Slave Trade Excerpt Analysis

The slave trade was undeniably a crucial part of Atlantic history as it relates to the transformation of economies, provides an outlook on race thinking or the lack thereof, and functions as one of the earliest forms of Atlantic interaction. To understand the transatlantic slave trade, it is necessary to examine primary sources, ones written by those who were engaged in operating the business as well as individuals who were ‘victims’ of it. The first source, “A Journal of a Voyage Made in the Hannibal of London,” written by English merchant, Thomas Phillips, in 1694, is one that reveals the attitudes of the king of Whydah, the treatment of slaves, and offers slight insight on race thinking. The second source is an excerpt from Olaudah Equiano’s
On the other hand, Phillips explains what he regarded as a mere business endeavor, rather than an unfortunate occurrence, or as Equiano called it, a “wretched situation.” Based on Phillips account, the king and his noble men viewed Europeans as providers of business opportunities. To some extent, this source shows that the king and his nobility desired to take as much as they could in exchange of the slaves as Phillips indicated, “[the king] would wrangle with us stoutly about heaping up the measure.” Several other instances allow the reader to infer that Phillips and other merchants did not view the slave trade as a way for Europeans to take advantage because as mentioned, the king was committed to continue with the trade and this sense of eagerness is evident as Phillip stated that he was, “… being forced to promise [the king] that [he] would return again the next year.” Doubtlessly, this cannot be compared with Equiano’s account for he was “seized” in 1745, while the events Phillip detailed occurred in 1693-1694. More so, Equiano is not the king of the kingdom of Whydah, or even a king at all, which limits this comparison, in that, a hypothetical juxtaposition of those two stories (what the king would retell about this encounter and what is present in Phillips source), would be more useful in order to evaluate bias
First, it is important because he reports about who, where, what, or in other words, the people, surroundings, and actions that took place. Above all, Equiano’s perspective is significant because it is a firsthand account that allows the reader to see the major effect slavery had on history. Not only that, but this source, along with other African slave accounts, due to their historical context, helped establish the Abolitionist movement. It is probable for one to argue that this narrative is unreliable, in that it is written in 1789, forty four years after Equiano was taken. At the same time, it is unjustified to completely disregard this source as the experiences he details, for instance, the “heat of the climate… almost [suffocating them],” if “true,” would certainly resonate with a person even after a long period of time. More so, the bias in the source is considerably minimal as Equiano does not ignore his “positive” encounters. For example, at one point, he spoke about often changing masters and that a man who “had two wives and some children,” treated him “extremely well.” In another incident, he mentioned that “their treatment of [him], made [him] forget that [he] was a slave,” this highlights that Equiano did not merely share that which would be to his benefit to share and make, say, the