The writing of “middle passage” by Olaudah Equiano
Primary Source Analysis: “Middle Passage”
Introduction
The source was written back 1788 .this came when the slave trade was the main trade activity that was taking place globally. The writing of “middle passage as the major primary source in the historical events which took place during slavery took place in the coast region. This was the main point where the ships which transported the slaves dropped and picked the slaves. The middle passage is one of the first writings, which was written by an African who was once a slave and who experienced the slavehood during his lifetime. Olaudah Equiano is the author of the primary source “middle passage.” He was a Nigerian citizen from Africa who found himself in slavery after being kidnapped to slavery in his teenager.
The author of this source was a man. Men during this particular time were the main trade commodities where the women were left with the children and the old. The author also was an African, with black color. Blacks from Africa were used as slaves in the whole world, where they were denied their civil rights and being subjected to slaves by the whites who traded them (Cohn &Raymond pg. 7). The source gives a summary of how the blacks and not the white were harassed because of their skin color and their ethnicity. The sources play a significant role in educating the present generations or the learners how men suffered in African society and how they were denied the rights to stay and provide to their families. Don't use plagiarised sources.Get your custom essay just from $11/page
The author created this source first ton give us the actual historical events which took place during slavery. The second thing is to show the learner how the boy child in the society, regardless of the size or age, was subjected to slavery (Klein & Herbert pg.6). While in the ship, the author speaks of how he saw his fellow Africans chained together in the ship, ready to be transported to the white islands. All this gives us the kind of brutality and harassment the black people experienced. The primary source makes the old events sound fresh like they are happening now, thus giving a deeper understanding of the history learner.
Slave trade was the main thing taking place during this time. This is when the human being rose against each other, distinguishing themselves from the skin color and the language. The article was written during the most painful season of the African people who were sold as slaves and subjected to heavy duties by the whites. The audience of this source would not have shaped this source at all. This is because for one to contribute to this source, one must have tasted what the blacks were experiencing as the slaves. The author was an ex-slave with all the first heard information which he witnessed happening or happened to him. The main agenda of the author seams to rescue his fellow Africans. He deeply understands the suffering and the harsh life slaves experience, but being an African, he sets strategy to absolute slavery and set the innocent people free by returning them to their homes. The source tries to make the audience understand how those who have tasted slavery worked hard to rescue their fellow Africans.
Everything written in this article gives the actual historical events which primarily took place during the slave trade. Africans were the main commodities, and the whites buy and sell the slaves. The author does not discuss everything in this source; this is because after he left slavery made things took place. The author gives the basic breakdown of how slavery took place and how Africans were subjected to the activity, one of them being kidnapping like it happened to him. He helps the learner critically analyze the type of life a slave lived for a deeper understanding of the word “slavery.”
Work cited
Cohn, Raymond L. “Deaths of slaves in the middle passage.” The journal of economic history 45.3 (1985): 685-692.
Klein, Herbert S. The middle passage: comparative studies in the Atlantic slave trade. Princeton University Press, 1978.