Middle Passage was the name of the middle leg of a triangular journey across the Atlantic Ocean made by ships carrying enslaved people from Africa to the New World from the mid-1400’s to the mid-1800’s. Ships from Europe transported manufactured goods to the west coast of Africa. There, traders exchanged the goods for the captives. The ships then carried the enslaved people across the Atlantic Ocean to the Caribbean Islands and Brazil and sold them for large profits. The traders used their earnings to buy sugar, coffee, and tobacco in the Caribbean Islands and Brazil. The ships then took these products to Europe for sale. Between 10 million and 12 million enslaved people were forced to make this journey.
The Middle Passage began for enslaved people after they were captured or kidnapped by African slave dealers and brought to Africa’s western, or Atlantic, coast. Before they were sold to European traders, the captives were stripped and inspected. The initials of individual traders or the symbols of trading companies were branded onto the captives’ skin with red-hot irons to prove ownership. After being forced aboard a sailing vessel, enslaved men were shackled to each other at the wrists or ankles. Enslaved men were held in separate compartments from women and children, who were not shackled. For many captives who had never left their village or seen the ocean, the experience of boarding a large ship and setting sail was frightening and disorienting.
The conditions on board slave ships were horrific. Except for brief visits to the surface for washing or exercise, enslaved people spent the entire journey below deck, packed into storage areas. The cramped quarters typically allowed each person a space from 5 to 6 feet (1.5 to 1.8 meters) long and less than 2 feet (0.6 meter) wide. The overcrowded conditions forced the captives to lie on top of each other or side by side on the wood-plank floors. Enslaved people usually ate twice a day on deck. Food varied depending on the ship’s point of departure from Africa. It often included beans, corn meal, rice, yams, or sometimes a protein such as fish.
Slave ship crews used harsh punishment to control captives who resisted the cruel conditions. For even the slightest disobedience, many enslaved people were whipped with a cat-o’- nine-tails, a device consisting of nine long pieces of leather or cord with large knots tied in them. Violent slave revolts were suppressed with pistols and muskets. Every effort was also made to stop slave suicide attempts. Enslaved people who managed to jump overboard were trapped in large nets or retrieved from the water by members of the ship’s crew. Captives who refused to eat had food forced into their mouths with specially designed mechanical devices.
The journey from Africa to the Americas took from several weeks to several months. The extreme heat, stench of human waste, and constant crying, screaming, and shouting were often overwhelming to the captives. Many enslaved people starved, suffocated, or fell victim to disease or dehydration. Others became insane.
Upon arrival in the Americas, the captives were fed, washed, and groomed to appear healthy. They were then sold directly to slaveholders, or at auctions held on the decks of ships or in open-air markets onshore. Many enslaved people were left with physical, psychological, and emotional scars from the journey.
