Which countries/ethnicities did

enslaved people come from before

the Middle Passage?

By: Evan, Cole, Maddy, and Oscar

 We all know that slaves
were brought through the
What Were the middle passage to the
Original Americas, but what has
become unclear in the past
Ethnicities of 400 years where exactly

Enslaved the slaves were taken

from. Their cultures were
People? taken from them but let’s
try and find out where
those cultures came from.
West Africa
● In Western Africa, along the coast there is a
River called the River Gambia.
● This river goes very far inland and branches
into Gambia, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, and
Mali.
● At the end of the river where it feeds into the
Ocean, there is an Island called James Island.
● On this island there are the ruins of a once
massive slave trading port.
● Because of this island we can determine that
many of the slaves were from the coasts of
this river.
 Diseases
The most common diseases found in the Middle Passage were smallpox, syphilis, and measles. Since the
slaves from Africa were forced to be very close together and unsanitary on the ships, we concluded this was what
caused them to get certain illnesses. On the other hand, smallpox was first found in Egypt, measles in America,
and syphilis in Europe. Therefore all of these diseases were spread and carried from one place to another by the
ships and the slaves that lived there.
 Typical cultural belongings
Many slaves had taken certain cultural
belongings when they were taken
from their homes. Many slaves took
their music with them even though it’s
not a materialistic item. They also
took things like baskets, like the
slaves from the west coast of
Mozambique brought were decorated
with shells and other things to
sprinkle dirt over graves to honor
those that died there.
 James Island, physical and mental
luggage, and African diseases have
triangulated slave origins to western

Conclusion Africa. Slaves were moved

throughout much of northwest Africa
but by examining Physical and
cultural Luggage, the remains of
slave ports, and diseases we traced
back at least a few slave origins.
 Citations
History.com

Cover Photo of 1554 Africa

James Island Picture

James Island Source

Slave’s culture

Diseases

Diseases

Diseases

Diseases