Unsanitary And Cruelty: The Middle Passage

Slaves were treated like dangerous animals that were being loaded on a ship ready to be sent to a zoo. From the passage

“These words sank deep into my heart, stirred up sentiments within that lay slumbering, and called into existence an entirely new train of thought. It was a new and special revelation, explaining dark mysterious things, with which my youthful understanding had struggled, but struggled in vain. I now understood what had been to me a most perplexing difficulty – to wit, the white man’s power to enslave black men. It was a grand achievement, and I prized it highly. From that moment, I understood the pathway from slavery to freedom” (20).

Middle Passage- the perilous journey to the new World by African slaves in which they suffered from disease and death. They had little to nothing to eat or

One of the most interesting arguments that modern apologists makes for the practice of race-based slavery in the Americas is the fact that slavery existed in Africa during that time period and that Africans were complicit in the Trans-Atlantic slave trade. What is fascinating about Olaudah Equiano's discussion of the Middle Passage is that, as a man who had been enslaved in Africa prior to being shipped as a slave to the Americas, he was in a unique position to describe slavery in Africa with his introduction to European-influenced slavery in North America. His perception was that the immense brutality of the Middle Passage foreshadowed the dehumanization of slaves in the Americas, which was more inhumane than the treatment he had received as a slave while in Africa. Furthermore, he did not suggest that this brutality was linked to the race of the traders, though that seemed to have been his initial impression, but to the nature of the Trans-Atlantic trade. Therefore, Equiano's writings suggest that shipping Africans across the ocean for slavery was part of the dehumanizing process that helped fuel the practice of slavery in America.

Both colored and whites have experienced the Middle Passage in completely different ways. Document B, written by a slave ship captain, describe the hardships that he and his crew had to face. He has zero sympathy for any of the colored people on the ship, saying “There happened such a sickening and mortality among my poor men and Negroes.” Thomas Phillip was quite upset of how much money he way losing due to the death rate of the slaves. He also explains that after all of his hard work to care and feed them, he has to endure twice the misery and pain that the slaves do. I believe he experienced the Middle Passage with elevated narcissism and dislike of colored

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.

The Middle Passage was a triangular route that was frequently used by many European nations who engaged in the Atlantic slave trade of millions of Africans. One such African slave was a man by the name of Olaudah Equiano, who 's autobiography spoke of the mortality rate on slave ships, what he and his fellow slaves thought of their European captors, and what their captors thought of them.

During the duration of the Middle Passage, there was an abundance of hardships that had an effect on altering the many different experiences encountered by blacks. Some of these experiences included being shackled, labeled as merchandise, disease, and being crammed. Throughout this passage you will agree with the statement based upon the evidence provided from primary and secondary sources.

To really show the horrendous conditions that the slaves endured, the author includes a 1787 replication drawing of the slave ship Brooks. Built in 1781 with a lower deck intended to accommodate 294 slaves, giving each slave a space comparable to the size of a coffin. Adult males were allocated a space six feet long and fifteen inches wide and allowing even less space for adult women, boys, and girls. The height of the same area was just five feet, and did not include any toilet facilities for the slaves. In most cases, the captains would load double the number of slaves their ships were designed for leading to even worse conditions onboard with more mouths to feed but not enough provisions to compensate. Those slaves who died during the journey through the Middle Passage were simply thrown overboard, where their bodies were eaten by ravenous sharks.

European slave traders restructured their merchant ships to squeeze as many African slaves as possible below the decks. Tightly packed, European traders chose to haul more human cargo than regulated to compensate for anticipated losses. This system of packing yielded a greater profit margin. Feelings comments about the horrifying environment of the slave ships, “In the dank, crowded hold, which was about five feet high, the captives confined in a prone position, occupying no more space than a coffin.”

In the 1800’s, many slaves were stolen from their former lives and forced to endure the treacherous journey through the middle passage. Both Amari, a fictional character, and Olaudah Equiano were forced to go through this trip and experience the suffering and torture that came with it. Their stories are very different from each other, yet have many similarities. “I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste anything. I now wished for the last friend, Death, to relieve me” (Equiano 1). Equiano and the other slaves that were on the same voyage were treated so cruelly that the only hope they had left was for death to come. The slaves were beaten and given just enough food to keep them alive. If they

Slavery is a tradition that was practiced by many civilizations throughout history. It is first seen practiced by the Arabs in the 8th century. The Arabs used a modern version that was mimicked and continually used throughout history. It was later picked up and used in Colonial America. The Portuguese first brought African slaves to the New World as early as 1500 to work on sugar plantations, and they dominated the early trade.

The book Middle Passage by Charles Johnson tells a story about the triangular slave trade which took place early in America 's history. This book was written with such close attention to detail that it gave the reader a sense of what life was like on board a slave boat. Johnson 's writing style included many different techniques including the use of varying structure, imagery and language. All of these devices helped create a very successful story about slavery.

The Middle Passage has been a focal point of investigation for many historians who are dedicated to comprehending the slave trade. The literature as a whole reveal that slaves asserted autonomy over their social being by committing suicide. This act disrupted the process of transatlantic voyages as slaves surrendered the physical self to reclaim their psychological and social strength. In addition, European perception of suicide shaped the ways in which slave traders and surgeons responded to captives’ means of resistance. Self-inflicted death amongst the enslaved was brought to the attention of British Parliament via testimonies of pro-abolitionists. This essay will explore European attitudes toward suicide, slave suicide as an act of resistance

The trade of Africans was part of Triangular trade, from Europe to Africa, Africa to the Americas, and the Americas back to Europe. The journey from Africa across the Atlantic was known as the Middle Passage. For many months, enslaved Africans were treated terribly on the voyage. Slaves were packed on top of each other into the bottom of the ship. African men wore iron chains around their wrists and legs and had little room to move. The chains and cuffs prevented revolts and escapes. Revolting slaves would be shot or drowned. Women and children were sometimes