The Transatlantic Slave Trade And The Middle Passage Essay

Perhaps nothing is more horrifying for any human being than to be considered and treated as a trading property that can be transported across the Atlantic Ocean, as experienced by a myriad of Africans in the past centuries. Black African men, women, and children became the innocent victims of one of history’s most abominable chapters of humanity, where the European people embraced such unbelievable cruelty and insensitivity. To forcibly be taken into captivity and be densely packed onto ships over a long period of time in a slave-trading voyage influenced their view of themselves as inferior beings who must do what was asked and shall never complain. Therefore, this essay argues that the condition on-board, as well as the inhumane treatments throughout the Middle Passage, served as a foundation that fostered fear and trauma upon an African slave’s life in servitude in the New World. The transatlantic slave trade was an economic system involving all the major European maritime nations, most notably the British North American colonies, which prevailed from the sixteenth century and went effectively unchallenged for three centuries. It was often known as the Atlantic Triangular Slave Trade due to its three-sided route in connecting the peoples and economies of three continents – Europe, Africa, and the Americas. A variety of manufactured goods from Europe were traded with an enormous number of people in Africa to be imported and work under a harsh labouring environment of theShow MoreRelatedThe Middle Passage And The Transatlantic Slave Trade1594 Words   |  7 PagesGray History 1301-155 June 22, 15 The Middle Passage During history there has been plenty of slave trade in different countries. They have traded different ethnicities, and each had a different means of use for these people. What is intriguing is how they commuted these people and how this process has impacted their descendants. A major use of trade in history was the middle passage that was part of the transatlantic slave route. â€Å"The transatlantic slave trade concerns history of three continentsRead MoreThe Transatlantic Slave Trade And The Middle Passage Analysis841 Words   |  4 Pagesstage of the Transatlantic Slave Trade was known as the ‘Outward Passage’. This is where ships carried goods from Europe to trade in Africa for captured slaves. The ‘Middle Passage’ was the second stage of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. The last stage of the Transatlantic Slave Trade was the Return Passage which is where ships returned back to Europe from the New World, usually carrying cargo that consisted of sugar and tobacco they got in exchange for the slaves. The ‘Middle Passage’ was infamouslyRead MoreEquiano s First Hand Experience Of Being Kidnapped1518 Words   |  7 Pagesalmost daily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries.†(Equiano). Olaudah Equiano’s first hand experience of being kidnapped, a s a child in Africa, is a poignant accounting of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. This era and actions of the slavers, which we now view as â€Å"Crimes against Humanity,† lasted approximately 400 years from the 16th to 19th century (Smallwood). Many have called this forced exodus of 12-15 million African men, women, and childrenRead MoreBritish America s Commercial Empire892 Words   |  4 Pagescommercial empire in the eighteenth century was disclose with Alexander Falconbridge and Vision of America textbook passages along with the transatlantic slave trade database. The English Empire was built on cash crop exportation such as tobacco, rice, and sugar. A colonist in the most important settlements set themselves in plantations. â€Å"By the early eighteenth century, expanding trade with the British Empire increased the number of wealthy colonists and brought a flood of new luxury goods into affluentRead MoreThe Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano, By James Sweet And Katrina Thompson901 Words   |  4 PagesI have chosen to focus my research around slaves being treated as sub-humans in the Middle Passage. After reading the works of James Sweet and Katrina Thompson, it is evident that the slaves were treated as commodities, rather than human beings. My research will center on the book The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano, in which the author recounts his experience as a slave going through the Middle Passage. Other works such as Ring Shout, Wheel About The RacialRead More`` Beloved `` By Toni Morrison Essay1726 Words   |  7 Pages Distinguished African-American novelist, Toni Morrison, in her notoriously suspenseful anachronic masterpiece, Beloved, tells the story of a fugitive slave named Sethe who escaped from the Sweet Home plantation in Kentucky to Cincinnati, Ohio, a free state. She lives freely with her husband’s grandmother for twenty-eight days until the slave masters come to ca pture her. Frightened, she attempts to murder all of her children to prevent them from living a life of dehumanized servitude but only succeedsRead MoreThe Transatlantic Slave Trade Often Known As The Triangular1411 Words   |  6 Pages The Transatlantic Slave Trade often known as the triangular trade was described as the largest long-distance movement of people in all of history. The movement of Africa slaves to the Americas lastly for approximately four centuries and can be viewed as one of the first ideas of globalization . The ship would move from the Americas to Western Europe with raw materials, then to Africa with manufactured goods. Lastly, from Africa the Americas with African slaves. Thus the movement of overRead MoreSlavery During The Twentieth Century993 Words   |  4 Pagesof the Atlantic slave trade through contemporary Africa, reflecting the role of slavery in present day. The works unearth remnants of the past in order to locate African memories in lit erature and bring them forth from the margins of history. Each author originates from different geographical locations in Africa, which allows various forms of slavery to emerge in the narratives, representing slavery as continuing to haunt the African psyche. In tracing transatlantic slave trade literature, AchilleRead MoreThe Rise Of The Transatlantic Slave Trade1712 Words   |  7 PagesSecond Exam / Essay 1 The rise of the Transatlantic Slave Trade started with the helpless souls of Africans. Many people of this time would classify slavery as a natural order, state, or fate. They believed that people were either born as a slave or would later become one because it was their predetermined destiny or fate. Later, world cultures regarded POW’s as a natural state. POW stands for Prisoners of War, and is defined as a person who is captured and held by an enemy during war, especiallyRead MoreThe Age Of Exploration : John Winthrop1546 Words   |  7 Pagesthat God wishes that they yield their place to new peoples.† (Crosby, Alfred W.) The Age of Exploration, (and Exploitation) brought an era of racism, nationalism, and ideals of superiority to the New World. Initially a beneficial concept, promoting trade and discovery quickly took a turn for the worst following Columbus’ arrival to Hispaà ±ola. The arrival of Europeans brought the ideas of conquest and greed, rather tha n cultural diffusion and peace between the newly discovered Empires and the Old World