USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -It sometimes took several months to transport captives to the coast, and they often were sold and resold to several new owners along the way. Once they reached the coast, some captives were taken to slave forts or compounds, where they waited for a slave vessel to arrive.

Detailed explanation-2: -Before being sold, the enslaved were often kept in pens or private jails, sometimes for days or weeks. Then they were sold directly from the pens or marched to a nearby auction. Thousands of sales took place each year, right in the hearts of American cities and towns, on the steps of courthouses and city halls.

Detailed explanation-3: -Africa. The western coast of Africa was home to many slave forts, which were built by the Europeans to load the slaves onto their ships. The Europeans for the most part stayed along the coast, and African slave catchers would bring the slaves they captured to the slave forts to exchange them for European goods.

Detailed explanation-4: -The space was so cramped they were forced to crouch or lie down. Women and children were kept in separate quarters, sometimes on deck, allowing them limited freedom of movement, but this also exposed them to violence and sexual abuse from the crew. The air in the hold was foul and putrid.