The small account in which the life of a negro is held in the West Indies is so universally known that it might seem impertinent to quote the following extract, if some people had not been hardy enough of late to assert that negroes are on the same footing in that respect as Europeans. By the 329th Act, page 125, of the assembly of Barbadoes it is enacted "That if any negro, or other slave, under punishment by his master, or his order, for running away, or any other crime or misdemeanour towards his said master, unfortunately shall suffer in life or member, no person whatsoever shall be liable to a fine, but if any man shall out of wantonness, or only of bloody-mindedness, or cruel intention, wilfully kill a negro, or other slave, of his own, he shall pay into the public treasury fifteen pounds sterling."The first object which saluted my eyes when I arrived on the coast was the sea, and a slave ship, which was then riding at anchor, and waiting for its cargo. When I looked round the ship too and saw a large furnace or copper boiling, and a multitude of black people of every description chained together, every one of their countenances expressing dejection and sorrow, I no longer doubted of my fate;
Answer: The correct answer is : Confirmation that you would never come home.
Explanation: Equiano was born in Eboe, Nigeria, was captured with his sister at age 11, was sold and sent to Barbados, there they were treated as cattle and sold again at auction and taken to Virginia, then he was sold again to a naval captain who took him to England, in London he learned arithmetic, to read and to write. He worked hard and was able to buy his freedom. He created the group "sons of Africa" who campaigned for the abolition and wrote his own biography.
The British as well as the Spanish had colonies in the Carribbean in the West Indies in places like St Vincents, Barbados and the Bahamas. Most likely they would be after sugar from cane and perhaps also for the rum, and fresh fruit.
