Slave Ships as Prisons

African American History, Middle Passage, slave ships, transatlantic slave trade

Several historians and researchers who specialize in the Middle Passage and the Atlantic slave trade have described the slave ships as floating prisons. The previous blogs have described who the captive Africans were by possible ethnic group, region, age, gender, health and skill level. The impact of their removal upon the community was addressed in a limited manner.  Conditions and treatment on the ship has not  been adequately or fully Read More

Source Documents for Visitors to the Blog

African American History, Middle Passage, slave ships, slavery, transatlantic slave trade

Occasionally this blog will provide books, materials and films related to the Middle Passage or the transatlantic slave trade which we have found useful in researching. Books and Texts:  A Mercy by Toni Morrison (2008) This tale challenges the notion of any possibility for humanity, freedom and justice to exist when exercised within a system of enslavement. Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by David Eltis and David Richardson (2010) Many years in production, Read More

Not One or the Other

African American History, African Diaspora, slavery

Frequently we are encouraged to focus on one thing or the other. In terms of action or response we often are advised to keep it simple but that is not always appropriate. Because the abolitionist movement, particularly in the early 19th century, effectively concentrated on the Middle Passage as a means to graphically dramatize the terrors of the transatlantic slave trade some historians are now dismissive. They contend that the Middle Read More

The Warp and Weft: Why Are We So Black and Blue?

African Diaspora, Slave economy, slavery, transatlantic slave trade

Numbers transformed into a human context is the skill of the social scientist: the anthropologist, psychologist, sociologist, historian and economist. But from the artisan, we might use a metaphor from weaving in arguing that much of the wealth of the Western Hemisphere and Europe was built on the warp of African slavery. A double entendre if ever there was one; this warp laid the foundation for creating a detailed and Read More

Who Were They?

African Diaspora, African ethnic groups, captured Africans, transatlantic slave trade

For the most part, it is not known from which specific communities enslaved Africans came. Over the years, scholars vary in defining their connection to specific ethnic groups on the Continent. Our best method eventually may be DNA testing throughout the Diaspora, undeniably they were from Africa – north, south, east, west, central, coast and interior. Predominantly they were adult males in their prime. In the beginning, before the demand Read More

How Sweet It Is

African Diaspora, Slave economy, transatlantic slave trade

A few months ago, a television ad in promoting its product challenged the notion that high fructose was a bad thing. In our culture the origin of sweetening and our conditioning to it has its roots in transatlantic slavery. This is no stretch. If one crop could be targeted as providing the major impetus for the transatlantic slave trade it would be sugar. The demand for “free” labor under the Read More