Table of Contents
What was daily life like for African slaves?
Life on the fields meant working sunup to sundown six days a week and having food sometimes not suitable for an animal to eat. Plantation slaves lived in small shacks with a dirt floor and little or no furniture. Life on large plantations with a cruel overseer was oftentimes the worst.
What was life like for Africans in the colonies?
Working long hours, living in crude conditions, and suffering abuses from their owners, African captives faced harsh conditions in colonial America. Families were often broken apart, with husbands and wives sold to different owners than their children.
What was Africa like before the European invasion?
In most parts of Africa before 1500, societies had become highly developed in terms of their own histories. They often had complex systems of participatory government, or were established powerful states that covered large territories and had extensive regional and international links.
How was life different for slaves in the city than on the plantation?
How was life different for slaves in the city than on the plantation? They could live on their own if they contracted with their masters. They could perform jobs that immigrants were doing in Northern cities. They frequently relied on the free black communities to help them escape.
How was African culture before colonization?
Ancient West Africa was characterized by rich culture, agriculture, and trade, composed of stateless societies without organized hierarchy or government. Learn about the Bantu migrations, village structure, and how these sometimes developed into towns or eventually cities.
Who was in Africa first?
Portuguese explorer Prince Henry, known as the Navigator, was the first European to methodically explore Africa and the oceanic route to the Indies.
How did rural slaves live?
Most rural enslaved people were owned by masters who had 10–20 enslaved people, who often were housed in closer proximity to masters, perhaps sharing housing, and perhaps having access to closer relations with their masters than plantation slaves had.
What were living conditions like for slaves?
Unsanitary conditions, inadequate nutrition and unrelenting hard labor made slaves highly susceptible to disease. Illnesses were generally not treated adequately, and slaves were often forced to work even when sick. The rice plantations were the most deadly.