African American History: From the African Coast to the Civil War

Begin the course with an overview of the civilizations and societies of West Africa before the arrival of Europeans. Investigate the rise and fall of the great empires of Ghana, Mali, and Songhay, and the vast trade networks that sustained them. Then explore the rich and complex societies that thrived along the central African coastline, and how they became vulnerable to invasion.

Trace the rise of European exploration in the 15th century, and the factors that underlaid it. Observe how the Renaissance ideology of humanism drove a desire for expansion and wealth. Take account of the advances in military and seafaring technology that made exploration possible. Follow the first Portuguese incursions into West Africa, beginning a trade in humans that quickly became profitable.

Learn how the Portuguese developed a military presence in West Africa to protect their trade in gold and humans, followed by the Dutch, French, and British. Examine the reasons why African rulers were initially willing to traffic humans—and were, ultimately, forced to do so. Track the European expansion into the Americas, which made the demand for enslaved labor insatiable.

Hear firsthand accounts of the kidnapping of Africans who were sold into bondage. Observe the ways in which Africans were captured, including the enslavement of children. Visualize the long, forced marches to the coast, the suffering and death en route, and imprisonment before sale to traders. Finally, witness the dehumanizing process of the sale of captives, and the traders’ astonishing cruelty.

The Middle Passage was the brutal sea journey of African captives to slavery in the Americas. Investigate the horrific conditions of life aboard slave ships, and the numerous uprisings by Africans to regain their freedom, against a background of cruel punishments, disease, suicides, and death. Learn how Africans coped, survived, and were “seasoned” to accept a new identity as slaves.

Explore how slavery developed within North America’s 13 British colonies. Trace the origins of slavery in the Caribbean, and its importation to the mainland to support plantation agriculture. Examine why slavery in America became based entirely on race. Then study the colonial laws and legal codes that defined slavery and denied Africans the most basic human rights and freedoms.