Crossing the Atlantic

Various quotes describing the Middle Passage:

"There were two schools of thought among the Guinea captains, called the 'loose-packers' and the 'tight-packers.' The former argued that by giving the slaves a little more room, with better food and a certain amount of liberty, they reduced the mortality rate among them and received a better price for each slave in the West Indies. The tight-packers answered that although the loss of life might be greater on each of their voyages, so too were the net receipts from a larger cargo." Black Cargoes, pages 105-106.

"After the morning meal came a joyless ceremony called 'dancing the slaves.' Those who were in irons... were ordered to stand up and make what motions they could...While sailors paraded around the deck, each with a cat-o'-nine-tails in his right hand, the men slaves 'jumped in their irons' until their ankles were bleeding flesh." Black Cargoes, page 114. The process of 'dancing the slaves' was meant to keep the slaves from becoming depressed and also to provide them exercise.

"Upon the Negroes refusing to take food...I have seen coals of fire, glowing hot, put on a shovel and placed so near their lips as to scorch and burn them. And this has been accompanied with threats of forcing them to swallow the coals if they persist in refusing to eat...If the Negroes still refused, they were flogged day after day...Lest flogging prove ineffective, every Guineaman was provided with a special instrument called the 'speculum oris," or mouth opener...The legs were closed and the notches were hammered between the slave's teeth. When the thumbscrew was tightened, the legs of the instrument separated, forcing open the slave's mouth; the food was poured into it through a funnel." Black Cargoes, page 119.

I picked these quotes for the simple fact that I believe they speak volumes about the nature of the slave trade. It is pretty hard to imagine the abuses suffered by the slaves, I think the closest modern comparison we can find would be the Holocaust. There are many more horrific quotes, too many to include them all.

Africa

My knowledge of African history, the part that isn't directly related to the development of "civilization" as taught in the majority of my history classes, is severely lacking. The only part of Africa I know much about is Egypt and it seems to fit in more with the Middle East then the part of Africa involved in the slave trade.
This map shows Africa before the Europeans began arriving. It shows the "main states and trade routes of the 1400's." (http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/willow/history-of-africa2.gif). There is another good source of information called the Internet African History Sourcebook which can be found at (www.fordham.edu'halsall/africa/africasbook.html#African History: General). If you are like me and have a lot of blanks to fill in, perhaps this information can help you.

Placing Blame on the Past

In the study of history I think guilt should be applied to the past with great reservation. We can study events and do our best to learn from them. We can certainly offer our opinion on the morality of issues with the qualification that we come from a different time and are embedded with different social morals then our ancestors. Just as the great-great grandson of a slave owner would not want to be judged in relation to the deeds of his ancestors, we owe that same respect to the past.

How does all this apply to the slave trade? Well, in the case of the slave trade I feel that there are far to many contributors to place the blame on any single one. Often we automatically assume that the slaves are clearly the innocent party, but the slave trade is a little more complex than that. many of the slaves were captured in warfare, and without a doubt had their side won they would have been the one doing the selling. Of course, I do not want to suggest that any slave deserved to be put into a position of servitude, merely I want to suggest that even the slaves were not necessarily innocent victims.

That said I think it is important to study the slave trade without trying to place guilt or blame on any of the participating parties. We can all agree that slavery was a horrible thing, but that again is with the guidance of our current social morality. I do believe however that guilt can be placed on the slave owners, especially in the Americas, for the type of institution that slavery became. I believe this surpasses reservations because slavery was a very different institution at its roots then what it became later on. It was the hideousness of this later slavery that led to the gradual shift from moral acceptance of slavery, to the attempts at equality that define us today.

Foundations of Slavery

Slavery was not new to Africa when the first European explorers arrived. Africa was full of nations constantly at war and the conquering nations took captives that they sold as slaves. On the Discovery Education website (http://school.discoveryeducation.com/schooladventures/slavery/world.html) there is glimpse into the life of Olaudah Equiano, a slave in Africa, America, and then at sea. He wrote an autobiography describing his life as a slave.

Prince Henry and Caravels

Caravel is a type of ship designed especially for use in the Atlantic Ocean. It is characterized by its "distinctive shape and admirable qualities." Its exact origins are unknown, though many think it may have appeared before the Portuguese, the first mention of it was in an official document in 1226. (http://nautarch.tamu.edu/shiplab/01George/caravela/htmls/Caravel%20History.htm)

Prince Henry the Navigator utilized Caravels to undertake his exploration of the African coast. It was thanks to the improved design of the Caravel that the Portuguese explorers were able to make the discoveries that they did.

As I read further into the preparations for the Diligent's first slave trading voyage I wanted to get an idea of where the journey began. Vannes, France, according to the map I've taken from, www.weather-forecast.com/locationmaps/Vannes.8.jpg, places Vannes in the northwestern part of France on the opposite side from the English channel. It seems ideally located to start a voyage from this port, although the book describes it as not being so great for this purpose.

Diagram of the slave ship La Vigilante, from
Gaston-Martin, L'Ere des Negreiers (Paris, 1931).


Africans in hold of slave ship. n.d. Artist: Unknown.















Africans being loaded onto a slave ship. n.d.
Artist: Unknown.