Blog Question #4

How did slavery in the Americas begin?

Slavery was introduced to America in 1619 when a Dutch ship brought twenty black slaves from Africa to the colony of Jamestown, Virginia.  The save trade was carried on chiefly by New England merchants and shippers.  Their trading ships left southern ports for the coast of Africa with cargoes of rum to trade for African citizens, sold by the kings of warring tribes as slaves.  The slave ships sailed to Cuba and the United States, where the salves were exchanged for money, sugarcane, and molasses.  These trading ships were wooded vessels ninety feet long. Forty to eighty slaves were placed in poorly ventilated holds, which measured approximately thirty feet by thirty feet, and were chained at the ankles by iron shackles.  Answer the following questions, using your imagination and the information in this paragraph.

1. Given the number of slaves in a small hold, what do you think would be their physical and mental needs?  What problems might arise if those needs are not met? 
2. What sorts of people would be willing to work on a slave ship?  How might they be affected by what they see and do?
3. What do you think would be the attitude of the crew members toward the kind of work they are doing?  What do you think would be their attitude toward the conditions of the blacks?
4. If you were forced to work on a slave ship against your will, what would concern you the most?