Salvery - Horrors of the Middle Passage

            Evidence of the middle passage being the worst experience for African slaves and the vile and inhumane conditions they endured during that period can be seen in the historical text-book; Liberties Lost Caribbean Indigenous Societies and Slave Systems where the writers Hilary McD. Beckles and Verene A. Shepherd state that the conditions during the middle passage was a recipe for a high death rate and madness. This point is proven further when they go on to state that over 2 million Africans lost their lives in the Atlantic crossing and that maybe another 4 million died as a direct result of capture and enslavement within Africa.
             Slave ships remained stagnant on the African coast for over 3 to 6 months. The European refused to deport until their cargo was completely full. This meant that the captured slaves had to ensure the scorching heat and the humidity the sun produced below the decks of the slave ships. They were separated from their families and tribesmen and were chained and branded once they boarded the ship. They were then placed in tightly confined arrangements below-deck were they were packed as close to one another as possible. Evidence to support that motion can be seen in the text-book; The People Who Came Book 2 written by James Carnegie and Patricia Patterson when it stated that on the slave ships only 6 feet by 1 foot, 4 inches were allowed for the men, 5 feet by 1 foot, 4 inches for women and a small 4 feet 6 inches by 1foot for the children. It didn't matter whether a slave had been placed next to sworn enemies or rivals clans or tribes as long as they were separated from their families, friends, companions, former villagers and their fellow tribesmen so as to limit their communication conversing. In fact slaves being placed near their enemies and rival was influenced and practiced by the European so as to ensure that their slaves would have the most uncomfortable and miserable experience during the middle passage.