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Slavery and the Middle Passage

 

            Many people had different views towards the Middle Passage. The different groups were the Africans, merchants, and the European society in general. The Middle Passage referred to the second leg of the triangular trade, in which Africans were sent to the Americas to work as slaves. This is all because the Native Americans began to die out due to European disease. They know looked for labor from Africa. They were all treated horribly. The sailors on the trade routes treated the slaves like trash, feeding them just enough in order for them to survive. 11-414 million Africans were shipped between the years of 1524 and the 1800's. .
             The European society had many different views on slave trade. "Attitudes displayed toward slaves aboard ship and the conditions which they existed also grew out of a general attitude towards the poor and dispossessed that was prevalent in England, and throughout Europe at the close of the 17th century" (Document A). This shows how Europeans knew how unfairly and uncivilized these innocent people were being traded. They knew because parts of England had extremely poor parts. Although Europeans knew about these conditions, many did not do anything in order to help out the slaves in need of rescue. .
             Africans were so desperate during this time in their lives. They were not able to escape the European slaves capturers who invaded their tribes and kidnapped them. The picture in Document E shows how unbearable it must have been for the slaves on the ships. The slaves were literally crammed together; making them throw up on each other because of the food they were given. They were all in shackles at their wrists and ankles. "After about 15 days out to sea a heavy squall struck the ship. The poor slaves below, altogether unprepared for such an occurrence, were mostly thrown to the side, where they lay heaped on top of each other; their fetters rendered many of them helpless, and before they could be arranged in their proper places, and relieved from their pressure of each other, it was found tat 15 of them were smothered or crushed to death" (Document H).


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