The Daily Life During Slavery Slavery is a bulk part of not only the United States history but the world’s history as well. The stereotype of slavery was that it mainly consisted of African Americans, well that is wrong. Slavery in the old world consisted of every race just in different amounts and levels. It is easy to look at the end of slavery and work back to when it started, but that would be a bad thing to do because that is considered teleology. So to truly understand slavery you have to read the journals and articles written by those that lived in that time period. The excerpt from The Interesting life of Olauduh Equiano and the excerpt from William Snelgrave’s New Account of Some Parts of Guinea, and Slave Trade are prime pieces …show more content…
First I analyze the Snelgrave’s excerpt. “William Snelgrave was an Englishman who served as the captain of a slave ship, and operated as a trader in Dahomey” so he represents the powerful men in this time. The overall summary of this entry is that he respected the slaves and did not treat them with as much brutality as we would stereotype. He also states that he “ways strictly charged my white People to treat them with Humanity and Tenderness”¹ in which I feel that he is over stating the truth here because he puts emphasis on the critical words on how a human being should be treated or associated as, examples of this would be when he capitalizes the words “People, Humanity, and Tenderness”. Another thing that Snelgrave says that he would only threaten and/or discipline the slaves if they were planning a revolution against the white people. This is a big misconception because over the past years of slavery it is unheard of for a slave ship captain to be so “generous” to their …show more content…
Equiano is the defining story of slavery because he was slave in Africa and then transported to New York and worked hard enough to try and buy his own freedom. Every slave tries to work hard enough to buy their own slavery however most were not fortunate enough to do so. In Equiano’s journal entry, he describes throughout the entire segment that he felt as if the slave captains were going to kill him. For someone to feel as if their captive is going to kill them for an entire trip at sea would be torture in itself and then if you add the actual torture, life would be just about unbearable. Olauduh Equiano describes the behavior of the white people by saying“the white people looked and acted in so savage a manner”. Then he later describes the fear that they had been put through by saying “I have never seen among my people such instances of brutal cruelty, and this is not only shown towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves”². This is significant in showing that no one was excused of the brutality of the slave captains. And as far as they were treated health wise, the men were chained together with the women and children allowed more freedom but they still were crammed into small spaces and given two meals a day. Based off of these conditions, slaves would have rather died than to be on these ships for days and even weeks on
Equiano was the youngest of his brothers who enjoyed playing outside throwing javelins enjoying the normal life of a small child. At the beginning of the day, the elders would leave their children at home while they went out into the fields to work. While they were gone, some of the children would get together to play but always took precautions of potential kidnappers. Even with all these precautions, people were still seized from their homes and taken away. Equiano was home one day with his little sister tending to the everyday household needs when out of nowhere they were captured by a couple men who had gotten over the walls. They had no time to resist or scream for help before they found themselves bound, gagged, and being taken away. Equiano had no idea where these people were taking him and they didn’t stop once until nightfall where they stayed until dawn. He tells us about how they traveled for many days and nights not having any clue where they were going or when they would get there. Slaves traveled by land and by sea, but Equiano’s journey was by sea. He tells us how he was carried aboard and immediately chained to other African Americans that were already on the ship. Once the ship halted on land, Equiano along with many other slaves were sent to the merchant’s yard where they would be herded together and bought by the
The novel The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano exists as an extremely important work in the abolitionist movement in England. As an 18th century narrative written by a former black slave, the novel provides a glimpse into the lives of the African slaves involved in the slave trade as well as the slave traders themselves. Even with the controversy over the authenticity of Equiano’s claims on his origin in Africa and his subsequent voyage through the Middle Passage, this novel serves as a powerfully instructive piece of literature. Throughout the novel, Equiano strives to impress upon the reader a certain set of moral standards or ideals that he desires to instruct the reader about. One such moral ideal that is prevalent throughout the entirety of the novel is Equiano’s construction of the idea of the value and worth of the African slaves, as opposed to the view of the African slaves as simply commodities or objects to be purchased and traded.
The fight for racial equality is one of the most prominent issues Americans have faced throughout history and even today; as the idea that enslaving individuals is unethical emerged, many great and innovative authors began writing about the issues that enslaved people had to face. Olaudah Equiano was no exception. In his work The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, he attempts to persuade his readers that the American way of slavery is brutal, inhumane, and unscrupulous. Equiano manages to do this by minimizing the apparent differences between himself and his primarily white audience, mentioning the cruelties that he and many other slaves had to face, and the advantages of treating your slaves correctly.
Equiano characterizes white people in this way through his exceptionalism and the knowledge he obtains, which allows him to recognize the true, hypocritical nature of the white person. Since Equiano is able to reach this noteworthy distinction, he shows that other African people could also reach his potential if allowed, displaying to the audience a new perception of African people. By overturning the common perception of white people at the time, Equiano forces the reader to question the conventions of enslavement so that the public understands the need to abolish captivity and other
1. The insight that each of these sources offers into slave life in the antebellum South is how slaves lived, worked, and were treated by their masters. The narratives talk about their nature of work, culture, and family in their passages. For example, in Solomon Northup 's passage he describes how he worked in the cotton field. Northup said that "An ordinary day 's work is considered two hundred pounds. A slave who is accustomed to picking, is punished, if he or she brings less quantity than that," (214). Northup explains how much cotton slaves had to bring from the cotton field and if a slave brought less or more weight than their previous weight ins then the slave is whipped because they were either slacking or have no been working to their
...olitionist about the Zong massacre where 132 slaves were chained together and drowned in the ocean so the Zong's owners could collect the insurance money. Equiano tries to help poor blacks by making sure everything is ligit in the Sierra Leone expedition. Equiano also lobbies high officials to end slavery. For example, he writes to the queen telling her of tyranny in the West Indies and the oppression and cruelty exercised to the negroes there. He signs this letter Gustavus Vassa, the oppressed Ethiopian. After Equiano wrote his book he traveled throughout the British Isles giving speeches and denouncing slavery as an evil institution. I was surprised that Equiano didn't have a deep resentment and hatred toward all white people because of slavery and the way he was treated. Because of this and his relentless fight against slavery, Olaudah Equiano is a hero.
Equiano starting out had caring captors, “[t]he people I was sold to used to carry me very often when I was tired either on their shoulders or on their backs” (Equiano 54). Equiano’s first master lost his wife and daughter causing the mental state to be off, so Equiano was sold. Luckily Equiano was able to see his sister once again, he felt the need to be there for her and try to aid the pain she was feeling. All slave masters admired Equiano and he was still live a fair well off life but, that would soon change when boards the slave ship. Equiano finally will see the true horrors of how slaves were treated, “...and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation” (Equiano
He was trade to another master by the name of Mr. Robert King, a Quaker. Just when Equiano lost hope and prefer being dead than to be a slave due to his mistreatment by masters and the hypocrisy he encounter, he gains faith again when he saw that Mr. King was very different than other masters, Mr. King was kind, patient and did not mistreat his slaves. As Equiano travels with Mr. King he came across masters that brutally mistreat slaves, some were cut into pieces and some were burned with wax. Nevertheless Equiano came across many places where slaves were treated nicely for instance in West Indies where slave treated lenity and proper care. Equiano saw that in these lands Negroes were cheerful and healthy due to the treatment they receive. However, in Barbados it was not a very nice place for African slaves. Equiano meet other Negroes that share their stories and experiences in Barbados, they face many injustice and mistreatment from white people specially females slaves that were raped including children. Besides of these actions slaves did not have control of their property or possession, there were no rights towards slaves. They explain that they felt worthless, when they encounter a situation where they felt like they were being taken advantage by other whites, they turn to their master to fight for their right in which turn out to be not so great, the poor negro turn to god every time he was mistreated to find
Equiano's graphic account of the conditions on board the slave ship pained me as I read. I could only imagine the suffering as he described "the heat," "the air...unfit for respiration" and the "shrieks...and the groans of the dying" (481). While Equiano was luckier than most, if it can be considered luck. He reports the general treatment of slaves by their owners following their arrival in America. Equiano tells of sexual assaults against the slave women to include young children, the maiming and torture as punishment for a myriad o...
I want to start with the history of slavery in America. For most African Americans, the journey America began with African ancestors that were kidnapped and forced into slavery. In America, this event was first recorded in 1619. The first documented African slaves that were brought to America were through Jamestown, Virginia. This is historically considered as the Colonial America. In Colonial America, African slaves were held as indentured servants. At this time, the African slaves were released from slavery after a certain number of years of being held in captivity. This period lasted until 1776, when history records the beginning of the Middle Passage. The Middle Passage showed the increased of African slaves were bought into America. The increase demand for slaves was because of the increased production of cotton in the south. So, plantation owners demanded more African slaves for purchas...
“Such a tendency has the slave trade to debauch men’s minds, and harden them to every feeling of humanity” (Equiano 1013). The fact that Equiano could separate the institution of slavery from the white slave owners and focus on the main problem shows that he is a rational intelligent writer. Equiano became a strong supporter of the abolitionist movement which led to the writing of this work. He truly believed that no man should have authority over another man and once he bought his own freedom he continued to pursue this for others as
In comparison to other slaves that are discussed over time, Olaudah Equiano truly does lead an ‘interesting’ life. While his time as a slave was very poor, there are certainly other slaves that he mentions that received far more damaging treatment than he did. In turn, this inspires him to fight for the abolishment of slavery. By pointing out both negative and positive events that occurred, the treatment he received from all of his masters, the impact that religion had on his life and how abolishing slavery could benefit the future of everyone as a whole, Equiano develops a compelling argument that does help aid the battle against slavery. For Olaudah Equiano’s life journey, he expressed an array of cruelties that came with living the life of an African slave; which demonstrates all of the suffering that he endured, then proving how much it can change one’s point of view in life.
Equiano survived the ten years of cruel enslavement and bought his freedom with the help of his last master Robert King. He then went on to write his narrative of the situation. The narrative was a personal statement of the slave trade to help urge the British government to abolish slavery all together. At the time of the writing, Equiano was considered an ameliorationist. An ameliorationist is a person who would rather make something better by improving it (Donaldson). Only towards the end of his writing was Equiano considered an abolitionist. Regardless of what people think, Olaudah Equiano’s account shows the impact of the slave trade among the diverse African majority affected. Physical and psychological abuse, quality of life, inhumane treatment, and the dehumanization of slaves during and after enslavement are the affects that stand out most within the middle
Slavery, like many ill-fated and evil inventions reached epidemic levels in early Europe and the American colonies. The history of slavery is documented most acutely during the period when slaves first arrived to the new land and when the colonies had first developed into the fledging United States of America. This would lead us to believe that slavery had not existed before this period or that the consequences and relevance of it had little historical, social, or economical importance. While some of this might be true, the act of enslaving other human being has existed for hundreds of before the Europeans ever reached and explored the continent of Africa. Proponents of slavery could argue that it is just a natural step in the evolution and development of civilized man. Historic data revealed that the African people form of enslavement on one another was drastically different then European and American way. Although slavery as we know it has been abolished, the consequences have had and will surely have everlasting effects on you, me and the future of every child
Slave Life The warm climate, boundless fields of fertile soil, long growing seasons, and numerous waterways provided favorable conditions for farming plantations in the South (Foster). The richness of the South depended on the productivity of the plantations (Katz 3-5). With the invention of the cotton gin, expansion of the country occurred. This called for the spread of slavery (Foster). Slaves, owned by one in four families, were controlled from birth to death by their white owners. Black men, women, and children toiled in the fields and houses under horrible conditions (Katz 3-5). The slave system attempted to destroy black family structure and take away human dignity (Starobin 101). Slaves led a hard life on the Southern plantations. Most slaves were brought from Africa, either kidnapped or sold by their tribes to slave catchers for violating a tribal command. Some were even traded for tobacco, sugar, and other useful products (Cowan and Maguire 5:18). Those not killed or lucky enough to escape the slave-catching raids were chained together (Foster). The slaves had no understanding of what was happening to them. They were from different tribes and of different speaking languages. Most captured blacks had never seen the white skinned foreigners who came on long, strange boats to journey them across the ocean. They would never see their families or native lands again. These unfortunate people were shackled and crammed tightly into the holds of ships for weeks. Some refused to eat and others committed suicide by jumping overboard (Foster). When the ships reached American ports, slaves were unloaded into pens to be sold at auctions to the highest bidder. One high-priced slave compared auction prices with another, saying, "You wouldn’t fetch ‘bout fifty dollas, but I’m wuth a thousand" (qtd. in Foster). At the auctions, potential buyers would examine the captives’ muscles and teeth. Men’s and women’s bodies were exposed to look for lash marks. No marks on a body meant that he or she was an obedient person. The slaves were required to dance or jump around to prove their limberness. Young, fair-skinned muttaloes, barely clothed and ready to be sold to brothel owners, were kept in private rooms (Foster). It was profitable to teach the slaves skills so that during the crop off-season they could be hired out to work. Although they were not being paid, some were doing more skilled work than poor whites were.