Chapter 6: The Experience of the Enslaved People

Chapter 6: The Experience of the Enslaved People

• The transatlantic slave trade involved millions of enslaved individuals, each a human being impacted by this cruel system.
• Enslaved individuals stemmed from various backgrounds: criminals, religious captives, indebted servants, or captured in wars or raids. Most were adult males, valuable for labor and to lessen an enemy's capacity for future conflicts.
• Enslaved people's journeys varied. Some were transported by water (canoes, boats), others by land (caravans, on foot). The duration depended on origin and route.
• Treatment varied based on local conditions (wars, political unrest, weather).
• Captives often spent months waiting at ports, enduring harsh conditions worsened by disease outbreaks (malaria, yellow fever).
• Slave ships were infamous for overcrowding, although modern research disputes this as the primary cause of high mortality rates.
• Ships averaged a 20% or more death rate early on, decreasing to 10% or less later. British slave voyages exhibited similar trends of lower mortality later.
• Mortality rates also varied depending on the regions from which ships departed. Ships leaving central western Africa had lower mortality than those sailing from regions closer to the equator.
• Other factors influencing mortality rates included disease, malnutrition, and mistreatment.
• The enslaved were often denied basic human rights in their new environment and faced hardship in their daily lives.
• Enslaved people lived in harsh conditions, with meager rations, poor hygiene, and limited medical care.
• They were also often subjected to psychological trauma.
• Many were separated from their families and communities.
• Their masters attempted to suppress their culture and traditions.
• The average time enslaved people waited before boarding ships was between 6-12 months, with large numbers often dying during this time.
• Slave traders prioritized profit, so sometimes measures were taken to increase the likelihood of survival, e.g., medical improvements to ships/personnel.
• Enslaved people worked in varying labor intensive activities across the new world.
• The conditions of the enslaved varied greatly from plantation to plantation and location to location.
• Many were subjected to physical and mental abuse.
• High mortality, particularly in the first few years in the Americas.
• Lack of rights was common, with limited opportunities to marry, own property, or control their lives.
• Forced labor was the norm and often included torture and violence for resistance or mistakes.
• Forced religion conversion in the new world.