Olaudah Thesis

The Journey of Olaudah
(An Informative Text on the Slave Trade)
The North American Slave Trade began when slave traders started to kidnap people of all ages from West Africa. They were forced to endure unspeakable horrors on their trek across the Atlantic as well as when they were finally sold into slavery in the Americas. Olaudah Equiano was one of the few Africans to document his experience on paper, and have his two volume autobiography published. As said by Grudem, “The slave trade is sometimes called the Maafa by African and African-American scholars, meaning "holocaust" or "great disaster" in Swahili.” The journey Olaudah suffers through showed the horrors of the trip across the Atlantic, but also showed how what he thought and felt about the process as well. To begin, Olaudah’s perspective during the journey was different than you might think. Do not be mistaken, he did not have a positive mentality about being sold into slavery. He did however have a sort of wonder about the world and a hope that he carries with him throughout his life. As said by Olaudah pg. 174, “This heightened my wonder; and I was now more persuaded than ever that I was in another world and that everything about me was magic.” …show more content…
Olaudah speaks of the horrible stenches and air quality in the hold of the boat. There was just not enough oxygen for the closely packed people. They lived in extreme heat, bad air, their own filth, and had a lack of food and water. As said by Mintz “Approximately 11,863,000 Africans were shipped across the Atlantic, with a death rate during the Middle Passage reducing this number by 10-20 percent. As a result between 9.6 and 10.8 million Africans arrived in the Americas.” Many died on the journey across the Atlantic. Olaudah had two basic perspectives; keep hope, but don't forget what

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