The Tragedy of the Middle Passage

The Capture of the Africans

In order to promote capture, Europeans traded guns to West Coast tribes

Initial Fears

1) White skin

2) Ships

3) The Atlantic Ocean

Construction of the slave shipMaximize “cargo” to maximize profit

Space alotted each slaveLength= 6 feetHeight = 4 feet, 6 inches if luckyWidth= 18 inches

“Tight Packers”Height = 18 inchesConsequences?

OwnershipBranding

Conditions Endured:

1) Seasickness = suffocation

2) Going to the bathroom= filth

3) Language barrier= deafening noise

• Cries for help• Desperately calling out for family• Prayers• Overcome by the whip

4) Darkness

5) Stifling temperatures (heat)

6) The chains- one size

Maintaining disciplineThe Iron Muzzle

Ensuring profit= healthy slavesNecessity of exercise

A hopeless alternativeThe ships followed by sharks

A refusal to eat = the funnel

Promotion of the System:

1) The MOST expensive slaves?

• Rape= Pregnancy= Profits

2) Desensitization

• Lack of remorse or sympathy

• Reinforces African inferiority

Shocking Statistics:

1) Expected death rate on voyage= 12 %to 18%

2) Middle Passage endured by= 30 to 60 million Africans

3) Length of the Atlantic Slave Trade= @ 300 years