number of slaves that lived was much higher. In 1788, you could only carry 454 slaves per ship instead of just packing in as many as you could fit. The slave trade wasn’t a pretty thing in the least. Every slave was treated like animals on their way through the Middle Passage and on to America. Slavery really picked up because the lifestyle and quality of living in England picked up. That meant that there were fewer people willing to be an indentured servant. The labor intense south turned to slaves to pick up the end that the indentured servants left behind. At one time in Virginia black slaves made up 40 percent of the population. Slavery was by no means a small movement it is said that slave ships brought over 15 million slaves to America.The Middle Passage was a name used to describe triangular route of trade that brought slaves to America. The slave ships would take from thirty to ninety days to reach America from Africa. The passage was considered one of the most horrific thing slaves went through during their lives. Treated like animals, death was almost inevitable. When the weather was good slaves would be brought onto the deck in the morning. They were not let up on the deck unless they were shackled together. They were served their first meal in the morning. Depending on what part of the West Coast of Africa they were from they was fed different meals. Those from the northern coast would be fed boiled rice, millet, or cornmeal. Slaves from the middle of the coast were fed stewed yams. The slaves from the south were fed manioc, cassava flour, and different types of fruits. Occasionally, slave ship captains would put pieces of meat in their food to give them something to stay healthy. In the afternoon slaves were fed their second and last meal of the day. Sometimes the slaves were fed the same thing as they were in the morning. Usually, they were fed just horse beans. Horse beans were the cheapest fo...
