What did the enslaved people think of the middle passage?
Well, the ships were packed ridiculously tightly. Many slaves died from suffocating in the crush of bodies. Urine and feces and vomit and corpses were everywhere. Food was scarce and often filled with worms and insects. If there were too many slaves on the ship to provide for, certain slaves would be selected and thrown alive overboard. And female slaves would often be “chosen” for the ship’s crew, and then raped. We can assume and draw from records that the slaves were angry, disgusted, but above all, terrified by the middle passage. I suggest you read this book: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det… Because it has real testimonials of actual former slaves of the middle passage, as well as the rest of the slavery process. These sites may also help: On life below deck: http://beatl.barnard.
