Human Migrations: African Slave Trade and the Middle Passage - Term Paper Example

 Human Migrations; African Slave Trade and the Middle Passage Middle Passage is comparatively short but most horrid part of the African Slave Trade for four centuries from Africa to Americas and European colonies. It is the story of millions of Africans captives crammed in ships and treated like animals during and after the voyage across Atlantic. Inhuman treatment, unfavorable living conditions, and violence inflicted unbearable harms to the several generations of black. This journey from mid-1400 to late 1800 has huge impact on both Europeans and Africans. This paper briefly explores the greatest forced human migration, horrors of Middle Passage, and its impact on African and Europeans. Forced migration of African across the Atlantic is usually referred to the transatlantic slave trade or Middle Passage. Some other names reflecting the hardships and sufferings of enslaved African are also used, for instance, African Holocaust, Black Holocaust, and in some African regions, le mort, is also used which is derived from French term for “death”. African American attributes the sufferings of their ancestors with African language word “maafa” which means great suffering or disaster (Sharp and Virginia vi). Inikori and Stanley narrate, “The story of the untold sufferings of the enslaved, as they were marched to the coast, kept in barracoons under appalling conditions, packed into slave ships like cattle, and the horrors of the Atlantic crossing, euphemistically referred to as the middle passage, have all been vividly represented by historians”(12). The transatlantic slave trade was extension of long established system of slavery in Africa. Before eight century, Arab traders transported enslaved Africans through Sahara Desert to the markets in India, Middle East and North Africa. Then, European traders brought them to Europe and island colonies in Atlantic ocean. Eventually, enslaved Africans were brought to Americas by European and American traders. Major attraction for European were Africa’s rich natural resources in early 1400.Gold, pepper, ivory, animal hides, grains, and other goods were the things which inspired European traders and explorers to sail through Atlantic to West Africa. Arab merchants also traded goods like spices, textiles and horses with African slaves (Sharp and Virginia vi-1). In African system of slavery, usually slaves were given some rights and liberties, for instance, they were allowed to marry and own property, owner was responsible for food, clothing, protection, and shelter, and slavery period has certain time limitation. This system made slavery a form of indentured servitude that liberates the worker after specific time period. Another important aspect of this kind of slavery was that it didn’t transfer in heredity, and every new born was a free human being (Sharp and Virginia 1-2). According to an estimate, from 11 to 13 million African survived the hardships of Middle Passage to North or South of Americas. Millions died during the voyage across Atlantic in the Middle Passage. Approximately, 40 percent of human cargo died during 16th century, 15 percent lost their lives during 17th century, while 5 to 10 percent died during final years of this practice (McMillan 10).According to Professor Raymond, the mortality rate decreased with time. Across Atlantic, captured Africans were tortured like animals for “breaking” and condition them for their life in New World. There are such notorious seasoning camps in Jamaica. Milton Meltzer also mentioned 33% of African deaths in camps across Caribbean. Nearly five million of African died in these camps (qtd. in Stormbear). McMillan’s estimate is the account of only Middle Passage mortality rate as it is hard to estimate the real death toll in the whole process due to unavailability of adequate records. It is because captives had to stay on African coast in order to complete the count for “full load” before departure, therefore, the time of imprisonment varies. Ships didn’t leave if they are not loaded enough, and Africans died on coast due to unfavorable conditions. Damp quarters on coast and unattended severe injuries and open wounds led to death during the process. Communication with other fellow captives was nearly impossible due to their different nationalities. Zero communication created distress and anxiety because they couldn’t comfort each other through companionship or expressing their pain to the fellow men. They felt alone in horrendous conditions waiting for an unknown and painful future in the unknown and distinct land. Separation from family, homeland and freedom created emotional anguish and psychological pressure for them (Gamble). We can imagine the emotional turmoil caused by the rumors that they are going to be eaten by the Europeans. According to Harms, these rumors were circulating among white traders that in order to curb a revolt among slaves, Captain John Harding arrested their supposed leader, slit his throat and took his heart and liver out in front of captives. Captain ordered to divide his heart and liver into 300 pieces and each captive had to eat one piece. He threatened to do the same with those who refuse. This experience traumatized the captives to the extent that later those horrified Africans refused eating anything until they died (299). There were various sizes of ships and space for each captive. Ships were usually divided into deck platforms which were 3 to 5 feet apart. There was no room to stand, even if there was room they were chained with other slaves from leg to leg and hand to hand. For a journey as long as three or four months, some ships provided 5 to 7 square feet for a person. There were two methods to board human cargo: tight packing, and loose packing. In tight packing, ships pack as many slaves as possible by forcing them lay side to side while in loose packing, they are provided some space. However, the former method was not used often due to high mortality rate at the end of the journey, thus less profit (Gamble). Gamble further explains that the journey might be less horrific if it would not be as lengthy. Three to four months of confinement below narrow decks without some physical or emotional relief made it deadly. McMillan further adds that absence of bathrooms, chained limbs, suffocated air, smell, violence, and rampant diseases, such as smallpox, dysentery, dehydration, malaria, scurvy, diarrhea and depression were other things that compelled them for suicide. Other reasons of death include starvation, malnutrition, and dehydration (53-70). Olaudah Equino was one of the slaves who recalled his suffering and attributed European as savages and the incidents during journey as brutal instances of cruelty (28).Slaves were ordered to dance above the deck often and whipped if they deny. They had to do it with staggering legs despite the cramps and weakness. At this time, many escaped the suffering by throw themselves overboard, dead slaves were also thrown like damaged supplies (Gamble). Women endured far more torture and severe conditions during the journey as sexual abuse and rape from ship crewmembers was frequent. Some pregnant women gave birth on board while others delivered in the colonies. There is no statistics available about them, but there is evidence that it happened frequently (McMillan 56). Discovery of a New World by Christopher Columbus and other European merchants directed new patterns in trade. It was a triangular trade route that started from Europe to Africa, then to European colonies in Americas from Africa, and then finally from the Americas back to Europe. The journey on second stage is Middle Passage; this voyage was extremely dangerous and hardly profitable without the huge turnover offered by slave trade. The New World had endless need of workforce to work in fields and other areas. In order to meet such needs, European traders transported the kidnapped and the victims of war or feud Africans as slaves for nearly four centuries. From mid-1400s to late 1800s, during 54,000 voyages from Portugal, Britain, France, Spain, Netherlands, and United States to Africa, nearly 30 to 60 million Africans were kidnapped and one third of those captured Africans faced slavery for their lifetime. This approximate number is an estimate because there is no complete and commercial record of slave trading in the years it was eliminated but practiced illegally. Despite the incomplete record, enormous loss of human life is definite (Sharp and Virginia vii-viii). Initially, the black slaves brought to the New World were also treated like white indentured servants with some basic rights. However, the terms and condition of services were longer than those for whites. Gradually, there developed a more brutal system for blacks called chattel slavery. This system makes the slaveholder an owner of slave, just like any other good. The agreement of chattel slaves not only extends over the period of lifetime but also inherited by their new born. With decreasing social standing, intensity of ruthless treatment with them increased. Their living condition and spaces were little better than those of animals. Furthermore, their owners were legally free to not only brand, whip, and chain the slaves but also mutilate or kill them (Sharp and Virginia 1-2). This forced human migration uprooted millions of people from their homeland who were the victims of agonizing living conditions, and violence. Many Africans never saw their homeland again; in fact, many never saw any land again due to spread of deadly diseases in filthy ships often regarded as “railroad of bones” spread across the ocean. This slave trade brought the most massive and forced human migration of the history which transformed not only African but also American and European societies forever. We can still find the remnants of this trade on West African shore, where several castles are still there which Europeans used as human trading centers. African slaves contributions are evident in cooking, music, dance music, art, literature, and farming technology used in European and American societies. It is often sad that American “free society” is built on the backs of African slaves (Sharp and Virginia ix). The slave trade started in mid 1440s for particular purpose of providing labor to European colonies in Central and South America and the Caribbean (McMillan 9).It was the massive trade of the time that generated thousands of employments directly or indirectly. Many countries benefitted from it in the form of supplies, money, trade and free labor. It became one of the most important aspects of world trade and international economics. African nations also got benefits from the trade and Slave Trade would have never been successful. Africans traded Africans from their opponent African nations in addition to prisoners of war and criminals (Gamble).Inikori explains that slaves were exchanged for valuables, such as, metal goods, luxurious textiles, weapons of war because they were used to intimidate or reward (32).McMillan further adds that commercial interest may have played the major role in slave trading but rulers involvement in the practice makes it even more complicated. It involved military, financial and political aspects that conspired to imprison and export people to a logical solution (51). European imports and African economic growth depend on the type of goods, which were consumer and capital goods. Consumer goods increased consumption in Africa but its impact on the production of competing products at local level varied. Importing cowry facilitated the monetization of West African economy that regional specialization and market integration in parts of Africa. This market promoted local production of goods and expansion of traditional industries, such as, fishing, hunting, farming, and mining (Klein 125-126).Klein further states: The slave caravans also opened up new complex trading links and new local markets, thus integrating the Mediterranean with the Guinean Coast markets far to the south, or linking together most of Central Africa from ocean to ocean. The roads and paths opened to domestic trade as well as slave trading…even with the goods entering to the local markets, their impact was small. Even at the height of the importation of European goods in the late eighteenth century, European imports only reached £2.1 million sterling of goods per annum, which probably represented less than 5 percent of the total West African income for the 25 million or so resident population. (127) Slavery holds a very crucial place when it comes to trade on international level. Middle Passage worked as a link in slave trade and proved to be the first but most horrendous part of Africans life of slavery in New World. It is a term that usually refers to the voyage captive Africans made across Atlantic, however, the meanings changed over time. In the time of Slave Trade, the term is used to refer the second leg of the ship’s journey to New World. Later, the term used to describe the slaves journey in dreadful conditions and the way they were treated throughout that forced migration from Africa to Americas. Middle Passage was the beginning of an agonizing life for many Africans, but for some it proved to be the end of life. Europeans justified their ill treatment by considering African as savages and inferior (Gamble).Slave Trade had huge impact on Africa and colonies both. The suffering of those slaves who survived continued to end of their lives. Colonies got the free workforce, while African society missed their whole generation in some cases and most powerful men. Fight and violence among tribes and nations became more severe. Furthermore, Slave Trade established the worldwide institution of racism that still survives in one form or the other (Reynolds 31-32 qtd. in Gamble). The outrageous event continued for four centuries and whole world remained ignorant of this. The impacts of such experiences hardly reduced with time. It appears sometimes in the form of racism and the other time in the form of human rights violation against blacks. It is high time to realize that skin color does not make anyone lesser or greater of a human being. Work Cited Equiano, Olaudah. The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano.Digireads.com Publishing, 2009.Print. Gamble, Tawnya. Conditions of the Middle Passage as Experienced by Captive Africans, A Unit of Study for Grades 9, 10, or 11.Wooster High School, Washoe County School District.n.d.Web.5 December 2010. Harms, Robert. The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade. New York: Basic Books, 2002.Print. Inikori, Joseph E. and Stanley L.Engerman. “Introduction: Gainers and Losers in the Atlantic Slave Trade.” The Atlantic slave trade: effects on economics, societies, and people in Africa, the Americas, and Europe.Ed. Inikori, Joseph E. and Stanley L.Engerman.USA: Duke University Press, 1992.12-32.Print. Klein,S.Herbert.The Atlantic Slave Trade:New Approached to the Americas.New York:Cambridge University Press,2010.Print. McMillan, Beverly.eds. Captive Passage. Smithsonian Institution Press, 2002.Print. Stormbear. “Black Hitory:Slave Factories, The Middle Passage and Seasoning Camps.”towncalleddobson.com.stornbear,25 March 2008.Web.5 December.2010. Sharp, S.Pearl and Virginia Schomp. The Slave Trade and the Middle Passage. New York: Mike Regan, 2007.Print. Read More