The slave trade brought vast wealth to British ports and merchants but conditions were horrific. Slaves were moved on the ‘Middle Passage’ of the triangular trade route. Many did not survive.
What was the Triangular Trade?
A three-stage journey undertaken by slave ships
Trading slaves between Britain and Africa
The importing of goods from Africa to Britain
What did slave ships carry to trade with in Africa?
Slaves
Cloth, alcohol, ironwork and guns
Gold
What were the main British ports involved in the slave trade?
Liverpool, Bristol and London
Newcastle, Hull and Harwich
Kingston, Bridgetown and Charlestown
What kind of goods did the slave ships carry on the final stage of the Triangular Trade?
Sugar, tobacco, cotton and rum
By the 1790s, how much money was Liverpool making per year from the slave trade?
£30,000
£300,000
£3,000,000
How were slaves captured in Africa?
White slavers landed at the coast and raided inland to capture new slaves
White Europeans fought wars against African Kingdoms, enslaving their enemies
Most slaves were sold to the Europeans by other Africans
Where was the Slave Coast?
North Africa
West Africa
The Caribbean
What were slave factories?
Forts used to imprison slaves until they could be sold
Huge buildings where slaves worked to process sugar cane
Factories in Britain which made goods to trade for slaves in Africa
What was the Middle Passage?
The voyage from Africa to the New World of the Americas
The narrow walkway between the lines of slaves chained in a slave ship's cargo deck
The voyage from the Americas back to Britain
Why might a slave ship captain choose loose pack rather than tight pack?
It meant that it cost less to insure the voyage
Fewer slaves might die from sickness
Sometimes there weren't enough slaves in the slave factories to fill the ship
What happened on the Zong?
There was a slave mutiny onboard during the middle passage
It was captured by the Dutch, who sold its cargo of slaves
Living slaves were thrown overboard so the ship owners could claim for them on their insurance
What happened to the slaves once they'd arrived in the Caribbean?
They were put up for auction
They were immediately sent to work on the plantations
They were sent to a slave factory
How did the slave traders deal with slaves who resisted once they'd arrived in the Caribbean?
They were executed
They were put back on a ship to Africa
They were sent to seasoning camps
What did the Dolben Act of 1788 regulate?
That slaves who fell ill on board would be treated by a doctor
The number of slaves permitted for a ships size
The punishment for negligence and lives lost on the journey
What percentage of slaves were taken to South America?
Over 55 per cent
35 per cent
5 per cent