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Islands and Slave Trade

6 years ago

693 words

Caroline De Tino

Professor Kappes

ENG 302

15 March 2018

  The transatlantic slave trade involved the transportation of slaves from Africa to the Americas, where they were then sold to the highest bidder. Along the way, these slaves were treated like animals, and there has since been documentation of treatment from those who managed to escape. Two examples of this include The Interesting Narrative (1789) by Olaudah Equiano and an object currently displayed on digital archive by The New York Public Library’s The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: “In Motion: The African American Migration Experience.” The Interesting Narrative includes scenes which detail life as a kidnapped slave on a ship headed to Barbados meanwhile, the artifact found on digital archive is said to show illegal slave trade destinations. Not only does Equiano’s autobiography keep track of life as a slave but, it also keeps track of the locations where both slaves and free blacks would travel to in the 18th century. Similarly, the map carved into the whale’s tooth can also be used as a marker for locations.

In chapter two of The Interesting Narrative, we are told about Equiano’s life as a slave. Along the way, he is reunited with his sister after being sold, but it is short lived once they are both sold. He is then kidnapped from his new master and sent off on a ship destined for Barbados. Throughout the voyage to Barbados, Equiano describes the scent under the decks as “… so intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time…” (58). This particular account allows us to gain insight as to the conditions of not only the ship, but also the conditions in which the slaves were forced to live in.

The New York Public Library’s The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: “In Motion: The African American Migration Experience,” has a map that was carved into the tooth of a whale in 1820. This map is said to show buried treasure and illegal slave trade destinations. The map is intricately carved into this whales tooth and includes a compass, possibly showing the direction of the slave trade route and treasure. Although little is known about this object, there is an image clearly visible of palm trees and also people on the far left. The palm trees may serve as an indicator of the warm climate. Based on the color and labor being done by the two people seen, it is presumed they are slaves. The words “3 feet by 3 feet by four” can also be seen near what appears to be two islands, one of the treasure and the other of the slave trade. Although the size of the ship is not expressed by Equiano in his account, he does reveal: “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” (58). When put into perspective, 3 feet by 3 feet by four could have been the space in which the slaves had on the ship. Equiano mentions: “At last we came in sight of the island of Barbados” (60). The map on the whales tooth depicts two islands on it. While the map does not depict Barbados exactly, it may still be a reference that most slave trade destinations were to islands, most likely in the West Indies.

The object found on digital archive and Equiano’s autobiography both help us understand the Transatlantic Slave Trade and the importance of its various geographic locations. The use of Equiano’s book also helps us piece together what life was like for slaves onboard ships which answers many questions about the map on the whales tooth. Without these two items further serving as proof, some parts of the Transatlantic Slave Trade would have been regarded as a mystery in history.

 

Works Cited

Equiano, Olaudah. “Chapter II.” The Interesting Narrative Of The Life Of Olaudah Equiano. London: Equiano, 1794. 58-60. Print.

Sample Noel Pittman Collection, ca. 1820 www.inmotionaame.org/gallery/detail.cfm?migration=1&topic=99&id=298004&type=image&metadata=show&page=10

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