The slave trade

The Middle Passage
The crossing from Africa to the Americas took between one and five months depending on wind and weather conditions.

During the colonial slave era, some 12.5 million Africans were taken to the New World as trade. That’s more than the population of Belgium today
It is estimated that almost 2 million Africans died during the infamous “Middle Passage” across the Atlantic

Estimated number of slaves transported from Africa to the Americas
(1400 to 1900, by current country name)

French slave ship l’Aurore, 1784

Body position of slaves inside the ship
The slaves were forced to lie spoon-like to occupy less space and maximise profits.

The death rate on these slave ships was very high, reaching 25 per cent in the 17th and early 18th centuries and remaining around 10 per cent in the 19th century, as a result of malnutrition and such diseases as dysentery, measles, scurvy and smallpox.

Restraint
Shackles made it harder for slaves to revolt or commit suicide. Any uprising would endanger the crew and reduce profits.

Cat-o’-nine-tails
A whip named for the way it scratched the skin like the claws of a cat. Made up of nine lengths of knotted cord attached to a handle, it would lash the back of the slave, tearing the skin and causing intense pain.