Slavery: Similarities And Differences Between 1750-1901

The Slave Trade was a very brutal thing. Slaves were treated worse than most animals, and had no rights at all. They were shipped off in exchange for raw materials that usually had very little value at all. These human beings were sometimes stolen by their neighbours, or even their family members to be sold. Their way of life was absolutely terrible.

First they were ripped from their home and families and would most likely never see there families again then thrown on a ship like trash over to the Americas to work. The boat ride over was treacherous, while to see the water and waves crashing against the boat making it rock back and forth over open sea making the ride so sickening and nauseating. To make it worse the merchants on board would abuse them by wiping them with whips. Disease spread like wildfire in the ship because everyone lived in such close corners with one another there was no space to go and have time to yourself, and it was a long boat ride over. If you did not survive the boat ride it really did matter to the merchants and to the people running the slave trade your life was worth nothing and your life was cheap in money

Most of the Europeans countries that have been listed above have a business relationships with the Africans when they are transporting goods or exploiting slaves back then. Also, this can even proves that African have started becoming slaves due to the influence of the business relationships that they had with another countries. The story goes when they started to establish hundred of forts at some specific stations along the Africa's West Coast. Besides that, there are 150 per cent of slaves were been taken as a prisoners to join the tribal war in their kingdom and another 30 per cent of them have to receive some punishment for committing an illegal crime .At the same time, they were kidnapped by the Black Trader and was sent to a costal

Then as well with the Middle passage traveling how in Falconbridge it says "The man slaves, on being brought aboard the ship, are immediately fastened together, two and two, by hand-cuffs on their wrists, and by irons riveted on their leg" (Freeman 3). And then in Equiano it talks about how the author saw tons of slaved chained together and he was horrified. 2) How do the two accounts differ in describing the Middle Passage? Do these inconsistencies discredit either story?

He gave lots of details about how harsh and, difficulties it was to survive inside the deck of a cargo ship; In his passage he described “The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself almost suffocated us. This produced copious

Life as a convict at Port Arthur was neither easy or pleasant. Getting to Port Arthur was difficult, the journey from England was long and hard, some men didn't make the trip. The food they had to eat and the clothes they were made to wear was a punishment within itself. It was hard to get through one day in the jail let alone years for some. The punishments inflicted were harsh and cruel and were a high part of convict life.

The Africans who were enslaved were generally prisoners of war or captives from slave raids. “As the demand for slaves grew, so did the practice of systematic slave raiding, which increased in scope and efficiency with the introduction of firearms to Africa in the 17th century. By the 18th century, most African slaves were acquired through slave raids, which penetrated farther and farther inland.” Those unlucky enough to be captured in certain invasions were forced to march certain paths, sometimes for a few hundred miles, to markets on the coast to be traded for simple materials in return. From the mid-fifteenth to the late-nineteenth century, European and American slave sellers obtained roughly 12

The number of Africans enslaved and traded varies from source to source, but a good estimate of slaves taken across the Atlantic was around sixty million. Of this number, only 16% survived (Donaldson). Although there were many African’s on the journey, there were many different artifacts from different African cultures. Some of the artifacts came from Nigeria, Sengal, Congo, Liberia, and Angolia (On the Water). This suggests that there were likely people from many African countries (Smithsonian).

According to Hine (379-380) slave trade existed in both societies, where slaves could be traded through newspapers. The depiction of this practise, which often involved tragedy, as on the slave markets families were separated and all types of friendly and romantic relationships broken, may be found present in both texts. In the Radishchev 's novel the narrator contemplates an auction of serfs in the Mednoe village: "As soon as the terrible hammer emitted its dull sound the four unfortunates learned their fate, - tears, sob, moans have pierced the ears of the gathered" (Радищев 512). The slave market described by George to Mr. Wilson, the factory owner resembles its russian prototype, because here also the sorrow of family separation may be contemplated: "I saw my mother at sheriff 's sale, with her seven children. They were sold before her eyes, one by one, all to different masters" (Stowe 126).

Sicknesses or diseases were common on board as the ships had no sanitation and the conditions were disgraceful. They were fed twice a day with food such as corn, yams, beans and rice. Some mechanisms used by the Africans were to

This compactness caused some people to die of sickness and disease. Once there were three slaves who committed suicide by drowning themselves in the sea even though

The Jamestown colonists had many risks to get to where they were. There wasn’t enough food/water supply for the abundance of people. The food/water they did have was mostly spoiled. Another reason, is sickness throughout the ships. Since it wasn’t hygienic or safe, many did get diseases.

Servitude was often another demanding ordeal faced by migrants. Indentured servants were often worked too hard on plantations and many who worked on plantations were treated like slaves. An example of this would be Richard Frethorne 's letter to his parents describing the conditions he worked under. Frethorne stated, "You would understand our sad and unfortunate situation if you could hear the people crying day and night like I do." He then explained how the indentured servants rarely wore clothes and that they barely got food at all.

Many a time we were near suffocation from the want of fresh air, which we were often without for whole days together” (Equiano, 2004). In this quote, Equiano shares detail of the conditions of Africans as they were shipped across the sea. Slaves were chained in shackles that prevent them body movement. There was no privacy for anybody they were so packed in the cargo area there wasn’t even room to even breathe fresh air. Slaves were suffocating breathing in harmful toxins.

These scared, unprepared men also faced death due to the ocean that served as several of the men’s graves. The conditions these sailors met in water were awful , due to the high