Three Worlds Meet

I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation [greeting] in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness [horribleness] of the stench and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables [food]; and on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass [a part of the ship], and tied my feet, while the other flogged [whipped] me severely.

Background information: Olaudah Equiano was enslaved in Africa but eventually gained his freedom in the United States. These passages are excerpts from his autobiography, published in 1789. What is the "greeting" that Equiano receives when he first steps below the decks of the ship? He is met with a horrible smell.

Saturday 22 June Being pretty warm, got up the men and washed all the slaves with fresh water. l am much afraid of another ravage from the flux [diarrheal infection], for we have had 8 taken within these few days. Thursday 27 June When we were putting the slaves down in the evening, one that was sick jumped overboard. Got him in again but he dyed immediately between his weakness and the salt water he had swallowed, tho I imagine he would have lived but a little while being quite worn out.

Background information: These are journal entries from John Newton, a trader of enslaved persons. They were written in 1754. What happens to the enslaved person who jumps overboard on June 27? He is rescued but dies anyway.

Saturday 22 June Being pretty warm, got up the men and washed all the slaves with fresh water. l am much afraid of another ravage from the flux [diarrheal infection], for we have had 8 taken within these few days. Thursday 27 June When we were putting the slaves down in the evening, one that was sick jumped overboard. Got him in again but he died immediately between his weakness and the salt water he had swallowed, tho I imagine he would have lived but a little while being quite worn out.

Background information: These are journal entries from John Newton, a trader of enslaved persons. They were written in 1754. Which of these claims is supported by evidence in both passages? Many enslaved persons died on the Middle Passage.

I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation [greeting] in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness [horribleness] of the stench and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables [food]; and on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass [a part of the ship], and tied my feet, while the other flogged [whipped] me severely . . .

Look closely at the phrase, "I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me." What is Equiano referring to? He hopes to die.

The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocated us. . . . [T]he air soon became unfit for respiration from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness amongst the slaves, of which many died. . . . The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole scene of horror almost inconceivable.

What causes the sickness among the slaves that Equiano describes in this passage? The overcrowded conditions and bad air lead people to become sick.

I was soon put down under the decks, and there I received such a salutation [greeting] in my nostrils as I had never experienced in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness [horribleness] of the stench and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables [food]; and on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass [a part of the ship], and tied my feet, while the other flogged [whipped] me severely.

What happens when Equiano refuses to eat? He is flogged.