Middle Passage
Middle Passage refers to the middle passage of the triangular trade. The triangular trade was a route used to receive slaves. The middle passage often took two very long months on ship, many people died. On the ship ride if one of the Africans took ill with a disease they would be thrown overboard to drown so they didn't contaminate the other soon to be slaves. Although the some of the Africans lived close to the shore some of them had never seen such big waters before, meaning they didn't know how to swim, so if they were thrown overboard they had no chance. On this passage, along with others, the Africans were packed in to very, very small spaces, they often had to lie on each other just to fit. They were fed small amounts of food and often didn't have enough to eat or drink. This led to dehydration and even death. The greatest fear of the small crew was a revolt. To ensure their safety the crew always carried guns, knifes, and other weapons. Sometimes there was no revolt because often by then Africans had lost all hope, so they didn't even try. Men were separated from the the women and children and were chained up at all times. They used big iron heavy shackles to keep the men from being able to revolt and take control of the ship. It is estimated that while crossing the middle passage that over a million Africans died. By the time they made it close to shore many of the Africans had lost their minds from living in the harsh conditions, some lost sense of who they are. Many jumped off ship and drowned once land was visible, not being able to bear the possibility that their life on this new land might be worst then it was on the ship. Others however, thought their life would improve on this new land, they were wrong. The journey was just beginning, they had no idea what lied ahead of them.
Middle Passage refers to the middle passage of the triangular trade. The triangular trade was a route used to receive slaves. The middle passage often took two very long months on ship, many people died. On the ship ride if one of the Africans took ill with a disease they would be thrown overboard to drown so they didn't contaminate the other soon to be slaves. Although the some of the Africans lived close to the shore some of them had never seen such big waters before, meaning they didn't know how to swim, so if they were thrown overboard they had no chance. On this passage, along with others, the Africans were packed in to very, very small spaces, they often had to lie on each other just to fit. They were fed small amounts of food and often didn't have enough to eat or drink. This led to dehydration and even death. The greatest fear of the small crew was a revolt. To ensure their safety the crew always carried guns, knifes, and other weapons. Sometimes there was no revolt because often by then Africans had lost all hope, so they didn't even try. Men were separated from the the women and children and were chained up at all times. They used big iron heavy shackles to keep the men from being able to revolt and take control of the ship. It is estimated that while crossing the middle passage that over a million Africans died. By the time they made it close to shore many of the Africans had lost their minds from living in the harsh conditions, some lost sense of who they are. Many jumped off ship and drowned once land was visible, not being able to bear the possibility that their life on this new land might be worst then it was on the ship. Others however, thought their life would improve on this new land, they were wrong. The journey was just beginning, they had no idea what lied ahead of them.