LIFE IN ANTEBELLUM AMERICA 1807 1861
SLAVERY IN AMERICA COTTON SLAVE TRADE AND THE SOUTHERN RESPONSE
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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living space
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daily exercise
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serious illness
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successful revolts
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Detailed explanation-1: -Epidemics of fever, dysentery (the ‘flux’) and smallpox were frequent. Captives endured these conditions for about two months, sometimes longer. In good weather the captives were brought on deck in midmorning and forced to exercise. They were fed twice a day and those refusing to eat were force-fed.
Detailed explanation-2: -Many slaves suffered from dysentery, dropsy, fevers, and digestive and nervous diseases. Yaws, a non-venereal form of syphilis, was common, and there were regular epidemics, such as a cholera epidemic in Grenada in 1830.
Detailed explanation-3: -The Middle Passage itself lasted roughly 80 days on ships ranging from small schooners to massive, purpose-built “slave ships.” Ship crews packed humans together on or below decks without space to sit up or move around. Without ventilation or sufficient water, about 15% grew sick and died.