AP African American Studies Practice Quiz: African Resistance on Slave Ships and the Antislavery Movement
Written by AP Content Team, Verified for 2026 AP Exams, Last updated: May 2026
Test your understanding with short quizzes. This quiz has 16 questions to check your progress.
Question 1 of 16
All Questions (16)
A) Staging individual hunger strikes.
B) Overcoming linguistic differences to form revolts.
C) Attempting to jump overboard.
D) Circulating diagrams of the ships to other captives.
Correct Answer: B
The text explicitly states that Africans resisted collectively by 'overcoming linguistic differences to form revolts.' Hunger strikes and jumping overboard are listed as individual forms of resistance, while circulating diagrams was a tactic of abolitionists.
A) It led to the immediate abolition of the slave trade.
B) It made the slave trade more expensive and dangerous for enslavers.
C) It resulted in diagrams showing fewer captives to avoid scrutiny.
D) It caused the Supreme Court to grant freedom to all enslaved people.
Correct Answer: B
Content point 5 states, 'Africans’ resistance made the slave trade more expensive and more dangerous.' The other options are incorrect; abolition was a long process, and the Supreme Court case mentioned (La Amistad) only freed a specific group of captives.
A) Improved sanitation and larger living quarters.
B) The construction of barricades and inclusion of nets.
C) The removal of all weapons to prevent their use by captives.
D) The creation of detailed diagrams to document conditions.
Correct Answer: B
The text mentions that resistance 'led to changes in the design of slave ships (e.g., the construction of barricades and inclusion of nets and guns).'
A) The captives were immediately returned to Africa by the ship's crew.
B) The revolt was suppressed, and its leaders were executed.
C) The Supreme Court granted the Mende captives their freedom after a two-year trial.
D) The revolt directly led to the abolition of the slave trade in the United States.
Correct Answer: C
Content point 6 details the La Amistad case, stating, 'After a trial that lasted two years, the Supreme Court granted the Mende captives their freedom.'
A) To document the humane treatment of individuals.
B) To maximize profit by transporting the largest possible number of people.
C) To provide an accurate census for government records.
D) To illustrate the effectiveness of anti-revolt measures.
Correct Answer: B
According to content point 7, 'Slave ship diagrams depict a systematic arrangement of captives designed to maximize profit by transporting as many people as possible.'
A) only about half the number of enslaved people actually on the ship.
B) significantly more people than could physically fit on the vessel.
C) only the crew members and not the enslaved captives.
D) a precise and legally mandated count of every individual.
Correct Answer: A
The text states in point 7 that 'the diagrams typically show only about half the number of enslaved people on any given ship.'
A) The successful formation of collective revolts.
B) An increased incidence of disease, disability, and death.
C) The decision to make the voyage shorter, lasting less than 30 days.
D) The improvement of onboard medical facilities.
Correct Answer: B
Content point 8 explicitly links the 'unsanitary and cramped conditions' shown in diagrams to an 'increased the incidence of disease, disability, and death.'
A) Food and water storage barrels.
B) Sleeping quarters for the ship's crew.
C) Guns, nets, and instruments for force-feeding.
D) The ship's sails and rigging.
Correct Answer: C
Content point 9 notes that diagrams 'rarely included the features enslavers used to minimize resistance, such as guns, nets to prevent captives from jumping overboard, and iron instruments to force-feed those who resisted.'
A) To design better and safer ships for transporting goods.
B) To sue shipping companies for financial compensation.
C) To raise awareness of the dehumanizing conditions of the Middle Passage.
D) To identify and prosecute the captains of slave ships.
Correct Answer: C
Content point 10 states that activists 'circulated diagrams of slave ships to raise awareness of the dehumanizing conditions of the Middle Passage.'
A) The high profits of the slave trade and the efficiency of the ships.
B) The Supreme Court's initial rulings and the ship captains' logs.
C) The long duration of the voyages and the linguistic differences among captives.
D) Africans' resistance on ships and the circulation of slave ship diagrams.
Correct Answer: D
Content point 3 mentions how 'Africans’ resistance on slave ships and slave ship diagrams inspired abolitionists,' and point 10 adds that 'African resistance on slave ships spurred antislavery activism.'
A) To create accurate historical replicas for maritime museums.
B) To process historical trauma and honor the memory of their ancestors.
C) To argue for the reintroduction of similar transport methods.
D) To celebrate the architectural innovations of the era.
Correct Answer: B
Content point 11 explains that Black artists have 'repurposed the iconography of the slave ship to process historical trauma and honor the memory of their ancestors.'
A) 5 million Africans, 10,000 voyages, 100 years.
B) 12.5 million Africans, 36,000 voyages, 350 years.
C) 10.5 million Africans, 25,000 voyages, 200 years.
D) 8.5 million Africans, 50,000 voyages, 500 years.
Correct Answer: B
The final content point provides these specific figures: 'more than 12.5 million Africans who were forced onto over 36,000 known voyages for over 350 years.'
A) Forming organized revolts to take over the ship.
B) Staging hunger strikes or attempting to jump overboard.
C) Creating diagrams to document their experience.
D) Testifying in court against the ship's captain.
Correct Answer: B
Content point 4 lists methods of resistance, identifying 'staging hunger strikes, attempting to jump overboard' as ways captives resisted individually. Forming revolts was a collective action.
A) It established a legal precedent for paying reparations to all enslaved people.
B) It generated public sympathy for the cause of abolition.
C) It forced Spain to end its involvement in the slave trade.
D) It led to the immediate closure of all slave markets in the Americas.
Correct Answer: B
The text explicitly states in point 6 that 'The trial generated public sympathy for the cause of abolition.'
A) Hunger strikes.
B) Organized revolts.
C) Attempts to jump overboard.
D) Overcoming linguistic differences.
Correct Answer: C
Content point 5 mentions nets as a change in ship design due to resistance. Point 9 clarifies the purpose of nets was 'to prevent captives from jumping overboard,' which is identified as a form of resistance in point 4. This requires connecting information from multiple points.
A) Because they proved the slave trade was unprofitable and inefficient.
B) Because they provided a powerful visual representation of the dehumanizing and cramped conditions.
C) Because they included detailed lists of every captive, allowing for legal challenges.
D) Because they showed the advanced weaponry used by enslavers, highlighting the military cost.
Correct Answer: B
The text explains that diagrams showed 'unsanitary and cramped conditions' (point 8) and that abolitionists used them 'to raise awareness of the dehumanizing conditions of the Middle Passage' (point 10). Even with omissions, the visual of packed bodies was a powerful tool for generating sympathy.