In American history, the middle passage refers to a voyage that took place in period between 1600 and 1800 when slave trade dominated the economic activities along the Pacific Ocean. It was termed as the middle passage because it was the second leg of a voyage which took place in three phases that begun and ended in Europe. The first passage entailed a voyage carrying cargo such as iron, fire arms, brandy and gunpowder which was taken to the African slave coasts. The cargo was traded for Africans. Departure from the African slave coasts marked the beginning of the middle passage from these slave points to America. The final leg entailed docking the ship back to European ports where the voyage had begun. The middle passage marked the transportation of slaves from Africa where they had been captured to America where they would work on plantations and other manual labor.
The films and literature highlights the suffering that the captives underwent as they embarked on the infamous voyage termed as the Middle Passage. All the African slaves who boarded the ship from the different slave points did not have the vaguest idea on what lay ahead. For the Africans who made it through the Middle Passage, they did not make a return to their homelands to tell the tale of the others who disappeared suddenly. Olauda Equiano presented an autobiography which tries to depict the African perspective of the Middle Passage as he made it through the passage. In his words, leaving Africa as a young boy, he perceived that he would work in the fields where he would be tending crops. However, the irony was that there were too many people who were required to tend these crops so the tasks were more than expected.
Amistad describes a slave ship which made the Middle Passage from the slave port of Cuba to the new world in U.S in 1839. The cargo in the Amistad was Africans who had made it to Cuba through the slave trade. The cargo had been chained to each other in a dehumanizing way. The film depicts the mutiny and lawlessness that surrounded the slave trade and the Middle Passage in specific. As the voyage took the Cuban route to the United States, Cinque who served as a tribal leader from Africa takes over Amistad. Now the ship is under the control of Africans who seek to find some place to land and make it back to their homeland or make a better life without the dehumanizing acts of slavery. Instead, when they reach the New World, they are confused which leads them to being captured and imprisoned in the name of runaway slaves. The plight of the Africans and slaves at large who went through the Middle Passage is highlighted when the members of this ship suffered. It appears that they will all die for participating in the killing of their captor. However, one abolitionist lawyer comes to their rescue and claims that they were free citizens in another country and should not serve as slaves in the new country. The argument made by John Quincy on behalf of the captured runaway slaves is outstanding and enables them to gain freedom. However, before the attainment of that freedom, it is evident that the Middle Passage is a trip with many uncertainties. For example, the captured slaves assumed that once they landed they would be free and try to make it back to their origin. However, upon arrival, they are accused for killing their captor. Clearly, the expectations of the captured parties are not met in the Middle Passage. Additionally, most of the captives assume that they are moving to a better place to work in the fields only to find themselves chained to their brothers and relatives.
Sankofa presents a travel back in time to Ghana when slave trade was predominant. Clearly, it depicts the preparation of the captives for the Middle Passage. The path back to the slave trade periods indicates the harsh environment through which slaves were required to prepare for the transportation. The main characteristic of the captives was the mixed expectations, none of the slaves had an idea of what to expect because nobody had returned to tell the tale of the experiences in the New World. The word Sankofa refers to a West African term which means to reclaim the past with the intentions of moving forward. The effects of the Middle Passage and the slave trade appear through Mona, a young model who appears to have a life shaped with slavery through the dressing. As a model, she appears to have lost the connection with the past but still lives under slavery. The preparation of the captives for the trade appears as a harsh and thorough process through Mona. For example, in the slave holding area when Mona gets there, she is chained, stripped and beaten. These represent the initial preparation of slaves which indicates that the Middle Passage will not be a smooth ride. Additionally, Mona later reappears on a plantation. Now she appears as a slave known as Shola who bears no memory about the 20th century. Evidently, the passage and the beatings made her forget about the earlier life. It is apparent that the transition was painful and harsh to make a person forget instantly about their previous life and assume a new life.
The Middle Passage period was succeeded by the Slave life. Shola depicts the daily activities performed by a normal slave that was mainly characterized with brutality on oneself and witnessing brutality on others. For the female slaves, their refuge is to get married. In Shola`s case, she takes refuge by falling in love with one rebellious field slave. The conflict that slaves go through emerges when Shola’s lover urges her to try and poison her white slave owners. However, although the white owner has taken Shola through brutality and injustices, she refuses to poison them because she understands that it is wrong. The middle passage is characterized by such difficult decisions. Characters are often finding themselves in dilemmas and hard situations from which they have no way out. For example, in Mary Prince`s case, the difficult decision is whether she should run away from her slave owners and start life on her own. Definitely, the repercussions of running away are that life may be harder without the little coins provided by the slave owners. In contrast, staying means that one has the ability to go through the brutality. The Middle Passage is just the preparation for a more difficult life that the captives would go through in the New World.
The idea of sex slavery is comprehensively addressed in the texts. For example, the book highlights the helpless nature of the Afro-Caribbean women to object being transferred among men and to refuse sexual advances of their captors. The women assume the feminine or weak position as their masters are left to decide what to do with them. They are treated as sex objects that main objective is to please their masters. Accordingly, they assume a low or insignificant position in deciding whether to have sex with their captors. Motivated to challenge this perspective, Equiano refuses to conform to the habit expected of an African Man and an African or European woman.
John Stuart also referred to as Ottobah Cugoano is the name of a Ghanaian abolitionist who serves as a slave in England. Captured at the age of 13 and sold into slavery, he is forced to work in the plantations. Taking part in the Middle Passage and Ottobah well understood the challenges that he slave counterparts underwent. The issue of slavery had appeared as a source of labor for Ottobah and the other slaves such as Mary Prince, however, undergoing the harsh treatment meant that the slaves had to stand out for themselves and make a stand from the society. The role played as activist by Ottobah presents an empowered slave who understands the mistreatment of the other slaves and is willing to work along with the slaves to achieve the better treatment and working conditions for the slaves. The fact presented by the activist is rising against the false full capturing of the slaves. Other issues that empower Ottobah to become an activist is the role he views himself through as a staunch Christian.
The Middle Passage in the literature studied appears as the preparation for a difficult life that the slaves would go through. The preparation includes dehumanizing actions such as chaining together different people and stripping them for a shower. Additionally, the slaves undergo humiliation in the farms when their owners beat them as their colleagues watch. In Mary Prince`s case, the brutal beating is continuous appear as if the white slave owners have something against the slaves. A slave worker is able to distinguish the beatings using different items such as the lashes and the cane.
Bibliography
Amistad. Directed by Djimon Hounsou, Matthew McConaughey, Anthony Hopkins. DreamWorks SKG, 1997. DVD.
Cugoano, Ottobah, and Vincent Carretta. Thoughts and Sentiments on the Evil of Slavery and Other Writings. New York, N.Y: Penguin, 1999.
Equiano, Olaudah. Equiano's Travels; the Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African. New York: Praeger, 1967.
Gates, Henry Louis, and W. Andrews. Pioneers of the Black Atlantic: Five Slave Narratives from the Enlightenment, 1772-1815. Washington, D.C.: Civitas, 1998.
Johnson, Charles. Middle Passage. New York: Atheneum, 1990.
Prince, Mary, and Moira Ferguson. The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave. Rev. ed. Ann Arbor: U of Michigan, 1997.
Sankofa. Directed by Kofi Ghanaba, Oyafunmike Ogunlano, Alexandra Duah, 1993. Appalshop, 1993. DVD.
