challenge" of a stronger power through visible and sometimes violent methods
• Active resistance


  • Violent protest
  • Refusing to carry out orders
  • Sabotage
  • Challenging/arguing with stronger power
• Poisoning the masters
• Pretending to not understand orders
• Running away
• Pretending to be mad
• Rebelling and taking weapons to fight the slave owners
• Arson –setting fire to the slave owner's house
• Injuring plantation animals
• Working slowly
• Starving oneself
• Breaking Machinery
• Slave rebellion


  An armed uprising by slaves
• Nat Turner's Rebellion (also known as the Southampton Insurrection) was a slave rebellion that took place in Southampton County, Virginia, in August 1831. Rebel slaves killed from 55 to 65 people, at least 51 being white.
• Firearms were too difficult to collect and would gather unwanted attention, so the rebels used knives, hatchets, axes, and blunt instruments.
• The Underground Railroad


  A network of Americans, both black and white, dedicated to destroying the institution of slavery by helping individual slaves escape to freedom
• Passengers on the Underground Railroad

  People fleeing slavery
• The Underground Railroad was not a railroad at all. It was simply a network of escape routes and hiding places established by abolitionists.
• The Underground Railroad primarily took place in the regions bordering slave states, with the Ohio River being the centre of much of the activity.
• The Underground Railroad was not an official organization with defined structure. It was simply a loose network of people who attempted to move enslaved individuals escaping from slavery to and from safe places in a quick and largely secretive manner.
• Challenges of the journey on the Underground Railroad


  • Being cold and outside in winter
  • Not having enough food
  • Being tired but not able to rest
  • Having to swim or cross bodies of water
  • Having to travel long distances
  • Running from people or animals
• Code words used on the Underground Railroad

  • The Big Dipper, whose handle pointed towards the North Star, was referred to as the "drinking gourd"
  • The Ohio River was frequently referred to by a biblical reference, the River Jordan
  • Canada, one of the final safe havens for many fugitive slaves was called the "Promised Land"
• Roles on the Underground Railroad


  • Conductors - people who guided slaves from place to place
  • Station masters - those who hid fugitive slaves in their homes, barns, or churches
  • Cargo - slaves in the safekeeping of a conductor or station master
• Locations on the Underground Railroad


  • Safe houses - locations where slaves could safely find protection, food, or a place to sleep
  • Stations - locations where slaves could safely find protection, food, or a place to sleep
• Harriet Tubman was a leading abolitionist and the most famous "conductor" on the Underground Railroad. Born into slavery in Maryland, she escaped to freedom in the North in 1849 and made 19 trips from the South to the North, guiding more than 300 people, including her parents and several siblings.
• All actions on the Underground Railroad were illegal due to Fugitive Slave Acts that allowed slave catchers to come north and force runaways back into slavery. Assisting or helping hide fugitive slaves became a federal offense with the passage of the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850, making all Underground Railroad activity subject to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine.
• Escaping from slavery or helping someone to escape from slavery was a very difficult and dangerous task.
• Local maps


  Show a small area such as a neighbourhood or town
• Street maps


  Show the position and names of all streets in a town or city
• Map symbols


  Little pictures of features, places and things on a map