According to the textbook, "The time between the moment the slaves were bought and when they arrived at port was very dangerous
not only for the European traders but for the slaves as well."Why might the textbook's authors have chosen to compare the experience of the ship's crew to the experience of the slaves?
The authors most likely included these experiences because the slaves and the traders wherein two very different categories (regarding economy and privilage), yet it is still important to show how these dealings affected both sides in order to better and fully understand the experiences and thoughts of the individual's on both sides of the event. This is usually why authors try to compare and contrast opposing sides.