Reading 13: Notes on Olaudah Equiano Describes the Middle Passage, 1789

Olaudah Equiano's account details the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade during the Middle Passage.
Equiano eventually gained freedom and became an abolitionist in London.

After the ship was filled with cargo, the enslaved people were confined under the deck, unable to see the ship's operations.
The stench in the hold was extremely unpleasant and dangerous, causing some to be allowed on deck for fresh air previously.
With the entire ship's cargo confined, the hold became "pestilential".
Overcrowding, heat, and lack of space made it difficult to move, leading to suffocation.
Copious perspiration led to foul air, causing sickness and death among the enslaved due to the "improvident avarice" of the purchasers.
Chains added to the misery, and children often fell into the "necessary tubs," almost suffocating.
The shrieks of women and groans of the dying created a scene of horror.
Equiano was kept on deck due to his youth and poor condition, which spared him from fetters.
He expected to die like his companions, many of whom were near death daily.

Equiano often felt that the inhabitants of the deep were happier and envied their freedom, wishing he could change places with them.
Experiences heightened his awareness of the cruelty of the whites.
The crew caught fish but, instead of feeding the enslaved people, threw the remaining fish back into the sea.
Enslaved people caught trying to get fish were severely flogged.

Two countrymen, chained together, jumped into the sea to escape their misery; another, free due to illness, followed.
The crew was alarmed and tried to stop others from jumping overboard.
Those who were most active were put below deck amidst noise and confusion.
Two drowned, but one was caught and unmercifully flogged for attempting to prefer death to slavery.

The journey involved more hardships than Equiano could relate, inseparable from the "accursed trade."
The enslaved often lacked fresh air for days, leading to near suffocation and death from the stench of the tubs.
Equiano saw flying fish for the first time, which surprised him.
He also saw the quadrant and was curious about its use; a mariner let him look through it.
The clouds appeared as land, increasing his wonder and conviction that he was in another world where everything was magic.