The Middle Passage
By Rebecca Albanese
Middle Passage
It is the voyage that brought enslaved Africans to the West Indies. English and sometimes Africans captured the Africans and enslaved them. The slaves were stacked in narrow quarters. Sometimes English would create bunks where slaves would be one on top of the other. Slaves would have to go to the bathroom just on the floor and many got sick from all the germs and closeness of people. The English tried to pack as many slaves as they could to get more money. When slaves got sick, they threw them overboard which made the boat lighter and it could go faster. The slaves got little food and some starved themselves or jumped overboard to escape.
Map of the Middle Passage
The map shows what was traded between Europe, Africa (slaves), and the West Indies and the Clonies.
Storage of Slaves
This is how slaves were stacked in the boats. The English wanted to fit as many slaves as they could.
Storage
Some slaves were out on the deck because there was not enough room under the boat