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Home , Middle Passage, Middle Passage (novel), Slave ship

: , Enslaved African Man, 1756

Lesson Guide Objectives: The students will be better able to: • Describe the experiences of an enslaved African man enduring the Middle Passage. • Obtain information from a variety of primary sources.

Time: • First Person Narrative: 4:00 minutes • Analysis Questions: 8 minutes

Grade Level: 6th-12th

Vocabulary: The first person narratives contain several words that may be unfamiliar to 21st-century readers. Whenever these words are used within narratives or primary sources, the Web page will include definitions for those words. Good historians always have a dictionary nearby when doing research or writing, so students should as well. Here is the list specific to this activity: • loathsomeness – a characteristic engendering extreme disgust • Middle passage – the voyage of enslaved people across the Atlantic from Africa to the ; the middle leg of a three-part trade in slaves and goods between , Africa, and the Americas • necessary tub – a vessel for urination and defecation • pestilential – (1)(a) causing or tending to cause pestilence (such as an infectious epidemic disease): deadly (1)(b) of or relating to pestilence (2) morally harmful : pernicious (3) giving rise to vexation or annoyance : irritating • salutation – an expression of greeting, goodwill, or courtesy by word, gesture, or ceremony • windlass – any of various machines for hoisting or hauling: as a horizontal barrel supported on vertical posts and turned by a crank so that the hoisting rope is wound around the barrel

Materials: • Computer with Internet access (with Flash plug-in & Adobe Reader) – Life at Sea—1680 to 1806 Web site (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/oral_histories/life_ at_sea/) – Transcript of the audio clip (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/pdf/transcript_equiano.pdf)

Life at Sea: Middle Passage Page 1 of 7 • Student Worksheet PDF (print or digital) (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/pdf/worksheet_ equiano.pdf) • Printer (recommended)

Preparation: 1. Visit the Olaudah Equiano page of Life at Sea—1680 to 1806 (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/ oral_histories/life_at_sea/equiano.htm) to preview the content. 2. Download & print the transcript (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/pdf/transcript_equiano.pdf) for the Olaudah Equiano recording. Consider making copies for students. 3. Print the student worksheet (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/pdf/worksheet_equiano.pdf) to distribute to students.

Standards: NCHS 5-12 History Standards Era 2, Standard 1A: The student understands how diverse immigrants affected the formation of European colonies. Era 2, Standard 3C: The student understands African life under .

NCHS 5-12 World History Standards Era 6, Standard 4B: The student understands the origins and consequences of the trans-Atlantic African slave trade. Era 7, Standard 2C: The student understands the causes and consequences of the abolition of the trans- and slavery in the Americas.

NCHS 5-12 Standards in Historical Thinking 2B: Reconstruct the literal meaning of a historical passage 2C: Identify the central question(s) 2E: Read historical narratives imaginatively 4B: Obtain historical data from a variety of sources 4F: Support interpretations with historical evidence

Introduction: In order to better understand events and people of the past, historians examine many different types of primary sources. Government records, letters, photographs and artifacts are just a few examples of primary sources. First-person narratives are a very valuable type of primary source since they are the words of people who actually lived through the events they speak of. The audio recordings you will hear are dramatic readings of first-person accounts written by real people of the time periods shown.

Historical Context: From the early days of the American colonies, forced labor and slavery grew to become a central part of colonial economic and labor systems. Hard labor made tobacco, rice, and sugar profitable. Buying and enslaving the people who supplied this labor ultimately became a lucrative and tragic part of the commerce in the maritime web that connected Europe, Africa, and the Americas.

Life at Sea: Middle Passage Page 2 of 7 The Atlantic slave trade was the largest forced migration of people by sea in history. First-person accounts of the Middle Passage are very rare. Olaudah Equiano’s first-person account recalls his terrifying journey as an 11-year-old captive aboard a from Africa to in 1756.

Olaudah Equiano wrote an account of the Middle Passage in his 1789 autobiography. Recent scholarship has called into question Equiano’s place of birth and whether his narrative is, in fact, a firsthand account. Whether born in Africa or Carolina, many scholars agree that the basic content of Equiano’s narrative is a significant document that rings true.

Task: Use your listening skills to discover important information from the first-person narratives, then work with several supporting primary sources to answer questions about the person and/or their experiences.

Questions: 1. According to the words of Olaudah Equiano and referring to at least one supporting primary sources, state 3 conditions aboard that would decrease his chances of surviving the journey.

Equiano’s account mentions the horrifying conditions below decks on the ship. He states the heat and crowded conditions “almost suffocated us.” He also includes a graphic description of overflowing chamber pots and children nearly drowning in them. Both the shackles and the famous Brooks illustration showing how slaves could be arranged for maxium profit are supporting primary sources.

2. Based on Olaudah Equiano’s account and one supporting primary source, cite evidence that indicates there were likely people from many African countries on this particular journey. You may use the written transcript to guide you.

The map of Africa created in 1644 shows that Europeans were well aware of the many different ethnic and tribal groups as well as territorial boundaries on the continent. The illustrations that frame the map represent a variety of styles of dress found in Africa at the time. Equiano’s narrative indicates it took him a while before he “… found some of my own nation…” Ask your students to imagine the many languages being spoken below decks and 11 year old Equiano’s difficulty in locating someone to talk to. You can ask them to listen to these audio files to hear a variety of West African languages spoken today.

Compare/Contrast: Equiano’s narrative pairs well with The Price of Doing Business (Joseph Hawkins, American Officer on a Slave Ship, 1795).

Supporting Primary Sources: See pages 5 through 7 in this guide.

Life at Sea: Middle Passage Page 3 of 7 Additional Primary & Secondary Sources: • Section of the On the Water exhibition focusing on the slave trade in the Atlantic World (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/1_4.html) • Illustration of Olaudah Equiano (http://americanhistory.si.edu/onthewater/exhibition/1_2. html#LifeAtSea1) • Essay describing details of the Brooks illustration (http://www.history.ac.uk/1807commemorated/ exhibitions/museums/brookes.html) • Modern listing of languages spoken in west African countries, along with audio files and written samples (http://www.gowestafrica.org/media/languages.php) • Essay entitled “Insurrection On Board Slave Ships,” part of the Slavery in America Web site (http:// www.slaveryinamerica.org/history/hs_es_insurrection.htm)

Life at Sea: Middle Passage Page 4 of 7 Map of Africa, 1644 This map includes European names for parts of the West African coast where people were captured and held for the slave trade. Map by Willem Janszoon Blaeu Courtesy of the Historic Maps Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library

Life at Sea: Middle Passage Page 5 of 7 The slave decks of the ship Brooks, 1788 This famous plan has appeared in almost every study of the Middle Passage published since 1788. Working from measurements of a slave ship, a British parliamentary committee filled the drawing’s decks with figures representing men, women, and children. The drawing shows about 450 people; the Brooks carried 609 on a voyage in 1786. Courtesy of the Library of Congress

Life at Sea: Middle Passage Page 6 of 7 Shackles These ankle shackles are of the type used to restrain enslaved people aboard ships in the Middle Passage.

Lent by the National Museum of African American History and Culture

Life at Sea: Middle Passage Page 7 of 7