Week one Journal Entry: Slave Traders

Week One Journal Entry: Slave Traders

Tameka L Taylor

HIS/110

May 11th, 2015

Professor Devan Bissonette

Week One Journal Entry: Slave Traders

The one item that caught my attention and piqued my interest was the Atlantic slave trade. I’ve always wondered not just about how slaves were actually captured, but about the state of mind of the slaves who were captured. I can only imagine the things that were going on in the minds of the captured individuals. If I had to visualize the thought process of an individual who has just been captured and taken into slavery, I would imagine it would be something like this: Why have they taken me? What do they want with me? Will I ever see my family or my homeland again? I am here...in the belly of this boat that is taking me to a place of uncertainty. I am weak, hungry, and thirsty. Who are these strange white creatures and where do they come from? I’ve never seen anyone who looks like them. They have kept us in the belly of the boat for most of this journey, but once a week they let us come up so that we can stretch and get fresh air. During this time I have seen them toss those who are sick and have died over into the ocean, and wonder if that will be my fate. They keep us separated and do not want us to talk or communicate with one another. Women and children are kept in another place that is separate from the men. I have also noticed that women have somewhat more freedom than the men. They keep us chained up when they let us come out of the belly of the boat. I have noticed too, that there is water as far as the eyes can see; no land in sight anywhere. This makes me more afraid of what will become of me. I was captured with my sister, but I can only wonder about what happened to her, as I have not seen her since they captured us while we were out gathering firewood for our mother. We have now been on this journey for seven months, and have finally reached land. They have taken us from the belly of the boat and placed us in a cage upon this strange land. The strangest thing for me now is the people that I see in this new and unknown land; there are those here who look like me, yet do not sound or speak as I do. I am afraid, and uncertain about what will happen to me in this strange land that I have been brought to.

This is what I assumed that any man, woman or child felt when being snatched away from their home by strangers, brought to a land that they know nothing about. The things that these people witnessed had to be terrifying, people being thrown overboard because of illnesses from being in unclean living quarters, improper medical attention when they were ill, not being fed properly,