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Beginnings of America
Fteto
Primary Source
olaudah Equiano Describes the
Horrors of a Slave Ship
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ABOUT THE SOURCE The spanish began using African sraves as a
woi'ktorce i1 tnel!'Anlettcan cclonies in the eariy 15COs Englrsh
coionists in
rlorth America foliowed rn the early 1600s A profitable traniailantic
slave trade
.-1F\/al^^c,{
-,, nore than
^-^,-.
'leveloped lfr,
By 1a,iA
1860 tr,,.^^-^,,^
Eui'opearrs L^!
had enslaved
eleven million Africans
ihe jcrurney acicss the ocean was horriiyrng for the captives. Many did nct
survive Ine voyaEe. Slave l.aders captr:rec oiaudah Equrano when he was
eleven years clc He laterwrote about his experiences as a captive some
scholars coirbt that Equiano aciually made the MiiJdle passage himself Stiil his
account provides an important descrtotion of the iournev
r(u.l tttltr !nttt lht r;rev rttt'uth.'r.s trcutt:ti !he rifr;cort.s.7.lrc:./t,tllorring,
tr,trtl nrur h( il(tt' i(),i.(lr. countenAnces. n.indlass. pestilenlial. copious.
.t
avarlcc. Ioli ntut .rt.titli ti) tt,e tt di<,litit1ur.t, lt) lr:ok Ilient tt1t.
.J.s.l'rrtt
Ihc tirsi ohjei:t
r,, lri.,h salLrtcd nlv c)es rihen Iarrivcd on the r:oasr.
uas ihc
slrnc ship. rihicfr iras therr ricing at anch.r. and rr,aiting {irr its
i:iii'go. l'hesc flilc'J nie uith a:'tr'rnishrlcnt. rlhich rlas Sr)o11 slylir.rted
into
icrtrir. ir'hst.l | $as crrrietl orr lrualcl. i lr:rs irirrnediatrl., harrr.llcr:. and tosscd
Lif-r i1'1 5gL' il l
'"rerc sr'unii. br sonlr. tll-thc crcu: and I ,.r'as rrorr pcrsuaded
that Ihad g(-)tten ittttt tt u'trrlti u1'bld spirils. iinci that lhe_r rrc:re goilrr to kiil
sea. and a
nlc...
\\'hr-n I looked round thc ship too. ancl sarv a lar.ge lirrnacc,lrf
coppcr boilirrq. anti a rnuititudc or- black pe opie rf'e'err ticscriptiorr
cfliiincil togcthcr. c\ cr\ onc o1'their countcnances cxprcssinr tle-je ction
lrrd sorrou. I ltt iongcr dtitrbtcr1 trf'rn-r f'aie , . .
I norr sarv r-n,r..;eif'clepri\lil olrallchancc ()l rcturning trr ni'narive
cr)unir\. i)r cvcn the lcast glinLpse oi'hopc 0l sainine thc shore. $[rictt I
n,-irr gon5iclcred as liierrdli . . . I \\,rls soon Dut doun uircler thc decks, ancl
thcrr Ireccived:;uch a salutatiun in nrv nosrrils a-s I had ncr.,er c,r;pcricnccd
in ni-r lii-c: so that. ,"litir thc ltra{h:,omeness of'the stench. and cruingr
to!:ciltct'. i btcatne so sick ancl lou that i xas nur able to cat. iior lrad I tlrc
i,:rrst dc:;ilc 1():a\te anv thins. I now ii,ishetj for the last l.ricncl. death"
to
rcliL-!'c lrc. trur s(rr)n, to rrr,,'sricf. 1uo tif thc,"r,hitc mcn ol-1'crecl nrr
catablcsi arrci. on rnr' rclusing to cal. one tri-thcm hcld rric i?rst ir1 the hancs,
arttl iaid lne acr'os5. i think rhc rvindlass. arrd ticd rtrr fi,et. ri.hilt, the other
llogged Iu'hrppcd j
r']re se'rri'ci\. i hail rrerel cxperienccd anr thinc o1'this
f:ind bcfbre, an.l althour,th ntrt t't-ing irsccj to thc *ater. I naturallr i.carecJ
thal ele'inerif the fir'st tinrr: I sair rt. vL-r. nevertheless. could I lrar.,e got over
tnc nettinss. Iwould htrle.jumped over tirc side. bui lcoulcl nor: and
bcsrdes. ihc
crcu
u..,ed
io r,,atch us vcr\ closcl! ,,\ho ucre not charnecj
Beginnings of Ameiica
('las:r
Nar,-rc
Datc
Beginnings of America
doll'n
1o
the decks.
ie's1
*'e
Primary Source
thr *ritcr: and I ha,-e seen some
shcrr,ilc reap inti:,
oi'these pcttr r\fiican prisoners nto:ji severeI cLit. for attcrnpting
to do so,
and hourll rvhipped for not cating 'l'his indeeil ,.ra:; often thi:
case rvith
nrlself . . .
-l'he
stench of the holci rvhile *'e \\'ere on thc coast \\'as sLr intolerably
loathsornc, that it was dangerous to remain there fbr anl rirne. and some
ol
us had been pcrmitted to sta,'- on the dcck lbr the 1ic-sh air: but
nor,r that thc
u'hole ship's crlrgo \\'crc conlrned ttrgcther. it bccarne absorutel'"
pestilential. -['his cioscncss ol'',hs placc. a'd tire ireat.f'rhe clirnate.
addcd
lo thc nuilbcr in tl-re ship" nhich \\as so cr"o*'cled thet cach hacj scarcclr,
ir)oln 10 rurn hirnscll. alrrrost sriiiircated u>.-l-his product'd copious
pr:rspirati0ns.:so thai the rril':ot>l bi:.]anre unllt ftrr r.esl)ir.irti()1..1. ticrrn
ir
rlrietv ul'loaths,.rrnc srnclls. rncl broug.ht t;n a sickne:,s alr()rrJ the slavcs.
ol'r.rhich marrr dicd - thr-,s Jrrllin{* ', ictims 1o thc inrprrivii-lent al,aricc" as I
rniil call it. of thcir purchirscrs. Ihrs uretchcd situai.i.rrr uas again
ag*ravatecl bv thr'gelliiru ol'tlrc chirirrs. jro\\ bccan)c insupportahle: an,c rhc
lllth tr1'thc nccessar'' tubs. into'.rhich thc chilcren,1tcrr tcll. and lvcrc
alniost srrffbcatccl. Thc shrick: ol-thc,,ronien. and thc groans o1 thc d),ing.
rcndercd the rvhole a scsnc rrt'htlrror airncst inconccivable. . . l:vcr,r
circur-nstance i met u'ith.. . hei-shtencd m1 apprehensions. and rny opinion
.rf the'crucltl of'thc u,hitc.s . .
()ne da'v, r,r'her; we haii I silrcroth :ca and nt()cleratc wind.
t*i.l of'nry
r^.caried countrvnren r,,ho ucic chaineci togcther. .. prcterring
cleatlr lo
,
ill-nristn. s.iirehiw rra,lc thoush thr- neltings antJ.fr-rnrped into
ihe:ica: irnrncdiatcir. alt{.)tltcr quite cie-jcr:tccl tcllttri, rrho. r,n account of his
illness. uas suf'f-cled to bc t'rLrt of irons. also iollolvccj rhcir crarnplc: anci I
beli*r'c rnanv rn()rc r'rotrld \icr\ sc)on lrave ciotte rhc:arric. i1'tncr ha<i not
been pre',,ented hr thc ship s creu. *,ho nerc instantir alarrncd.
srrch a lifb
SLrLrrcc
TJrt'ltittrrsltttt \il/r'rrlr,naiili?lilrololtt|t!ttiti:Lluitttt,,ari';u\rt|it\,(?.\J{;,1|a
rltt'tt it I li,tts' il
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WHAT DID YOU LEARN?
i.
Whal did cre''r'tnetrtbers
did this'l
l.
Wh-r'clid so rnarr...r\fl.icans on fhe :hip
lo tit Aiiicans uho reiirsed io eat'J Whl do r,ou think ther
cl
ie,,
f-iorl'were the Afiicans trcared? Whr do )ou ihink thcl wcre treaiecj this lval,j
t_!!:r,glft .!._bfl|glf_.]8-it9!g_rnd \\'imrm _At!g[s
reserved
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Beginnings of America