Dehumanizing Conditions In The Middle Passage During The 17th Century

INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this research is to examine the dehumanizing conditions faced by West African captives on aboard the ships of the Middle Passage during the 17th century. The Middle passage is an historical term indicating trade with three ports or region in which millions of West African captives were captured and sold into slavery against their will; this was the journey from West Africa to the Americas. Dehumanizing is to deprive someone of their human qualities, personality or spirit. There was a need for slaves in the Caribbean to work due to the advantage of the sugar revolution. The Spanish had enslaved the indigenous people of the new world forcing them to work under the ‘Encomienda System’. This system of forced labour was considered for the development of the Spanish empire by Christopher Columbus he introduced this practice where a grant of Indian labour in return for the trust of educating and a way of converting slaves to Christianity. This system detailed a way of making the change from war conditions to a colonial society and it was a way of controlling and enslaving indigenous people. This system was harsh and unfamiliar and many died which forced the Amerindians and the
It was so the middle section of the trade route taken by many ships. The Middle Passage may have served to enrich many Europeans and Americas, but the West African captives suffered extraordinary atrocities and inhumane conditions during these voyages. Estimated number of Africans captured and transported as slaves to the new world ranged from 25-50