Journey Through The Middle Passage
By Seemona Petrenko
Beginning: Being moved and Transported
The Merchants of Timbuktu were exploring slaves to the Moorish kingdoms north of the Sahara. The first twenty negro slaves were sold in Jamestown, Virginia. From 1700 to 1807 when trade was legal in Great Britain and the United States, more than seventy thousand Negroes were transported. All these slaves were treated badly and were not allowed to do anything without the owners consent. When they were being transported they were all so packed and had no food or clothes and the men were separated from their families.
Midway: Stolen and Sold
After a while, slaves were starting to be kidnapped by Europeans. "The slaving captains had, as a rule, no moral prejudice against man-stealing, but they usually refrained from it on the ground of its being a dangerous business practice. Most of the slaves that were stolen were sold to Americans in America and they were sold by other Africans. Which shows the disloyalty of your own kind. Blacks are turning against Blacks and are betraying them.
End: "Letting Go"
During the Middle Passage, so many slaves were being treated poorly, being separated by family, Getting sick by disease, being tortured, and being sold. Many slaves were committing suicide and trying to escape, but escaping failed. Many times. These poor African slaves just wanted to be free and stop slavery and be with their families. Many slaves wanted to "let go" and die because it was so much easier than being a slave and they did not want this lifestyle at all. White people were so selfish and cruel by making black people slaves.