Africa and the Slave Trade
9th Grade · Social Studies · 45 min
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Learning Objective
I can analyze the multifaceted role of African societies in the trans-atlantic, indian ocean, and trans-saharan slave trades.
- 1
The transatlantic slave trade was established by Europeans to provide slave labor for their American colonies, with approximately 12 million Africans taken across the Atlantic.
- 2
Powerful West African empires, such as the Ghana Empire and the Mali Empire, built their wealth through the trans-Saharan trading of slaves and goods acquired through slave labor.
- 3
The Kingdom of Dahomey was infamous for its reliance on slavery, with estimates suggesting that by the 19th century, two-thirds of its population were enslaved, deeply woven into the political and religious fabric of the society.
