Part 2: Slavery

• Your goal:Describe the

reasons for the rise and decline of slavery.

Am I not a man and a brother?

The rise of slavery

• Hunter-gatherers had no use for a slave– Hunt and gather what you need– Who needs another mouth to feed?

• Cities, large farms or workshops– Extra help means more money

• War was the main source of slaves.– Kill some, enslave the others.

The rise of slavery

• Babylon 1700 BC• Greece 600 BC– Domestic servants– Personal assistants

• Rome 200 BC– Mining– Agriculture– Entertainment

The rise of slavery

• 500 – 1500 AD–Germany• Captured Slavic peoples (Slav – Slave)

–Mediterranean• African slave traders

– European slavery turns into feudalism• Serfs are slaves that are attached to land

The rise of slavery

• 1500 – 1700 AD– Portugal– Explorers discover

oceanic route to source of slaves

The rise of slavery

• 1500 – 1700 AD– Sub-Saharan Africa

was the source of most slaves

– Portugal used them for cotton and indigo

– Portugal established a monopoly in the slave trade

Sahara Desert

The rise of slavery: Triangular Trade

• Trade between three places– Europe– Africa– America

The rise of slavery: Triangular Trade

• Step 1– Buy guns and rum in Europe

• Step 2– Sell guns and rum in Africa– (Traded for captured African slaves)– Guns are used to capture more Africans as slaves.

The Middle Passage

• The voyage between Africa and America

• At least one month at sea

• Sometimes an entire year

Slaves were crowded onto ships

How many slaves will fit without dying on the voyage?

Many died along the way.

The rise of slavery: Triangular Trade

• Step 3– Sell African slaves in America– (Traded for molasses)– Slaves are used on plantations that make

molasses.

• Step 4– Sell molasses in Europe– Molasses is used to make rum– Buy guns and rum

The rise of slavery: Cotton

• Cotton Gin– Now two people can clean as much cotton in one

day that used to take 100 people.

The Cotton Gin

Why might this help end slavery?

Why might this increase slavery?

Cotton Economy

• Profitable for the southern United States• Plantations NEEDED slave labor– Pick cotton– Process cotton

• The northern states did not need slaves– Industry, not agriculture– Spin cotton into cloth

Cotton Economy

• Within 10 years, cotton in US leaped from $150,000 to $8 million!

• US Civil War started partially because of the South’s need for slaves

The decline of slavery

Reasons for the decline of slavery:– Slaves are not competitive• Pay someone and they will work harder

– Slaves can revolt• Strikes, destruction, murder

– White working class people demanded it end.• Morality• Sympathy• Not profiting from slavery

The decline of slavery

• Europe ends serfdom by 1500• England ends slavery in 1833• Russia ends serfdom in 1861• USA ends slavery in 1865– 13th Amendment to the Constitution

• Spain ends slavery in 1886• Brazil ends slavery in 1888

Slavery is not gone.

• Slavery is being forced to work without pay or the option of leaving.

• Slavery is illegal everywhere, but still happens everywhere.

• 27 million slaves in the world• It is called human trafficking

Slavery is not gone.

Slaves are in• Brothels• Homes• Fields• Mines• Restaurants

• Anywhere it is profitable.

Human Trafficking in Los Angeles