The Horrors of Human Merchandise
Human life is not a product, it cannot be shipped between continents like cargo. It cannot be traded, it cannot be abused and it cannot be stolen. However, these laws are being continuously infringed upon by various peoples around the world. These are peoples who eradicate all principles humans stand for. This is treacherous, however what’s worse is that those who have the power to extirpate the continuation of this atrocity are those who are running it. How can criminals be caught by the criminals themselves?
‘It is not a paradox that the start of the Atlantic slave trade coincides with the dawn of modern Europe’ (Rawley, Behrendt). The rise of the Atlantic slave trade is entwined with the introduction of colonization and developments in agriculture and industry. The Atlantic slave trade began in the Americas, following the decrease in Native American population and demand for slaves in order to replace this population. These slaves were made to work in mines extracting valuable metals. This further expanded to slaves made to tend plantations growing staple crops such as rice, tobacco and sugar cane.
These slaves were transported to their destination by means of sea– a fatal journey known as the Middle Passage. The conditions they were made to face within vessels were appalling. It is noted that the mortality rate prior to arrival at their destination, that is, during their transportation is higher than that at their destination (Du Bois, Burghart). These conditions were applied in order to increase efficiency– transporting a higher number of slaves would yield a greater profit. However, there was an implication, as the worse the conditions the higher the number of casualties. Therefore, if the captain of the ship decided that the transportation of a higher number of slaves justifies a higher number of casualties– the slaves were packed into these ships as tightly as possible.
They were given minimal space to struggle, enough nutrition to keep them barely alive. They were punished aboard to set examples, by means of flogging, or in extreme cases, attaching weights to their ankles and throwing them overboard. Such slaves were those with disease, those who displayed defiance or even those who were pregnant.
This form of transportation objects the first law proposed in the introductory paragraph; human lives cannot be shipped across continents like cargo. If humans are defenceless and are subjected to such abomination, there must at least be an adequate reason for it. They must also be given an equal opportunity to fend for themselves. Neither of these cases apply to the slave trade.