Slavery In West Africa

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Backbreaking jobs, Loss of family members, and abusive treatment. All words that describe “slavery.” Slavery has become a large problem in past societies. These human beings are held captive as slaves. They are taken away from their families and put up for auction as if they were wild animals. As if these slaves weren’t tortured enough, they are put to work on widespread plantations with six to eight other slaves. Furthermore, an abolitionist once said “Free labor was the inspiration of hope; pure slavery has no hope.” There truly is no goal or hope with slavery. In my experience in West Africa, there were many Africans that were taken in as slaves to the Americas. I witnessed the capture of five young human beings who were as innocent as …show more content…

Filled with hard working slaves working sunrise to sunset. Singing songs to match everyone else so they don’t get caught of one standing out then the others. Slaves were terrified and frightened of the punishments they would endure of working through the plantations in Virginia. I was lucky enough to visit this plantation and take a look around. I noticed there was three different types of slaves. First, the field hands. Field hands were looked at as unskilled. This being stereotypical because whites needed skilled slaves to work on the plantations. Though, field hands that were skilled were responsible for making right decisions. They had to pick the sugar juice when it was ready as well as when tobacco was ready for picking. They also had to load the crops that were grown on the plantations. Next, plantation slaves were those who were expected to work whenever their owner told them to. Then, those who were forced to work on the plantation were pieces of property of the owner or considered chattel. Some slave owners would persuade the slaves to work by saying, by doing this you're sure to go to heaven. Additionally, the slave owners do this so the slaves would get more work done. This is not right, whites should do just the right amount of work as slaves are doing. Now domestic slaves, serve the owner and his family dinner. They are allowed to wear the same clothing, and eat the same food. I met with Frederick Douglass who is also an abolitionist who mentioned details about the shelter while living on a plantation. He said, "There were no beds given the slaves, unless one coarse blanket be considered such, and none but the men and women had these...They find less difficulty from the want of beds, than from the want of time to sleep; for when their day's work in the field is done, the most of them having their washing, mending, and cooking to do, and having few or none of the ordinary facilities for doing either of

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