Hello and welcome to this lesson on the arrival of European traders in West Africa.

It's part of a bigger unit on the impact of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on West African society.

In the course of this unit, we'll be covering lots of things, including the kingdoms of the Sahel before the European traders arrived, what happened when they arrived, what the structure of the trans-Atlantic slave trade looked like, how it expanded, what happened when the British merchants got involved, and then finally, how that impacted West African societies.

However, in this lesson, we are just going to be looking at the arrival of European traders in the 1400s.

Before we get started on today's lesson, you're going to need a pen and paper.

If you don't have one, that's absolutely fine.

Just pause the video right now, get everything you need, and then come back and press play when you're done.

Fantastic, now you've got everything you need.

If you have a look at the lesson slide, you'll see our outcome for today.

By the end of today's lesson, you can explain the impact of the Europeans arriving in West Africa on West Africa kingdoms. But in order to achieve this outcome, we're going to need some keywords.

And for today's lesson, we have four.

Our four keywords for today are enslaved people, indentured labour, chattel slavery, and slaveholder.

Now, before we see these words in the context of the lesson, it'd be a really good idea if we stop for a moment and have a look at some definitions for these words.

So enslaved people are people who have been forced to work, lose their freedom, and become the property of another person, working for no pay.

Indentured labour is a system where someone is made to work without pay for a set period of time, either as a punishment or voluntarily for later repayment.

Chattel slavery is when people become legal property and cannot be freed without the permission of their slaveholder.

And finally, a slaveholder is someone who owned enslaved people.

Now we've had a look at some of these keywords, let's get started on today's lesson.

Our lesson today will be split into three sections.

First, we'll be looking at the arrival of the Portuguese.

This painting is an artist's interpretation of what it looked like when the Portuguese arrived in West Africa in the 1440s.

When they arrived, they brought with them lots of different goods like horses, and guns, and gunpowder.

They'd arrived hoping to exchange these goods for gold.

As you may already know, many kingdoms in West Africa were very, very wealthy, and this was because they had a lot of gold.

These Portuguese merchants had a huge effect on West African society.

The main reason for this was that more people moved to the coast to trade with European merchants, so this meant they became increasingly powerful because slowly but surely they began to control the trade along the West African coast.

And as they began to control the trade along the West African coast, this meant that local West African traders were trading more with these Portuguese merchants than they were with other kingdoms, so this meant that the Portuguese continued to become powerful.

However, this was at the expense of local West African kingdoms because they were now losing out on trade.

And so throughout the 1500s, these local West African merchants just continued and continued to move to the coast because if they were along the coast, it was much easier to trade with these Portuguese merchants.

As you can imagine, travelling inland would take days or weeks, it saved them so much time by relocating.

But again, remember this came at the expense of those powerful and wealthy West African kingdoms I mentioned earlier.

So before we go on to look in more detail of what this meant for the kingdoms in West Africa, let's stop for a moment and check our understanding so far.

I'd like you to have a go at finishing this sentence.

When the Portuguese arrived in the 1440s, they brought horses and other goods to trade for, A, enslaved people, B, gold or C, textiles.

I'd like you to pause the video, have a think and then press play when you're done.

Great work, the answer is B, gold because as we've said, kingdoms in West Africa, also referred to sometimes as the Sahel, were very rich in gold, they controlled lots of different gold mines, and that's what had attracted the Portuguese merchants in the first place.

They tended to exchange this gold for textiles, so cloth or clothing, and then the trade of enslaved people comes slightly later, so we'll get onto that in a bit.

Next, I'd like you to have a think about whether this statement is true or false.

In the 16th century, more and more West African people moved towards the coast.

Is this true or false? Pause the video, have a think, when you've got an answer, come back and press play.

Brilliant work, it's true.

We know that in the 16th century, so the 1500s, more and more West African people moved towards the coast.

But why? Now I'd like you to justify your answer.

Was it because A, people moved to the coast to trade with other West African kingdoms or B, people moved to the coast to trade with Europeans? Again, pause the video and when you have an idea, press play.

Great work, it's B, people moved to the coast to trade with Europeans.

And remember this was at the expense of existing kingdoms and empires in the region.

Now let's put what we've learned so far into practise.

I would like you to fill in the blanks to describe the arrival of the Portuguese on the West African coast.

The words to use are listed underneath the paragraph.

I'd like you to give yourself about five minutes to complete this task, so you can pause the video now, complete your paragraph, and then come back and press play when you've finished.

Excellent work so far.

Let's have a look at what your completed paragraph should have looked like.

Portuguese merchants began to arrive in West Africa in the 1440s.

When they arrived, they brought horses, guns, gunpowder, and other goods in the hope of trading them for gold.

By the 1500s, many local people had moved to the coast to begin to trade with these Portuguese merchants, increasing their power along the coast.

Brilliant work, let's get onto the next part of our lesson.

In this section of the lesson, we'll be looking at the declining power in the Sahel.

Remember I said that some people refer to the area of West Africa where there was lots of different kingdoms as the Sahel.

So on our slide here, we can see a map of West African kingdoms from around 1200 to 1700, and that region in the left section with lots of different kingdoms is what is commonly referred to as the Sahel.

It is a collection of kingdoms and nations that lie just below the Sahara Desert.

And now within these kingdoms, we've already said that they were losing power to European merchants as a result of lots of local West Africa merchants moving towards the coast to trade with them at the expense of the trade within these different kingdoms. Now, it wasn't just the fact that they were losing out on trade, they were also losing political strength.

But part of the reason was because these kingdoms were suffering other political issues within their kingdoms. For example, in 1591, the kingdom of Songhay experienced a civil war.

This is when essentially a country goes to war against itself.

It might be a rebellious group against its ruler that has enough support to start a full-blown war, it might be a government against their ruler, it might be a large group of merchants against their ruler.

But either way, this had been happening in Songhay and the rulers of Songhay struggled to maintain their political power.

So when the European merchants continued to become even more powerful, they just couldn't recover.

And as a result, instead of large kingdoms like Songhay existing, power began to shrink into smaller kingdoms along the West African coast.

If we have a look at our map, Wolof, here, circled in red and Kaabu slightly next to it are examples of kingdoms that existed following the collapse of larger ones like Songhay.

Remember, it wasn't just because of the arrival of Europeans, but that together with ongoing issues within the kingdoms meant that some of them simply could not survive.

Before we have a look at whether this was the case with all kingdoms, we're gonna stop and check our understanding so far.

Which of the following is not a reason rulers of the Sahel were losing power? Remember, not a reason.

Portuguese traders were starting wars against them.

Portuguese traders changing trade in the region.

Or civil wars within kingdoms as power relations changed.

I'd like you to have a think, pause the video, and when you think you know the answer, come back and press play.

Fantastic, we know that it's not true that Portuguese traders were starting wars against these rulers of the Sahel.

We know that it was simply because they were just growing in power as local West African merchants were moving closer to the coast in order to trade with them because Portuguese traders were changing trade in the region, which is why smaller kingdoms like Wolof in modern day Senegal or Kaabu in modern day Gambia were able to survive because they were along the coast and could much more easily trade directly with the Portuguese merchants.

But we also know that civil wars within kingdoms was a reason why rulers of the Sahel were losing power because for example, in 1591, the Songhay kingdom began to collapse as a result of civil war and the loss of power to European merchants.

But like I said, we need to have a look at whether this was the case with all kingdoms. Here we can see an artist's interpretation of a 16th century Oba in Benin.

Oba was just the name given to the rulers of Benin.

They were seen as their spiritual rulers, but also their political rulers.

And if we have a look at this artist's interpretation, we can see that they were very rich and very wealthy.

They were very grand, they had lots of servants, so that suggests that their kingdom was doing quite well in the 1500s.

This challenges what we've just learned about kingdoms like Songhay that collapsed as a result of civil war and losing power to the Europeans and power shrinking into smaller kingdoms like Wolof and Kaabu along the coast.

So something must have been different here, and with Benin, it was.

They continued to thrive in the 1600s despite the arrival of European merchants in the 1440s and the growing trade with them in the 1500s.

This was because the kingdom of Benin established peaceful trading relationships with the Portuguese so that when the Portuguese began to become more powerful, this was not that their expense, it actually meant that they would be able to trade more and become more wealthy and therefore thrive in the 1600s.

So not only did they manage to withstand the arrival of European merchants, they even expanded as a result of peaceful trading relationships with them.

Now that we've had a look at the way that power declined in the Sahel for many kingdoms, but also an exception being the kingdom of Benin, let's check our understanding of the lesson so far.

Which one of the following statements is true? Is it A, West African kingdoms were unaffected by the arrival of the Portuguese, B, some kingdoms like Benin continued to thrive in the 1600s, or C, all West African kingdoms collapsed once the Portuguese arrived.

Pause the video, have a think, and when you think you know the answer, come back and press play.

Brilliant work, the answer is B.

We know that some kingdoms like Benin continued to thrive in the 1600s, and that was because they established peaceful trading relationships with Portuguese merchants.

We know that A is not true because that suggests that West African kingdoms were unaffected by the arrival of the Portuguese.

We know that isn't true.

We know that kingdoms like Songhay experienced civil wars at the same time as the arrival of the Europeans and their growing power and simply could not recover from both at the same time.

And we know that it is not true that all West African kingdoms collapsed because for example, because we know that Benin continued to thrive.

Now let's put what we've learned into practise.

I would like you to complete the table to show whether each of the following statements is true or false.

So for example, the Songhay Empire collapsed into civil war in 1591.

We know that is true.

There's four more statements for you to say whether they are true or false.

So I would like you to take about five minutes to complete this task.

So you can now pause the video, complete your table, and then come back when you're done.

Brilliant work, let's have a look at what your completed table should have looked like.

So the second statement, the rulers of the Sahel did not lose power to newly-arrived Portuguese traders.

That statement is false.

We know that they did lose power to newly-arrived Portuguese traders, as many local African merchants travelled to the coast to be closer to the European merchants, to the Portuguese traders, so they could trade directly with them.

The third statement, as their power declined, some kingdoms became larger.

We know that statement is also false because we know that power shrunk into smaller kingdoms along the coast.

Kingdoms who could trade directly with the Europeans, for example, the Wolof kingdom in modern day Senegal, or the Kaabu kingdom in modern day Gambia.

That helps us with the next statement, which we know is therefore true as these are examples of smaller coastal kingdoms. And then finally, the kingdom of Benin collapsed in the 1600s.

We have learned that this statement is in fact false.

This kingdom did not collapse in the 1600s, it in fact continued to thrive and even expand because they had established peaceful trading relationships with the Europeans.

In this third and final part of our lesson, we will be coming back to something that I mentioned earlier in one of our very early checks for understanding in this lesson.

The question asked you what European merchants came to trade their goods for in the 1440s, and one of the suggested answers was enslaved people.

And we know that that's not the case, but we do know that the trans-Atlantic slave trade did soon begin.

So in this part of the lesson, we'll be looking at new trades and new power and how merchants went from coming to trade in gold to trading in enslaved people.

Now if we have a look at our slide, we can see an illustration of prisoners of war.

These are people who would've been captured in different wars between different kingdoms in the Sahel.

They would've maybe been kept as a form of punishment for a set period of time or held by the kingdom that captured them, where they would settle and restart their life.

Portuguese traders soon began trading these enslaved people from one kingdom to another.

And like I said, these people had been enslaved as a punishment or as prisoners of war.

So in trading them from one kingdom to another, it might help one kingdom who was at war against another because they now have more prisoners of war from their enemy kingdom.

However, these people were being enslaved in a system that was quite similar to something called indentured labour.

Remember that's one of our keywords from earlier.

In a system of indentured labour, you are forced to work for a set period of time with no pay.

This is normally done as as a punishment.

However, in some cases, people would voluntarily enter a system of indentured labour because at the end they may receive a sum of money or land.

So the system here in which the Portuguese were selling enslaved people was one that was similar, like I said, to indentured labour.

So they were selling enslaved people for one kingdom to another, often they would be prisoners of war for a set period of time, after which they may go on to continue to live a fairly normal life in this new kingdom.

Before we go on to look at how this then developed into the trans-Atlantic slave trade, which you may know sounds very different to this.

Let's stop for a moment and check our understanding so far.

I would like you to decide which of these statements is the best definition of indentured labour.

Is it a A, a system where someone is made to work with little pay for an undefined period of time? B, a system where someone is made to work without pay for a set period of time? Or C, a system where someone is made the property of someone else? Pause the video, have a think, and then come back when you think you have an answer.

Excellent work, the answer is B.

The best definition of indentured labour is a system where someone is made to work without pay for a set period of time.

And remember, this was the system that these prisoners of war were used to.

They'd been taken either as a punishment or in the midst of a conflict between different kingdoms. They'd often then be made to work without pay, but this was for a set period of time.

A, it is not a correct definition because it suggests they receive little pay, but we know in systems of indentured labour, they're working without pay.

And C, a system where someone is made the property of someone else is the definition of an enslaved person when they are made the property of another person.

Now let's have a look at how we move from European merchants trading enslaved people in a system very similar to indentured labour to what you might already know existed in the Americas.

On the slide here you can see an illustration of a sale of enslaved people in the Americas.

This is where things would change drastically because in the Americas, these enslaved people were not being sold into a system of indentured labour that they had been used to.

In the Americas, the enslaved people were sold into chattel slavery.

If you remember from our keywords, chattel slavery is when an enslaved person is made the property of their slaveholder.

They cannot be given freedom unless their slaveholder grants them freedom.

And this isn't for a set period of time, chattel slavery lasts your entire life.

These enslaved people who were taken to the Americas and would live and work on the plantations in America often until they died, the children that they had would then be born into chattel slavery and they would rarely be freed.

Now, the reason they were being taken to the Americas is because these Portuguese merchants and other Spanish merchants had also been travelling westwards towards the Americas and setting up colonies.

And in these colonies, they planned to become very rich and wealthy from the different goods that could be grown on their land.

So they had taken these enslaved people to go and work on this land in areas called plantations in order to grow the goods that would make them wealthy.

So this was another way for Portuguese merchants to make themselves very, very wealthy.

This was because, like I said, chattel slavery lasted the lifetime of the enslaved person.

And as we've already mentioned, they would only be free again if their slave holder chose to free them.

So this was very different to the system of indentured labour that they'd been used to and different to the system of trading enslaved people that had existed in the Sahel.

However, this wasn't something that was just willingly agreed to by the rulers in the Sahel.

The Obas of Benin refused to sell their people to the European merchants to enslave.

They had heard of the cruelties happening in the Americas and they refused to cooperate.

They maintained their peaceful relationships, but had no intention of participating in this trade of enslaved people.

However, other local merchants did not obey the Obas' orders.

They continued to trade their prisoners of war to the Europeans for them to enslave in the Americas.

And as the power of these European merchants grew, there was very, very little that the Obas could do to stop them.

Now we've had a look at how new trade and new power began in West Africa, it eventually led to enslaved people being taken to the Americas and sold into a system of chattel slavery, we can stop for a moment and check our understanding so far.

I'd like you to complete this sentence for me.

In the early 1500s, European merchants began to sell enslaved people into chattel slavery in.

Now, remember, chattel slavery is a system where somebody's made the property of another person.

They are not able to be freed unless their slave holder gives them permission.

So have a think about where we just talked about that happening.

Pause the video, have a think, when you know the answer, come back and press play.

Brilliant work, it was in the Americas.

The Portuguese and other European merchants had been setting up colonies in the Americas and they were taking these enslaved people from West Africa to be sold into chattel slavery in the Americas.

Let's have a look at one more question as a final check of our understanding.

Indentured labour and chattel slavery are different.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video and come back when you think you know.

You're right, the answer is true.

Indentured slavery and chattel slavery are different.

But why? I'd now like you to justify your answer.

Is it because A indentured labourers work for a fixed time with no pay and are then free, whereas chattel slavery only ends when a slave holder grants them freedom? Or is it because the children of those sold into chattel slavery are also enslaved, however, indentured labour ended if a child was born? Pause the video, have a think about those last two statements.

They're a little bit longer than usual to maybe give yourself an extra minute to really carefully look at what each statement is suggesting about the differences.

Pause the video now.

When you think you know why our statement is true, come back and press play.

Excellent work, we know the correct answer is A, indentured labourers work for a fixed time with no pay and are then free.

Remember, this was similar to the system that was used in West Africa with prisoners of war.

This is what the local people of West Africa would've been used to.

And chattel slavery only ends when a slaveholder grants them freedom.

So chattel slavery is for the lifetime of an enslaved person in most cases.

In very rare cases that freedom would've been granted.

Whereas with B, it is true that the children of those sold into chattel slavery were also enslaved.

However, indentured labour didn't end depending on whether or when a child was born, it ended according to the contract or the set period of time agreed when it first started.

Now let's put what we've learnt this lesson into practise.

So here we have Alex.

Alex has been learning with us about the arrival of Europeans in West Africa, and he's made a statement about his learning this lesson.

European traders arrived on the West African coast in the 1440s.

Immediately West African kingdoms began to collapse.

At first, Portuguese traders came to trade their horses and guns for enslaved people.

These traders took enslaved people and sold them into chattel slavery, which was the same type of slavery that had existed across Africa.

Now I'm sure you've already realised poor Alex here has got a few things mixed up.

So the first thing I'd like you to do is identify the three main errors in Alex's statement.

We're gonna help him out here.

So pause the video, help Alex out, find those three main errors, and then come back when you're done.

Give yourself a few minutes to do this.

Brilliant let's have a look at those three main errors.

So the first was that immediately West African kingdoms began to collapse, we know that's not the case.

He also says that they came to trade their horses and guns for enslaved people, not quite right.

And then he says that they took enslaved people and sold them into chattel slavery, which was the same type of slavery that had existed in Africa.

Again, he's got things muddled up there.

So if you spotted those three errors, really well done.

If not, just take a moment now to make a note of these three errors.

Great work, for our final task today, we're gonna help him out by rewriting the statement, correcting all three errors.

We've come across these potential mix ups during the lesson, so I'm sure you'll do a great job of this.

Pause the video now, give yourself five to 10 minutes to rewrite this statement, correcting all three errors.

When you've rewritten the statement, come back and press play.

Brilliant work, now let's have a look at what your corrected statement should've looked like.

European traders arrived on the West African coast in the 1440s.

After a while, some West African kingdoms began to collapse, however, some continued to thrive like Benin.

At first, Portuguese traders came to trade their horses and guns for gold.

Then these traders took enslaved people and sold them into chattel slavery, which was different from the system of slavery that had existed across West Africa, which was more like indentured labour.

Really well done, you've done excellent work this lesson, and I'm sure Alex is more than happy for the help that you've given him.

Now let's look at a summary of what we've learnt this lesson before we finish for today.

So in this lesson, we've learnt that Portuguese merchants arrived in the 1440s with the intention of trading their goods for gold.

We've also learnt that over time power in West Africa became concentrated in smaller kingdoms. We've learned that in the 1500s and 1600s, some kingdoms like Benin became more powerful and built peaceful trading relationships with European traders, however, other kingdoms collapsed in this time, but often not just because of the growing power of European merchants, kingdoms like the Kingdom of Songhay were also dealing with civil wars at the same time as these European merchants were growing in power.

And finally, from the 1500s, European traders began to sell enslaved people into chattel slavery in the Americas, and as we've looked at, that was a very different system from what these enslaved people were used to.

They'd previously been prisoners of war or enslaved as a punishment, often for a set period of time, they were now sold into a system that would last for their entire lifetime.

The only way they might achieve their freedom is if their slaveholder granted permission, which often was not the case.

Great work this lesson.

You've done absolutely fantastic.

Really well done.