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African Slave Trade WHY? The Spanish and Portuguese set up colonies in South America Source of income? Sugar plantations. Who will work on the plantations? Sugar Plantations The Spanish and Portuguese first began sugar cultivation on plantations on islands close to the African coast. To work the plantations, they used African slaves, which were shipped a relatively short distance from the kingdom of Kongo. Major European powers looked for ways to exploit the fertile lands of the New World. Once again they looked to Africa for a steady supply of labor. Soon enslaved Africans had become absolutely vital to the cultivation of sugar, tobacco, cotton, and rice plantations. Sugar cultivation created a huge demand for slave labor from Africa Capturing of slaves Slaves were hunted and captured by European merchants as well as by their own people. Stronger African tribes would capture weaker tribes and sell them into slavery. Slaves would be captured and marched to permanent jails called factories located along the coast. The journey from interior Africa to the factories might be as far as 1,000 miles. Only half the people survived these death marches. Factory of Ghana A slave boat captain could buy a slave for around $20.00 and could be sold for up to $125.00 depending on the physical appearance. Men, Women and Children were all captured and sold into slavery. Once purchased by a slaver, the slave was usually branded with the owners initials to ensure ownership Most vessels at this time could hold up To 400 persons. It was not uncommon to put 600-700 slaves on a ship. Middle Passage The trip was called “The Middle Passage” and took anywhere from 50-90 days. Slaves were packed like cargo in the tween decks. They often had to lie in each others feces, urine and blood. The heat often unbearable and the air unbreathable Men were often chained in pairs, shackled wrist to wrist or ankle to ankle. In such cramped quarters, disease such as smallpox and yellow fever spread like wildfire. The diseased were usually thrown overboard to prevent the entire cargo from getting the disease. Portuguese Plantations As sugar came to dominate the landscape, plantations became bigger and the plantations' demand for African slaves grew. By 1600, perhaps 200,000 Africans had been shipped from West Africa as slaves. Fifty years later, that figure had increased to 800,000.