Marizza Simmons

History 28/TTH, 1100-1215

Prof. Arce
Questions for Voices Chapters 1-2
Due: 10.07.10

Chapter 1
Barbot:

1. How does the author describe the slave trade? Does he provide any
justifications for his role in the trade?
Barbot describes the trade as a “perculiar manner of business of kings, rich
men, and prime merchants, exclusive of the inferior sort of blacks”. He
constantly tries to give justifications for his role. He says that the conditions
in Africa were so horrible and the treatment by their captors so harsh that
they were better off being sold to Europeans. He claims himself
compassionate while admitting having to break the teeth of slaves and force
feed them.

2. How does the author describe the slave captives? What are his
perceptions of the differences between Africans and Europeans?
Barbot describes the African captives as unfortunate wretches. He describes
them, unlike Europeans, as savages, a race of people who do not bury their
dead and hardly clothe their slaves. He makes them out to be inhumane and
barbarous.

3. How reliable us Barbot’s account? Explain.

Barbot’s account is reliable in the sense that it is a firsthand historical
account. But it is also a highly biased explanation. Frankly, he tries to place
all the harsh treatment of captives on their African masters and makes it
seem as though by taking them from their homes and shipping them to the
America’s that they are doing the Africans a service. He even goes so far as
to claim that it was a widespread practice to sell oneself into slavery during
times of famine to ensure food, which, historically, we know to be false. He
continually tries to make excuses for his role in the trade. While a reliable
account of the events of that time, it’s biased nature leaves one to question it
considerably.

Diallo, Equiano, and Venture Smith:

1. How do they describe their experience of being captured into the

slave trade?
All three of them describe being seized by other Africans and taken roughly
to the coast to be transported.

2. What do their accounts suggest about the role of Africans in the

transatlantic slave trade?
Their accounts suggest that the role of other Africans was strong during the
trade which is a known fact. They suggest that Africans were mostly the
captors (mainly because Europeans were unable to enter the interior and
 capture on their own and also it made the kings of the various tribes quite
wealthy indeed) and transporters of slaves, taking them from wherever and
however they were captured to the coast.

Chapter 2
Barbot:

1. How does depict the revolt that took place on the ship? Why does he
believe the slaves revolted?
Barbot portrays the revolt as a premeditated and cold attack on the crew. He
says many of the crew were weak if not sick and this, being known by the
slaves, provided the prime opportunity. He believes the slaves revolted
because some believe they would be eaten upon arrival and others could not
stand their captivity, thus they attempted to destroy the ship and crew in an
effort to get away.

2. Does he reveal any compassion for the plight of the slaves?

His compassion is dealt out on a limited basis. While he “understands” that
the slaves are upset about being held captive, he maintains they were wrong
in their revolt and makes every effort to push forth all the things he and his
crew have done for the slaves: giving them, in his eyes, adequate space to
travel, feeding them twice a day, and letting them up on deck on nice days to
take on fresh air.

3. Is this a reliable account? What prejudices might influence his

account?
Again, this account is reliable in that it is a first-person retelling of events that
took place on this ship, but it is highly biased to the European agenda. Barbot
goes out of his way to mention that, “we allow’d them much more liberty,
and us’d them more tenderness than most other Europeans would think
prudent to do so”. He tries quite hard to say ‘Look at all we did for them and
they still revolted’.

Equiano:

1. How does Equiano describe the conditions of the Middle Passage?

Equiano describes his capture as a horrible experience, unsure of the white
men and betrayed by the black. He describes the stench and crys as horrid
and fell into a depression. He refused to eat and was thus whipped severely
for disobedience. He says there was no room even to turn around and after
taking on more slaves the stench was even worse. He describes children
falling into the buckets used for waste and the groans of the dying and the
shrieks of the women. Because of his severe depression and age, he was
allowed on deck almost constantly and thus escaped the horrors for some
time every day.

2. How was he treated by the ship’s crew? Do you think his experience
was typical of captured slaves?
He was treated slightly better than the average slave. He was still flogged for
 not eating, but his punishment was not as severe as some of the others. I
think most of his experience was more than likely quite typical for slaves
being transported at that time.

3. How does he describe his fellow captives’ reactions to the conditions

of the Middle Passage?
He describes the other Africans as being dejected and highly upset at being
captured. He describes several jumping overboard (one being recaptured and
flogged unmercifully) because of their misery. He says the women shrieked
and the dying groaned loudly, and that combined with the stench and the
amount of people below deck led many of them to feel suffocated and also to
widespread illness.

Falconbridge:

1. Compare Falconbridge’s description of the conditions of the Middle

Passage to Equiano’s Description. What do you think of the accounts
for their differences or similarities?
Falconbridge’s account is much more structured, more like reading a manual
instead of an actual account. Equiano gets a little dirtier in his account. I feel
like his is more real. He really tells you like it is. Falconbridge glosses things
over a bit more.

2. How does Falconbridge’s account differ from the other European

accounts in chapters 1 and 2?
Falconbridge, like the other European’s, tries to say that the slave trade,
while bad, is better for the slaves than them being left in their native
countries. He goes on to say that what kills the slaves most (instead of
depression, sickness from such poor conditions, or suicide) is seasickness. He
claims more slaves died from severe reactions to the boat’s motion than
anything else.