The Transatlantic Slave Trade
What was the Middle Passage in the transatlantic slave trade?
The Middle Passage was the brutal voyage that carried enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas.
What is one form of resistance enslaved people used on plantations?
Breaking tools, slowing work, feigning illness, or escaping.
What is chattel slavery?
A form of slavery where individuals are treated as property for life.
Who was Olaudah Equiano?
An African man who wrote a widely read autobiography detailing his enslavement and freedom.
How did Olaudah Equiano’s 1789 narrative shape public understanding of the transatlantic slave trade and influence antislavery movements?
Equiano’s narrative offered a firsthand account of the brutal Middle Passage and life under enslavement, which humanized enslaved Africans and provided compelling evidence that fueled support for abolition across Britain and the Atlantic world.
Which two regions were most involved in the trade of enslaved Africans?
West Africa and the Americas (especially the Caribbean and Brazil).
What were maroon communities?
Communities of escaped enslaved people who formed independent settlements.
What were slave codes designed to do?
They restricted the movement, education, and assembly of enslaved people.
What was the goal of early Black abolitionist movements?
To end slavery and secure rights for African Americans.
What kind of language was used in slave auction ads?
Dehumanizing language that emphasized physical traits and skills.
What goods were exchanged for enslaved Africans in the triangular trade?
Manufactured goods such as guns, rum, and textiles.
Name one significant slave revolt in the Americas.
The Stono Rebellion (1739) or the Haitian Revolution (1791–1804).
Describe one way enslaved families preserved their cultural identity.
Through storytelling, naming traditions, and spiritual practices.
How did Quakers contribute to early abolitionism?
They were among the first religious groups to oppose slavery on moral grounds.
How did the Fugitive Slave Act shape African American resistance?
It criminalized helping escaped enslaved people and empowered bounty hunters.
How did the transatlantic slave trade affect West African societies?
It led to warfare, depopulation, and political instability in many regions.
How did religion serve as a form of resistance for enslaved Africans?
It offered hope and a sense of purpose; spirituals conveyed hidden messages.
What role did children play in plantation labor systems?
They performed tasks such as gathering water, caring for animals, and field work.
What was the significance of free Black communities in the North?
They provided refuge, education, and organizing spaces for Black activism.
What perspective does Harriet Jacobs offer in her autobiography?
She exposed the gendered suffering and hidden abuse faced by enslaved women.
Analyze how the slave trade contributed to the formation of the African Diaspora.
It spread African peoples and cultures throughout the Americas, creating a global Black identity.
Analyze the impact of the Haitian Revolution on enslaved peoples across the Americas.
It inspired enslaved people and abolitionists to believe freedom was possible.
Explain how enslaved people created community and identity despite oppression.
Through communal support systems, religious gatherings, and oral traditions.
Analyze the role of African American newspapers in the abolitionist movement.
They spread abolitionist ideas, documented injustice, and unified communities.
How does a primary source created by an enslaved person like Equiano show the different ways they resisted slavery?
Primary sources like Olaudah Equiano’s Narrative (1789) show that resistance wasn’t only physical—it was also intellectual and emotional. Equiano describes the brutal conditions aboard slave ships and the emotional trauma of captivity. By publishing his story, he resisted slavery through testimony, using his voice to expose injustice and influence abolitionists. Similarly, slave songs and coded messages documented in the WPA Slave Narratives reflect cultural resistance, preserving African traditions and communicating secret plans. These sources show that enslaved people resisted by telling their truths, maintaining their identities, and fighting for freedom through both action and documentation.