A slave is someone who is forced to work through violence or the threat of it, they are under the complete

control of their owners.. They are treated as property and sometimes bought and sold. They have no rights, no individual freedom.

THE STONE AGE

GROWTH OF ABOLITION MOVEMENT, 18TH CENTURY. 1807 BRITAIN DECLARES SLAVE TRADE ILLEGAL

THE TRANS ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

1808 USA DECLARES SLAVE TRADE ILLEGAL

Hunter-gatherer societies did not have enough food to feed extra mouths, so did not have slaves. 1833 SLAVERY DECLARED ILLEGAL ACROSS THE BRITISH EMPIRE.

1861-65 AMERICAN CIVIL WAR

The Portuguese started the Atlantic slave trade, soon to be joined by the Spanish. Christopher Columbus conquest of the Caribbean virtually wiped out the native Indians. They were to be replaced by slaves brought from Africa.

ANCIENT CIVILISATIONS
GLADIATORS SLAVE GIRLS FORCED LABOUR

All Ancient civilisations - whether in Europe, the Middle East, Asia or the Americas - made use of slavery.. Western slavery goes back 10,000 years to Mesopatamia (present day Iraq).

MEDIEVAL EUROPE
Slavery often took place in the name of religion Christians, Muslims and Jews all took part.

Europeans began to dominate the African trade from the 16th century onwards. A series of trading forts were built along the African coast to protect European traders interests.

THE ARAB TRADE Slaves had been transported across the Sarahan region to the Middle East since Ancient times.

Slave market in Yemen showing African slaves, 13 century AD.

Slaves were brought to the coastal areas where they were sold to European slave traders

Tegbesu is shown here entertaining some European slave traders.

King Tegbesu of Dahomy, made around HK$3,000,000 from selling Africans in about 1750.

Prisoners of Tribal Wars.

Sale of Slaves by Tribal chiefs

Kidnapping s Criminal s

Royal Wives

Potential plotters against the Tribal chief

Captured slaves often had to trek hundreds of miles from the interior to the slave coast, where the European slave ships awaited them. They were linked together in coffles, iron, or shown here, wooden collars and clinking chains.

PHYSICAL CHECKS A dealer checks the condition of newly arrived slaves for bad teeth or grey hair.
BRANDING

Once bought the slave was then branded with the owners initials or mark. Most brands were of silver because wounds healed faster than those made eith iron.

Slaves on reaching the coast and awaitingthe arrival of slave ships were kept in slave barracks called barracoons. Shown below, are other methods of detaining slaves.

CHEAP MANUFACTURED GOODS

Trinkets pots, pans beads, shells, cloth

SLAVES WERE USED ON PLANTATIONS, GROWING SUGAR, TOBACCO, COTTON.

U.S.A. Mexico Caribbean Islands

SLAVE TRADERS THEN SOLD THE SLAVES TO PLANTATION OWNERS TRIBAL CHIEFS EXCHANGE SLAVES , OR SLAVES ARE CAPTURED

Brazil

THE MIDDLE PASSAGE THE JOURNEY ACROSS THE ATLANTIC..