S hantilly Pena Mallory Steffey

The Middle Passage Shantilly Pena Mallory Steffey

Table of Contents • Introduction • A Sudden Change of Fate • The Ships • The Journey • Disease • Suicide • Overboard • OlaudahEquiano • After the Journey

What is the Middle Passage? • The shipment of slaves from West Africa to the Americas • Called the Middle Passage because it’s the middle leg of the triangular trade • The triangular trade is the movement of trade ships between Europe, Africa, and the Americas

Basic facts • How many slaves went through the Middle Passage? • 11,300,000 slaves went through the Middle Passage. • How many died during the journey? • 1 out of 4 died during the journey. • Why were the Africans chosen to be slaves? • They were immune to European diseases (unlike Native Americans, Africans were not isolated from the Europeans) and knew how to farm well. • Each journey was about 6- 10 weeks long • Slaves were traded in Africa for European manufactured goods (such as guns and rum), or they were bought with money (around five to seven dollars)

A Sudden Change of Fate • African rulers dictated who was taken (the Portuguese were the Europeans that controlled the slave trade) • The Portuguese had colonized the islands off the western coast, making it easy for them to monopolize the slave trade • Royal African Company- one of the largest slave trade companies • Usually war captives, included women and children • Captives were taken to the West coast of Africa • Half never reachedthe it • Held in dungeons under ‘slave factories’ • Sometimes held for over a year while the Europeans collected more slaves • Unsure of their fate • Were told they were to work in fields • Were skeptical • Some thought they sailors were cannibals

OlaudahEquiano’s Account “When I looked round the ship too and saw a large furnace of copper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description chained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate and quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck and fainted. . . . I asked if we were not to be eaten by those white men with horrible looks, red faces and long hair?"

The Ships • Size:

When on the Ship • The men were shackled by their ankles; women and children were left unshackled • On each ship there is an upper deck, lower deck, and one in between. The captives were stored in the in- between decks. • Water was lowered to them by a bucket on a rope (due to this poor service, the slaves in the back of the deck would never get a drop of water • The average space in this deck was 16” by 5.5’ per person (though in some cases, space was 18” by 2’) • diet usually consisted of horse beans and rice • Almost never got fresh air • Sanitation was so poor that that the average slave ship could be smelled five miles downwind • due to the tight spaces, disease always spread quickly

Disease • Disease was high • Small Pox • Dysentery • Ophthalmia • Dead bodies left to lie (which caused more disease) • Rats and bugs carried many illnesses • Spoiled food and drinking water

Suicide • Often attempted; rarely succeeded • Slaves viewed as valuable cargo • Captain wanted to keep as many alive as possible • Reaped the reward • Ways in which slaves attempted to kill themselves: • Jumping overboard (through sewage hole) • Hanging from the cleats (twine or yarn) • One male scratched his throat open with his fingernails • Refusing to eat (most common and unsuccessful way) • Most were unsuccessful • Others cheered for ones that were

Refusal to Eat • Were tortured • If this failed, a speculum orumwas used • Notable case

Notable Case A child, not even one year old, was very sick and unable to eat the boiled rice that had been made for the slaves. The captain decided that the child was just being difficult, and set out to ‘teach it a lesson’. A twelve pound piece of wood was tied to his neck, and he whipped the child at every meal. On the fourth day of this torture, the child died, unable to withstand the brutal beating. The captain then called the mother of the child to throw the body overboard. In the beginning, she adamantly refused, but after a severe lashing, she gave in. She walked slowly to the body, gently lifted it up, and tossed it as lightly as she could off the ship. The story is undoubtedly true, told under oath before Parliament.

Overboard • Thrown over because • Needed to lighten the load • Food and water were dwindling • Illness • Thrown through the sewage hole • Were sometimes beaten to death before being pushed off • Notable Case

Notable Case

OlaudahEquiano • Born 1745 in Africa, died 1797 in London • When 11, his sister and he were kidnapped and put on a slave ship • 1754, sold to Michael Pascal • Royal Navy officer • Renamed him GustavusVassa • Lived on sea for seven years during a war with France • Was a servant the rest of his enslavement • Learned to read and write • Travelled a great deal • 1783, returned to London to fight for the outlaw of slavery because a former slave and friend (Jack Annis) had been kidnapped by his previous owner • Was freed in 1766

After The Journey • Bought by plantation owners and the wealthy • Often split from families and friends • When in the Americas, the captives were sold for 30- 80 euros (around 41-110 dollars) • Usually the healthiest slaves were sold in the West Indies

These Africans, • who have endured so • much in the past year, • were now forever doomed • to a life of labor with • no chance of reward.

S hantilly Pena Mallory Steffey