1.11 Global Africans

What was traded between West Africa and Portugal?

• Gold, salt, and cotton

• Gold, goods, and enslaved people

• Silver, livestock, and spices

• Precious gems, metals, and ivory

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: B) Gold, goods, and enslaved people

• Explanation: In the late fifteenth century, trade between West Africa and Portugal expanded to include gold, various goods, and enslaved people, creating an alternative to the trans-Saharan trade routes. This trade provided wealth and resources for African kingdoms and increased the economic power of both regions.

Why was slave trading important for African kingdoms?

• It was a means to protect against European invasion.

• It brought them gold and other valuable resources.

• It increased their wealth and power within their societal hierarchy.

• It helped maintain traditional religious practices.

Answer explanation

Correct Answer: C) It increased their wealth and power within their societal hierarchy.

Explanation: Slave trading was a critical part of West African societies, which were often hierarchical. The capture and sale of enslaved people allowed African kingdoms to gain wealth and power. Enslaved individuals were traded to the Portuguese, and this practice reinforced existing social hierarchies within African societies.

How did bypassing trans-Saharan trade routes impact Portugal?

• It allowed them to access North African markets directly.

• It enabled direct trade with West African kingdoms, avoiding reliance on North African traders.

• It helped establish trade routes with Asia instead.

• It allowed for easier military campaigns in Africa.

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: B) It enabled direct trade with West African kingdoms, avoiding reliance on North African traders.

• Explanation: By establishing direct trade routes with West African kingdoms, the Portuguese could bypass the traditional trans-Saharan routes controlled by North African traders. This allowed Portugal to secure valuable resources like gold and other goods directly from West Africa, reducing costs and enhancing their trade network.

Where did Europeans increase their presence in West Africa?

• Inland regions in central West Africa

• Coastal areas where they set up trade outposts

• The Sahara Desert

• The interior cities of Ghana and Mali

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: B) Coastal areas where they set up trade outposts

• Explanation: The Portuguese established trade outposts along the West African coast. These outposts served as locations for trading various goods, including enslaved people, and allowed the Portuguese to interact more directly with African kingdoms and expand their influence in the region.

Where in Europe did sub-Saharan Africans establish a notable presence?

• Paris and London

• Rome and Florence

• Lisbon and Seville

• Madrid and Athens

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: C) Lisbon and Seville

• Explanation: Many sub-Saharan Africans were brought to Iberian port cities, particularly Lisbon and Seville, where they became a significant part of the population. This movement of people from Africa to Europe contributed to notable demographic shifts in these areas.

How did this migration influence both cultures?

• It created religious conflicts between Africans and Europeans.

• African contributions impacted cultural practices, cuisine, and labor systems in Europe, while African societies gained European goods.

• It led to the decline of African art in Europe.

• It isolated African culture from European influence.

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: B) African contributions impacted cultural practices, cuisine, and labor systems in Europe, while African societies gained European goods.

• Explanation: The migration of Africans to Europe resulted in cultural exchanges that affected both societies. Africans contributed to European cultural practices, cuisine, and labor roles, while African societies integrated European goods and ideas into their own cultures, creating a complex exchange of influences.

African elites, including ambassadors and the children of rulers, traveled to Mediterranean port cities for diplomatic, educational, and religious reasons. In these cities, free and enslaved Africans also served in roles ranging from domestic labor to boatmen, guards, entertainers, vendors, and knights.

Which islands did the Portuguese colonize for plantations?

• Canary Islands and Madeira

• Sicily and Cyprus

• Cabo Verde and São Tomé

• Azores and Balearic Islands

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: C) Cabo Verde and São Tomé

• Explanation: In the mid-fifteenth century, the Portuguese colonized the Atlantic islands of Cabo Verde and São Tomé, where they established cotton, indigo, and sugar plantations that became economically successful due to the labor of enslaved Africans. These islands served as early locations for the plantation economy that Portugal later expanded into other regions.

What crops were primarily cultivated using enslaved labor on Portuguese plantations?

• Wheat, barley, and olives

• Cotton, indigo, and sugar

• Rice, maize, and beans

• Tea, coffee, and cocoa

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: B) Cotton, indigo, and sugar

• Explanation: Enslaved Africans were used to cultivate cash crops like cotton, indigo, and sugar on Portuguese plantations. These crops were highly profitable and made plantation agriculture an attractive and lucrative system for the Portuguese.

How did the Portuguese plantation system function?

• It used a small labor force for specialized tasks only.

• It relied on European peasants for labor.

• It employed a division of labor among enslaved people, from planting to refining.

• It was focused only on fishing and mining.

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: C) It employed a division of labor among enslaved people, from planting to refining.

• Explanation: Portuguese plantations were organized with a division of labor among enslaved workers who were involved in every step of the production process, from planting and growing to refining crops like sugar. This organization made the system efficient and profitable, setting the stage for similar labor divisions in the Americas.

Image: Horse- and water-powered sugar mills, French West Indies, 1762. [Denis Diderot, Encyclopédie, ou, Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers … Recueil de Planches, sur les Sciences … (Paris, 1762), vol. 1, plate II, figs. 1 and 2]

Approximately how many enslaved Africans were sent to Atlantic islands by 1500?

• 20,000

• 35,000

• 50,000

• 75,000

Answer explanation

• Correct Answer: C) 50,000

• Explanation: By 1500, about 50,000 enslaved Africans had been transported to the Atlantic islands and parts of Europe to work on plantations and in other labor-intensive roles. This large-scale movement of people marked an early phase of the transatlantic slave trade.

Image: Quantitative depiction of Portuguese slave trade. The thickness of the arrows is proportional to the number of native Africans transported. From Eltis and Richardson (2010)