Comprehensive Study Guide: The Transatlantic Trade, Resistance, and Abolition (c. 1500–1865)

Ladinos

Latinized Blacks familiar with Iberian culture, serving as intermediaries.

Atlantic Creoles

Africans with cultural roots in Africa, Europe, and the Americas, often with linguistic skills.

Juan Garrido

A conquistador born in the Kingdom of Kongo, the first known free African in North America.

Estevanico

An enslaved Moroccan healer and explorer, known for his role as a guide in the American Southwest.

Transatlantic Slave Trade

The transportation of over 12.5 million Africans to the Americas, lasting approximately 350 years.

Middle Passage

The middle leg of the triangular trade where Africans were transported to the Americas.

Gun-Slave Cycle

Increased warfare in Africa to acquire captives for European firearms.

Stono Rebellion

A slave uprising in South Carolina in 1739 aimed at escaping to Spanish Florida.

Nat Turner’s Rebellion

A violent insurrection in Virginia in 1831 led by Nat Turner, based on religious visions.

Partus Sequitur Ventrem

A legal principle stating that children follow the status of the mother, ensuring slavery is inherited.

Slave Codes

Laws to control the enslaved population, prohibiting education and large gatherings.

Dred Scott v. Sandford

An 1857 Supreme Court ruling declaring that Black people were not citizens.

Gullah Geechee

A community in the Sea Islands retaining African cultural elements and language.

The Underground Railroad

A network of safe houses aiding enslaved individuals in escaping to freedom.

Emancipation Proclamation

An order by President Lincoln declaring freedom for slaves in rebel territories in 1863.

13th Amendment

The constitutional amendment ratified in 1865 abolishing slavery in the United States.

The Task System

A labor system where enslaved people had specific tasks and free time after completion.

The Gang System

A labor system where enslaved people worked in groups under supervision from sun-up to sun-down.

Maroons

Communities of escaped slaves living independently, often in remote areas.

Harriet Tubman

A key figure in the Underground Railroad, known for rescuing many enslaved individuals.

Abolitionism

The movement advocating for the immediate end of slavery and full rights for Black Americans.

American Colonization Society

A group that believed in the emigration of free Blacks to Africa, founding Liberia.

Fort Mose

The first free Black town in what is now the US, established in Spanish Florida.

Malê Revolt

A 1835 uprising of Muslim enslaved people in Brazil, showcasing Islamic identity.

German Coast Uprising

The largest slave revolt in US history, occurring in Louisiana in 1811.

Juneteenth

The day commemorating the order enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas.

Cotton Gin

An invention by Eli Whitney that revolutionized cotton production and increased demand for slave labor.

Cato's Rebellion

Another name for the Stono Rebellion, led by slaves seeking freedom.

The Second Middle Passage

The domestic slave trade involving the forced migration of enslaved people within the US.

The Amistad Rebellion

An 1839 uprising by Mende captives on the Spanish ship La Amistad.

Gospel and Blues

Music genres that evolved from spirituals, expressing the struggles of African Americans.

The 'One-Drop Rule'

A social convention classifying anyone with African ancestry as Black.

Code Noir

French laws regulating the treatment of slaves in Louisiana.

Insurrection

An act of revolt against authority, often involving violence.

Hunger Strikes

A form of resistance where enslaved individuals refused to eat to protest their enslavement.

Spirituals

Songs of religious faith that also communicated coded messages among enslaved people.

Slave Auctions

Marketplace where enslaved individuals were sold to the highest bidder.

Negro Act of 1740

Legislation enacted in South Carolina following slave rebellions, imposing stricter controls on enslaved people.

Cultural Retention

The preservation of cultural practices and beliefs among enslaved Africans in America.

Eli Whitney

The inventor of the cotton gin, which greatly increased cotton production efficiency.

Intersectionality

A framework for understanding how different aspects of identity (like race and gender) intersect.

Berry's Condition

The specific context of conditions and regulations governing enslaved labor.