Atlantic Slave Trade Questions – Flashcards
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What role does ethnocentrism play in events of the Atlantic Slave Trade?
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The Europeans were ethnocentric in that they viewed the indigenous peoples of the Americas and Africans as people to be enslaved. In order to enslave other people the Europeans had to view them as lesser.
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During what years did Atlantic Slave Trade occur?
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From the mid-15th centuries until the late 19th century
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Approximately how many African slaves were involved in the Atlantic Slave Trade?
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Estimates range from 12 million to upwards of 20 million
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What made Africans the ideal population to work on plantations in the Americas over other groups?
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They were best suited for the climate and tropical diseases of the tropical areas of the New World where they would be working on plantations. Also, Africans were used to the work required on the plantations. Whereas, the indigenous peoples of the Americas were unsuited because they were suffering from the introduction of European diseases.
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What role did Africa play in the Atlantic Slave Trade?
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Some west African societies captured and enslaved other Africans in order to sell them to European traders for manufactured goods.
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Briefly describe the conditions for African slaves aboard the slave ships.
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The slaves ships were cramped and the air below deck was of low quality. The conditions on the ships were horrible and some of the slaves opted to die instead of staying on the slave ships.
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Briefly describe the conditions for African slaves on the plantations.
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The slaves suffered under long and difficult work hours and often suffered abuses at the hands of the plantation owners and overseers. The average life expectancy of slaves quite slow.
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What does the fact that plantation owners would sometimes "brand" their slaves show about their view of the Africans?
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The Europeans viewed the Africans as lesser. By branding the slaves it showed that the Europeans viewed the Africans as property and as animals.
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Where did most African slaves end up in the New World?
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The Caribbean
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Which European nation carried out much of the Atlantic Slave Trade early on?
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Portugal
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Which European nation would go on to play the biggest role in the Atlantic Slave Trade?
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Britian
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Explain how the Atlantic Slave Trade benefited Europeans.
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It benefitted Europe economically, as they were able to sell the slaves for profit and collect raw materials from the slave labor which they could use to create manufactured goods in their factories in Europe.
