Sixty Million and more.
The epigraph in Beloved reads "Sixty million and more." This is in reference to the Africans who died during the Atlantic Slave Trade and their descendants.
The Atlantic Slave Trade lasted from from the 16th to 19th centuries. Most of the enslave who were transported across the Atlantic Ocean during that time were West Africans, sold by other West Africans to European slave traders, or captured directly by Europeans and shipped immediately to the Americas. Until the late 18th century, more immigrants came from Africa than anywhere in the Old World, though not of their own free will. Most were taken to South America, to produce crops and make clothing and other goods to send back to Europe. The trade is sometimes called "Maafa" by African American scholars, which means "great disaster" in Swahili. Other scholars have been known to use the terms "African Holocaust" or "Holocaust of Enslavement" to describe the trade.
Slaves were not considered people. The ship owners saw them only as cargo to be moved from one place to the other as quickly and cheaply as possible. After being taken to the coast of Africa for sale, the enslaved people waited in large forts which were called factories. About 4.5% of deaths occurred while waiting in these factories. Then came the Middle Passage. The overall mortality rate of this phase of the trade was about 12.5%. The slaves were packed in tight and unsanitary spaces for months at a time. To try and prevent so many deaths, exercise was enforced on board the ship every day, and the people who tried to starve themselves to death were force-fed. Anywhere from 350 to 600 slaves could be onboard one ship at a time. The conditions on board contributed to the spread of fatal diseases, and many committed suicide by jumping overboard.
Many slaves were shipped to North America to work immediately after arrival, but most who stayed in South America were put through seasoning camps. The purpose of the seasoning camps was to torture slaves in order to "break them" and condition them for their new lots in life. One of the most notorious of these camps was in Jamaica. The leading cause of death was Dysentery. About 5 million Africans died in these camps, most of them within the first year of being there.
The Atlantic Slave Trade ended in 1807. It saved many people from the fate of their ancestors, but did nothing for the millions of slaves who had been torn from their homeland and forced to endure enslavement and torture for the rest of their lives. Toni Morrison wrote about the trade in Beloved, and dedicated the book to them in memorial.
Slaves were not considered people. The ship owners saw them only as cargo to be moved from one place to the other as quickly and cheaply as possible. After being taken to the coast of Africa for sale, the enslaved people waited in large forts which were called factories. About 4.5% of deaths occurred while waiting in these factories. Then came the Middle Passage. The overall mortality rate of this phase of the trade was about 12.5%. The slaves were packed in tight and unsanitary spaces for months at a time. To try and prevent so many deaths, exercise was enforced on board the ship every day, and the people who tried to starve themselves to death were force-fed. Anywhere from 350 to 600 slaves could be onboard one ship at a time. The conditions on board contributed to the spread of fatal diseases, and many committed suicide by jumping overboard.
Many slaves were shipped to North America to work immediately after arrival, but most who stayed in South America were put through seasoning camps. The purpose of the seasoning camps was to torture slaves in order to "break them" and condition them for their new lots in life. One of the most notorious of these camps was in Jamaica. The leading cause of death was Dysentery. About 5 million Africans died in these camps, most of them within the first year of being there.
The Atlantic Slave Trade ended in 1807. It saved many people from the fate of their ancestors, but did nothing for the millions of slaves who had been torn from their homeland and forced to endure enslavement and torture for the rest of their lives. Toni Morrison wrote about the trade in Beloved, and dedicated the book to them in memorial.