The Middle Passage

Slavery During the Middle Passage

On the outside, the Atlantic Ocean beats fiercely against the sides of the old ship. Inside, hundreds of enslaved Africans are thrown around like ragged dolls, helpless in their shackles. For weeks and weeks, the Africans that were taken from their home by their own people are put through misery all so they can be sold for a couple thousand dollars. The path they sail is called the Middle Passage. This long stretch of ocean was the third leg of the Atlantic Trade System, which was a trading route for sailors that went from the English colonies to England, then to Africa and back to the colonies (America). The few that survive the long journey were immediately sold into slavery and forced to work on plantations for the colonists, but they would never forget the horrific journey there. The Middle Passage for the slaves was miserable and horrific not only because they were physically abused, but because they were emotionally abused and treated like commodities or goods too.
Firstly, during the Middle Passage, the Africans were severely physically abused. They were tightly packed in the bottom of the boat and chained together. Dr. Thomas Trotter was the physician for a Slave Ship Brookes. When he was asked by the British parliament in 1790 if the slaves had room to turn themselves he replied, “No. The slaves that are out of irons are locked ‘spoonways’ and locked to one another. It is the duty of the first mate to see them stowed in this manner every morning. . .” Locking the slaves “spoonways” meant to put them in fetal position, side by side so they would fit inside each other. He also talked how they were slammed against the boat and each other every time the boat rocked (source C). But to make it even worse, if the slaves didn’t listen or gave the first mate any trouble, they would be flogged, or beaten. Most ship mates preferred to use regular whips to beat the slaves, but some even used “cat-o-nines,” a whip with nine tails covered in hot tar and knotted at the end. Olaudah Equiano wrote a book about his experiences as a slave during the Middle Passage called Narrative of the Enslavement of a Native of Africa. He writes, “. . . [O]n my refusing to eat, one of [the first mates] held me fast by the hands, and laid me across, I think, the windlass [part of the ship] and tied my feet, while the other flogged [beat] me severely. . .” In his book, Olaudah Equiano also talked about the poor conditions of where the slaves were kept. “I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a greeting in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life. . .” (source E) There was poor ventilation, and the decks where the slaves were kept were cleaned with a layer of vinegar if anything. Dead bodies were sprawled about, and the boiling temperatures pushed along the decomposition and increased the smell, making breathing extremely difficult. For slaves, the Middle Passage was a horrible experience.
Along with being physically abused, the slaves were emotionally abused as well. On nice days, the crewmen would take the slaves to the deck and force them to dance to keep them in shape. Imagine dancing in front of people that you don’t even know naked, and having no choice. It was embarrassing and humiliating, but they had no choice. The slave captains would also cut off the arms and legs of some of the more outspoken slaves to scare the rest. Thomas Phillip was a slave captain during the Middle Passage and he wrote a book called A Journal of a Voyage (1746) about his experience. In it he wrote about some of the horrible things the slaves were forced to endure. “I have been informed that some commanders have cut off the legs or arms of the most willful slaves, to terrify the rest, for they believe that, if they lose a member, they cannot return home again. . .” (source B) The slaves believed that even if they did escape, if they were missing an arm or leg they would be shunned by the tribe because they were damaged or not whole. The threat of never being able to go back home made the slaves better behaved immediately. The Middle Passage was emotionally abusing for the slaves also because they had to be separated from their families. Even if they were lucky enough to be with their family for the voyage, a bunch had to witness the death of them on the slave ships or they had to be separated when they reached the colonies. Think about what it would be like to watch your sister, brother, or even one of your parents be crushed or smothered to death. They were helpless and could only watch as they slowly died. The Middle Passage was a very traumatizing time for the Africans and some decided they would rather die than live that way any longer. Ottobah Cugano was a slave who later wrote a book called Thoughts and Sentiments of the Evil of Slavery. “. . .And when we found ourselves at last taken away, death was more preferable than life; and a plan was concerted amongst us, that we might burn and blow up the ship, and all perish together in the flames. . .” he wrote (source F). Some slaves thought that death was the only option and were willing to do anything the get out of the ship and horrible abuse.
Lastly, during the Middle Passage, the slaves where treated like commodities or goods. On the boats, the slaves were stored in the “tween decks,” which was the place under the decks used for storage. They were stacked on top of one another and barely fed or cared for. The were treated like they were goods and were not actual people. The Slave Ship Brookes is a perfect example of how packed the slaves were. The ship was built to fit 451 people. The slave captain often packed over 600 slaves on it at a time in order to make more money (source A). And to make it worse, the were also chained together in “fetters” or shackles to keep them close together. Sometimes the women would be allowed out of the chains, but the men were kept locked together because they were seen as more of a threat (source D). Since they were all chained up, many times people were crushed to death and killed. But the captain did not care. The only thing that bothered him was that he lost a couple thousand dollars. Zamba Zembola was one of the Africans that sold his own kind to the Europeans, but later was kidnapped and sold into slavery as well. In his book, The Life and Adventure of Zamba an African Slave, he wrote, “. . .their fetters rendered many of them helpless, and before they could be arranged in their proper places, and relieved from their pressure on each other, it was found that 15 of them were smothered or crushed to death. The captain seemed considerably vexed; but the only grievance to him was the sudden loss of some five or six thousand dollars.” (source D)The captains couldn’t care less about what happened to the slaves and that is horrible. Imagine being treated like that. It was horrible for the slaves and they should have never had to go through that.
The slaves were treated horrifically during the Middle Passage not only because they were physically abused, but since they were emotionally abused and treated like goods or commodities too. About 15 million Africans suffered through difficult and death-filled journey to somewhere unknown, and about 3 million of them died. The others were sold into a life filled with hardship and suffering. The Middle Passage was probably the worst leg of the Atlantic Trade System, and it affected the slaves a lot. They were beaten and starved, forced to watch family members die and put in the worst conditions, and all the captains cared about was the money they brought in. By doing this, we have caused the African race to still be affected now. We put them behind everyone else and did not let them have the chance to develop like we did. It was horrible for people to abuse other human beings so much that they feel they can no longer stand living. The slave captains should be ashamed of the sickening and revolting things they did to that slaves. It was horrible and hopefully will never happen again.