The+African+Process+of+Slave+Trade

=Slavery in Africa= Slavery in Africa was actually a regular part of life. It would often be used as a punishment for a crime or a result of war. African slaves were often treated as "//junior members of the community//," they were allowed to marry and have property, they could even have their own slaves. Slavery was actually quite humane, until the European slave trade changed everything in 1481, starting with Portugal and their Gold Coast.

=Portuguese Gold Coast and Invasion of Africa= Portugal would enter Africa, via the Congo River, with their guns and gunpowder at hand. The Portuguese not only introduced the Africans to guns but they also brought a new kind of warfare and violence associated with African slaves. One of the slave ship captains wrote that "//the far greater part of the wars in Africa, would cease, if the Europeans would cease to tempt them with goods for slaves//." Once the Portuguese invaded Africa and essentially settled their trading posts, the African chiefs began to be unable to control the slave trade within their territory. One African chief, Nizinga Mvemba wrote that the Portuguse would "//daily seize our subjects, sons of he land and sons of our noblemen…they grab them and cause them to be sold; and so great…is their corruption and licentiousness that our country is being utterly depopulated//."

=New World Slaves= After this new discovered use and need for slaves the need grew once the New World was discovered. This occurred because the Native American slaves would not work since they got sick easily, were bad at labor, and knew the land, so they could escape. With African slaves, they did not know the land, so they couldn't escape, they were very strong and used to dealing with tough diseases, and they could endure labor much longer. Because of this, the new demand for slaves for the gold and silver mines of the Caribbean, and for the sugarcane plantations that demanded backbreaking work in the Americas was extremely high as the Native American Slaves became less useful.

=Triangle Trade= The Triangle trade that the British invented including Slaves (to the Caribbean), Sugar, cotton, grain (to Europe) and guns and textiles (to Africa). This trade brought much prosperity to Europe, but devastated Africa due to the high demands.

=Capturing and Holding the Slaves= At first, the slaves were traded quite peacefully, and actually half ran by the Coastal African Chiefs. But as the demand for slaves increased more and more, the African Chiefs became suspicious of Europe and began to supply less and less slaves. Soon enough Europe persuaded the African slave merchants in the capturing of slaves farther inland, which soon led to raids of entire villages. "an Abundance of little blacks of both sexes were stolen away by their neighbors." Soon enough anyone in West Africa could be taken as a slave, no matter their status. Once the slaves were captured they were bound together and marched to the coast. The slaves were also constantly sold and resold at different slave markets so that they would never be able to determine the way back to their home, other times slave kidnappers would also strike. Once they did reach the coast, thousands of slaves stayed in dark, stone dungeons. The slaves were then examined for diseases, and prepped for the market. "//Merchants often ordered older men's heads shaved to conceal gray hair and their bodies rubbed with oil to give a healthy glow to the skin//."

=Selection and Process of Slaves= The slaves were often bought depending on their age (Men often middle twenties to early thirties) and their healthy look and their sturdy build. Once they were purchased the slaves were then branded, like cattle by hot metal shaped to form the owners brand, burned into their skin. This made sure that the slaves were not mixed up. If it was the Duke of York that owned them, they would be branded with a "DY".

=Overseas Travels of the Slaves= The slaves would then be loaded onto the merchant ships. This was terrifying to the slaves since they did not know what to expect. Because of their horror, they would often drown themselves by jumping off the ship. Because of how often this occurred, sharks would actually follow the ships waiting for a free meal. The slave ships were known as "//Guineamen"// or "//Slavers//". These ships were especially built to hold slaves. Because of the need for many slaves the Captains often became greedy and attempted to stuff the ships with as many slaves as they could, leading to very inhumane conditions onboard. The slaves were usually packed in so closely together that they couldn't lie down without resting on another body. "//A space of five men was not more than that of two modern single beds."// The slaves were also shackled which made it more difficult to move, because of such horrid living conditions the slaves would often end up shackled to a dead body. One particularly disgusting aspect was the slave's use of 'slop buckets' to relieve themselves: "//It often happens that those who are placed at a distance format eh buckets, in endeavoring to get tot hem, tumble over their companions, in consequence of their being shackled….Int his situation, unable to proceed and prevented from going to the tubs…the ease themselves as they lie."// Children would even fall into the tubs of feces and urine. Due to cramped conditions diseases, like dysentery or diarrhea, would spread like wildfire killing many slaves at a time.

=Feeding the Slaves= Slaves would eat twice a day and usually tiny amounts of porridge or beans and a small amount of water. If the slaves would try to kill themselves by starving themselves, they were often beaten to eat, or had their mouths burned with hot coals or at the worst resort, ended up being forced by "a speculum oris" which would be hammered into the slaves mouth to prop it open and then force fed through a funnel.

=Arrival of the Ship= When the slaves finally arrived, they still faced many hardships of exhausting manual labor and mistreatment. Sugarcane production was a particularly nasty thing to harvest. Each sugar cane stalk had a one inch thick or larger stalk that required a sturdy blow by a machete, this was a tough plant to knock down, especially in the sweltering heat, the slaves would often pass out from exhaustion, but were then beaten to keep them working. When the sugar was actually being produced the slaves were only allowed to sleep for four hours and had no extra food. "//The furnaces had to be kept stoked, for as one load of cane was being ground into juice, a cart was delivering more stalk to the mill…men and women worked alongside one another, their bodies naked, sweating and bleeding format he lash of the overseer…sometimes laborers died where they worked, and their bodies were pushed aside."//