The Middle Passage Key Facts The Transatlantic Slave Trade

Conditions on a Slave Ship Slave traders acquired slaves by purchasing them from numerous ports in Africa. They were able to pack nearly 300 slaves and approximately 35 crew into most slave ships. The men were normally chained together in pairs to save space — right leg to the next man's left leg — while the women and children may have had somewhat more room.

The captives were fed very small portions of corn, yams, rice, and palm oil, normally just enough to sustain them. Sometimes captives were allowed to move around during the day, but many ships kept the shackles on throughout the journey.

Many slaves became seasick or developed diarrhoea. Unable to move because they were chained into their positions, the slave's deck became a stinking mass of human waste. Slaves who had developed sores where their chains had rubbed their skin, had festering wounds often with maggots eating away their flesh.

It is estimated that 13% of the captured slaves did not survive the journey before the 18th century. Diseases, starvation, and the length of passage were the main contributors to the death toll. Many believe that overcrowding caused this outrageously high death-rate, but amoebic dysentery and scurvy were the main problems. Additionally, outbreaks of smallpox, measles, and other diseases spread rapidly in the close- quarter compartments.

Conditions on the slave ships were so bad that many slaves decided they would prefer to die and tried to starve themselves by refusing to eat or by jumping overboard. However, slaves that would not eat were whipped or force fed and the traders and ship owners began fixing nets to the sides of the boat so that the slaves could not jump overboard. Slaves had no choice but to endure the horrific conditions.

Slave ships might take anywhere from one to six months to cross the Atlantic depending on the weather conditions at sea. The death rate rose steadily with the length of voyage, as the risk of dysentery increased with longer stints at sea, and the quality and amount of food and water diminished with every passing day.

Precise records are not available to provide an actual death toll, but it is estimated that as many as 8 million slaves may have perished to bring 4 million to the Caribbean islands.

Exercising the slaves Weather conditions permitting, slaves were generally allowed out of the slave decks once a day to exercise and get some fresh air. This was necessary because the holds on board slave ships were not very well ventilated as they were not designed for human cargoes. It was common for slave ship crews to humiliate Africans by forcing them to dance for their entertainment. Bad weather also meant that Africans could not have their daily exercise.

Slave Uprisings In order to reduce the risk of rebellions breaking out on slave ships discipline on board was very strict. Slave ships had large crews because their human cargo needed close supervision. Slave uprisings were fairly common, but few were successful “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 to perish all together in the flames.” The number of participants varied widely, often the uprisings would end with the death of a few slaves and crew, and the surviving rebels were punished or executed to be made examples to the rest of the slaves on board.

Example of a Rebellion The Unity was owned by the Earle family and captained by Richard Norris. During a voyage in the Africans she was carrying rebelled at least five times. Captain Norris dealt with these attempted rebellions very harshly. On 4 June 1770 he put forty men into leg irons for attempting to rebel. Then on 27 June 1770 he shot the leader of an attempted rebellion.

Examples of Slave Ships One of the most well-known events of the transatlantic slave trade took place on board a Liverpool slave ship, the Zong, owned by the Gregson family. During a voyage in November 1781 its captain, Luke Collingwood, threw 133 Africans overboard to their death. He did this to claim insurance money which he thought would be more than he could sell the Africans for. This event shows that enslaved Africans were not seen as human beings but as a thing to be bought and sold for profit. Another terrible act on board a Liverpool slave ship took place on the Black Joke. Its captain flogged a baby to death and then forced its mother to throw the infant’s body overboard.