SLO #5 Castle Slaves of the Gold Coast (Discovery)

Cape Coast Castle

I discovered slavery in Africa took many forms during the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, such as Castle Slaves. In the late fourteen century in the Gold Coast or modern-day Ghana, the Portuguese constructed forts or “castles” in order to purchase gold during the Afro-European trade. Africans from other areas were brought in to work for Elite Africans in the gold mining industry. Local African men and women became Castle Slaves who worked in European forts. They
received “pay” in the form of trade goods for a life of servitude. Unlike captive slaves of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, Castle Slaves lived with more freedom and “privileges”. They were able to move freely around the forts, had better nutrition and continue family lives. Men and women had specific roles; men were skilled crafts men and even high paid sailors while women where domestic caregivers who maintained forts. Some women raised their children in the trading forts.¹



Cape Coast Castle

The transformation of the Castle Slaves continued from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century as the growth of European forts increased along the Gold Coast. Castle Slaves were second and third generation servants, so they had a unique and important relationship in the slave trade. Their connections with both European languages and African communities and cultures developed the creole culture along the Gold Coast. The Castle Slaves helped break the language barrier between captives of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and the Europeans. The English pushed the Dutch Policy of the Gold Coast as they became more involved in the business of slaves on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.² Slave trade tripled from 75,000 to 229,00 in the beginning of the eighteenth century³, so the once exclusive gold mining slavery on the Gold Coast began to shift to selling captives to the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, a more profitable commodity. Castle Slaves helped shape the communities and cultures of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. They had more freedom and privileges than the captives of the slave trade ships, but both were still legal property of Europeans.⁴

1Rebecca Shumway, Castle Slaves of the Eighteenth Century Gold Coast (Ghana), Jan 2014, Vol. 35 Issue 1, p. 84-98.

2 Ibid.

3“Voyages”, The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, 2016, www.slavevoyages.org.

4Rebecca Shumway, Castle Slaves of the Eighteenth Century Gold Coast (Ghana), Jan 2014, Vol. 35 Issue 1, p. 84-98.

SLO# 5 Twenty-Three Year Business of Slave Trade (Intial)

After analyzing the Voyages database, I found a name, John Anderson! He was in the business of slaves for 23 years from 1765-1788 during the American Revolution. Anderson was the owner of multiple vessels that embarked on a total of 30 voyages. Over 8,000 African slaves were transported across the Trans-Atlantic slave trade and approximately 1,000 perished. In 1782, one vessel named the Tartar was captured by the French and another the Phoenix was shipwrecked with 430 African lives lost. The principle region of many of these slaves was on the Gold Coast.¹ Now with this new information from the database, I hope to analyze ways groups of people interacted with one another through trade, migration, warfare and cultural exchange.

1“Voyages”, The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, 2016, www.slavevoyages.org

SLO#1 Slave Port in Bristol (what i learned)

 

John Fowler owned the Trans-Atlantic slave trade ship named Africa. The Africa made two voyages, one in 1766 and in 1788, and each voyages began in Bristol.¹ I learned that Bristol was a major slaving port of the British Trade to Africa with 600 voyages which was a majority of the slave exports between 1747-1769. Because there was a demand for slaves in North America well before the American Revolution, slave export rose from 20,000 a year in 1750 to 40,000 a year in 1770,² so John Fowler contributed to the enslavement of humans in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.

1“Voyages”, The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, 2016, www.slavevoyages.org

2David Richardson, “Bristol, Africa and the Eighteenth Century Slave Trade to America Volume 3 The Year of Decline 1746-1769”, Bristol Records Society's Publications VOL. XLII, (1991)



SLO#1 Slave Trade Ships in Common (discovery)

After analyzing the time period of the American Revolution (1763-1788) in the Voyages Database, I located 3,100 total ships involved in the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade. Under the flag of Great Britain, there was a reoccurring ship named Africa, and it made 42 slave trade voyages during this time period. I uncovered two other ships; the African Queen and the Royal African and both may have more in common than their ship names. All three ships, a total of 47 slave trade voyages, have at least one similar principle region of slave purchase, Bight of Biarfa and Gulf of Guinea Islands. The ship's slave landing also had similarities, their common landings include Jamaica, Grenada, Dominica and Barbados.¹ I'm going to dive a bit deeper to see what more I can find on these slave trade ships!

1“Voyages”, The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, 2016, www.slavevoyages.org

SLO# 1 A Journey Towards Naming Names (initial)

So the journey of naming names of slave trade ships begins. Since I'm boarding uncharted territory, it will be a new learning experience but I hope to find the connections between well known History and slavery with slavery in the forefront. I am excited to see were this takes me in discovering who these people were and how the American Revolution (1763-1788) affected slavery.