Equiano's writing on the Middle Passage is the section of the work most
likely to end up in anthologies for history and literature classes. It
is a profoundly evocative and devastating account of one of the most
terrible events in human history: the forcible removal of millions of
Africans from their home, and their subsequent transportation across the
Atlantic in slave ships, under the most abominable and hellish
conditions imaginable. Slaves were chained to the hold and had to
perform their bodily functions while chained. Excrement and refuse were
everywhere, and the air was heavy with noxious, harmful smells. There
was no privacy, even for women and girls. Slaves could not move about,
and barely escaped without their limbs atrophying. They rarely had
enough to eat or drink, and would grow sick in droves. The cries of
pain, terror, and grief filled the air at all times. Many had no idea
why they were there, and were frightened of the white faces on the ship.
Individuals were severed from their families and thrust together with
strangers whose languages they could not speak. Many were beaten
mercilessly. It was so terrible that many slaves wished for death, but
even this was rarely possible by one's own volition. Equiano's account
is a valuable source for examining the realities of the slave system,
for its evocative writing and historical perspective.
