West African History:
the rich cultural traditions of Africa
Africa has a long and rich History. There were many diverse and powerful kingdoms throughout Africa, particularly in the west. These include the kingdoms of Mali, Songhay, Benin, and the Asante, all built on the wealth from mining gold. Economic networks and craftsmanship characterized these cultures. The continent of Africa and its many ancient civilisations and diversity has influenced modern society in many ways.

Triangular Trade:
the workings of the trade
The transatlantic slave trade is often described as the triangular trade, which summarizes the movement of goods first from Britain to West Africa, then across to the Atlantic Ocean to the Americas, and finally back to Britain. Copper, cloth, glassware, ammunition, guns and manilas went from Britain to West Africa; people were transported as slaves from Africa to the Americas; and raw sugar, rum, rice, coffee, tobacco and cotton from plantations were then shipped from the Americas back to Britain. It began when the Portuguese first traded for gold and people in Africa in the 1400s and continued with other European countries getting involved. Britain became the biggest slave trading country by the mid-1700s.

Middle Passage:
across the Atlantic
Ships carried enslaved Africans, brutally captured from their homelands to the Caribbean islands or North and South America, on a journey which is historically know as the Middle Passage – the second stage in the triangular trade. People were loaded into the holds of slave ships, packed into very small spaces and shackled together. The voyages could take more than two months. Conditions on the ships were harsh; the crew treated enslaved people like cargo rather than human beings.