Life on a Slave ship

• How many Africans were taken from their homeland between 1525 and 1866?


  Twelve and a half million
• What was the survival rate of Africans during the Atlantic journey?


  Approximately 2 million did not survive
• What features did European merchants add to ships for transporting enslaved people?


  Extra portholes for ventilation, weapons on deck, and additional compartments
• What happened to enslaved people before boarding the ships?


  They were stripped of their clothing and possessions and had their heads shaved
• How long could the boarding process take for enslaved people?


  It could take weeks or even months
• Where did enslaved people live during the voyage?

  In a temporary wooden house constructed by the crew on deck
• What was the purpose of the netting installed around the deck?


  To catch enslaved people who might jump overboard
• What conditions did enslaved people face below deck?


  They were stuffed into compartments with low ceilings and no sanitary facilities
• How were enslaved people segregated on the ship?


  By gender and age
• What was the typical meal for enslaved people during the voyage?

  Rice and beans
• What was the purpose of forced exercise for enslaved people?


  To keep them healthy and entertained for the crew
• What tool was used to inflict maximum pain on enslaved people?

  The cat-o'-nine-tails
• What happened to enslaved people who refused to eat?

  They were forced to eat using a speculum oris
• What kind of abuse did women face during the voyage?

  They were often raped and sexually abused by crew members
• How did women use their freedoms during the voyage?


  They often coordinated mutinies against their captors
• What was revealed in the 1783 court trial over the slave ship Zong?


  The horrors aboard the ship and the justification for throwing enslaved people overboard
• How many enslaved people were on board the Zong when it left Ghana?


  442 enslaved people
• What was Captain Luke Collingwood's concern during the voyage?


  The financial cost of more deaths among enslaved people
• What was the legal argument made by the ship's owners during the trial?


  That it was legal to treat enslaved people like sick animals
• What was the outcome of the trial regarding the Zong?


  The court agreed with the ship's owners
• What did British abolitionists do with the story of the Zong?


  They republished it to expose the horrors of the Middle Passage
• When was the international slave trade outlawed in Great Britain and the United States?

  24 years after the Zong trial
• How long did it take for slavery to be officially abolished in England and the U.S. after the international slave trade was outlawed?


  England took an additional 26 years, and the U.S. took another 58 years plus a civil war