Existing comment:
The Middle Passage
Portuguese and English ships carried goods to the west coast of Africa were [where] they were traded for captured people. On the second, or "middle," part of the journey, these ships crossed the Atlantic Ocean. They enslaved were shackled together on decks with ceilings as low as 4-1/2 feet and experienced conditions "most impure." Fifteen percent of them died from disease, suffocation, suicide, refusal to eat, or revolt. |