Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade- the Middle Passage and Slave Buying
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- Category: History
- Date Submitted: 06/15/2011 09:18 PM
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Since ancient times, there have been countless records of slavery, from many different cultures. One of the most organized and elongated instances of slavery was the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, which lasted from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The Trans-Atlantic stave trade, known as the trading of African people to the new world, occurred across the Atlantic Ocean. This business of trade to assist “The New World” was of massive proportions, and stood in history as a structured system of terrible treatment.
One of the systems that shaped the Atlantic trade was the Triangular Trade system, and the middle passage. Ships on the route of the Triangular Trade started in ports from Europe, and carried various materials, such as copper, glassware, cloth, and many manufactured goods. These ships travelled to Africa, and traded their goods for African captives- or slaves. Slaves were often kept in dungeons along the West-African coast in order to keep them before shipment. The slaves were then transported back to the Americas, through what was called “the middle passage”.
To finish the triangle, slaves were traded for money and goods, taking items such as sugar, tobacco, rice and alcohol back to Europe. The middle passage, In which captives were taken to the new world, was a journey of unimaginable conditions. When captives were taken, they were not viewed at all as “equal people”, often let alone people at all. In turn they were considered as cargo, and were carelessly cramped in huge groups below the deck of ships with hardly any food or water, for the entire voyage- ranging from weeks to months.
The conditions under the ships during the middle passage were horrendous. Slaves were commonly bound with leg irons, branded for identification, along with their heads shaved. During the voyages, many people died of diseases, became ill, committed suicide or was tortured by the people on deck. Slaves had no other choice but to endure the middle passage, or die....
One of the systems that shaped the Atlantic trade was the Triangular Trade system, and the middle passage. Ships on the route of the Triangular Trade started in ports from Europe, and carried various materials, such as copper, glassware, cloth, and many manufactured goods. These ships travelled to Africa, and traded their goods for African captives- or slaves. Slaves were often kept in dungeons along the West-African coast in order to keep them before shipment. The slaves were then transported back to the Americas, through what was called “the middle passage”.
To finish the triangle, slaves were traded for money and goods, taking items such as sugar, tobacco, rice and alcohol back to Europe. The middle passage, In which captives were taken to the new world, was a journey of unimaginable conditions. When captives were taken, they were not viewed at all as “equal people”, often let alone people at all. In turn they were considered as cargo, and were carelessly cramped in huge groups below the deck of ships with hardly any food or water, for the entire voyage- ranging from weeks to months.
The conditions under the ships during the middle passage were horrendous. Slaves were commonly bound with leg irons, branded for identification, along with their heads shaved. During the voyages, many people died of diseases, became ill, committed suicide or was tortured by the people on deck. Slaves had no other choice but to endure the middle passage, or die....