Essay on Slave Ship - 1383 Words

The Slave Ship by Marcus Rediker is a great fiction novel that describes the horrifying experiences of Africans, seamen, and captains on their journey through the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage marked the water way in the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Americas. The use of slaves provided a great economy for the European countries due to the fact that these African slaves provided free labor while cultivating sugar cane in the Caribbean and America. Rediker describes the slave migration by saying, â€Å"There exists no account of the mechanism for history’s greatest forced migration, which was in many ways the key to an entire phase of globalization† (10). This tells us that African enslavement to the Americas causes a complete†¦show more content†¦Some Africans did not go without putting up a fight. For instance, Captain Tomba led many villagers â€Å"in burning huts and killing neighbors who cooperated with slave traders† (14). He was later captured and sent to the slave ship where he would be sold in the New World. The slaves also resisted by refusing to eat. Most of them decided they would rather have death than to live the lifestyle on the slave ships. The captains punished those who refused to eat by giving them lashes to the bare skin until they decided to eat. Olaudah Equiano could be considered one of the more fortunate Africans involved in the slave trade. Rediker uses Equiano to show how Africans were kidnapped and brought to the slave ship. Equiano was home alone with his sister when he was snatched by a neighboring enemy tribe. Tribes were kidnapping each other to sell to the slave traders for goods and even weapons. Equiano was separated from his sister and sold off to merchants before actually boarding the slave ship. He mentioned several times how he would rather die than be on the slave ship. He noticed right away that â€Å"the slave ship was equipped with nettings to prevent precisely such desperate rebellion† (109). Equiano went to the Americas and was left alone when none of the merchants purchased him. He was sold to a captain and boarded his ship back to England. On this slave ship, he was treated much better. He got to stay on the deck and eat better food than he hadShow MoreRelatedThe Horrors of a Slave Ship1030 Words   |  5 Pagesof a Slave Ship,† describes in detail, the tragic experiences of Olaudah Equiano as a captive slave. Equiano suffered many sleepless nights; he was flogged and kidnapped multiple times. In the article, the author is trying to give the reader the feeling by giving details of the brutally floggings and desperation as many slaves suffocated to death as they were placed in an overcrowded deck. Overall, the author tries to give readers their point across of the difficulties in being a captive slave. Read MoreThe Slavery Of The Slave Ships1157 Words   |  5 PagesFrom the moment of capture, African men, women and children endured a relentless chain of pain and abuse. Life onboard the slave ships became a constant battle for survival, as the gruesome conditions below the deck presented formidable physical health problems. Burnside describes the African slaves descent into hell: Once aboard the ship, the prisoners entered a frightening new world†¦Whatever miseries they had experienced in Africa were nothing compared to the ordeal they now faced, and howeverRead MoreThe Slave Ship By Marcus Rediker1415 Words   |  6 PagesThe Slave Ship was written by Marcus Rediker and it tells several accounts of the African slave trade as well as the world of the middle passage. The author discusses the nature of the slave ship and the African paths to the middle passage. Rediker also mentions the lives of historical figures (Olaudah Equiano, James Field Stanfield, and John Newton) and the roles that they had during the Atlantic slave trade. For the African captives, the sailors, and captains, the slave ship was seen as a woodenRead MoreThe Slave Ship J.M.W Turner1588 Words   |  7 Pages[pic] The Slave Ship Slavers Overthrowing the Dead and Dying - Typhon coming on (â€Å"The Slave Ship†) Turner, John Mallord William  (1775-1851) Romantic Landscape Painter 1840; Oil on canvas, 90.8 x 122.6 cm; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Aloft all hands, strike the top-masts and belay; Yon angry setting sun and fierce-edged clouds Declare the Typhons coming. Before it sweeps your decks, throw overboard The dead and dying - neer heed their chains Hope, Hope, fallacious Hope! WhereRead MoreEssay on African Innsurrections on Board Slave Ships1575 Words   |  7 Pagesus saying to another one of his kind that it was just a few days again before we reached the vessel on the coast line. At this point I realized what was taking place. I had been captured and was going to be sold to the white face men to become his slave. 18th January 1610 8:00am I could see the coast line and the vessel that he guards were speaking about a few days back. I couldn’t believe that this was going to be the last time I would see the land of my birth and my family. We had reached theRead Moreâ€Å"The Slave Ship: A Human History† Written By Marcus Rediker1903 Words   |  8 Pagesâ€Å"The Slave Ship: A Human History† written by Marcus Rediker describes the horrifying experiences of Africans, and captains, and ship crewmen on their journey through the Middle Passage, the water way in the Atlantic Ocean between Africa and the Americas. The use of slaves to cultivate crops in the Caribbean and America offered a great economy for the European countries by providing â€Å"free† labor and provided immense wealth for the Europeans. Rediker describes the slave migration by saying, â€Å"ThereRead MoreSlave Ship Creole1439 Words   |  6 Pagesjournal article, ‘The Revolt On The Slave Ship Creole: Popular resistance to slavery in post-emancipation Nassau’ was written by Edward Eden. Dr. Edward Eden is a professor of English at Hanover College, Indiana, U.S.A. This article was taken from the ‘Journal of the Bahamas Historical Society, October 2000,’ pages 13 through 20.’ As penned by the author the main purpose of this article is to familiarize its Bahamian readers with the revolt on the slave ship Creole in an effort to solicit sourcesRead MoreSlave Ship Analysis844 Words   |  4 Pages Slave Ship Karl Volkmar Western Governors Universityâ€Æ' Slave Ship Slave Ship was painted by J.M.W. Turner in the year 1840. At first glance, the sky and the ship in the background stood out to me above all else. The intensity of the brushstrokes and the colors of the sunlight set the stage for the powerful scene in the water. Between the strong waves in the water and the hands reaching out in desperation, this painting truly captures the horrors of the ships used to transport slaves. One aspectRead MoreThe Slave Ship And Hokusai s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa2024 Words   |  9 Pages In the Turner’s The Slave Ship and Hokusai’s The Great Wave off Kanagawa, the two artists use the complexity and versatility of the ocean to display important events and ideas of the time period. Through the use of different artistic techniques, these two artists are able to capture similar settings in very different ways with very different meanings. Around the age of six years old, Hokusai began painting and even spent time as an apprentice wood-carver in his youth. He began the art of printRead MoreHorrors of a Slave Ship Essay853 Words   |  4 PagesJill Knierim The Horrors of a Slave Ship History 1301-Villarreal Due Date: 3/8/13 The article, The Horrors of a Slave Ship, is first person point of view account of the capturing of Olaudah Equiano. He tells the story of how he was captured from his home while his parents were away to be used as a slave. The article starts off with Olaudah and his sister being captured while their parents were away. They were taken into the woods, tied up, and forced to travel bound without food. After