Slavery+in+the+American+Colonies

The Middle Passage, the main way of transporting slaves was known as the "Slave Triangle". It was a triangle that connected Africa to North America, South America, and the Caribbean. Between 30 and 60 million Africans have traveled on the Middle Passage during the times of slavery. The huge ships would pick up the human cargo and ship them to where ever they were going to be sold. On the way, the people who could not survive the hard journey would be thrown overboard, so sharks often followed these ships, waiting for a meal. Said by Tom Feelings, "If the Atlantic Ocean were to dry up, it would reveal a scattered pathway of human bones, African bones marking the many routes of the middle passage." This shows how many people died on the way, they obviously were not cared for properly, they did not get sufficient food, it was hot, and packed with people in the low decks where they stayed, chained to each other. There were cases however, where the Africans over powered their captain. Joseph Cinque is known for one of the successful stories, he got his friends to gang up with him, they killed the captain of the ship and steared it all the way back to their homeland. Below, is a map of the Middle Passages routes it took.
 * The Middle Passage:**

This is a video about the trans-atlatic slave trade: []



**Why bring slaves?** Why bring slaves to America? African slaves were transported to Spanish and Portuguese colonies starting very early in the 16th century. The Spanish and Portuguese brought slaves to America to make money. Slaves were wanted because they were a cheap labor source to work the fields. With the new invented cotton gin, cotton could be produced much faster. This means plantation owners need more people to pick cotton. With the spread of tobacco and cotton farming in the 1670's, and the diminishing number of people willing to become indentured servants in the 1680's, increasing numbers of slaves were gathered in from Africa. Hence, slaves were transported to America to produce labor.

//**__Everyday Life of a Slave__**

In the middle to late 1700's, slaves were treated differently than what we may have envisioned as life on the large Southern plantations of the mid 1800's. Archaeologists' research shows us that in the late 1700's slaves lived in small huts built of upright poles set in a trench, covered with clay, with a thatch or plant leaf roof and a dirt floor. The huts were small measuring approximately 9 feet by 14 feet. The huts were not strong and only lasted about 10 years. In the mid 1800's, after the American Revolution, there were very limited improvements to the living conditions of slaves. Slaves now lived on plantations in neat rows of small wooden cabins. The slaves spent most of their time outside. They cooked their meals on outdoor hearths, which were large open pits, filled with charcoal and broken pottery. The typical diet of a slave consisted of mainly of vegetation or plants, mostly dirty rice. Meat was uncommon in a slave's diet and would have been considered a real luxury. When slaves were able to get meat,it was usually the least meaty cut of the animal such as the legs, feet, jaw or skull. Slaves used these cuts of meat as seasoning for their stews or "one pot" meals which, again, were mostly vegetables or plants. The stews were made early in the day and simmered on low heat all day until the slaves returned in the evening from their daily work. An interesting fact found in this article on SCIway.net, the South Carolina Information Highway, "The Lives of African-American Slaves in Carolina During the 18th Century", is that slaves often burned corn cobs in smudge pots as a way of keeping insects away. Tobacco use was very common among 18th Century slaves. Slaves did not have many possessions but archaeologists have found glass beads as they dug around the site of slave settlements. Glass beads were uncommon and may have something to do with their African heritage.//