Analysis of a Primary Document: The Slaving Voyage of the Albion-Frigate

The document “Buying Slaves in 1693” portrays how the process of purchasing and transporting the slaves from the African coastline to the the English ship Hannibal. The document is a section in Captain Thomas Phillips journal dating May 21, 1693. This small section of text shows historically how you would go about purchasing slaves, and it also describes the compounds the slaves were held in. The description lays out a step by step process and side comments on what the captain has learn throughout his career. This text also demonstrates how two different cultures and societies interacted together through a form of trade.

A Voyage Long And Strange: On the Trail of Vikings, Conquistadors, Lost Colonists, and Other Adventurers in Early America

The Shipman’s Tale, one of the many tales in Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, is exactly suited to the Shipman’s personality and profession as given in “The Prologue.” The shipman is described by Chaucer in the prologue as very sneaky, deceitful, and even pirate-like. The Shipman’s tale matches his personality and profession because The Shipman’s Tale is one of trickery and con. The monk in the tale tricks both the merchant and the merchant’s wife out of their money. He also uses his relationship with the merchant to his advantage, because he knows the merchant would never suspect him of having sex with his wife. The shipman is also portrayed in the prologue to have no sense of remorse or feelings of sorrow.

Once placed on the ship he was placed in horrible conditions and became fearful for his life. When unable to eat due to sickness from foul living conditions below deck, he was held by one man and flogged horribly by another, until he ate. Upon arrival at Barbados, the slaves were examined and then placed back in the hold to await morning. When taken to shore, they were placed like cattle in pens to be sold. Families were separated, and no regard was given for fear or emotions of the people they sold into slavery.

Buckets were placed in these compartments for bathroom uses and other necessary uses (). Slaves that were placed far from these buckets had difficulty in reaching them because of the number of other slaves around them (Falconbridge, 1788). This situation would cause slaves to release themselves where they were and would cause several health issues and diseases to arise (Falconbridge, 1788). Later on in his account, Falconbridge describes the upkeep of the slaves on the voyages. The slaves were usually fed twice a day, but on most other ships they were only fed once (Falconbridge, 1788). Their food would be severed in small buckets and slaves would be placed in groups of ten for each bucket (Falconbridge, 1788). “Upon the Negroes refusing to take sustenance, I have seen coals of fire, glowing hot, put on a shovel and placed so near their lips as to scorch and burn them. And this has been accompanied with threats of forcing them to swallow the coals if they any longer persisted in refusing to eat.” (Falconbridge, 1788). Upon the resistance of the obligations of eating, slaves were extremely punished for disobeying and these punishments were severely cruel and inhumane. Slaves were forced to obey the slave owners no matter what the situation was. Slaves were even forced to exercise which would aid in the upkeep of their health (Falconbridge,

The documents state that the slaves were not able to eat, and were overwhelmed by fatigue. The author of the eighth document discusses how she lived the entire journey on the ship in fear of being killed. The source is filled with awful images of how the slaves were treated in the 1700s. The reasoning behind these experiences was once again because of race. The Africans were seen differently; therefore, they were treated differently in comparison to the European indentured servants.

Passage 1 (ethos)- “When he spoke, a slave must stand, listen, and tremble; and such was literally the case” (Douglass 31). “He was, of all the overseers, the most dreaded by the slaves. His presence was painful; his eye flashes confusion; and seldom was his sharp, shrill voice heard, without producing horror and trembling in their ranks” (35).

There is so much damage happening in Douglass’ story that it is challenging to grasp how such an inhuman thing can happen not so long ago from today. Douglass illustrates how dehumanization of black slaves by the whites played a significant role in the timeline of slavery and the brutal occurrences that seemed to expand with it. Whether it was before, during, or after slavery, the slaves were dehumanized in many ways. Without dehumanizing the black slaves' society we would be unable to preserve the experience of violence in order to keep slaves thrive intact situated. But on top of that slaves were punished in extreme manners physically and mentally which this would have caused them to come to a sort of break and become a brute. Not only keeping

(3) When first reading these narratives one would often assume, by what history tells us, that slave owners were cruel, hated men who often beat slaves severely if they committed even the slightest infraction. While this depiction does stand true for some slave owners, I was surprised to find that most of the former slaves interviewed in the “Slave Narratives” often held their masters in high regards, referring to them as kind and good. Former slave Harriett Gresham even goes as far to say that her master, Mr. Bellinger was “exceptionally kind”. Many slaves in the narratives described their masters as good to his slaves and never whipping them unless it was absolutely necessary. However, when the former slaves spoke of the “paterollers”, white men who roamed the roads in search of runaway slaves often beating them and returning them to their owners, they were described as being very cruel to slaves showing no sympathy to any slave found running away from a

Rediker explains that captains of slave ships rationalized their brutality by stating that it was detrimental to chain the slaves in order to prevent rebellions where the salves might

When one travels in the country they learn the differences in the way people act or the way they are treated. Moving from Colonel Lloyd’s plantation to Baltimore, Frederick experienced the difference in how country slaves and city slaves were treated. 10. “A city slave is almost a freeman, compared with a slave on the plantation. He is much better fed and clothed, and enjoys privileges altogether unknown to the slave on the plantation. There is a vestige of decency, a sense of shame, that does much to curb and cheek those outbreaks of atrocious cruelty so commonly enacted upon the plantation.” (64-65). Slaveholders in the city took pride in treating their

On the morning of Sunday August 21, 1831 six slaves met at a barbeque at the Travis plantation. Everything seemed like a normal day to everyone. The men were there for three hours while they waited for Turner to arrive. All together they were there for eleven hours discussing their plans until they finally decided that that was the day that the insurrection was going to unfold. Their plan was to capture the county armory at Jerusalem then march thirty miles to Dismal Swamp. “Two things were decided: to begin their work that night, and to begin it with a massacre so swift and irresistible as to create in a few days more terror than many battles, and so spare the need of future bloodshed.” (Higginson)

Staring off with getting the slaves. They did not just want to go slave around for other people but they were ore like made or in other words captured and taken into slavery. How it shows in “slaves being captured and sent to Grenada (Doc #1)” there were about 18-2o young native boys and girls and were kidnapped. As they got into the ship they were able to hear whipping noises and chains being hit together. The people in charge were taking advantage of the poor slaves. As well as in “Slave being captured (Doc #2)” you see an actual picture the salves trapped and captured. They are walking in a straight line barefoot with

During this time period the slaves were allowed to leave the plantations or homes but only to run errands for the masters. While in public the slaves were expected to behave, move out of the way of whites, and never strike a white person. This was present in the book The Inventions of Wings by Sue Monk Kidd because charlotte was a slave who was allowed to go the city for goods, she one day would not move out of the way and then struck a white women, this then lead to her being taken to the work house and being punished. (Kidd. The Invention of Wings, 2014) So not only were they not allowed to react in self-defense but they were also not allowed to be taught how to read or write. If a slave were to break any of these rules then depending on the offense and where it occurred was what determined the punishment. The punishments during this time could have been getting sent to the work house which is where they whip, and force slaves to work until they have served their time or they are at the mercy of their masters. (Kidd. The Invention of Wings, 2014)The masters can do whatever type of punishment they see fit for their slaves, and there was no laws protecting them. The only thing that protected these slaves was their value to the master’s wealth. Although in reality a lot of the slave owners were actually not hostile or

Title of Primary Source: ACCOUNT OF THE SLAVE TRADE ON THE COAST OF AFRICA by ALEXANDER FALCONBRIDGE