Hello, and welcome to today's lesson on the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade.

This lesson is part of a broader unit looking at how transatlantic slavery impacted societies in West Africa.

In the course of this unit, we'll be covering lots of things, including the wealth and culture in the kingdoms of the Sahel before the arrival of the Europeans.

Then we'll look at the arrival of the Portuguese in the 1400s before looking at the structure and the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade, the role of British, and then finally putting it all together to look at how this impacted West African societies.

But for today, we are just going to be looking at the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade.

Now for this lesson, all you'll need is a piece of paper and a pen.

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

Don't worry.

Just pause the video now, get absolutely everything you need, and when you're good to go, come back, press play, and we'll get started.

Really well done.

Now you've got everything you need.

We can get started on today's lesson.

Our outcome for today is on the slide.

By the end of the lesson, I'm hoping that all of you will be able to explain how the transatlantic slave trade grew and destabilised West African kingdoms. But in order to be able to do this, we're going to need some keywords.

And for today, we have three, enslaved people, Oba, and Prisoners of War.

Now, it's great to have key words, but it'll be really helpful to have some definitions before we see them in the context of the lesson.

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.

Oba is the word used in the Benin empire to describe the figure who was both ruler and spiritual leader.

And then finally, prisoners of war are people captured by the opposing side during a war.

Now we've got our keywords.

We can get started in the first part of our lesson, and today, that'll be looking at more trade, more labour, and more enslaved people.

Now, on the slide here, you can see a drawing of a Portuguese slave ship.

You may already know that the Portuguese had been taking enslaved people from West Africa over to their new colonies in the Americas to work on plantations.

They were doing this because on the plantations, they were growing things like tobacco and sugar that was making the plantation owners, the new colonial settlers, and the merchants very, very rich, because when they took these goods back to Europe, it made them lots of money.

However, this started as a limited number of people because the Middle Passage, the journey from West Africa to the Americas, was awful.

It was unimaginably bad, it took around 12 weeks, and in the time that the transatlantic slave trade existed, it's estimated that up to 2 million African people died on that journey.

Despite this, the transatlantic slave trade expanded, and we're gonna look at how that happened in a moment.

But what you need to know for now is that by 1600, the Portuguese merchants had captured and sold over 150,000 African people into slavery.

Now, we're looking at the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade in this lesson, and you may know from other learning that there were millions of people sold into slavery as part of this process.

So 150,000 at this point might seem small, but this is a rapid increase from the very limited number that you might have learned about if you've learned about the beginning of the transatlantic slave trade.

The reason that this number is starting to rapidly increase is because initially, these European merchants, especially the Portuguese, had taken prisoners of war.

Remember, they were people captured in conflict.

They'd been trading prisoners of war from one kingdom to another, but then started to take these people from West Africa and sell them in the Americas onto plantations.

Now, there was lots of resistance from local rulers, but as they began to trade more prisoners of war, they were able to take more enslaved people over to the Americas because their priority was making as much money from the plantations as possible, even though this came at a great human cost, and therefore, they were willing to do anything that would make them more money.

So if that meant taking more prisoners of war, or like it says here, capturing West African people, then that was what they were going to do.

Now, before we go on to look at the changing relationship between some West African kingdoms and the Portuguese, let's stop for a moment and check our understanding so far.

I'd like you to answer this question.

What group of people were sold to the European merchants before being sold as enslaved people in the Americas? Was it, A, anyone of a low social status, B, prisoners of war, or C, anyone? Pause the video now, have a think, and when you've got the answer, come back and press play.

Excellent.

The answer is, B, prisoners of war.

You might have been tempted to say A, anyone of a low social status.

However, that's not true.

They weren't selling anyone of a low social status to Europeans.

It was primarily prisoners of war at this point.

We're talking around 1600.

Now, before we have a look at the changing relationship between some of the West African kingdoms and the Portuguese merchants, let's have a look at one more question.

Why were European merchants looking for ways to expand the transatlantic slave trade by 1600? Was it because they wanted to become even more wealthy, or they wanted to set up plantations in West Africa, or they wanted to make African kingdoms more wealthy? So you're going to pick A, B, or C.

Pause the video now, have a think.

When you've got an answer, come back and press play.

Great work.

The answer is, A.

We know that these merchants were looking for ways to become even more wealthy, and were therefore willing to expand the transatlantic slave trade at any cost, even if that was the cost of human life.

Now, I did tell you that we talk a little bit more about how the relationship between some West African kingdoms and European merchants changed in this time.

So on the slide here, you can see a map of West African kingdoms from around 1200 to 1700.

So these were kingdoms that existed in this time period.

Now, I need you to look at the centre of this map, and you'll see a really small yellow circle just below Mossi.

That is the kingdom of Allada.

And as you can see here, they cooperated with European merchants, selling people for them to enslave.

Now, you might wonder why on Earth that happened.

It wasn't the case with every single West African kingdom, but for some West African kingdoms, they traded enslaved people with the Europeans because in exchange, they got lots of money, guns, and other military equipment that would help them become more powerful in West Africa.

It meant that they could resist other kingdoms who refused to sell their people to the Europeans, and it also meant that they could become a greater threat to these kingdoms, because as you can imagine, looking at the size of Allada on this map, they wouldn't be much for threat to other kingdoms. However, with the support and relationship with the Portuguese, for example, they become a much greater power in the region.

However, what this means is that their power is now completely dependent on trade with the Portuguese, because if, for any reason, that trade is to decline or to decrease or the Portuguese are to leave the region, this kingdom is no longer as powerful as they used to be.

There was one other change in this period as well.

I've already mentioned that there was a small number of West African people being captured by the European merchants as they were looking for ways to expand the trade.

However, as the relationship with certain kingdoms grew and more kingdoms were willing to trade enslaved people with the European merchants, there was also a rise in the number of people being kidnapped from near the coast and then sold onto plantations in the Americas.

Now, this number at first was small, but as we see some kingdoms forming relationships, like I said, we see a rapid increase in the number of people also being kidnapped.

Now let's have another quick check with our learning so far, and then we're gonna put what we've learned so far into practise.

I would like you to tell me whether this statement is true or false.

European merchants depended solely on West African kingdoms cooperating and providing them with enslaved people.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video, make a decision, and come back when you think you have an answer.

Excellent work.

We know that this statement is false.

They did not depend solely on West African kingdoms cooperating and providing them with enslaved people, but we need to think about why.

Is it false because a European merchants can no longer find West African kingdoms to trade with them, or B, Europeans began to kidnap and enslave more West African people themselves? Pause the video now, when you think you know why, come back and press play.

Excellent work.

The answer is, B.

We know that they could very much find West African kingdoms willing to trade with them.

The Allada kingdom is one example of that, and therefore this statement is false because Europeans began to kidnap and enslave more African people themselves.

These were local people near the coast.

Now we're going to put what we've learned into practise.

I would like you to complete this table and show me whether eac of the following statements is true or false.

This should take you about five minutes to have a read through each of the statements and then decide whether they are true or false.

Pause the video now.

When you completed the task, come back and have a look at what your table should look like.

Brilliant work.

So your table should look something like the one on the slide here.

So having a look at the first statement, by 1600 Portuguese merchants had sold over 150,000 people into slavery.

That statement is true.

Our second statement, European merchants began to trade fewer people as the Middle Passage was dangerous.

We know that statement is false.

It was quite the opposite.

Despite the danger of the Middle Passage, European merchants cared more about making more money from their plantations, and therefore were willing to trade as many people as possible, no matter what the human cost.

Our third statement, there was resistance to the transatlantic slave trade from local rulers.

We know that statement is true.

And finally, the kingdom of Allada led opposition to the trading of enslaved people.

We know that statement is in fact false.

They were one of the kingdoms who were more willing to trade their people with the Portuguese in order to secure their power in the region.

Well done for this part of the lesson.

Let's move on to the second part of our lesson.

So in this part of the lesson, we're going to be looking at resistance on the West African coast.

Now, on the slide here, you can see an artist's interpretation of a 16th century of Oba of Benin.

Now, we know from our key words that he was a ruler or spiritual leader of the kingdom.

Now, like I said, we're gonna be looking at resistance on the West African coast.

We know that there are examples of kingdoms who cooperated, but there are also many examples of kingdoms who resisted.

Part of this resistance stems from what they had heard about the Middle Passage.

There was a growing belief that these Europeans who were taking their people to the Americas were cannibals.

And although this might seem slightly extreme, it was an incredibly reasonable belief given the stories that they would've heard about the Middle Passage, the 12 weeks that people have spent largely below deck, chained next to the bodies of people who may already have died on the journey, the disease, the lack of food.

These things meant that lots of people were horrified by what they knew of the Middle Passage and were therefore completely unwilling to sell their people to the Europeans, even if it was prisoners of war from another kingdom.

One example of this is the Obas of Benin.

They refused to sell their people into slavery.

Now, they did trade with the Europeans, but it was with other goods.

So they would often buy the bronze that they used for their bronze statues.

So these would be statues that showed their history, the different faces of their rulers, and they have survived until now.

But the bronze from these statues would not be traded for enslaved people.

However, these Obas were often ignored by other kingdoms. So the kingdom of Allada, that very small kingdom that we looked at on the map, insisted on continuing trade with the Portuguese to secure their power in the region, despite what the Obas of Benin had said.

Now, Benin was a very powerful kingdom, and the Obas had hoped and assumed that what they say would be carried out in other kingdoms, but that was not the case, and therefore, the transatlantic slave trade continued to grow as the merchants were able to continue to get more and more enslaved people from other kingdoms, but also like we mentioned earlier, from kidnapping local people in the coast.

Now, before we put what we've learned about the resistance from the West African coast into practise, we're just going to stop for a moment and check our understanding so far.

First question, why did some West African kingdoms take a stand against the trade in people? Was it because, A, they were against all forms of slavery, B, they believe European traders were cannibals, or C, they had lost too many people to slavery? I'd like you to pause the video for a moment.

Have a think.

When you know the answer, come back and press play.

Good work.

The answer is, B.

They believed European traders were cannibals.

And remember, like I said, that might sound a bit extreme to you, but it was a completely reasonable belief since anyone who escaped the slave ships would've reported the horrific conditions on board.

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

Although the Obas of the powerful kingdom of Benin refused to sell their people into slavery, the slave trade continued to grow.

When you think you know whether the statement is true or false, you can come back and press play, but for now, just pause the video and have a think.

Excellent work, this statement is true, but we need to think about why the statement is true.

Is it because, A, other kingdoms, like Allada, ignore the instructions of the Obas and continue to sell their people to European merchants, B, the Abbas only refuse to sell their people for a short period of time, after which they agree to take part in the trade.

Pause the video, have a think, and come back when you have an answer.

Good work, we know the answer is A, the other kingdoms, like Allada, ignored the instructions of the Obas and continue to sell their people to European merchants.

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

So Alex has said, "There was very little resistance to the transatlantic slave trade on the West African coast." I would like you to explain why Alex's statement is incorrect using the following words in your response: cannibals; Obas; and Benin.

Pause the video now, give yourself five to 10 minutes to write a really good response to help Alex understand why this statement is incorrect, and when you finish your paragraph, you can come back and press play.

Great work, let's have a look at what your answer might have included.

Alex's answer is incorrect as there was a lot of resistance on the West African coast.

Many West African kingdoms took a stand against the trade, as they believed European traders were cannibals who took enslaved people out to sea to eat them.

For example, the Obas of the powerful kingdom of Benin refused to sell their people to European merchants.

Now, if you've managed to use the three words mentioned in the list and also enslaved people, which is one of our key words, really well done.

Great work so far.

Let's move on to the third and final part of our lesson for today.

Now for the final part of our lesson today, we're going to be looking at war and change on the West African coast.

On the slide here, you can see Elmina Castle, which was built by the Portuguese in 1492.

There might be an assumption that this was built in Portugal, but this was actually built on the Gold Coast, which is now part of modern day Ghana.

They built this castle as a place to keep enslaved people.

The building of this castle meant that they could trade more enslaved people as they now had a place to hold them.

Some were held for as long as three months.

In 1637, this castle was taken over by the Dutch, who had also begun to play a role in the trading of enslaved people from West Africa over to the Americas.

We know this is called the transatlantic slave trade, because the goods were taken from the Americas to Europe, goods from Europe to West Africa, traded for enslaved people, and this cycle continued.

This cycle made these merchants very, very rich, especially because more people from West Africa would move to the coast to trade with them, especially now they had things like Elmina Castle, a base from which to trade, and this meant that their power continued to grow because their trade was now stabilised.

Like I said, this castle gave them a place to trade from.

And this is just one example of several castles and forts that had been built by the 1600s that meant that the Europeans could trade even more enslaved people.

But this would lead to change, not just because there was a dramatic increase in trade, not just because there was a huge increase in the number of people being enslaved, but because of what this meant for different West African societies on the coast.

The reason that this would impact West African societies on the coast is because these merchants were looking for ways to continue to expand this trade, even though, like I've already said, it was rapidly expanding.

And one of the ways to do this was to find a way to get more prisoners of war, because remember, like I said earlier, most of the people being traded to the Europeans were prisoners of war, although there were others that were being kidnapped.

And one of the ways to get more prisoners of war is to instigate more violence and more conflict, so there's more wars, and therefore more people to trade.

This then led to an increase of the number of wars between different West African kingdoms along the coast, many of them triggered or started by these European merchants.

And the reason that many historians would say that this was triggered by these European merchants is because it was an intended or unintended consequence of selling more weapons, because remember I said earlier about the structure of the transatlantic slave trade, those goods being brought from Europe, although sometimes with textiles, so cloth and clothing were often manufactured goods like guns, artillery, bullets, and other weapons, and the presence of more guns and weapons on the West African coast meant that different kingdoms were therefore more likely to go to war against each other, therefore increasing the number of conflicts, thus increasing the number of prisoners of war, and therefore, these European merchants got what they wanted as they had more people to enslave and take to the Americas.

Now, before we look at specific examples of this, and also slightly different ways in which the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade led to war and change on the West African coast.

We're going to stop for a moment and check our understanding so far.

So I'd like you to answer this question.

What was the immediate impact of European merchants building forts and bases along the West African coast? Was it, A, their trade stabilised and their power grew, B, they could start colonising West Africa, or C, West African kingdoms were angry and destroyed the forts and bases.

Pause the video now, have a think, and when you've got an answer, come back and press play.

Good work, we know the answer is A.

Their trade stabilised and their power grew because they now had a base from which they could trade, but also hold enslaved people, which meant that they could trade even more than they had before.

Finally, we're going to look at a specific example of how war and change on the West African coast impacted different kingdoms. Now on the map here, we can see the kingdom of Kongo.

The kingdom of Kongo is one example of a West African kingdom who had built an alliance with European merchants.

In this case, it was the Dutch.

Now, this backfired on the kingdom of Kongo in a way that they did not imagine, because the Dutch went to war with the Portuguese in West Africa, and they were defeated first in 1648, and then in 1654.

Now, that would seem to be an issue between the Dutch and the Portuguese, but because of the alliance with the Kingdom of Kongo, they also were subject to a harsh peace treaty with the Portuguese.

Part of this treaty was that they had to sell an increasing number of enslaved people to the Portuguese.

This wasn't what they had planned, and this would cause huge problems for the Kingdom of Kongo, because with less people in their kingdom, they can now produce less goods for themself and they become weaker.

So where the kingdom of Kongo had an alliance with the Dutch, which meant they had been trading enslaved people to the Dutch, but it was a number that they would've agreed on their terms. They were now forced to trade more people with the Portuguese, but the problem with this treaty, was that it wasn't just prisoners of war, it was also people of higher social status.

This meant that where previously it was only prisoners of war who were taken and enslaved to the European merchants on the agreement with the rulers with the Kingdom of Kongo, they were now forced to sell people of a higher social class.

This meant that now many people in society, almost everyone was vulnerable to being enslaved by European merchants.

So this meant that by 1600s, the nature of the transatlantic slave trade was changing.

More people were being kidnapped, more people were being enslaved, and these weren't just prisoners of war.

In the case of the Kingdom of Kongo, this was also people from higher social classes.

This meant that now more people were vulnerable to being enslaved by European merchants, but previously it was just people from lower social class, usually prisoners of war.

Another change was also that fewer kingdoms were now willingly involved, where earlier we talked about different kingdoms forming alliances and relationships with the Europeans, that is becoming increasingly less common.

So before we complete our final practise task for today, we're going to check our understanding so far.

so I'd like you to answer this question.

Is it true or false? By the 1600s, the nature of the transatlantic slave trade was changing.

Pause the video now, make a decision, and come back when you think you have an answer.

Good work, we know that this statement is true, but I need you to think about why.

Is it because West African kingdoms were losing power, being forced to sell more people into slavery, or B, west African kingdoms grew more powerful from controlling trade with Europeans? Pause the video now, have a think, and when you think you know why, come back and press play.

Great work, the answer is A.

We know that the nature of the transatlantic slave trade was changing because West African kingdoms were losing power, being forced to sell more people into slavery.

For the final practise task of this lesson, I'd like you to explain how conflict between Dutch and Portuguese merchants impacted West African kingdoms using the following terms in your response: allies; harsh peace; higher social classes; and prisoners of war.

Pause the video now.

Give yourself 10 minutes to explain how the conflict between the Dutch and Portuguese merchants impact West African kingdoms. When you've completed this task, come back, and we'll have a look at what your answer might have looked like.

So let's have a look at what your answer might have included.

Really well done, I'm sure your paragraph is absolutely amazing.

So some kingdoms, like the Kingdom of Kongo, had become allies with the Dutch merchants who were trading on the West African coast.

When war broke out between Dutch and Portuguese merchants, Kongo provided the Dutch with enslaved people and soldiers.

However, after being defeated by the Portuguese in 1648 and 1652, Kongo was forced to agree to a harsh peace because of their relationship with the Dutch.

This peace agreement involved them selling more people into slavery.

These people were not just prisoners of war like before.

They could be from higher social classes who would've previously been protected.

This weakened the power of kingdoms like Kongo.

Now, if you've managed to use all the words in that list and other key words from our lesson, absolutely fantastic.

You've done really great work this lesson.

We're going to end the lesson by looking at a summary of what we've learned so far.

So today we've learned that some kingdoms, like the Allada kingdom, cooperated with European merchants and sold people into the transatlantic slave trade.

As a result, their power became dependent on the trade with Europeans.

We've also learned that there was resistance from many kingdoms along the West African coast.

The strongest resistance was from the kingdom of Benin.

And then finally, as several European nations expanded their power along the coast, they built alliances with local African kingdoms. These kingdoms suffered when war broke out between European merchants.

You've done really well this lesson.

We've covered so much about the expansion of the transatlantic slave trade.

Well done for today.