Starter quiz
- Which European nation was the first to arrive on the West African coast in the 1400s and began to trade enslaved people from the 1500s?
- Britain
- Portugal ✓
- Spain
- Germany
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- Which two of the following nations had started building large empires in the Americas in the 1500s?
- Spain ✓
- Portugal ✓
- France
- Germany
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- When the Portuguese first arrived in West Africa, they intended to trade their goods for ...
- 'Gold' ✓
- Which two of the following are names given for the three-point trade between Europe, West Africa and the Americas, that involved the trade of enslaved people?
- Transatlantic Slave Trade ✓
- Transatlantic Enslaved Trade
- Triangular Atlantic Trade
- Triangular Trade ✓
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- How did the kingdom of Benin continue to thrive, despite their leaders refusing to sell their people to the European merchants to enslave?
- they won wars against the Portuguese and Dutch
- they established peaceful relationships with the European merchants ✓
- the European merchants could not reach the kingdom of Benin
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- When enslaved people were taken from West Africa by European merchants, which continent were they taken to?
- 'The Americas' ✓
Exit quiz
- By 1600, how many people had the Portuguese sold into slavery in the Americas?
- 1500
- 15 000
- 150 000 ✓
- 15 000 000
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- Which one of the following is the best defintion of an 'Oba'?
- the word used in the kingdom of Benin to describe enslaved people
- the word used in the kingdom of Benin to describe the Portuguese
- the word used in the kingdom of Mali to describe their ruler
- the word used in the kingdom of Benin to describe their ruler ✓
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- Match each word to the correct definition
- Oba⇔the word used in the kingdom of Benin to describe the ruler ✓
- enslave⇔to make someone to become the legal property of someone else ✓
- prisoner of war⇔people captured by the opposing side during a war ✓
- Which one of the following explains why the Transatlantic Slave Trade continued to expand even though the Obas of Benin refused to trade enslaved people?
- the Obas only refused for a short period of time, but then willingly agreed
- other kingdoms continued to sell people to the Europeans to enslave (eg. Allada) ✓
- the Portuguese forced the Obas to change their mind after a short period of time
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- Who took control of Elmina castle in 1637?
- 'Dutch merchants' ✓
- Which two of the following best explains why kingdoms in West Africa suffered as a result of competing European merchants?
- they began to build relationships with European merchants ✓
- the European merchants would always overthrow their ruler
- they could also face harsh peace treaties if their European allies lost a war ✓
- all European merchants intentionally started wars between kingdoms
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Worksheet
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Lesson Details
Key learning points
- Conflicts between local kingdoms would lead to prisoners of war who would be sold as enslaved people.
- The European involvement in the Slave trade led to more conflicts in West Africa leading to more enslaved people.
- Some kingdoms, like the kingdom of Benin, refused to trade with Europeans but would struggle as other kingdoms profited.
- Some African kingdoms, like the Allada kingdom, became reliant on trade with the Europeans for power and wealth.
- The nature of the trade in enslaved people changed, it was no longer just prisoners of war sold into slavery.
Common misconception
All African kingdoms and rulers willingly participated in the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
Some kingdoms did cooperate, but many - like the Kingdom of Benin - also tried to resist by refusing to trade enslaved people.
Keywords
Enslaved people - enslaved people are people who have been forced to work without pay, lose their freedom and become the property of another person
Oba - Oba is the word used in the Benin Empire to describe the figure who was both ruler and spiritual leader
Prisoners of war - prisoners of war are people captured by the opposing side during a war
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