Lesson 3: Slavery in the Americas

Key Idea

Before the 1500s, West Africa was home to many different groups of people and powerful kingdoms. Societies were built around family and community. People had diverse cultures, religions, and traditions. They were farmers, traders, and skilled artists who created a rich and varied way of life.

Some West African societies had a form of slavery, but it was very different from what came later. It was not based on race. Enslaved people were often captured in war. They were not considered property for life, and their children were born free.

Key Idea

In the 1400s, European traders from Portugal began sailing to West Africa. They wanted many workers for their new colonies in the Americas.

The Europeans traded goods, including guns, to some African leaders in exchange for captured people. This trade created more conflict and made it easier to capture people for the slave trade.

Key Idea

European traders created a profitable system called the triangular trade.

Ships first sailed from Europe to West Africa, where they traded goods like guns and cloth for enslaved Africans.

Key Idea

The journey across the Atlantic Ocean was called the Middle Passage.

On these ships, captured Africans were treated like cargo, not people. They were chained together and forced into dark, crowded spaces below deck with little room to move.