The Middle Passage -- Horror of the Slave Trade
The Middle Passage, the transatlantic voyage of enslaved Africans from West Africa to the Americas, represents one of the greatest crimes in human history. Between 1500 and 1900, an estimated 12.5 million Africans were forcibly transported; approximately 1.8 million (14.4%) died during the crossing. Enslaved people were packed in holds with space averaging 1.6m x 0.4m per person, shackled in pairs, unable to stand. Dysentery, smallpox, and dehydration killed in waves. The trade reached its peak in the 18th century: between 1700 and 1810, over 6 million Africans crossed the Atlantic. The Middle Passage was the central horror linking African enslavement to plantation economies in the Caribbean and Americas that produced sugar, tobacco, rice, and cotton for European markets. The economic logic was brutal: the profit from one successful voyage exceeded the cost of losing 15-20% of human cargo.
- Year: 1650 CE
- Category: Social
