Kidnap!
The British Empire
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Britain began to grow a big
empire from the reign of
Queen Elizabeth I (16t h
century);
Europeans came to West
Africa in search of people
to kidnap to transport to
America to work on
plantations (huge farms);
The four main products
grown on plantations were
sugar, coffee, tobacco and
cotton;
British people could now
buy these goods cheaply;
one of the reasons why
they accepted the slave
trade!
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Middle Passage
European slave ships
sailed to Africa with
goods such as guns to
trade with Africa
leaders;
African leaders sent out
men to kidnap
defenceless people.
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Year 8 Learn Sheet
The sea journey from
West Africa to America
could take 2 months!
Conditions on board
were terrible;
Slav es were stored like
‘books upon a shelf’,
chained to one
another;
Causes of death:
disease, suffocation,
starv ation, exposure;
Slav es were
threatened with
beatings, being thrown
ov er-board.
Exam Week 1
Auction House
Slav es sold once they arrived;
Painted with olive oil and gunpowder to hide
any wounds;
Families were often split up to upset the slav es;
Many slaves were branded in case they
escaped.
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Plantation Life
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The Transatlantic Slave Trade
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Sl a ve rebellions happened at sea
– a s wi th La Ami s ta d i n 1839.
Women:
Coffee shops were becoming
very popul a r i n the 1700s .
Why did people support the slave trade?
Money reasons
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It made many people rich;
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Slav es were not paid wages. They could
be cheap to keep;
Racist reasons:
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Many Europeans believed that Africans
could be treated differently because of
the colour of their skin and because they
weren’t Christians;
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Some believ ed that Africans weren’t
equal to Europeans and should be
treated like children.
Ignorance:
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Many people didn’t realise the true
horrors of slav ery – they thought life was
good on plantations.
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Shi ps from Li verpool tra nsported
3 million s l a ves .
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Did a lot of the background
campaigning to end slavery;
Used leaflets to persuade public;
Key individual: Elizabeth Heyrick –
helped set up the Anti-Slavery Society
in 1823.
There were a v ariety of jobs; field hand,
house slav e, nurse;
Overseers (powerful slaves) managed all
the others and punished some slaves;
Dangers: getting wounded by a machete,
falling into boiling sugar cane oil, neglected
babies;
Slav es could resist passively (without
v iolence), activ ely (violently) by running
away or fighting back;
Punishments: neck braces, flogging, dogs
chasing runaways, ‘walking the wheel’.
Wider Public:
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Former slaves:
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Key individual:
Equiano wrote about
his experiences as a
slave; his book
became a best seller.
Helped bring the crew
of the slave ship Zong
to justice.
Politicians:
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Toured the country;
Key individuals: Wilberforce
– MP, his speeches helped
persuade other MPs to vote
for abolition, Clarkson –
Christian, wrote reports
about the slave trade.
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1807 – Slave Trade Act
ends the trading of
slaves
Who helps bring about
abolition (the ending
of slavery)?
Sugar boycotts (not buying sugar) were arranged in the
1790s to make people aware of how their actions were
supporting the slave trade;
Plantations lost money because of these boycotts.
Key dates in the story of abolition