SETTLING NORTH AMERICA 1497 1732
RISE OF THE SLAVE TRADE BLACK HISTORY IN COLONIAL AMERICA
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Question
[CLICK ON ANY CHOICE TO KNOW THE RIGHT ANSWER]
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The ship’s doctor would see to you.
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You would just have to get over it.
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You’d be thrown overboard.
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No one ever got sick on the Middle Passage.
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Detailed explanation-1: -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.
Detailed explanation-2: -Often when an uprising failed, the mutineers would jump en masse into the sea. Slaves generally believed that if they jumped overboard, they would be returned to their family and friends in their village or to their ancestors in the afterlife.
Detailed explanation-3: -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.
Detailed explanation-4: -The “middle passage, ” which brought the slaves from West Africa to the West Indies, might take three weeks. Unfavorable weather conditions could make the trip much longer. The Transatlantic (Triangular) Trade involved many continents, a lot of money, some cargo and sugar, and millions of African slaves.