The slave trade
Study note
An important and shameful part of this period was the slave trade. A key point to grasp is that slavery was actually illegal within Britain itself, so a question claiming slavery was legal inside Britain should be answered false. Even so, by the 18th century the slave trade had become a well established overseas industry, dominated by Britain along with the American colonies.
The enslaved people came mainly from West Africa. They were captured and then transported in terrible, overcrowded conditions on British ships across the Atlantic to America and the Caribbean. There they were forced to work, chiefly on tobacco and sugar plantations. So for the test, remember West Africa as the region they came from and tobacco and sugar plantations as the work they were made to do.
Memory tip: Enslaved people came from West Africa, taken to America and the Caribbean for sugar and tobacco.
Practise this topic
Question 1 of 3
Most enslaved people in the British slave trade came from which region?
Show all questions and answers for The slave trade(3 questions with explanations)
The slave trade: questions, answers and explanations
1. Most enslaved people in the British slave trade came from which region?
- Eastern Europe
- India
- South America
- West Africa
Correct answer: West Africa
Enslaved people came primarily from West Africa.
2. Enslaved people taken across the Atlantic were mostly made to work on which kind of plantations?
- Cotton mills in Britain
- Coal mines in Wales
- Tea plantations
- Tobacco and sugar plantations
Correct answer: Tobacco and sugar plantations
They were made to work on tobacco and sugar plantations in America and the Caribbean.
3. Slavery was legal within Britain itself during the 18th century.
- True
- False
Correct answer: False
False. Slavery was illegal within Britain, but the slave trade operated as an overseas industry.
Back to A Long and Illustrious History, or try a mock test or timed exam.