4.9

The Atlantic Slave Trade

AP World History: Modern

Origins and context

Why Africans?

The triangular trade

The Middle Passage

Slave ship diagram
Caption: Diagram of the British slave ship Brookes (1788), showing the extreme overcrowding of enslaved Africans. This image was used by abolitionists to generate public opposition to the trade. Source: Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)

The scale of the trade

Impact on Africa

Impact on the Americas

The role of African states

Primary sources

Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative (1789)

Afonso I of Kongo, letter to King Joao III of Portugal (1526)

Alexander Falconbridge, Account of the Slave Trade (1788)

Key figures

Key events summary

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Vocabulary

Unit 4 topics

Unit 4 overview4.10Comparison of Coerced Labor Systems4.1Technological Innovations from 1450 to 17504.2Exploration: Causes and Events from 1450 to 17504.3Columbian Exchange4.4Maritime Empires Established4.5Maritime Empires Maintained and Developed4.6Internal and External Challenges to State Power from 1450 to 17504.7Changing Social Hierarchies from 1450 to 17504.8Continuity and Change from 1450 to 17504.9The Atlantic Slave Trade
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