Slavery Janeen Avery June 9, 2011

Village/Home life Olaudah Equiano, aslo known as Gustavus Vassa, arrived into the world around the year 1745. Born in a small Igbo village of Essaka, located in present day Nigeria, Olaudah was kidnapped with his younger sister and placed on a European slave ship. He describes the land in Africa as uncommonly rich and fruitful, which produces many different kinds of vegetation. Although Olaudah was young when he was kidnapped by slave traders, he does recall specific memories of his childhood. He remembers playing amongst other children in the village and looking out for invaders and kidnappers who often captured children at play. Many of the adults worked in the fields during the day while the children stayed home or in the village area. If a person did not work in the fields, they often earned a living by designing jewelry or clothes to sell. He describes the clothes of the men and women of the village as the same to both sexes. The men wore long pieces of blue cloth which they wrapped loosely around their waists. Women wore the same type of clothing around their waists but they also wore golden accessories on their arms and legs. The village people did experience happiness and often celebrated with each other for special occasions. They sang and danced for returning of battles and for other rejoicing causes. Life in Africa before the kidnapping seemed good and happy.

Captured Captured Here Kidnapped along with his younger sister, Olaudah remembers his long journey to the sea coast. One day, while his parents worked in the fields, Olaudah and his sister stayed home to watch over the house. During their guard two men and one woman managed to enter their land and kidnapped both of the children. He remembers the people covering their mouths so they would not make any noise that could attract attention. They then carried the two children into the woods where they tied their hands and continued to carry them to a house. They spent the night in the house and regained energy to continue their journey. Often times Olaudah found a few people whom he understood and talked to. This lasted up to the sea coast where he did not understand many of the different languages. He acquired about two or three different languages on his journey. After switching from different masters, he landed in the hands of a chieftain. He later was sold again and again until he reached the beautiful country of Tinmah. He traveled around Africa as property of others and after six or seven months of the selling process, he reached the sea coast. As time went on, Olaudah was very successful in his life, grew old and died in 1797. Captured Here

Later Moved Here Captured Here Olaudah’s Journey Taken Here

Middle Passage John Newton was born on July 24th, 1725 in London. His father worked as a commander of a merchant ship and his mother died of tuberculosis when John was six years old. As John grew older, he became a crew member of a slave-ship. He remembers the time which he spent on the slave-ship and wrote a journal describing his journey. On the ship, he describes the slaves lodging-rooms below the deck as enough room to fit two hundred and twenty to two hundred and fifty slaves. The object of a slave-ship was to carry a full load. They had three lodging rooms on the ship. One room for each sections of men, woman, and boys also including a room for the sick. Members of the crew often stacked slaves in the lodging-rooms like books on a shelf. The rooms were more than five feet in height. John recalls the heat and smell of the rooms given to the slaves. These rooms were rarely cleaned and aired out. Slaves were kept in these rooms during harsh weather and sometimes left in the rooms for a week. Many slaves died in the rooms from illnesses and suffocation. He also describes his owned actions on the ship as cruel and having blasphemous language. He continued to work in the onshore trade and later became master of a slave-trading ship. As he grew old, he became very ill and left the slave-trading system. He died on December 21, 1807.

Auction Block/Slavery The son of a slave woman and an unknown white man, “Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey” was born in February of 1818 on Maryland’s eastern shore. During his early years, he lived with his close relatives, only seeing his mother four or five times before she died when he was seven. He was then exposed to the life of slavery. He witnessed first-hand whippings and spent his time cold and hungry. By the age of eight, he was sent to Baltimore to live with a ship carpenter named Hugh Auld. After seven years in Baltimore, Frederick was sent back to the country and resold to a brutal “slave breaker” named Edward Covey. He describes his time with Edward as daily whipped and barley fed. He also describes life on the plantation as cold. The slaves were not given beds to sleep in and were given one blanket to keep warm. They all slept on the floor and worked all day in the fields. They were given little time to sleep. They slept side-by-side with other slaves. They always had an overseer watching them as they went about their duties. He planned to escape but was later discovered and jailed. He later in life became involved in speaking for Society and published his autobiography, Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by himself. He supported and fought for women and African American rights. He died on February 20, 1895.

Road to Freedom/Underground Railroad Harriet Tubman was a former slave who took advantage of the Underground Railroad system. She is known for escorting many slaves to freedom in the North. She is said to have freed 300 slaves including her own family. Born a slave in Maryland’s Dorchester Country around 1820, Tubman developed a way to runaway. Her first escape, she set out on foot in the night with assistance from a friendly white woman. She then followed the north star at night, making her way to Pennsylvania where she found a job and worked to save money. A year later, Tubman returned to Maryland and rescued her sister and her sister’s children. She then made many trips back to the South to escort many slaves to freedom. She devised clever techniques to help her escort successfully. Such as, using the master’s horse and buggy for the beginning of the journey, leaving on Saturday night because runaway notices could not be issued in the newspapers until Monday morning; and carrying a drug to use on a baby if its crying might put the fugitives in danger. She also carried a gun which she threaten fugitives if they were too tired or decided to turn around. She would tell them, “you’ll be free or die.” She made nineteen trips to the South by 1860. She even managed to rescue her 70-year old parents. After the Civil war, she settled in Auburn, New York, where she spent the rest of her life and died in 1913.