The Atlantic Slave Trade

Probably one of the greatest displays of inhumanity, cruelty, and indifference was the Atlantic slave trade. Many parts of Europe participated in the slave trade, such as England, Portugal, Denmark, France, and several others. The people who were enslaved were the men, women, and children of Africa. The horrific process in which the Africans were enslaved, treated, transported, and abused demonstrate just how evil mankind can be, and even though slavery has become abolished in many parts of the world, the long term effects of slavery will not be forgotten.

Before the Atlantic slave trade came about, slavery was all ready a common practice in Africa, as it was in many other countries. Many times, African states would take prisoners and turn them into slaves through war with the other states. In some areas of Africa, people would be made into slaves as a form of punishment for crimes that they had committed. At other times, Africans would enslave other Africans because they did not pay their debts. This was a practice that was fairly common in the world, like the feudal areas of Europe. Although slavery was common in Africa before the Atlantic slave trade came about, there was not nearly as much oppression and cruelty toward the slaves as their would be on the European slave ships (Grant, pg 12).

Surprisingly enough, many Africans were first enslaved by other Africans. Because of the growing demand for more slaves during this time, strong African states would war or raid neighboring states in order to enslave other Africans (Grant, pg 20). After they had captured enough people, they would travel from where they were to the slave-trading ports, where they would sell their own people to the Europeans.

Once bought, a slave would have to board a crowded ship for a long journey known as the "middle passage' (Everett, pg 49). But before getting on the boat, they would first be branded like animals and then the men were chained together. The women and children and the men were separated from each other for the duration of the trip. The women and the children were allowed to go about the whole ship except for the deck where the men slaves were. At night, the women and children slept on a different deck than the men because they were strictly segregated from the men (Everett, pg 49). The slaves normally only had enough clothing on the ship to cover their groin area while many had no clothing at all. They were forced to lay side by side in a row in order to fit as many slaves on the ship as possible. They had to sleep on hard planks in very uncomfortable position because of the overcrowding. The British called the packing of the slaves "spooning" because it resembled the stacking of spoons (Harms, pg 305).

Many times, a good number of slaves would not make it through the "middle passage" for a variety of reasons. For one, there was a great lack of air and light below deck where the Africans were forced to stay, causing favorable conditions for disease to spread. At the first sign of any disease, the European slavers would throw the slaves off the ship and leave them to drown in the ocean, in order to prevent the disease from spreading (Grant, pg 28). The reason for the slavers doing this was because they would lose much more profit if many of the slaves contracted a disease, so they just threw overboard the slaves that got sick as soon as it was noticed. Some slaves went insane from the conditions that they were forced to be in, and when a slaver noticed it, the insane were brought up on deck to be beaten to death and then pitched overboard. Others would commit suicide by jumping off the boat, while some refused to eat. When the slaves refused to eat, the slavers would shove a "speculum oris" in that person's mouth. This contraption had a set of legs, that when a thumb screw was turned, would force open the jaws of the slave. Then food would be shoved down his throat (Alderman, pg 57). Either way, about one in eight slaves died on each Atlantic crossing (Grant, pg 29).

The lack of hygiene, a balanced diet, and exercise were also reasons why disease spread so easily on the boats. Twice a day, the slaves were allowed to come on deck and eat their rations of food which usually consisted of boiled rice, millet or cornmeal, stewed yams, plantains, or beans, with a half of a pint of water. They were given sticks to clean their teeth and palm oil with which they would wash themselves with. Dancing was forced upon the slaves each day as well as singing as form of exercise and as a form of amusement for the slavers. Below deck, men would have trouble getting to the lavatory buckets because of the overcrowding, and very often, they would have to relieve themselves on the floor where they lay. Because of this and the disease that spread throughout the deck, many slaves fainted from the stench. It was said that the smell of a slave ship was 'often unmistakable at distance of five miles downwind' (Everett, pg 55).

Women and young girls were raped over and over again on the ships by the sailors and the officers. It did not matter what age a woman or a girl was, they would be raped as often as the slavers wished. There was no way for the women to resist. John Newton, a former British slave ship captain, remarked on the subject by saying, "When the women and girls are taken on board a ship, naked, trembling, terrified...they are often exposed to the wanton rudeness of white savages...the prey is divided , upon the spot...Resistance or refusal, would be utterly in vain" (Hochschild, pg 16-17). One could believe that an officer would have more respect for a woman that a sailor, but on the contrary, many officers were allowed to have sex with as many women as they pleased, while sailors would sometimes have to wait to have sex with the woman until she gave her consent (Harms, pg 312-313). This shows the indecency and the abuse of power that these lustful men had towards the women and young girls.

Mutiny was attempted sometimes on the ships, so the slavers maintained a strict and harsh attitude towards the slaves and punished the ones who attempted mutiny severely in order to instill fear in the slaves. Many times, a captain would treat the slaves harshly and keep tight control of them on the voyage for fear of his life and the lives of the crew. According to one slave ship captain, he remarked that he only treated the slaves, "with as much humanity as a regard or my own safety would admit" (Grant, pg 27). If the slaves failed in a mutiny, some slavers would cut off the legs and arms of the most rebellious in front of the other slaves in order to terrorize them and keep them from attempting another mutiny. Other slavers would punish the rebellious slaves by viciously beating them and whipping them with cat-o'-nine-tails which would tear the skin off their backs (Grant, pg 26).

There were many ways that the slavers and slave traders justified the treatment of the Africans during this time. Some Europeans believed that the slave trade was a way of saving the blacks from the "supposed" barbarism of their homeland (Grant, pg 17). Probably one of the most astonishing, but often used, justifications was that the slave trade was ordained by God. Another popular reason was that they believed that the Africans were more like animals than humans and should be treated as if they were animals. What put in the slavers' minds that blacks were inferior and needed to be controlled by a supposedly superior race, no one will know except for the common possibilities of greed, laziness, and the ignorance of what all people have in kind: humanity.

The abolition of slavery came from reformers in Europe, and from slaves and ex-slaves revolting against their oppressors (Grant, pg 42). There were many religious groups, such as the Methodists, Quakers, and Anglican evangelists who believed that slavery was against the principles of Christianity. According to one prominent British slave abolitionist, Sir Thomas Buxton, he remarked, "It has pleased God to place some duties upon me with regard to the poor slaves, and those duties I must not abandon. Oppression, cruelty, and persecution, and what is worse, absence of religion, must not continue to grind that race through my neglect" (Grant, pg 43). Equality, human rights, and freedom for all humans were some issues that caused people to believe that slavery should be abolished. Denmark was one of the first countries to ban the slave trade. In Britain, probably the country that participated in the slave trade most of all, slave trade was not banned until 1807. This landmark in Britain's history would not have been accomplished without the help of William Wilberforce, a member of the British Parliament, Thomas Clarkson, and Olaudah Equiano, a former slave. The Atlantic slave trade didn't actually die out elsewhere until the 1860's (Grant, pg 45).

Even though slavery has been abolished in most area of the world, the long-term effects of slavery will not be forgotten. President Johnson once said, "Freedom is not enough. You do not wipe away the scars of centuries by saying now you're free to go where you want and do as you desire and choose the leaders you please" (Everett, pg 226). The Africans were brutally oppressed for many years and the separation of blacks and whites still occurs today. At the World Conference on Racism in 2001, the Europeans along with the U.S.A. came under the pressure to apologize for the suffering and exploitation of slavery and to pay financial compensation to Africans and African-Americans. Neither of these things happened (Grant, pg 58). How can a people forgive those tortured, humiliated, and took away their basic rights as humans? In many ways, many whites still believe that they are superior today. This is evident in the Ku Klux Klan, the stereotyping of each other, and the differing attitudes toward what equality really is. Too many times throughout history, black people have been blamed for crimes just because they are black. People, whether they are African, American, Asian, and European, etc, need to realize that being different is not necessarily a bad thing. People need to embrace other cultures if they are to really unite and learn from the past mistakes.

The Atlantic slave trade was a horrific display of cruelty and inhumanity. What the slaves endured should never have inflicted on any person. The greed and indifference of the Europeans caused many Africans to die during the time of the Atlantic slave trade. This should be referenced as a representation to all people of just how evil humans can be to other humans.

Works Cited

Alderman, Clifford L. Rum, Slaves, and Molasses: The Story of New England's Triangular Trade. New York: Crowell-Collier Press, 1972.

Everett, Susanne. History of Slavery. New Jersey: Chartwell Books, Inc.,1991.

Grant, R.G. Lives in Crisis: The African-American Slave Trade. New York: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 2003.

Harms, Robert. The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade. New York: Basic Books, 2002.

Hochschild, Adam. Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 2005.