## Teachers	
  Notes:	
  	
  How	
  Important	
  Were	
  Africans	
  To	
  The	
  Atlantic	
  Slave	
  Trade?

Definitions	
  of	
  Africa	
  and	
  Africans. The	
  key	
  to	
  an	
  understanding	
  of	
  the	
  Atlantic	
  Slave	
  Trade	
  is	
  the	
  internationalism	
  of	
  the	
  commerce. However,	
  the	
  use	
  of	
  the	
  term	
  to	
  Africa	
  and	
  more	
  particularly	
  'Africans',	
  	
  an	
  instantly	
  recognisable but	
  rather	
  inaccurate	
  description	
  to	
  describe	
  the	
  peoples	
  living	
  on	
  the	
  continent	
  of	
  Africa. No	
  individual	
  living	
  on	
  the	
  African	
  continent	
  before,	
  during	
  and	
  after	
  the	
  era	
  of	
  the	
  Slave	
  Trade would	
  have	
  described	
  themselves	
  as	
  'African'.	
  Much	
  more	
  likely	
  to	
  suggest	
  Fon,	
  Gun,	
  Yoruba	
  etc	
  . Only	
  with	
  colonialism	
  were	
  these	
  peoples	
  forced	
  into	
  entities	
  we	
  begin	
  to	
  recognise	
  today	
  eg. Nigeria,	
  Kenya,	
  a	
  continent	
  riven	
  not	
  so	
  much	
  by	
  local	
  differences	
  but	
  those	
  of	
  their	
  European masters.	
  Then	
  	
  only	
  with	
  the	
  growing	
  Pan-­‐African	
  movements	
  of	
  the	
  early	
  twentieth	
  century	
  did	
  a sense	
  of	
  'Africa'	
  become	
  a	
  more	
  African	
  rather	
  than	
  a	
  European	
  construct	
  . For	
  an	
  understanding	
  of	
  the	
  slave	
  trade	
  it	
  is	
  necessary	
  to	
  rid	
  oneself	
  of	
  the	
  connotation	
  of	
  any African	
  'oneness'.	
  The	
  continent	
  was	
  made	
  up	
  of	
  such	
  a	
  diversity	
  of	
  peoples,	
  cultures,	
  religions	
  and languages.	
  Diversity	
  is	
  the	
  key	
  to	
  any	
  understanding	
  of	
  both	
  the	
  continent	
  and	
  also	
  to	
  an understanding	
  of	
  how	
  the	
  slave	
  trade	
  was	
  able	
  to	
  operate	
  there. 

## Lesson	
  Rationale

Current	
  research	
  going	
  on	
  in	
  the	
  broader	
  field	
  of	
  study.	
  	
  For	
  example	
  	
  Morgan,	
  Coclanis	
  and	
  Walvin have	
  all	
  raised	
  the	
  question	
  of	
  why	
  it	
  was	
  that	
  slavery	
  was	
  deemed	
  'necessary'	
  and	
  desireable	
  to Europeans	
  and	
  and	
  why	
  it	
  was	
  that	
  they	
  focused	
  on	
  Africa	
  as	
  a	
  source	
  of	
  slaves. 

Key	
  themes	
  are:	
  	
  

	
  
	
  
	
  
Demand	
  for	
  a	
  new	
  world	
  labour	
  force	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
Other	
  sources	
  were	
  tried	
  but	
  proved	
  less	
  than	
  successful	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
Slavery	
  was	
  possible	
  and	
  indeed	
  profitable	
  at	
  time	
  
More	
  difficult	
  it	
  seemed	
  to	
  understand	
  was	
  'Why	
  Africa?' Again	
  scholarship	
  has	
  raised	
  some	
  very	
  interesting	
  reasons:	
  

	
  
	
  
	
  
Availability/opportunity	
  
	
  
	
  
	
  
Racism	
  and	
  Religious	
  bigotry	
  
However,	
  it	
  seems	
  that	
  availability	
  and	
  opportunity	
  were	
  far	
  more	
  important	
  in	
  explaining	
  why Africa	
  than	
  	
  racism	
  and	
  religious	
  bigotry.	
  Indeed	
  both	
  the	
  latter	
  seem	
  to	
  have	
  played	
  a	
  far	
  greater part	
  in	
  the	
  abolition	
  of	
  the	
  slave	
  trade	
  than	
  in	
  its	
  operation.	
  From	
  my	
  reading	
  it	
  is	
  clear	
  that	
  there	
  are ideologies	
  about	
  race	
  and	
  religion	
  are	
  wholly	
  lacking	
  amongst	
  the	
  pragmatic	
  commercial opportunism	
  of	
  the	
  trade. So	
  why	
  did	
  Africa	
  present	
  the	
  opportunity?	
  Unfortunately,	
  there	
  frequently	
  seems	
  to	
  be	
  a	
  'blank canvas'	
  approach	
  to	
  the	
  Atlantic	
  Trade	
  which	
  focuses	
  on	
  the	
  commercialism	
  of	
  European	
  nations and	
  traders	
  where	
  their	
  demands	
  are	
  paramount.	
  But	
  this	
  wholly	
  obscures	
  the	
  proactive	
  nature	
  of African	
  involvement	
  in	
  the	
  trade. Why	
  was	
  Africa	
  able	
  to	
  provide	
  so	
  many	
  slaves?	
  Its	
  very	
  geography	
  was	
  absolutely	
  crucial,	
  the diversity	
  of	
  its	
  states,	
  governments	
  etc	
  facilitated	
  the	
  trade.	
  Diversity	
  again	
  led	
  to	
  the	
  opportunity for	
  	
  military	
  dispute	
  and	
  conquest	
  etc. The	
  National	
  Archive	
  and	
  the	
  University	
  of	
  Virginia	
  have	
  some	
  great	
  sources	
  from	
  which	
  to	
  examine these	
  themes.	
  Furthermore,	
  they	
  also	
  offer	
  the	
  opportunity	
  for	
  self	
  discovery. Some	
  of	
  the	
  sources	
  do	
  appear	
  'difficult'	
  eg.	
  Handwriting	
  that	
  's	
  difficult	
  to	
  read.	
  Etc. However,	
  this	
  can	
  be	
  very	
  exciting.	
  Difficult	
  handwriting,	
  torn	
  pages	
  etc	
  can	
  be	
  challenging	
  but	
  pupils love	
  cracking	
  codes.	
  Carefully	
  selected	
  pieces	
  and	
  group	
  work	
  can	
  facilitate	
  difficult	
  areas. Furthermore,	
  mistakes	
  are	
  a	
  learning	
  experience.	
  A	
  valuable	
  lesson	
  is	
  that	
  many	
  history	
  books contain	
  horrific	
  misreading	
  of	
  sources.	
  

## Lessons	
  1: Africa	
  Fact	
  And	
  Fiction?

The	
  geography	
  of	
  the	
  African	
  continent	
  is	
  vital	
  to	
  understanding	
  'why	
  Africa'.	
  Its	
  accessibility	
  to	
  both Europe	
  and	
  the	
  New	
  world	
  is	
  crucial	
  to	
  any	
  explanation	
  of	
  the	
  Atlantic	
  trade.	
  There	
  are	
  a	
  wealth	
  of maps	
  which	
  illustrate	
  this	
  and	
  explain	
  why	
  particularly	
  West	
  Africa.	
  	
  
European	
  Maps	
  such	
  as	
  the	
  map	
  used	
  in	
  Lesson	
  1	
  	
  from	
  17th	
  century	
  have	
  also	
  been	
  well	
  used	
  to	
  
demonstrate	
  their	
  confinement	
  to	
  the	
  coastal	
  regions	
  and	
  their	
  lack	
  of	
  activity	
  and	
  knowledge	
  in	
  the interior. There	
  are	
  a	
  wealth	
  of	
  written	
  descriptions	
  of	
  coastal	
  and	
  interior	
  areas,	
  which,	
  although	
  largely European	
  and	
  often	
  reflecting	
  the	
  ignorance	
  of	
  many	
  things	
  they	
  have	
  seen,	
  can	
  be	
  useful	
  in	
  filling	
  in geographical	
  features.	
  The	
  sources	
  used	
  in	
  this	
  lesson	
  are	
  from	
  both	
  the	
  National	
  Archives	
  and	
  from the	
  collections	
  held	
  at	
  the	
  University	
  of	
  Virginia.	
  However,	
  there	
  are	
  a	
  wealth	
  of	
  other	
  examples	
  full of	
  descriptive	
  detail,	
  for	
  example	
  the	
  descriptions	
  of	
  Richard	
  Lander,	
  Mungo	
  Park	
  etc	
  quickly	
  build	
  up a	
  picture	
  of	
  the	
  rural	
  communities	
  and	
  urban	
  conurbations	
  in	
  the	
  hinterland	
  of	
  west	
  Africa. Furthermore,	
  an	
  understanding	
  of	
  the	
  physical	
  geography	
  lends	
  itself	
  to	
  trade.	
  Notably	
  the	
  inland routes	
  and	
  roadways	
  along	
  which	
  slave	
  caravans	
  were	
  transported	
  and	
  the	
  inland	
  and	
  coastal waterways	
  eg.	
  The	
  Niger	
  Delta	
  which	
  enabled	
  transportation	
  to	
  the	
  coast.	
  	
  Furthermore,	
  the	
  inland lagoon	
  system	
  of	
  the	
  slave	
  coast	
  which	
  enabled	
  transportation	
  of	
  goods,	
  including	
  slaves	
  both	
  to	
  the coast	
  and	
  along	
  the	
  coast.	
  	
  This	
  made	
  the	
  transportation	
  of	
  slaves	
  practical	
  and	
  also	
  enabled	
  traders to	
  respond	
  to	
  demands,	
  political	
  conditions.	
  For	
  example	
  there	
  are	
  lots	
  of	
  examples	
  where	
  if	
  one state	
  was	
  closed	
  to	
  trade	
  due	
  to	
  political	
  probems/war	
  etc,	
  traders	
  would	
  transport	
  them	
  along	
  the lagoons	
  to	
  another	
  town	
  which	
  was	
  open	
  for	
  trade. This	
  geography	
  proved	
  to	
  be	
  particularly	
  useful	
  after	
  the	
  abolition	
  of	
  the	
  slave	
  trade	
  when	
  it	
  took much	
  of	
  the	
  necessary	
  movement	
  of	
  slaves	
  along	
  the	
  coast	
  out	
  of	
  range	
  of	
  the	
  British	
  patrols. The	
  extension	
  work	
  on	
  the	
  writing	
  of	
  Archibald	
  Dalzel	
  challenges	
  perceptions	
  about	
  the	
  relationships between	
  Africans	
  and	
  Europeans	
  on	
  the	
  coast	
  and	
  goes	
  some	
  way	
  to	
  explain	
  European	
  restrictions on	
  the	
  coast.	
  Dalzel's	
  position	
  as	
  Governor	
  of	
  Cape	
  Coast	
  Castle,	
  and	
  therefore	
  a	
  direct	
  beneficiary	
  of the	
  Atlantic	
  Trade	
  should	
  become	
  evident	
  and	
  his	
  portrayal	
  of	
  the	
  African's	
  as	
  'savage'	
  and	
  warlike,	
  a motive	
  for	
  continuing	
  the	
  trade.	
  	
  

## 

Who's	
  Who	
  in	
  Africa? Diversity	
  was	
  key	
  to	
  the	
  operation	
  of	
  the	
  slave	
  trade	
  on	
  the	
  African	
  continent.	
  The	
  existence	
  of wholly	
  diverse	
  political	
  entities	
  from	
  the	
  enormous	
  Oyo	
  Empire	
  to	
  the	
  small	
  autonomous	
  city	
  states like	
  Little	
  Popo	
  proved	
  a	
  heady	
  mix	
  of	
  rivalry,	
  conquest	
  and	
  power. The	
  picture	
  sources,	
  supported	
  by	
  the	
  account	
  of	
  Baquaqua	
  attempt	
  to	
  offer	
  a	
  glimpse	
  into	
  the	
  lives of	
  African's	
  across	
  the	
  era	
  of	
  the	
  slave	
  trade.	
  	
  The	
  activity,	
  based	
  on	
  close	
  analysis	
  of	
  each	
  picture, with	
  minimal,	
  initial	
  teacher	
  input	
  will	
  hopefully,	
  draw	
  this	
  picture	
  of	
  diversity.	
  The	
  following	
  notes on	
  each	
  source	
  will	
  hopefully	
  be	
  useful	
  and	
  may	
  be	
  used	
  to	
  further	
  inform	
  discussion. Source	
  A:	
  Typical	
  west	
  coast	
  village,	
  single	
  storey	
  housing	
  but	
  with	
  the	
  king's	
  palace	
  (a	
  more substantial	
  building	
  in	
  the	
  background).	
  1841.	
  Visual	
  image	
  much	
  supported	
  by	
  written	
  sources	
  such as	
  Baquaqua,	
  Lander	
  etc	
  
Source	
  B:	
  Metal	
  workers	
  in	
  the	
  late	
  17th	
  century,	
  engaged	
  in	
  war	
  materials	
  or	
  farming	
  implements?	
  	
  
Source	
  C:	
  Canoemaking	
  in	
  the	
  late	
  17th	
  century.	
  The	
  image	
  is	
  particularly	
  interesting	
  as	
  it	
  shows	
  
canoe	
  construction	
  in	
  the	
  forground	
  and	
  the	
  use	
  of	
  canoes	
  to	
  transport	
  people,	
  possibly	
  slaves	
  in	
  the background.	
  However,	
  it	
  is	
  interesting	
  to	
  note	
  that	
  in	
  the	
  far	
  background	
  are	
  porters	
  carrying	
  goods across	
  a	
  bridge,	
  another	
  commonly	
  used	
  mode	
  of	
  transport.	
  The	
  transportation	
  of	
  goods	
  of	
  all	
  kinds	
  
is	
  described	
  in	
  detail	
  in	
  many	
  accounts	
  eg.	
  Whitford,	
  at	
  the	
  end	
  of	
  the	
  19th	
  century	
  describes	
  

	
  
	
  
Canoes	
  bound	
  for	
  Lagos	
  deeply	
  laden	
  with	
  palm-­‐oil	
  in	
  jars,	
  kernals	
  in	
  bulk	
  covered	
  
	
  
	
  
with	
  mats,	
  bullocks,	
  goats,	
  sheep,	
  corn	
  and	
  various	
  other	
  products	
  from	
  the	
  interior.	
  
	
  
	
  
In	
  addition	
  they	
  are	
  crowded	
  with	
  passengers,	
  chiefly	
  women	
  traders,	
  who	
  seem	
  to	
  
	
  
	
  
be	
  comfortably	
  reposing	
  on	
  top	
  of	
  the	
  cargo.	
  

## Sources	
  D	
  And	
  F

The	
  absolutist	
  nature	
  of	
  states	
  like	
  Dahomey	
  which	
  imposed	
  a	
  rigid	
  regime	
  over	
  court,	
  public, conquered	
  peoples	
  and	
  foreigners	
  alike	
  allowed	
  for	
  a	
  well	
  organised	
  if	
  bureaucratic	
  relationship	
  to exist	
  between	
  Europeans	
  and	
  Africans.	
  For	
  example.	
  At	
  the	
  port	
  of	
  Whydah	
  a	
  network	
  of government	
  officials	
  ran	
  the	
  Atlantic	
  trade	
  on	
  behalf	
  of	
  the	
  King	
  who	
  stayed	
  in	
  his	
  capital	
  many	
  miles into	
  the	
  interior.	
  Eg.	
  The	
  Captain	
  of	
  the	
  Sand	
  who	
  oversaw	
  delivery	
  of	
  goods	
  to	
  the	
  beach	
  and	
  the Captain	
  of	
  the	
  Slaves	
  who	
  oversaw	
  the	
  delivery	
  of	
  slaves. The	
  complex	
  system	
  of	
  legal	
  arrangement	
  such	
  as	
  passes	
  and	
  customs	
  duties	
  to	
  be	
  paid	
  to	
  the	
  King for	
  permission	
  to	
  trade,	
  in	
  average	
  about	
  the	
  price	
  of	
  11	
  slaves	
  dependent	
  on	
  the	
  size	
  of	
  ship	
  (fraud case!)	
  made	
  the	
  Atlantic	
  trade	
  a	
  viable	
  and	
  profitable	
  operation. The	
  clear	
  divisions	
  between	
  slaves	
  destined	
  for	
  export	
  (foreigners)	
  and	
  domestic	
  slaves,	
  pawns	
  etc gave	
  protection	
  and	
  indeed	
  rights	
  to	
  local	
  slaves. Interestingly	
  the	
  onerous	
  administration	
  of	
  states	
  like	
  Dahomey	
  which	
  clearly	
  outlined	
  and protected	
  the	
  position	
  of	
  the	
  monarchy	
  pushed	
  many	
  Europeans	
  to	
  the	
  more	
  free	
  marketeering ports	
  of	
  Porto	
  Novo	
  and	
  Badagry	
  at	
  various	
  times.	
  	
  However,	
  even	
  here	
  trade	
  was	
  closely	
  monitored by	
  the	
  ruling	
  elite.	
  For	
  example,	
  British	
  missionary	
  Dr	
  Irving,	
  visiting	
  the	
  West	
  Coast	
  in	
  the	
  1850s noted	
  that: 
The	
  toll	
  house	
  on	
  Badagry	
  beach	
  had	
  been	
  set	
  up	
  in	
  order	
  to	
  exact	
  duty	
  from	
  all	
  goods	
  being	
  
	
  
carried	
  along	
  the	
  land	
  spit	
  	
  
And	
  that	
  this	
  was A	
  very	
  common	
  way	
  by	
  which	
  the	
  revenues	
  of	
  the	
  chiefs	
  are	
  raised	
  
(National	
  Archive	
  FO84/951	
  30	
  May	
  1854	
  Irving) Competition	
  between	
  trading	
  states	
  was	
  fierce,	
  and	
  effected	
  clearly	
  supplies	
  and	
  prices.	
  Even	
  at Whydah,	
  where	
  the	
  price	
  of	
  a	
  slave	
  was	
  'fixed'	
  by	
  the	
  King	
  was	
  open	
  to	
  'negotiation'	
  in	
  tough	
  times. On	
  numerous	
  occasions	
  competitors	
  resorted	
  to	
  protectionism,	
  which	
  at	
  its	
  most	
  extreme	
  led	
  to attacks	
  on	
  neighbouring	
  states.	
  This	
  led	
  ultimately	
  to	
  the	
  acquisition	
  of	
  more	
  states,	
  however,	
  it	
  is	
  an oversimplification	
  to	
  suggest	
  that	
  these	
  wars	
  were	
  merely	
  	
  'slave	
  gathering	
  missions'.	
  They	
  were often	
  much	
  more	
  about	
  taking	
  out	
  the	
  opposition. Source	
  E: Violence	
  	
  and	
  warfare	
  was	
  clearly	
  at	
  the	
  heart	
  of	
  the	
  slave	
  trade,	
  whether	
  as	
  a	
  method	
  of	
  gaining slaves	
  or,	
  as	
  many	
  historians	
  have	
  argued,	
  the	
  slave	
  trade	
  was	
  a	
  method	
  of	
  gaining	
  guns! Baquaqua's	
  accounts	
  of	
  his	
  own	
  experiences	
  both	
  before	
  and	
  after	
  capture	
  suggest	
  the	
  sense	
  of	
  how armies	
  were	
  used	
  t	
  destroy	
  and	
  enslave	
  neighbouring	
  states.	
  	
  

Eg.	
  
They	
  arrived	
  safely	
  on	
  a	
  Saturday,	
  and	
  heard	
  that	
  war	
  would	
  be	
  waging	
  that	
  day,	
  but	
  it	
  was	
  
not	
  resumed	
  until	
  the	
  next.	
  The	
  king	
  was	
  advised	
  by	
  his	
  counsellor	
  to	
  go	
  out	
  and	
  meet	
  the	
  enemy	
  in the	
  woods,	
  but	
  did	
  not	
  do	
  so.	
  He	
  then	
  went	
  to	
  the	
  Kings	
  house	
  and	
  after	
  breakfasting	
  next	
  morning, the	
  guns	
  began	
  to	
  boom	
  away,	
  and	
  the	
  war	
  went	
  on	
  in	
  earnest.	
  Guns	
  were	
  used	
  by	
  them	
  on	
  this occasion,	
  much	
  more	
  than	
  bows	
  and	
  arrows.	
  The	
  war	
  was	
  too	
  hot	
  for	
  the	
  king,	
  when	
  he,	
  together with	
  his	
  counsellor,	
  fled	
  for	
  their	
  lives…My	
  companions	
  and	
  myself	
  ran	
  to	
  the	
  river	
  but	
  could	
  not cross	
  it;	
  we	
  hid	
  ourselves	
  in	
  the	
  tall	
  grass,	
  but	
  the	
  enemy	
  came	
  and	
  found	
  us,	
  and	
  made	
  us	
  all prisoners.	
  I	
  was	
  tied	
  up	
  very	
  tightly;	
  they	
  placed	
  a	
  rope	
  around	
  my	
  neck	
  and	
  took	
  me	
  off	
  with	
  them… However,	
  the	
  following	
  section	
  of	
  Baquaqua's	
  account	
  is	
  perhaps	
  more	
  surprising	
  and	
  intriguing Whilst	
  travelling	
  through	
  the	
  wood,	
  we	
  met	
  my	
  brother,	
  but	
  neither	
  of	
  us	
  spoke	
  or	
  seemed	
  to	
  know each	
  other;	
  he	
  turned	
  another	
  way	
  without	
  arousing	
  any	
  suspicion;	
  and	
  then	
  went	
  to	
  a	
  place	
  and procured	
  a	
  person	
  to	
  purchase	
  me.	
  Had	
  it	
  been	
  known	
  who	
  it	
  was,	
  they	
  would	
  have	
  insisted	
  upon	
  a very	
  great	
  price	
  as	
  my	
  ransom,	
  but	
  it	
  was	
  only	
  a	
  small	
  sum	
  that	
  was	
  required	
  for	
  my	
  release. It	
  should	
  have	
  been	
  mentioned	
  that	
  the	
  city	
  was	
  destroyed,	
  the	
  women	
  and	
  children	
  having	
  been sent	
  away…	
  When	
  the	
  wars	
  come	
  on	
  suddenly,	
  the	
  women	
  and	
  children	
  have	
  no	
  means	
  to	
  escape, but	
  are	
  taken	
  prisoners	
  and	
  sold	
  into	
  slavery. This	
  source	
  makes	
  it	
  clear	
  that	
  Slave	
  raiding	
  wars	
  clearly	
  are	
  crucial	
  to	
  the	
  operation	
  of	
  the	
  trade, However,	
  the	
  means	
  by	
  which	
  Baquaqua	
  is	
  ransomed	
  and	
  the	
  subsequent	
  selling	
  on	
  of	
  war	
  captives is	
  crucial	
  and	
  clearly	
  demonstrates,	
  in	
  contrast	
  to	
  the	
  assertions	
  of	
  men	
  like	
  Archibald	
  Dalzel,	
  that this	
  was	
  no	
  anarchic	
  violence.	
  It	
  is	
  also	
  interesting	
  to	
  note	
  that	
  Baquaqua	
  is	
  initially	
  enslaved	
  as	
  a result	
  of	
  political	
  rivalry. Sources	
  G	
  and	
  H	
  
Dixon	
  Denham's	
  portrayal	
  of	
  fishing	
  boats	
  and	
  nets	
  of	
  the	
  Shary	
  and	
  the	
  17th	
  century	
  source	
  showing	
  
musicians	
  constrast	
  nicely	
  with	
  the	
  warlike	
  and	
  militaristic	
  nature	
  of	
  the	
  previous	
  sources.	
  There	
  are many	
  pictorial	
  sources	
  available	
  (www.slaveryimages.org)	
  which	
  show	
  more	
  domestic	
  scenes	
  such as	
  cooking,	
  farming,	
  the	
  market,	
  dress	
  etc	
  which	
  could	
  be	
  used. Sources	
  I	
  and	
  J What	
  becomes	
  clear	
  is	
  that	
  European	
  traders	
  were	
  able	
  to	
  tap	
  into	
  existing	
  and	
  expanding commercial	
  networks.	
  Coastal	
  towns	
  such	
  as	
  Lagos	
  were	
  established	
  and	
  grew	
  due	
  to	
  their connections	
  with	
  the	
  interior	
  and	
  these	
  connections	
  were	
  largely	
  commercial.	
  Whilst	
  its	
  root	
  were	
  in violence,	
  it	
  flourished	
  because	
  of	
  these	
  networks.	
  The	
  ability	
  to	
  harness	
  provisions,	
  labour,	
  eg. Guards,	
  porters	
  etc	
  along	
  with	
  transport	
  and	
  huge	
  outlays	
  of	
  finance	
  	
  were	
  synchronised	
  by 'middlemen'	
  who	
  smoothed	
  the	
  passage	
  between	
  slave	
  gatherers,	
  merchants	
  and	
  sea	
  captains. Slaves	
  would	
  pass	
  through	
  networks	
  of	
  interior	
  traders,	
  often	
  many	
  times	
  before	
  they	
  reached	
  the coast.	
  To	
  call	
  these	
  'chains	
  of	
  supply'	
  is	
  ironic	
  . Once	
  at	
  the	
  coast	
  slaves	
  would	
  be	
  collected	
  by	
  coastal	
  traders.	
  In	
  Whydah	
  these	
  were	
  traders operating	
  on	
  behalf	
  of	
  the	
  King.	
  In	
  other	
  places,	
  as	
  noted,	
  there	
  was	
  a	
  great	
  deal	
  of	
  free-­‐ marketeering	
  and	
  competition	
  between	
  traders.	
  In	
  a	
  number	
  of	
  places	
  relationships	
  were	
  forged	
  on the	
  basis	
  of	
  nationality.	
  In	
  Badagy	
  for	
  example	
  there	
  were	
  a	
  total	
  of	
  trading	
  chiefs	
  who	
  associated themselves	
  with	
  eg.	
  Britain,	
  France,	
  Portugal	
  specifically	
  and	
  traded	
  only	
  with	
  these	
  partners. Brokers	
  negotiated	
  between	
  merchants	
  and	
  Europeans.	
  If	
  supplies	
  were	
  not	
  available,	
  credit	
  could be	
  advanced	
  to	
  send	
  into	
  the	
  interior	
  for	
  more.	
  Sometimes	
  the	
  cost	
  of	
  as	
  much	
  as	
  200	
  slaves (enormous	
  sums).	
  A	
  business	
  relationships	
  based	
  on	
  trust,	
  risk	
  and	
  potential	
  profit. At	
  the	
  other	
  end	
  of	
  the	
  scale	
  were	
  menial	
  jobs,	
  often	
  done	
  by	
  domestic	
  slaves,	
  although	
  not	
  always such	
  as	
  porters	
  (price	
  of	
  a	
  single	
  slave	
  took	
  several	
  men	
  or	
  journeys	
  to	
  carry	
  this	
  in	
  cowrie	
  shells)	
  and canoemen	
  such	
  as	
  the	
  Kroomen	
  of	
  the	
  Gold	
  Coast	
  who	
  were	
  employed	
  all	
  along	
  the	
  Slave	
  Coast	
  to ferry	
  people	
  and	
  goods	
  from	
  shore	
  to	
  shop	
  through	
  the	
  incredibly	
  treacherous	
  surf.	
  The	
  trade	
  was incredibly	
  labour	
  intensive.	
  	
  But	
  there	
  was	
  profit	
  to	
  be	
  made	
  every	
  step	
  of	
  the	
  way. The	
  spirit	
  of	
  commercialism	
  is	
  one	
  which	
  pervades	
  any	
  study	
  of	
  African	
  trade.	
  It	
  should	
  be	
  noted	
  that several	
  coastal	
  communities	
  were	
  established	
  specifically	
  for	
  the	
  purposes	
  of	
  trading	
  with Europeans.	
  Interestingly	
  a	
  number	
  of	
  these	
  communities	
  were	
  established	
  by	
  refugees	
  from	
  areas ravaged	
  by	
  war.	
  The	
  potential	
  slaves	
  therefore	
  becoming	
  slave	
  traders.	
  	
  

## Lesson	
  2:	
  Why	
  Did	
  African'S	
  Trade	
  With	
  Europe?

The	
  spirit	
  of	
  commercialism	
  and	
  the	
  rewards	
  to	
  be	
  reaped	
  by	
  participation	
  in	
  the	
  trade	
  are	
  reflected in	
  the	
  diverse	
  products	
  which	
  were	
  exchanged	
  for	
  slaves,	
  from	
  hard	
  cash	
  (cowries),	
  iron	
  bars,	
  guns, textiles,	
  pottery	
  etc.	
  	
  the	
  goods	
  exchanged	
  is	
  sometimes	
  used	
  as	
  an	
  example	
  of	
  Europeans	
  'palming off'	
  worthless	
  products.	
  However,	
  the	
  nature	
  of	
  the	
  trade	
  suggests	
  that	
  these	
  were	
  products	
  which were	
  wanted,	
  desired	
  and	
  needed.	
  Indeed	
  there	
  is	
  evidence	
  of	
  disputes	
  between	
  African	
  merchants and	
  Europeans	
  over	
  quality	
  of	
  supplies,	
  and	
  what	
  is	
  being	
  supplied.	
  It	
  is	
  important	
  to	
  note	
  that	
  with the	
  competitive	
  nature	
  of	
  the	
  trade,	
  the	
  Europeans	
  could	
  not	
  afford	
  to	
  short-­‐change	
  their	
  business partners	
  otherwise	
  their	
  'partners'	
  may	
  swap	
  their	
  allegiances.	
  Examples	
  of	
  eg.	
  European	
  traders having	
  to	
  leave	
  certain	
  areas	
  due	
  to	
  business	
  disputes	
  were	
  common	
  and	
  the	
  Brazilian	
  trader Francisco	
  Felix	
  De	
  Souza,	
  probably	
  the	
  most	
  prominent	
  of	
  the	
  resident	
  foreigner	
  on	
  the	
  slave	
  coast had	
  to	
  transfer	
  his	
  operations	
  on	
  several	
  occasions	
  due	
  to	
  difficult	
  business	
  relationships. The	
  Day	
  Book	
  of	
  the	
  British	
  Ship	
  Africa	
  offers	
  an	
  insight	
  into	
  the	
  goods	
  traded	
  for	
  slaves	
  and	
  the profits	
  to	
  be	
  made.	
  It	
  also	
  gives	
  some	
  suggestion	
  as	
  to	
  the	
  value	
  of	
  these	
  products	
  to	
  Africans	
  and particularly	
  the	
  roles	
  that	
  some	
  African's	
  played,	
  often	
  in	
  a	
  non-­‐commercial	
  way,	
  in	
  enabling	
  the trade	
  to	
  continue.	
  

## Lesson	
  3:	
  What	
  Effect	
  Did	
  The	
  Slave	
  Trade	
  Have	
  On	
  Africa?

This	
  lesson	
  attempts	
  to	
  place	
  the	
  proactive	
  nature	
  of	
  the	
  African	
  trade	
  in	
  its	
  wider	
  historical	
  context. Furthermore,	
  by	
  putting	
  the	
  account	
  of	
  Baquaqua	
  at	
  its	
  core	
  it	
  tries	
  to	
  focus	
  the	
  trade	
  back	
  on	
  those who	
  were	
  enslaved	
  with	
  sensitivity	
  and	
  balance.	
  All	
  three	
  lessons	
  attempt	
  to	
  investigate	
  the	
  reasons for	
  African	
  involvement	
  in	
  the	
  Atlantic	
  trade	
  and	
  the	
  processes	
  by	
  which	
  the	
  trade	
  took	
  place. However,	
  the	
  lessons	
  whilst	
  challenging	
  the	
  oversimplification	
  of	
  Africans	
  as	
  solely	
  'victims'	
  of	
  the Slave	
  Trade,	
  the	
  lessons	
  must	
  also	
  attempt	
  to	
  reach	
  some	
  conclusions	
  over	
  the	
  real	
  impact	
  of	
  the trade	
  on	
  both	
  the	
  continent	
  of	
  Africa	
  and	
  Africans	
  themselves. Interestingly	
  James	
  Walvin	
  amongst	
  others	
  has	
  suggested	
  that	
  it	
  was	
  not	
  the	
  profits	
  alone	
  which kept	
  the	
  slave	
  trade	
  alive.	
  Indeed	
  as	
  he	
  points	
  out,	
  the	
  British	
  trade	
  was	
  just	
  as	
  profitable	
  when abolitionism	
  took	
  hold.	
  Furthermore,	
  he	
  suggested	
  that	
  the	
  use	
  of	
  slaves	
  in	
  the	
  America's	
  impeded economic	
  development.	
  This	
  provides	
  an	
  interesting	
  point	
  of	
  comparison	
  with	
  African	
  trading communities.	
  Tony	
  Hopkins	
  proposed	
  the	
  theory	
  that	
  Africa	
  experienced	
  a	
  crisis	
  of	
  adaptation	
  when the	
  slave	
  trade	
  was	
  surpressed.	
  Certainly	
  there	
  is	
  plenty	
  of	
  evidence	
  to	
  suggest	
  that	
  many	
  African communities	
  were	
  reluctant	
  to	
  give	
  up	
  the	
  trade	
  in	
  favour	
  of	
  so	
  called	
  'legitimate'	
  products	
  such	
  as palm	
  oil. Further	
  suggested	
  reading A	
  G	
  Hopkins	
  **An	
  Economic	
  History	
  of	
  West	
  Africa**	
  (New	
  York	
  1973) Robin	
  Law	
  The	
  Slave	
  Coast	
  of	
  West	
  Africa	
  1550-­‐1750:	
  The	
  Impact	
  of	
  the	
  Atlantic	
  Slave	
  Trade	
  on African	
  Society	
  (Oxford	
  University	
  Press	
  1991) Robin	
  Law	
  **Ouidah:	
  The	
  Social	
  History	
  of	
  a	
  West	
  African	
  Slaving	
  Port	
  1727-­‐1892**	
  (Ohio	
  University Press	
  2006) James	
  Walvin	
  **Atlas	
  of	
  Slavery**	
  (Harlow,	
  England	
  &	
  New	
  York	
  2006)