reflection on unit one

African American History 2091 Unit One 

Naika Belizaire

October 2022

    I registered for AMH 2091 not only to fulfill  a credit but to also learn more about the history of the African people. I learned a lot in unit one. It consisted of four chapter that chronologically teaches of the history of the African people from before they were taken captive, to their journey to the Americas, and their experience as enslaved people, and the role they played during the revolution era.

The East African Civilizations 

The Africa seen in the media today is not the Africa before European contact. In chapter one we covered the greatest civilization in Africa and their rulers. 

One of the first East African civilizations mentioned was the kingdom of Kush. Located in an area called "Nubia." Influenced by Egyptian culture; the cities in Kush were trading centers of building materials.

Another kingdom touched on was the Kingdom of Axum. This kingdom was a naval and trading power. It had a booming economy with it own currency. 

The West African Civilizations 

Of the cities in west Africa, chapter 1 covered the three greatest civilizations: Ghana, Mali , and Songhay.

Ghana emerged in 800 A.D. and was greatly known to protect the trans-Saharan trade routes. Controlling the imported and exported trade across the Sahara desert are what made Ghana wealthy. The kingdom of Ghana held stability for 800. It collapsed after a series of berber attacks on its capital in 1076 A.D.

Amidst the kingdom of Ghana's fall emerged the kingdom of Mali. Established in the year 1235 A. D. Mali is greatly known for its successful ruler. Mali's greatest ruler Mansa Musa is known to be the richest man to have ever lived.The kingdom of Mali was peaceful but fell in the 1400's A.D. by nomads and empire member rebellion.

After Mali arose the kingdom of Songhay. This kingdom officially established in 1355. And like the two before it protected the trans-Saharan trade routes. This kingdom is a kingdom that came from nothing into something under the ruler Sonni Ali. This ruler also established the kingdoms capital Timbuktu that became the center for islamic learning and trading. The Kingdom of Songhay fell under the Sultan of Morocco in 1591 A.D.

The Middle Passage 

After learning of the historic kingdom of Africa in chapter one. Chapter two them cover the enslavement of the African people which was driven by the European's ambitions and their mercantilism economic system.

Portugal was first European power to engage in African enslavement but they were not the first to attempt slavery. The Spaniards that colonized in the central America attempted to enslave the native American but it failed due to the high death of the native fro the European diseases.

The enslavement of the African people began in the 1600's. European powers relied on the labor of the enslaved to grow their newly colonized economies. As the demand for labor increased the quantity of enslaved increase and the trading of the enslaved began. Internal African enslavement increased to sell captives to the Europeans. The trans-Atlantic slave trade was on leg on the middle passage.

The transport of the enslaved captive is known as the "middle passage." Nearly 20 million African were forced on this horrific journey. Captives were tightly cramped on deck, chained with irons so that they were not able to move. Diseases arose and caused millions of death of not only captives but the crew member also. Once dead bodies were left where they were or tossed over board. The middle passage was the most tragic and horrific leg of the slave trade.

Slavery in America

Chapter three discusses the arrival and condition of the enslaved once they reached landfall.  As previously stated African enslavement was not the first form of slavery in the America's. Well after their first enslavement fail Europeans sought out a different group of agricultural laborers; indentured servants.

"indentured servants worked several years under contracts called indentures that agreed to pay for travel, room, and board in exchange for agricultural labor for a specified number of years—(typically seven)."-A long time coming Andrea L. Oliver

When African captives first arrived in the americas they began their enslavement similar to that of the indentured servants but that soon changed. The racial unity of the Africans and indentured servants resulted in the hardening of racial statuses.

When all 13 British colonies were established in the 1700 slavery was practiced in every single colony. In the New England colonies the demand for enslaved labor was not as great as the other but it still existed. The new England colonies became a place for "refuse slave." "those who were considered too old, young, or sick to be sold elsewhere in prime markets and were mostly imported from the Caribbean or the American South." The middle colonies encourage the importation of slavery. Slaves in the middle colonies tended livestock and chopping wood.Slavery in the South colonies was the worst. Plantation labor was the main labor of the enslaved and the treatment was so harsh many tried to escape.

African American during the revolution

The final chapter of unit one cover the revolution period of the American colonies and the involvement/roles of the African Americans.

In the 1800 many issues arose between the British Parliament and the American Colonies.The taxation of sugar and tea that the British Parliament implemented on the colonist was the first notable cause of outrage and this resulted in the British tea party which then resulted in another law passed by British Parliament. Fed up with the British government's control the American colonist sought independence hence the start of the revolution.

Hearing the talk to the Americans wanting freedom from under the oppression of Britain the enslaved during the era of revolution hoped that their freedom might be given also. They sought to help the side they felt would secure their freedom. Some were loyalist and other were patriots. White colonist were at first opposed to black fighting alongside them but circumstances of the what caused an immediate change of heart. The end results of the war resulted in the freedom of the American colonies from under the British government. As for the freedom of the black some were able to obtain freedom but for most their promise of freedom ware not met. The risk taken to fight for their freedom was one of many the enslaved blacks would/will take to obtain their freedom.