1.11 Global Africans

Front

What was traded between West Africa and Portugal?

Back

Gold, goods, and enslaved people

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.

Front

Why was slave trading important for African kingdoms?

Back

It increased their wealth and power within their societal hierarchy.

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.

Front

How did bypassing trans-Saharan trade routes impact Portugal?

Back

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

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.

Front

Where did Europeans increase their presence in West Africa? Options: Inland regions in central West Africa, Coastal areas where they set up trade outposts, The Sahara Desert, The interior cities of Ghana and Mali

Back

Coastal areas where they set up trade outposts

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.

Front

Where in Europe did sub-Saharan Africans establish a notable presence? Options: Paris and London, Rome and Florence, Lisbon and Seville, Madrid and Athens

Back

Lisbon and Seville

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.

Front

How did this migration influence both cultures?

Back

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

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.

Front

Which islands did the Portuguese colonize for plantations?

Back

Cabo Verde and São Tomé

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.

Front

What crops were primarily cultivated using enslaved labor on Portuguese plantations? Options: Wheat, barley, and olives; Cotton, indigo, and sugar; Rice, maize, and beans; Tea, coffee, and cocoa

Back

Cotton, indigo, and sugar

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.

Front

How did the Portuguese plantation system function?

Back

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

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]

Front

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

Back

50,000

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)