african transatlantic slave trade

 After reading the primary sources, pick a topic related to Europeans and Africans in the Transatlantic Slave Trade that you would like to analyze in your essay. Potential topics include:

· African perceptions of European slave traders or the slave trade.

· European perceptions of Africans slaves or African traders.

· The role of violence in the slave trade.

· African resistance to the slave trade.

· The relationship and negotiations between European and African traders.

Your essay should be at least three pages in length. Please use 12-point font and double-spacing. Your essay must have a works cited page and follow MLA style.  

Excerpt from: Thomas Phillips, A Journal of a Voyage Made in the
Hannibal of London, Ann. 1693, 1694 (published 1732).

Source Introduction and Summary: In this document, Captain Thomas Phillips of the English

slave ship, Hannibal, describes how he and his English crew interacted and negotiated with an

African king, and his emissaries, in order to acquire slaves. Phillips also describes how English

traders branded and shackled slaves in the early stages of the Middle Passage, and how Africans

resisted their enslavement by mutiny and suicide. Phillips also provides a rare reflection on how

Europeans and Africans perceived color difference and created emerging concepts of race and

racism.

Phillips, and his ship, were part of the Royal African Company, the English slave trading stock-

company which originated in 1660 after the restoration of the monarchy. The Royal African

Company dominated the West African slave trade during the late seventeenth century. In 1693,

Phillips and the Hannibal left England for present day Benin on the West African coast to

acquire slaves. After filling his ship with 700 men and women, Phillips and the Hannibal sailed

for Barbados in the eastern Caribbean where English sugar plantation owners required large

amounts of slave labor. Only 372 of the slaves on the Hannibal survived the passage from West

Africa to Barbados – an unusually high mortality rate. During the seventeenth century, the

average mortality rate for any given slave ship making the passage from Africa to the Americans

was about twenty percent. (Yazawa, Documents for America’s History, 59) (1)

Excerpt:

“As soon as the king understood of our landing, he sent two of his cappasheirs [Africans

designated by coastal kings to supply European traders with slaves], or noblemen, to compliment

us at our factory [slave trading fort on the coast], where we design’d to continue, that night, and

pay our devoirs [respects] to his majesty next day, which we signify’d to them, and they, by a

foot-express, to their monarch; whereupon he sent out two more of his grandees [noblemen] to

invite us there that night, saying he waited for us, and that all former captains used to attend him

the first night: whereupon being unwilling to infringe the custom, or give his majesty any

offence, we took our hammocks, and Mr. Peirson, myself, Capt. Clay, our surgeons, pursers, and

about 12 men, arm’d for our guard, were carry’d to the king’s town, which contains about 50

houses . . . (216)

“We returned him thanks by his interpreter, and assur’d him how great affection our

masters, the royal African company of England, bore to him, for his civility and fair and just

dealings with their captains; and that notwithstanding there were many other Places, more plenty

of negro slaves that begg’d their custom, yet they had rejected all the advantageous offers made

them out of their good will to him, and therefore had sent us to trade with him, to supply his

country with necessaries, and that we hop’d he would endeavor to continue their favour by his

kind usage and fair dealing with us in our trade, that we would oblige his cappasheirs to do us

justice, and not impose upon use in their prices; all which we should faithfully relate to our

masters, the royal African company, when we came to England. He answer’d that the African

company was a very good brave man; that he lov’d him; that we should be fairly dealt with, and

not impos’d upon; But he did not prove as good as his word; nor indeed (tho’ his cappasheirs

shew him so much respect) dare he do anything but what they please . . . so after having

examin’d us about our cargoe, what sort of goods we had, and what quantity of slaves we

wanted, etc., we took our leaves and return’d to the factory, having promised to come in the

morning to make our palavera, or agreement, with him about prices, how much of each of our

goods for a slave. (217)

“According to promise we attended his majesty with samples of our goods, and made our

agreement about the prices, tho’ not without much difficulty; he and his cappasheirs exacted very

high, but at length we concluded as per the latter end; then we had warehouses, a kitchen, and

lodgings assign’d us, but none of our rooms (217) had doors till we made them, and put on locks

and keys; next day we paid our customs to the king and cappasheirs . . . then the bell was order’d

to go about to give notice to all people to bring their slaves to the trunk [holding area for slaves

to be sold] to sell us . . . This man carry’d about [the bell] and beat with a stick, which made a

small dead sound . . . (218)

“We were every morning, during our stay here, invited to breakfast with the king, where

we always found the same dish of stew’d fowls and potatoes; he also would send us a hog, goat,

sheep, or pot of pitto [a liquor made from corn] every day for our table, and we usually return’d

his civility with three or four bottles of brandy, which is his fumum bonum [favorite]: We had our

cook ashore, and eat as well as we could, provisions being plenty and cheap; but we soon lost our

stomachs by sickness, most of my men having fevers, and myself such convulsions and aches in

my head, that I could hardly stand or go to the trunk without assistance, and there often fainted

with the horrid stink of the negroes, it being an old house where all the slaves are kept together,

and evacuate nature where they life, so that no jakes can stink worse: there being forced to sit

three or four hours at a time, quite ruin’d my health, but there was no help. (218)

“Capt. Clay and I agreed to go to the trunk to buy the slaves by turns, each his day, that

we might have no distraction or disagreement in our trade, as often happens when there are here

more ships than one, and the commanders can’t set their horses together, and go hand in hand in

their traffick, whereby they have a check upon the blacks, whereas their disagreements create

animosities, underminings, and out-bidding each other, whereby they enhance the prices to their

general loss and detriment, the blacks well knowing how to make the best use of such

opportunities, and as we found make it their business, and endeavor to create and foment

misunderstandings and jealousies between commanders, it turning to their great account in the

disposal of their slaves. (218)

“When we were at the trunk, the king’s slaves, if he had any, were the first offer’d to sale,

which the cappasheirs would be very urgent with us to buy, and would in a manner force us to it

ere they would shew us any other, saying they were the Reys Cosa [the king’s slaves], and we

must not refuse them, tho’ as I observ’d they were generally the worst slaves in the trunk, and we

paid more for them than any others, which we could not remedy, it being one of his majesty’s

prerogatives; then the cappasheirs each brought out his slaves according to his degree and

quality, the greatest first, &c. and our surgeon examin’d them well in all kinds, to see that they

were sound wind and limb, making them jump, stretch out their arms swiftly, looking in their

mouths to judge their age; for the cappasheirs are so cunning, that they shave them all close

before we see them, so that let them never be so old we see no grey hairs in their heads or beards;

and then having liquor’d them well and sleek with palm oil, ‘tis no easy matter to know an old

one from a middle-age one, but by the teeths decay; but our greatest care of all is to buy none

that are pox’d, lest they should infect the rest aboard; for tho’ we separate the men and women

aboard by partitions and bulk-heads, to prevent quarrels and wranglings among them, yet do

what we can they will come together, and that distemper which they call the yaws, is very

common here, and discovers itself by almost the same symptoms as the . . . clap does with us;

therefore our surgeon is forc’d to examine the privities of both men and women, with the nicest

scrutiny . . . When we had selected from the rest such as we liked, we agreed in what goods to

pay them, the prices being already state before the king, how much of each sort of merchandize

we were to give for a man, woman, and child, which gave us much ease, and saved abundance of

disputes and wranglings, and gave the owner a note, signifying our agreement of the sorts of

goods; upon delivery of which the next day he receiv’d them; then we mark’d the slaves we had

bought in the breast, or shoulder, with a hot iron, having the letter of the ship’s name on it, the

place being before anointed with a little palm oil, which caus’d but little pain, the mark being

usually well in four or five days, appearing very plain and white after. (218)

“When we had purchas’d to the number of 50 or 60 we would send them aboard, there

being a cappasheir, intitled the captain of the slaves, whose care it was to secure them to the

water-side, and see them all off; and if in carrying to the marine any were lost, he was bound to

make them good, to us, the captain of the trunk being oblig’d to do the like, if any run away

while under his care, for after we buy them we give him charge of them till the captain of the

slaves comes to carry them away: These are two officers appointed by the king for this purpose,

to each of which every ship pays the value of a slave in what goods they like best for their

trouble (218), when they have done trading; and indeed they discharg’d their duty to us very

faithfully, we not having lost one slave thro’ their neglect in 1300 we bought here. (219)

“There is likewise a captain of the sand, who is appointed to take care of the merchandize

we have come ashore to trade with, that the negroes do not plunder them, we being often forced

to leave goods a whole night on the sea shore, for want of porters to bring them up; but

notwithstanding his care and authority, we often came by the loss, and could have no redress.

“When our slaves were come to the seaside, our canoes were ready to carry them off to

the longboat, if the sea permitted, and she convey’d them aboard ship, where the men were all

put in irons, two and two shackled together, to prevent their mutiny, or swimming ashore. (219)

“The negroes are so willful and loth to leave their own country, that they have often

leap’d out of the canoes, boat and ship, into the sea, and kept under water till they were drowned,

to avoid being taken up and saved by our boats, which pursued them; they having a more

dreadful apprehension of Barbadoes [the island of Barbados in the eastern Caribbean] than we

can have of hell, tho’ in reality they live much better there than in their own country; but home is

home, &c: we have likewise seen divers of them eaten by the sharks, of which a prodigious

number kept about the ships of this place, and I have been told will follow her hence to

Barbadoes, for the dead negroes that are thrown over-board in the passage. I am certain in our

voyage there we did not want the sight of some every day, but that they were the same I can’t

affirm. (219)

“We had about 12 negroes did willfully drown themselves, and others starv’d themselves

to death; for ‘tis their belief that when they die they return home to their own country and friends

again. (219)

“I have been inform’d that some commanders have cut off the legs or arms of the most

willful, to terrify the rest, for they believe if they lose a member, they cannot return home again:

I was advis’d by some of my officers to do the same, but I could not be persuaded to entertain

the least thoughts of it, much less to put in practice such barbarity and cruelty to poor creatures,

who, excepting their want of Christianity and true religion, (their misfortune more than fault) are

as much the works of God’s hands, and no doubt as dear to him as ourselves; nor can I imagine

why they should be despis’d for their colour, being what they cannot help, and the effect of the

climate it has pleas’d God to appoint them. I can’t think there is any instrinsick value in one

colour more than another, nor that white is better than black, only we think it so because we are

so, and are prone to judge favorably in our own case, as well as the blacks, who in odium of the

colour, say, the devil is white, and so paint him.” (219) (7)

Attributions

(1) Content by Florida State College at Jacksonville is licensed under CC BY 4.0

(7) A Journal of a Voyage Made in the Hannibal of London by Thomas Phillips is in the Public

Domain.

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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• Excerpt from: Thomas Phillips, A Journal of a Voyage Made in the Hannibal of London, Ann. 1693, 1694 (published 1732).

Attributions

Excerpt from: Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of
Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Written By Himself.
Vol. I. (published 1789)

CHAPTER II

~The author’s birth and parentage–His being kidnapped with his sister–Their separation–
Surprise at meeting again–Are finally separated–Account of the different places and incidents
the author met with till his arrival on the coast–The effect the sight of a slave ship had on him–
He sails for the West Indies–Horrors of a slave ship–Arrives at Barbadoes, where the cargo is
sold and dispersed.~

I hope the reader will not think I have trespassed on his patience in introducing myself to him
with some account of the manners and customs of my country. They had been implanted in me
with great care, and made an impression on my mind, which time could not erase, and which all
the adversity and variety of fortune I have since experienced served only to rivet and record;
for, whether the love of one’s country be real or imaginary, or a lesson of reason, or an instinct
of nature, I still look back with pleasure on the first scenes of my life, though that pleasure has
been for the most part mingled with sorrow.

I have already acquainted the reader with the time and place of my birth. My father, besides
many slaves, had a numerous family, of which seven lived to grow up, including myself and a
sister, who was the only daughter. As I was the youngest of the sons, I became, of course, the
greatest favourite with my mother, and was always with her; and she used to take particular
pains to form my mind. I was trained up from my earliest years in the art of war; my daily
exercise was shooting and throwing javelins; and my mother adorned me with emblems, after
the manner of our greatest warriors. In this way I grew up till I was turned the age of eleven,
when an end was put to my happiness in the following manner:–Generally when the grown
people in the neighbourhood were gone far in the fields to labour, the children assembled
together in some of the neighbours’ premises to play; and commonly some of us used to get up
a tree to look out for any assailant, or kidnapper, that might come upon us; for they sometimes
took those opportunities of our parents’ absence to attack and carry off as many as they could
seize. One day, as I was watching at the top of a tree in our yard, I saw one of those people
come into the yard of our next neighbour but one, to kidnap, there being many stout young
people in it. Immediately on this I gave the alarm of the rogue, and he was surrounded by the
stoutest of them, who entangled him with cords, so that he could not escape till some of the
grown people came and secured him. But alas! ere long it was my fate to be thus attacked, and
to be carried off, when none of the grown people were nigh. One day, when all our people
were gone out to their works as usual, and only I and my dear sister were left to mind the
house, two men and a woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both, and, without

giving us time to cry out, or make resistance, they stopped our mouths, and ran off with us into
the nearest wood. Here they tied our hands, and continued to carry us as far as they could, till
night came on, when we reached a small house, where the robbers halted for refreshment, and
spent the night. We were then unbound, but were unable to take any food; and, being quite
overpowered by fatigue and grief, our only relief was some sleep, which allayed our\
misfortune for a short time. The next morning we left the house, and continued travelling all
the day. For a long time we had kept the woods, but at last we came into a road which I
believed I knew. I had now some hopes of being delivered; for we had advanced but a little way
before I discovered some people at a distance, on which I began to cry out for their assistance:
but my cries had no other effect than to make them tie me faster and stop my mouth, and then
they put me into a large sack. They also stopped my sister’s mouth, and tied her hands; and in
this manner we proceeded till we were out of the sight of these people. When we went to rest
the following night they offered us some victuals; but we refused it; and the only comfort we
had was in being in one another’s arms all that night, and bathing each other with our tears.
But alas! we were soon deprived of even the small comfort of weeping together. The next day
proved a day of greater sorrow than I had yet experienced; for my sister and I were then
separated, while we lay clasped in each other’s arms. It was in vain that we besought them not
to part us; she was torn from me, and immediately carried away, while I was left in a state of
distraction not to be described. I cried and grieved continually; and for several days I did not eat
anything but what they forced into my mouth. At length, after many days travelling, during
which I had often changed masters, I got into the hands of a chieftain, in a very pleasant
country. This man had two wives and some children, and they all used me extremely well, and
did all they could to comfort me; particularly the first wife, who was something like my mother.
Although I was a great many days journey from my father’s house, yet these people spoke
exactly the same language with us. This first master of mine, as I may call him, was a smith, and
my principal employment was working his bellows, which were the same kind as I had seen in
my vicinity. They were in some respects not unlike the stoves here in gentlemen’s kitchens; and
were covered over with leather; and in the middle of that leather a stick was fixed, and a
person stood up, and worked it, in the same manner as is done to pump water out of a cask
with a hand pump. I believe it was gold he worked, for it was of a lovely bright yellow colour,
and was worn by the women on their wrists and ancles. I was there I suppose about a month,
and they at last used to trust me some little distance from the house. This liberty I used in
embracing every opportunity to inquire the way to my own home: and I also sometimes, for the
same purpose, went with the maidens, in the cool of the evenings, to bring pitchers of water
from the springs for the use of the house. I had also remarked where the sun rose in the
morning, and set in the evening, as I had travelled along; and I had observed that my father’s
house was towards the rising of the sun. I therefore determined to seize the first opportunity of
making my escape, and to shape my course for that quarter; for I was quite oppressed and
weighed down by grief after my mother and friends; and my love of liberty, ever great, was
strengthened by the mortifying circumstance of not daring to eat with the free-born children,
although I was mostly their companion. While I was projecting my escape, one day an unlucky
event happened, which quite disconcerted my plan, and put an end to my hopes. I used
to be sometimes employed in assisting an elderly woman slave to cook and take care of the
poultry; and one morning, while I was feeding some chickens, I happened to toss a small pebble

at one of them, which hit it on the middle and directly killed it. The old slave, having soon after
missed the chicken, inquired after it; and on my relating the accident (for I told her the truth,
because my mother would never suffer me to tell a lie) she flew into a violent passion,
threatened that I should suffer for it; and, my master being out, she immediately went and told
her mistress what I had done. This alarmed me very much, and I expected an instant flogging,
which to me was uncommonly dreadful; for I had seldom been beaten at home. I therefore
resolved to fly; and accordingly I ran into a thicket that was hard by, and hid myself in the
bushes. Soon afterwards my mistress and the slave returned, and, not seeing me, they searched
all the house, but not finding me, and I not making answer when they called to me, they
thought I had run away, and the whole neighbourhood was raised in the pursuit of me. In that
part of the country (as in ours) the houses and villages were skirted with woods, or shrubberies,
and the bushes were so thick that a man could readily conceal himself in them, so as to elude
the strictest search. The neighbours continued the whole day looking for me, and several times
many of them came within a few yards of the place where I lay hid. I then gave myself up for
lost entirely, and expected every moment, when I heard a rustling among the trees, to be found
out, and punished by my master: but they never discovered me, though they were often so
near that I even heard their conjectures as they were looking about for me; and I now learned
from them, that any attempt to return home would be hopeless. Most of them supposed I had
fled towards home; but the distance was so great, and the way so intricate, that they thought I
could never reach it, and that I should be lost in the woods. When I heard this I was seized with
a violent panic, and abandoned myself to despair. Night too began to approach, and aggravated
all my fears. I had before entertained hopes of getting home, and I had determined when it
should be dark to make the attempt; but I was now convinced it was fruitless, and I began to
consider that, if possibly I could escape all other animals, I could not those of the human kind;
and that, not knowing the way, I must perish in the woods. Thus was I like the hunted deer:

–“Ev’ry leaf and ev’ry whisp’ring breath
Convey’d a foe, and ev’ry foe a death.”

I heard frequent rustlings among the leaves; and being pretty sure they were snakes I expected
every instant to be stung by them. This increased my anguish, and the horror of my situation
became now quite insupportable. I at length quitted the thicket, very faint and hungry, for I had
not eaten or drank any thing all the day; and crept to my master’s kitchen, from whence I set
out at first, and which was an open shed, and laid myself down in the ashes with an anxious
wish for death to relieve me from all my pains. I was scarcely awake in the morning when the
old woman slave, who was the first up, came to light the fire, and saw me in the fire place. She
was very much surprised to see me, and could scarcely believe her own eyes. She now
promised to intercede for me, and went for her master, who soon after came, and,
having slightly reprimanded me, ordered me to be taken care of, and not to be ill-treated.

Soon after this my master’s only daughter, and child by his first wife, sickened and died, which
affected him so much that for some time he was almost frantic, and really would have killed
himself, had he not been watched and prevented. However, in a small time afterwards he

recovered, and I was again sold. I was now carried to the left of the sun’s rising, through many
different countries, and a number of large woods. The people I was sold to used to carry me
very often, when I was tired, either on their shoulders or on their backs. I saw many convenient
well-built sheds along the roads, at proper distances, to accommodate the merchants and
travellers, who lay in those buildings along with their wives, who often accompany them; and
they always go well armed.

From the time I left my own nation I always found somebody that understood me till I came to
the sea coast. The languages of different nations did not totally differ, nor were they so copious
as those of the Europeans, particularly the English. They were therefore easily learned; and,
while I was journeying thus through Africa, I acquired two or three different tongues. In this
manner I had been travelling for a considerable time, when one evening, to my great surprise,
whom should I see brought to the house where I was but my dear sister! As soon as she saw me
she gave a loud shriek, and ran into my arms–I was quite overpowered: neither of us could
speak; but, for a considerable time, clung to each other in mutual embraces, unable to do any
thing but weep. Our meeting affected all who saw us; and indeed I must acknowledge, in
honour of those sable destroyers of human rights, that I never met with any ill treatment, or
saw any offered to their slaves, except tying them, when necessary, to keep them from running
away. When these people knew we were brother and sister they indulged us together; and the
man, to whom I supposed we belonged, lay with us, he in the middle, while she and I held one
another by the hands across his breast all night; and thus for a while we forgot our misfortunes
in the joy of being together: but even this small comfort was soon to have an end; for scarcely
had the fatal morning appeared, when she was again torn from me for ever! I was now more
miserable, if possible, than before. The small relief which her presence gave me from pain was
gone, and the wretchedness of my situation was redoubled by my anxiety after her fate, and
my apprehensions lest her sufferings should be greater than mine, when I could not be with her
to alleviate them. Yes, thou dear partner of all my childish sports! thou sharer of my joys and
sorrows! happy should I have ever esteemed myself to encounter every misery for you, and to
procure your freedom by the sacrifice of my own. Though you were early forced from my arms,
your image has been always rivetted in my heart, from which neither _time nor fortune_ have
been able to remove it; so that, while the thoughts of your sufferings have damped my
prosperity, they have mingled with adversity and increased its bitterness. To that Heaven which
protects the weak from the strong, I commit the care of your innocence and virtues, if they
have not already received their full reward, and if your youth and delicacy have not long since
fallen victims to the violence of the African trader, the pestilential stench of a Guinea ship, the
seasoning in the European colonies, or the lash and lust of a brutal and unrelenting overseer.

I did not long remain after my sister. I was again sold, and carried through a number of places,
till, after travelling a considerable time, I came to a town called Tinmah, in the most beautiful
country I have yet seen in Africa. It was extremely rich, and there were many rivulets which
flowed through it, and supplied a large pond in the centre of the town, where the people
washed. Here I first saw and tasted cocoa-nuts, which I thought superior to any nuts I had ever
tasted before; and the trees, which were loaded, were also interspersed amongst the houses,
which had commodious shades adjoining, and were in the same manner as ours, the insides

being neatly plastered and whitewashed. Here I also saw and tasted for the first time sugar-
cane. Their money consisted of little white shells, the size of the finger nail. I was sold here for
one hundred and seventy-two of them by a merchant who lived and brought me there. I had
been about two or three days at his house, when a wealthy widow, a neighbour of his, came
there one evening, and brought with her an only son, a young gentleman about my own age
and size. Here they saw me; and, having taken a fancy to me, I was bought of the merchant, and
went home with them. Her house and premises were situated close to one of those rivulets I
have mentioned, and were the finest I ever saw in Africa: they were very extensive, and she had
a number of slaves to attend her. The next day I was washed and perfumed, and when meal-
time came I was led into the presence of my mistress, and ate and drank before her with her
son. This filled me with astonishment; and I could scarce help expressing my surprise that the
young gentleman should suffer me, who was bound, to eat with him who was free; and not
only so, but that he would not at any time either eat or drink till I had taken first, because I was
the eldest, which was agreeable to our custom. Indeed every thing here, and all their treatment
of me, made me forget that I was a slave. The language of these people resembled ours so
nearly, that we understood each other perfectly. They had also the very same customs as we.
There were likewise slaves daily to attend us, while my young master and I with other boys
sported with our darts and bows and arrows, as I had been used to do at home. In this
resemblance to my former happy state I passed about two months; and I now began to think I
was to be adopted into the family, and was beginning to be reconciled to my situation, and to
forget by degrees my misfortunes, when all at once the delusion vanished; for, without the
least previous knowledge, one morning early, while my dear master and companion was still
asleep, I was wakened out of my reverie to fresh sorrow, and hurried away even amongst the
uncircumcised.

Thus, at the very moment I dreamed of the greatest happiness, I found myself most miserable;
and it seemed as if fortune wished to give me this taste of joy, only to render the reverse more
poignant. The change I now experienced was as painful as it was sudden and unexpected. It was
a change indeed from a state of bliss to a scene which is inexpressible by me, as it discovered to
me an element I had never before beheld, and till then had no idea of, and wherein such
instances of hardship and cruelty continually occurred as I can never reflect on but with horror.

All the nations and people I had hitherto passed through resembled our own in their manners,
customs, and language: but I came at length to a country, the inhabitants of which differed
from us in all those particulars. I was very much struck with this difference, especially when I
came among a people who did not circumcise, and ate without washing their hands. They
cooked also in iron pots, and had European cutlasses and cross bows, which were unknown to
us, and fought with their fists amongst themselves. Their women were not so modest as ours,
for they ate, and drank, and slept, with their men. But, above all, I was amazed to see no
sacrifices or offerings among them. In some of those places the people ornamented themselves
with scars, and likewise filed their teeth very sharp. They wanted sometimes to ornament me in
the same manner, but I would not suffer them; hoping that I might some time be among a
people who did not thus disfigure themselves, as I thought they did. At last I came to the banks
of a large river, which was covered with canoes, in which the people appeared to live with their

household utensils and provisions of all kinds. I was beyond measure astonished at this, as I had
never before seen any water larger than a pond or a rivulet: and my surprise was mingled with
no small fear when I was put into one of these canoes, and we began to paddle and move along
the river. We continued going on thus till night; and when we came to land, and made fires on
the banks, each family by themselves, some dragged their canoes on shore, others stayed and
cooked in theirs, and laid in them all night. Those on the land had mats, of which they made
tents, some in the shape of little houses: in these we slept; and after the morning meal we
embarked again and proceeded as before. I was often very much astonished to see some of the
women, as well as the men, jump into the water, dive to the bottom, come up again, and swim
about. Thus I continued to travel, sometimes by land, sometimes by water, through different
countries and various nations, till, at the end of six or seven months after I had been kidnapped,
I arrived at the sea coast. It would be tedious and uninteresting to relate all the incidents which
befell me during this journey, and which I have not yet forgotten; of the various hands I passed
through, and the manners and customs of all the different people among whom I lived: I shall
therefore only observe, that in all the places where I was the soil was exceedingly rich; the
pomkins, eadas, plantains, yams, &c. &c. were in great abundance, and of incredible size. There
were also vast quantities of different gums, though not used for any purpose; and every where
a great deal of tobacco. The cotton even grew quite wild; and there was plenty of redwood. I
saw no mechanics whatever in all the way, except such as I have mentioned. The chief
employment in all these countries was agriculture, and both the males and females, as with us,
were brought up to it, and trained in the arts of war.

The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave ship,
which was then riding at anchor, and waiting for its cargo. These filled me with astonishment,
which was soon converted into terror when I was carried on board. I was immediately handled
and tossed up to see if I were sound by some of the crew; and I was now persuaded that I had
gotten into a world of bad spirits, and that they were going to kill me. Their complexions too
differing so much from ours, their long hair, and the language they spoke, (which was very
different from any I had ever heard) united to confirm me in this belief. Indeed such were the
horrors of my views and fears at the moment, that, if ten thousand worlds had been my own, I
would have freely parted with them all to have exchanged my condition with that of the
meanest slave in my own country. When I looked round the ship too and saw a large furnace or
copper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description chained together, every
one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate;
and, quite overpowered with horror and anguish, I fell motionless on the deck and fainted.
When I recovered a little I found some black people about me, who I believed were some of
those who brought me on board, and had been receiving their pay; they talked to me in order
to cheer me, but all in vain. I asked them if we were not to be eaten by those white men with
horrible looks, red faces, and loose hair. They told me I was not; and one of the crew brought
me a small portion of spirituous liquor in a wine glass; but, being afraid of him, I would not take
it out of his hand. One of the blacks therefore took it from him and gave it to me, and I took a
little down my palate, which, instead of reviving me, as they thought it would, threw me into
the greatest consternation at the strange feeling it produced, having never tasted any such
liquor before. Soon after this the blacks who brought me on board went off, and left me

abandoned to despair. I now saw myself deprived of all chance of returning to my native
country, or even the least glimpse of hope of gaining the shore, which I now considered as
friendly; and I even wished for my former slavery in preference to my present situation, which
was filled with horrors of every kind, still heightened by my ignorance of what I was to undergo.
I was not long suffered to indulge my grief; I was soon put down under the decks, and there I
received such a salutation in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so that, with the
loathsomeness of the stench, and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able
to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste any thing. I now wished for the last friend, death, to
relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables; and, on my
refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass,
and tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely. I had never experienced any thing of this
kind before; and although, not being used to the water, I naturally feared that element the first
time I saw it, yet nevertheless, could I have got over the nettings, I would have jumped over the
side, but I could not; and, besides, the crew used to watch us very closely who were not
chained down to the decks, lest we should leap into the water: and I have seen some of these
poor African prisoners most severely cut for attempting to do so, and hourly whipped for not
eating. This indeed was often the case with myself. In a little time after, amongst the poor
chained men, I found some of my own nation, which in a small degree gave ease to my mind. I
inquired of these what was to be done with us; they gave me to understand we were to be
carried to these white people’s country to work for them. I then was a little revived, and
thought, if it were no worse than working, my situation was not so desperate: but still I feared I
should be put to death, the white people looked and acted, as I thought, in so savage a manner;
for I had never seen among any people such instances of brutal cruelty; and this not only shewn
towards us blacks, but also to some of the whites themselves. One white man in particular I
saw, when we were permitted to be on deck, flogged so unmercifully with a large rope near the
foremast, that he died in consequence of it; and they tossed him over the side as they would
have done a brute. This made me fear these people the more; and I expected nothing less than
to be treated in the same manner. I could not help expressing my fears and apprehensions to
some of my countrymen: I asked them if these people had no country, but lived in this hollow
place (the ship): they told me they did not, but came from a distant one. ‘Then,’ said I, ‘how
comes it in all our country we never heard of them?’ They told me because they lived so very
far off. I then asked where were their women? had they any like themselves? I was told they
had: ‘and why,’ said I,’do we not see them?’ they answered, because they were left behind. I
asked how the vessel could go? they told me they could not tell; but that there were cloths put
upon the masts by the help of the ropes I saw, and then the vessel went on; and the white men
had some spell or magic they put in the water when they liked in order to stop the vessel. I was
exceedingly amazed at this account, and really thought they were spirits. I therefore wished
much to be from amongst them, for I expected they would sacrifice me: but my wishes were
vain; for we were so quartered that it was impossible for any of us to make our escape. While
we stayed on the coast I was mostly on deck; and one day, to my great astonishment, I saw one
of these vessels coming in with the sails up. As soon as the whites saw it, they gave a great
shout, at which we were amazed; and the more so as the vessel appeared larger by
approaching nearer. At last she came to an anchor in my sight, and when the anchor was let go
I and my countrymen who saw it were lost in astonishment to observe the vessel stop; and

were not convinced it was done by magic. Soon after this the other ship got her boats out, and
they came on board of us, and the people of both ships seemed very glad to see each other.
Several of the strangers also shook hands with us black people, and made motions with their
hands, signifying I suppose we were to go to their country; but we did not understand them. At
last, when the ship we were in had got in all her cargo, they made ready with many fearful
noises, and we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed the vessel.
But this disappointment was the least of my sorrow. The stench of the hold while we were on
the coast was so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and
some of us had been permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that the whole
ship’s cargo were confined together, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the
place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that
each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. This produced copious
perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome
smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to
the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again
aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the
necessary tubs, into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of
the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost
inconceivable. Happily perhaps for myself I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought
necessary to keep me almost always on deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in
fetters. In this situation I expected every hour to share the fate of my companions, some of
whom were almost daily brought upon deck at the point of death, which I began to hope would
soon put an end to my miseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of the deep much
more happy than myself. I envied them the freedom they enjoyed, and as often wished I could
change my condition for theirs. Every circumstance I met with served only to render my state
more painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty of the whites. One
day they had taken a number of fishes; and when they had killed and satisfied themselves with
as many as they thought fit, to our astonishment who were on the deck, rather than give any of
them to us to eat as we expected, they tossed the remaining fish into the sea again, although
we begged and prayed for some as well as we could, but in vain; and some of my countrymen,
being pressed by hunger, took an opportunity, when they thought no one saw them, of trying
to get a little privately; but they were discovered, and the attempt procured them some very
severe floggings. One day, when we had a smooth sea and moderate wind, two of my wearied
countrymen who were chained together (I was near them at the time), preferring death to such
a life of misery, somehow made through the nettings and jumped into the sea: immediately
another quite dejected fellow, who, on account of his illness, was suffered to be out of irons,
also followed their example; and I believe many more would very soon have done the same if
they had not been prevented by the ship’s crew, who were instantly alarmed. Those of us that
were the most active were in a moment put down under the deck, and there was such a noise
and confusion amongst the people of the ship as I never heard before, to stop her, and get the
boat out to go after the slaves. However two of the wretches were drowned, but they got the
other, and afterwards flogged him unmercifully for thus attempting to prefer death to slavery.
In this manner we continued to undergo more hardships than I can now relate, hardships which
are inseparable from this accursed trade. Many a time we were near

suffocation from the want of fresh air, which we were often without for whole days together.
This, and the stench of the necessary tubs, carried off many. During our passage I first saw
flying fishes, which surprised me very much: they used frequently to fly across the ship, and
many of them fell on the deck. I also now first saw the use of the quadrant; I had often with
astonishment seen the mariners make observations with it, and I could not think what it meant.
They at last took notice of my surprise; and one of them, willing to increase it, as well as to
gratify my curiosity, made me one day look through it. The clouds appeared to me to be land,
which disappeared as they passed along. This heightened my wonder; and I was now more
persuaded than ever that I was in another world, and that every thing about me was magic. At
last we came in sight of the island of Barbadoes, at which the whites on board gave a great
shout, and made many signs of joy to us. We did not know what to think of this; but as the
vessel drew nearer we plainly saw the harbour, and other ships of different kinds and sizes; and
we soon anchored amongst them off Bridge Town. Many merchants and planters now came on
board, though it was in the evening. They put us in separate parcels, and examined us
attentively. They also made us jump, and pointed to the land, signifying we were to go there.
We thought by this we should be eaten by these ugly men, as they appeared to us; and, when
soon after we were all put down under the deck again, there was much dread and trembling
among us, and nothing but bitter cries to be heard all the night from these apprehensions,
insomuch that at last the white people got some old slaves from the land to pacify us. They told
us we were not to be eaten, but to work, and were soon to go on land, where we should see
many of our country people. This report eased us much; and sure enough, soon after we were
landed, there came to us Africans of all languages. We were conducted immediately to the
merchant’s yard, where we were all pent up together like so many sheep in a fold, without
regard to sex or age. As every object was new to me every thing I saw filled me with surprise.
What struck me first was that the houses were built with stories, and in every other respect
different from those in Africa: but I was still more astonished on seeing people on horseback. I
did not know what this could mean; and indeed I thought these people were full of nothing but
magical arts. While I was in this astonishment one of my fellow prisoners spoke to a
countryman of his about the horses, who said they were the same kind they had in their
country. I understood them, though they were from a distant part of Africa, and I thought it odd
I had not seen any horses there; but afterwards, when I came to converse with different
Africans, I found they had many horses amongst them, and much larger than those I then
saw. We were not many days in the merchant’s custody before we were sold after their usual
manner, which is this:–On a signal given,(as the beat of a drum) the buyers rush at once into
the yard where the slaves are confined, and make choice of that parcel they like best. The noise
and clamour with which this is attended, and the eagerness visible in the countenances of the
buyers, serve not a little to increase the apprehensions of the terrified Africans, who may well
be supposed to consider them as the ministers of that destruction to which they think
themselves devoted. In this manner, without scruple, are relations and friends separated, most
of them never to see each other again. I remember in the vessel in which I was brought over, in
the men’s apartment, there were several brothers, who, in the sale, were sold in different lots;
and it was very moving on this occasion to see and hear their cries at parting. O, ye nominal
Christians! might not an African ask you, learned you this from your God, who says unto you,
Do unto all men as you would men should do unto you? Is it not enough that we are torn from

our country and friends to toil for your luxury and lust of gain? Must every tender feeling be
likewise sacrificed to your avarice? Are the dearest friends and relations, now rendered more
dear by their separation from their kindred, still to be parted from each other, and thus
prevented from cheering the gloom of slavery with the small comfort of being together and
mingling their sufferings and sorrows? Why are parents to lose their children, brothers their
sisters, or husbands their wives? Surely this is a new refinement in cruelty, which, while it has
no advantage to atone for it, thus aggravates distress, and adds fresh horrors even to the
wretchedness of slavery.(6)

Attributions

(6) The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African:
Written By Himself by Olaudah Equiano is in the Public Domain.

https://archive.org/stream/theinterestingna15399gut/15399.txt

https://archive.org/stream/theinterestingna15399gut/15399.txt

https://wiki.creativecommons.org/wiki/Public_domain

• Excerpt from: Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, Or Gustavus Vassa, The African. Written By Himself. Vol. I. (published 1789)

CHAPTER II
Attributions