Olaudah Equiano Slavery
Slaves, in general, endured unthinkable things while, on the Middle Passage Ship to the Americas as well as their duration in slavery, Olaudah Equiano was no different. After reading Olaudah Equiano’s, article “The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African”. Slavery affected many lives. Most importantly, as any slave it was additionally agonizing to live in that period. Through Equiano’s eleven-year-old eyes, his voyage was extremely devastating. Captured in war, kidnapped and sold by other Africans from now Nigeria were Equiano’s memories of what happened before embarking on the Middle Passage to the Americas. Language barriers made it more challenging than one could imagine. Never seen Europeans
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The number of deaths depended on the length of the voyage; shorter trips resulted in fewer deaths. All occupants of the ships ran the risk of contracting pandemic diseases or severe dehydration due to their “perspiration, vomiting, diarrhea and lack of drinking water” (4). Sounds in the hull were of crying woman and children and moans of the dying (4). The mistreatment and lack of basic needs were unconscionable. The death rates of the slaves on these ships, for the most part, were high. Stuffing huge numbers of slaves into the hull of the ship, shackled them to the floor and together with no way to move, unbearable heat, poor air quality causing suffocation, whipped them for not eating, no medical attention and slaves plugging overboard, are the majority of the reasons for the many fatalities (4). Consequently, arriving at the island of Barbados made him feel joyful in hopes of getting off the ship. Merchants came aboard to inspect everyone, making them jump, point, and then put back under the deck. A few “old slaves came from the island to reassure everyone that they were not going to be eaten, but put to work” (6). Sold split up family members never to see each other. Made them all have one more item to be sad about. While Equiano’s fascination with the never seen before two-story brick homes or
The number of deaths depended on the length of the voyage; shorter trips resulted in fewer deaths. All occupants of the ships ran the risk of contracting pandemic diseases or severe dehydration due to their “perspiration, vomiting, diarrhea and lack of drinking water” (4). Sounds in the hull were of crying woman and children and moans of the dying (4). The mistreatment and lack of basic needs were unconscionable. The death rates of the slaves on these ships, for the most part, were high. Stuffing huge numbers of slaves into the hull of the ship, shackled them to the floor and together with no way to move, unbearable heat, poor air quality causing suffocation, whipped them for not eating, no medical attention and slaves plugging overboard, are the majority of the reasons for the many fatalities (4). Consequently, arriving at the island of Barbados made him feel joyful in hopes of getting off the ship. Merchants came aboard to inspect everyone, making them jump, point, and then put back under the deck. A few “old slaves came from the island to reassure everyone that they were not going to be eaten, but put to work” (6). Sold split up family members never to see each other. Made them all have one more item to be sad about. While Equiano’s fascination with the never seen before two-story brick homes or