Life on a Slave Ship
 

Once aboard a slave ship, slaves were in what is known as the “Middle Passage,” or the transportation phase of their journey. This time marked the beginning of the end for most of them, for if they survived the often deadly voyage, the best they could hope for was a life-time of hard labor. With limited communications with those who had gone before them, many slaves were unaware of what awaited them; the worst of the rumors was that they were to be eaten. Many of the rumors that circulated were devised by the slave traders themselves. With slaves outnumbering ship’s crew considerably, fear was the most effective tool for preventing insurrection. 

In order to instill terror among the slaves aboard trade ships, rebellious slaves were dealt with swiftly and harshly but most importantly, they were punished publicly, in hopes that others would behave in an effort to avoid a similar fate. Attempted mutinies or other higher offenses were often punishable by death, again always in public and usually by slow and cruel means. Starvation to death or to the brink of death was less effective as far as influencing the general slave population but it was also widely used as it allowed for the preservation of food stores. Sharks were naturally inclined to follow ships, lured there by the waste that was thrown overboard, but slave ships sometimes encouraged their presence with food, especially when docked in order to give the slaves one more reason to stay put. Despite the harsh consequences that could result, mutinies were attempted, almost always completely unsuccessful.

Violence at the hand of the crew and captain was not the only killer aboard slave ships. The living conditions that resulted from the containment of so many in the hull of a ship for extended periods of time led to the spread and development of disease. Exposure to new foreign illnesses spread especially fast. Another killer was the slaves themselves, many of whom did not take easily to the humiliating life of slavery and took their own lives. One slave after cutting his own throat and surviving, cut his throat a second time with his fingernails in an effort to avoid the life of a slave. While it cannot be said that any slave ship was pleasant, some were more tolerable than others. Some Captains were better compensated for healthy slaves and certainly for live ones, and they were as careful as they could be while still maintaining control.