Lesson 5: Triangular Tradeand the MiddlePassage

Unit 4: Colonial Life

Primary Source "At last, when the ship we were in, had got in all her cargo, they made ready with manyfearful noises, and we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed thevessel. But this disappointment was the least of my sorrow. The stench of the hold while wewere on the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for anytime, and some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that thewhole ship's cargo were confined together, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness ofthe place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowdedthat each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. ..This wretched situationwas again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now became insupportable... The shrieks ofthe women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror, almostinconceivable. Happily perhaps, for myself, I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary tokeep me almost always on deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in fetters. In thissituation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of whom were almostdaily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end tomy miseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep much more happy thanmyself. I envied them the freedom they enjoyed, and as often wished I could change mycondition for theirs. Every circumstances I met with, and heightened my apprehensions, andmy opinion of the cruelty of the whites.”

• The source was written by Olaudah Equiano, who was born inWest Africa in 1745. 1

• At age eleven, he was kidnapped, taken to Virginia, and sold to aBritish sea captain, who renamed him, Gustavus Vassa.

• The captain then sold Equiano, who then ended up as a slave to aQuaker merchant in the West Indies.

• Permitted to trade his own as well as his master's merchandise,Equiano had earned enough money to purchase his freedom by1766.

• An excellent navigator and writer, Equiano traveled widely andbecame a well-known abolitionist, or someone who opposesslavery. In 1789, he published his autobiography, and it became abestseller. This selection is from this book.

• He died in London in 1797. 1The literary scholar Vincent Carretta has recently provided evidence that Equianowas likely born in South Carolina, not in Africa as his memoir claims. Scholars stillconsider Equiano’s account to be one of our very best sources on the Middle Passageand the experience of slavery even if it was slightly fictionalized. See Carretta, Vincent.Equiano, the African: Biography of a Self-Made Man. Athens: University of GeorgiaPress, 2005.

1. Written Evidence

Arguments that Equiano was born in Carolina Arguments that Equiano was born in Africa

•Equiano's baptismal record at St Margaret’s Church,Westminster, dated 9 February 1759, records that he wasborn in 'Carolina'.•A Royal Navy muster roll from Constantine Phipp’s Arcticexpedition of 1773 says that Equiano was born in 'SouthCarolina'.•In both cases, the information almost certainly came fromEquiano himself

•Equiano's own autobiography, The Interesting Narrative,tells us that he was born in Africa•This information comes from Equiano himself

2. Circumstantial Biographical Evidence

Arguments that Equiano was born in Carolina Arguments that Equiano was born in Africa

•Equiano gets the dates wrong about the ships in which hewas brought from America to England which would beconsistent with him having made the story up•Equiano's account of his life is usually very accurate whenit can be checked against independent sources, making itsurprising that his account of his first ten years can beshown to be inaccurate in parts•Equiano never used the name "Equiano" before publishinghis autobiography. All his friends and acquaintances knewhim by the name "Gustavus Vassa". He probably made upthe name "Olaudah Equiano" as part of the carefulconstruction of an African persona he carried out in 1789

•Although Equiano gets the dates wrong about the ships inwhich he was brought from America to England, he was avery young child at the time, and suffering a severe trauma,so it is reasonable to assume that his memory mightsometimes be at fault•Equiano's account of his life is usually very accurate whenit can be checked against independent sources, showingthat it was his usual practice to tell the truth as far as hecould remember•Although Equiano never used his birth name before 1789,this was not unusual. Few slaves or former slaves usedtheir African names. Equiano's friend Quobna OttobahCugoano, for example, used his slave name of John Stuartthroughout his life, except on the title page of his book(1787)

http://www.brycchancarey.com/equiano/nativity.htm

ngland

WestAfrica

WestIndies

RumGunsClothTools

EnslavedAfricans

LumberFishFlour

SugarMolassesEnslavedAfricans

Triangular Trade

The Middle Passage

• After a long and difficult journey from the interior of Africa to thecoast, enslaved Africans were forced to wait in dungeons or otherprison-type areas. Waiting lasted weeks, months, and sometimes aslong as a year.

• Enslaved people were commonly branded with the imprint of theFrench, English, or Dutch company that had purchased them.

• When slave ships arrived, the enslaved people were forced onboardinto cramped living quarters beneath the decks where there waslittle ventilation and no sanitary facilities. There was no space forstanding. People were chained together on their backs.

• The journey across the Atlantic usually took from sixty to ninetydays but could sometimes last up to four months.

• Death rates were high. Historians estimate that between ten andtwenty percent of those transported died on during the MiddlePassage.

Newport, November 8th, 1755Captn. Caleb Godfrey— The Sloop Hare of which you are Master being loaded andready to sail, Our Orders are that you improve the first favorableWind and Weather and proceed directly to the Coast of Africa,where being arrived you are at Liberty to trade at such Places asyou think most for our Interest.... Don’t purchase any small orold Slaves or as far as possible—Young Men Slaves answerbetter than Women—Keep a watchful Eye over ‘em and givethem no Opportunity of making a Insurrection, and let themhave a Sufficiency of good Diet, as you are Sensible yourVoyage depends upon their Health. Use your utmost Endeavorsto make all the Dispatch possible, as your Vessel is small andyour Expenses great, and proceed from the Coast to—CharlesTown in South Carolina, where we shall lodge Letters for youcontaining Instructions for your farther Proceedings. Werecommend to you the utmost Frugality in your Expenses on theVessel. We also entreat you to use your utmost Endeavors topromote Peace—Harmony and good Order on Board both withyour Officers and others, especially the Officers.... Don’t omitwriting us by all Opportunities we wish you Health and aprosperous Voyage who areyour Friends,Sam. & Wm Vernon

Primary Source #1

Primary Source #2

Primary Source #3

What do you think it is? What does it tell us about slaveryin the colonies and the slave trade?

#1

#2

#3

What is the connection between these 3 primary sources?

What do you think it is? What does it tell us about slaveryin the colonies and the slave trade?

#1

a letter written in 1755 to the captain of a slaveship called the Hare giving him directions aboutsailing to and purchasing slaves

Sometimes slave ships traveleddirectly from to and then back towith a cargo of enslaved Africans.

#2

an ad announcing the sale of enslaved Africansfrom the slave ship Hare.

Enslaved Africans were bought andsold like goods such as animals ormanufactured goods. They weretreated like property, not people

#3

A diagram of what a slave ship like the Harelooked like.

Enslaved Africans were forced to liebelow the deck close togetherwhere there was hardly room tobreathe. The conditions must havebeen horrible.

What is the connection between these 3 primary sources?