Miscelaneous

What is the Middle Passage in history?

What is the Middle Passage in history?

Middle Passage, the forced voyage of enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to the New World.

What role did Africans play in the middle passage?

If captured and forced onto ships for the Middle Passage, enslaved Africans resisted by organizing hunger strikes, forming rebellions, and even committing suicide by leaping overboard rather than living in slavery. Scholars believe that roughly one slaving voyage in every ten experienced major rebellions.

How did Olaudah Equiano describe the Middle Passage?

In this harrowing description of the Middle Passage, Olaudah Equiano described the terror of the transatlantic slave trade. Equiano eventually purchased his freedom and lived in London where he advocated for abolition.

What was the middle passage Equiano?

Equiano is sold to the owner of a slave ship bound for the West Indies, and he goes on to describe the “Middle Passage”—”the journey across the Atlantic Ocean that brought enslaved Africans to North America. After the ship’s arrival in England, Equiano is exposed to Christianity.

Did Olaudah Equiano survive the Middle Passage?

After surviving the Middle Passage and landing in Barbados, Equiano was sold to the North American colony of Virginia where, in 1754, he was purchased by Lieutenant Pascal, an officer in the Royal Navy. King recognized Equiano’s skills and put him to work in marketing rather than in the fields.

Where did Africans go during the Middle Passage?

Boston’s “Cradle of Liberty” is only steps from sites where enslaved Africans were bought and sold after traveling the Middle Passage from West Africa to North America. From the 16 th to the 19 th centuries, approximately 12 million Africans were transported across the Atlantic as human property.

What was the middle passage of the transatlantic slave trade?

Updated June 17, 2019. The “Middle Passage” refers to the horrific journey of enslaved Africans from their home continent to the Americas during the period of the transatlantic slave trade.

How long was the Middle Passage for humans?

The Middle Passage itself lasted roughly 80 days, on ships ranging from small schooners to massive, purpose-built “slave ships.” Humans were packed together on or below decks without space to sit up or move around.

What was life like for slaves in the Middle Passage?

Slaves below the decks lived for months in conditions of squalor and indescribable horror. Disease spread and ill health was one of the biggest killers. Mortality rates were high, and death made these conditions below the decks even worse.