Candidate’s Name: Brittney Basdeo

Candidate’s Number:

School:

Subject: Caribbean History

Topic: Life of an African Slave

Teacher:

Mark: 28/35

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
1
 Table Of Contents

Content Page Number

Acknowledgement i
Statement Of Problem 4
Essay 5
Bibliography 16

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
2
 Acknowledgement

I would like to thank my History teacher Miss Aziza Javed for answering all my questions

and no matter how late it got, you kept checking and rechecking my introduction. I am very

grateful for that. Secondly I would like to thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for giving me

the patience and perseverance to finish this SBA. It was no easy task but I'm thankful that it’s

done. Last but not least I'd like to thank my parents for helping me in any way they can to ensure

the completion of this SBA.

Statement Of Problem
Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
3
What was the life of an African slave like from the time he/she was captured during the 17th

century from Africa to the time he/she reached the Caribbean plantation ?

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
4
 “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves,”1 according to

the great Abraham Lincoln. Unfortunately, part of our Caribbean History is about

denying freedom to others and this came about through the practice of the African

slave trade. According to the Oxford dictionary, “ A slave is a person who is owned

by another and is forced to work for and obey them,”2 The history between the 17th

century slaves and the Europeans are complicated, the Europeans' decisions and unjust

treatment towards the slaves would forever be a part of our Caribbean History but no

amount of talk and justification can be done to bring true justice to what had to be

endured. So it begs the question, what struggles, burdens and hardships these slaves

encounter to reach the Caribbean plantations ?

The start of this journey begins with the capturing of the African Slaves. “In the 17th

century there was a rapid growth in the sugar plantations in Brazil and the Lesser Antilles

making a large demand for slaves.”3 Captains of the slaving ships had two ways in

acquiring the African slaves for arrival into the New World. Firstly they would cruise

along the coast dealing with several African dealers. Or Secondly, they would go to a

1: Conway ,Fred. Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, April 6 1859,
www.si.edu/object/those-who-deny-freedom-others-deserve-it-not-for-themselves-and-under-just-god-cannont-long-
retain-it:saam_1989.124.70

2, Oxford Advanced learner’s Dictionary, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/slave_1?

q=Slave

3 Claypole, William and Robottom, John. “Caribbean History Book 1,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong
Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 1981

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
5
 trading station and buy the slaves from there through a European Factor. “In the 17th

century the Spanish said they preferred to buy Africans from Senegambia (the trading

area along the Senegal and Gambia Rivers), the Wolofs and Mandingos, because they

were said to be intelligent, diligent and multilingual.”

(An illustration showing the number of live slaves taken from Africa) Claypole, William and
Robottom, John. “Caribbean History Book 1,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong Publishers
(Caribbean) Limited, 1981

4 Beckles McD Hilary, Shepherd A. Verene, “ Liberties Lost Caribbean Indigenous Societies and Slave Systems.”
Cambridge University Press ,2004

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
6
(An illustration showing the main trading spots in Africa) Claypole, William and Robottom, John.
“Caribbean History Book 1,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 1981

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
7
 ( A Photo of Africans Liberated from a
Slave Ship in Jamaica of 1857)

The Europeans slave traders captured most of their slaves from

buying them from African rulers, only a handful of slaves were captured by

means of kidnap. Apart from this there were many ways an African person

can become a slave. They could have been hold as a punishment of crime or

even as a prisoner of war making it easier to capture or obtain slaves for the

Slave trade to bring them into the new world. Note that many enslaved people

who were twins, the mother of twins, deformed children or girls with early

menstrual cycle were considered unusual and used as a reason for slavery. I can’t

begin to imagine what these slaves who were considered ‘unusual’ must have felt.

Them being a little different than most people, using this as a reason for slavery is

just inhumane, by making these people feel so much less than what they are.

Hundreds of slaves journeyed to the slave forts. “From the interior of

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
8
 Africa many slaves walked hundreds of miles to the Coast where they were

usually in groups of hundreds and two or three of them bounded together

with irons from the left leg of one attached to the right leg of another5.” Apart

From this the captives were forced to carry goods such as water and ivories.

The slaves were forced to walk from dawn till early afternoon. The journey

often took a toll on these slaves as many of them died from malnutrition and

exhaustion. The hiding cells below the fort where the slaves were

imprisoned until it was time to board, had a hole concealed on the roof just

outside the door, where a spy who spoke Afrikans (The african language)

could hide and inform the slave traders about escape plots. Captives could be

held in barracuda (slave shed) for several months awaiting the Europeans

Each European nation had its own series of forts along the African coast

where they conducted slave trading businesses. “The Atlantic Slave trade also

resulted in tribal laws being undermined, since the purpose of punishment was no

longer justice, but to get slaves.” 6Having to walk in the sun all day is currently

such a tiring task but doing it with no water or food and being forced to be tied

5 Baldeosingh, Kevin and Mahase, Radica. “ Oxford Caribbean History for CSEC,” Oxford University Press, 2011

6 Claypole, William and Robottom, John. “Caribbean History Book 1,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong
Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 1981

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
9
 together while walking with thick pieces of iron holding you is just unnecessary

torture. I cannot imagine being in those slaves shoes

( A Photo of Slaves entering the Ships to begin their Voyage)

“The capacity for growth depends on one’s ability to internalize and to take

personal responsibility. If we forever see our life as a problem caused by

7 Claypole, William and Robottom, John. “Caribbean History Book 1,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong
Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 1981

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
10
 others, a problem to be "solved," then no change will occur.”8 These are the

words of James Hollis author of The Middle Passage: From Misery to

Meaning in Midlife. The Middle Passage’s Voyage began with the

Europeans Separating the Africans by Gender and Age. “From 1525 to 1866

many

of the Africans around the continent were taken from their hometowns to across

the Atlantic.”9 “The actual experience of the middle passage was probably far

worse than anything the Slaves could have imagined.10”European Merchants built

ships with so many things that there was no way for anyone to get away. The

ship’s deck was full of weapons just in case anyone tried to run away or rebel.

The ships also had extra port holes for ventilation and an additional

compartment below the deck to store bodies. Upon boarding the ship the

slaves were stripped of their garments and possessions, some were even

forced to shave their heads. When boarding the ship the slaves were put in

wooden houses the Europeans made outside the deck and added netting all

around the deck of the ship to prevent the slaves from any form of escape.
8 James Hollis, The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife (Studies in Jungian Psychology by
Jungian Analysts, 59)

9 “Life Aboard a Slave Ship.” YouTube, uploaded by HISTORY, February 7th 2019,
https://youtu.be/PmQvofAiZGA

10 Gilmore John, Allen Beryl, McCallum Dian and Ramdeen Romila, “Longman Caribbean History: Empires and
Conquests,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 2003

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
11
 When the slaves boarded the ships they stuffed them like teddy bears in

rooms so low and congested and it's unfortunate that that is where they spent

almost all of their voyage to the New World.There was no bathroom onboard so

the slaves were forced to do their numbers right where they sat opting for hellish

conditions at times. The slaves were also forced to perform exercises like dance

and songs to enter the Europeans onboard and those who refused to do so were

abused and beaten. At times when the slaves refused to eat the Europoans would

punish them with an instrument

called the Speculum Oris which would force open the slaves mouth to eat

the food. Diseases such as malaria flooded the ships. When the captains found

out that people who died with the disease were not covered under the ship's

insurance but the slaves who drowned did, they would make the ill slaves throw

themselves overboard so they wouldn't have to pay a dime. Eannes de Zurara, a

courtier to Prince Henry’s brother said, “Some kept their heads low, and their

faces bathed in tears, looking one upon another. Others stood groaning very

dolorously, looking up to the height of heaven, fixing their eyes upon it, crying

out loudly… others struck their faces with the palms of their hands, throwing

themselves at full length upon the ground; while others made lamentations in the

manner of a dirge, after the custom of their country.”11 This story is just so hard to

11 Baldeosingh, Kevin and Mahase, Radica. “ Oxford Caribbean History for CSEC,” Oxford University Press,
2011

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
12
 swallow. Having people forcing my mouth open to eat or treating me like I’m an

animal rather than a human being is just so wrong and disgusting, it is absolutely

unacceptable what these slaves had to endure. There was a saying that goes “The

Middle Passage was much more than the transatlantic journey of millions of

enslaved Africans; it was a symbol of the social division that separated the people

of Africa and Europe,”12and I believe that is exactly what the Middle Passage

symbolized: that Europe always wanted to make the world feel like they were

inferior just because we weren’t First World countries and as developed as them

so we depended on these systems and people for help. “Disease inadequate food

and brutal treatment meant that many slaves died before their ships reached the

Americas.”
1314

15

12 Beckles McD Hilary, Shepherd A. Verene, “ Liberties Lost Caribbean Indigenous Societies and Slave Systems.”
Cambridge University Press ,2004

13 Gilmore John, Allen Beryl, McCallum Dian and Ramdeen Romila, “Longman Caribbean History: Empires and
Conquests,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 2003
14

15 Baldeosingh, Kevin and Mahase, Radica. “ Oxford Caribbean History for CSEC,” Oxford University Press,
2011

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
13
(A photo of what the ship used in the Middle Passage looked like)

(A photo of the Speculum Oris the instrument used on the Slaves to force them to eat)

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
14
(A photo of a Slave using the Speculum Oris)

Furthermore, when the enslaved Africans arrived in the Caribbean, they

were fed and allowed to relax, all for the purpose of ensuring that they were

in the best condition to be sold in the slave market. In Jamaica, the sick slaves

were given a bush bath and given two meals a day and alcohol to drink.

“Those appeared strongest were usually sold by private treaty to a local merchant

or large planter.”16 Also, “Others were sold at public auctions where prices were

generally low and the risk of buying an ailing slave much greater.”
17
The African slaves were then sold either by scramble or by auction. However, the

slaves who were not sold either because of illness or deformities were simply left

16 Ferguson, James, “The Story of the Caribbean People.” Ian Randle Publishers, 1999

17 Ferguson, James, “The Story of the Caribbean People.” Ian Randle Publishers, 1999

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
15
 in the ports to die. The effects of the slave trade on West Africa was a “brutal

machine of mass destruction which destroyed as many Africans as it exported.”18 I cannot

begin to imagine what it must have felt like for these African slaves; they were basically

chew toys for the Europeons. “Between 1665 and 1833 the slave population of the

Caribbean rose from under 50 000 to well over 1 100 000.”

19

18 Dyde, Brian, Greenwood, Robert and Hamber Shirley. “CSEC History Amerindians to Africans 3rd Edition”
Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2008

19 Hamber Shirley, Greenwood Robert, Dyde Brian, “CSEC History Emancipation to Emigration 3rd Edition.”
Macmillan Education Publishers Limited, 2008

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
16
 (A photo of a woman being beaten by the Europeans)

In conclusion, the harsh reality these slaves faced has made our region the

factor it is today. It’s even mind blowing to know that “ Everywhere except the Spanish

islands, slaves formed the bulk of the population.” 20 which means that the Enslaved

people would be such a huge part of so many nations' Evolution. Although, the lives of

an African slave was nothing short of guth wrenching

and heartbreaking. Whether it's how they were captured, the journey to get to the ship or

even the voyage in the ship itself. It’s simply impossible to believe that the hardships and

struggles those

slaves faced was just the stepping stone of a nation waiting to be built. Like the saying

says who lives, who dies, who tells your story. Many people live, but so many slaves

died and now all Caribbean History students can tell their story in hopes of having

People understand the simple tragedies that went on to make our Caribbean History.

20 Hamber Shirley, Greenwood Robert, Dyde Brian, “CSEC History Emancipation to Emigration 3rd Edition.”
Macmillan Education Publishers Limited, 2008

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
17
 Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
18
 Bibliography

Books
Claypole, William and Robottom, John. “Caribbean History Book 1,” Pearson Education Limited:
Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 1981

Baldeosingh, Kevin and Mahase, Radica. “ Oxford Caribbean History for CSEC,” Oxford University
Press, 2011

Dyde, Brian, Greenwood, Robert and Hamber Shirley. “CSEC History Amerindians to Africans 3rd
Edition” Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2008

Gilmore John, Allen Beryl, McCallum Dian and Ramdeen Romila, “Longman Caribbean History:
Empires and Conquests,” Pearson Education Limited: Carlong Publishers (Caribbean) Limited, 2003

Hamber Shirley, Greenwood Robert, Dyde Brian, “CSEC History Emancipation to Emigration 3rd
Edition.” Macmillan Education Publishers Limited, 2008

Beckles McD Hilary, Shepherd A. Verene, “ Liberties Lost Caribbean Indigenous Societies and Slave
Systems.” Cambridge University Press ,2004

Ferguson, James, “The Story of the Caribbean People.” Ian Randle Publishers, 1999

Articles

James Hollis, The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife (Studies in Jungian Psychology
by Jungian Analysts, 59)

Lewis, Thomas; “The Middle Passage.”

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Middle-Passage-slave-trade

VIDEOS

“Life Aboard a Slave Ship.” YouTube, uploaded by HISTORY, February 7th 2019,
https://youtu.be/PmQvofAiZGA

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
19
Websites
Conway ,Fred. “Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.” Smithsonian American
Art Museum, Gift of Container Corporation of America, April 6 1859, www.si.edu/object/those-who-
deny-freedom-others-deserve-it-not-for-themselves-and-under-just-god-cannont-long-retain-
it:saam_1989.124.70

“A slave is a person who is owned by another and is forced to work and obey them.” , Oxford Advanced
learner’s Dictionary, https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/slave_1?q=Slave

Photo of Africans Liberated from a Slave Ship, Jamaica, 1857: "Africans Liberated from a Slave Ship,
Jamaica, 1857", Slavery Images: “ A Visual Record of the African Slave Trade and Slave Life in the
Early African Diaspora,” accessed October 24, 2021,
http://www.slaveryimages.org/s/slaveryimages/item/2763

Marchant, J. Filling in the gaps in the slave trade. Nature (2011).

https://doi.org/10.1038/nature.2011.9535

Deleon, Ian; https://www.google.com/amp/s/iandeleonarts.tumblr.com/post/73795540631/showing-a-

variant-of-one-of-these-the-speculum/amp

“Slave Ships: An Inside Look.” History 120; Thursday November 19

2009;http://spottoblogger.blogspot.com/2009/11/her-life-continued.html?m=1

NYPL/SCIENCE SOURCE/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY. “Caribbean Slave Trade 18th Century.”

Science Photo Library, https://www.sciencephoto.com/media/1004705/view/caribbean-slave-trade-18th-
century

Hi there! Please note that this SBA is uploaded for learning and understanding only. I hope that
this SBA helps you understand the structure of the CSEC Caribbean History SBA to better
Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
20
improve your own. Please do not pass off any of this SBA as your own work. Best of luck and
happy studying!

Yours Sincerely,
Brittney B

Brittney Basdeo
© Copyrighted Material
21