My Own Questions about Slavery
The questions below are the ones Ada-afo Equiano asks in her diary.
Q) Where did they take her [Adannaya] body, did they give her a proper burial?
A: Adannaya would not have received a burial, because “corpses were simply thrown overboard,” – The Slave Trade. They would have done this to prevent any further disease.
Q) When were they going to get a real surgeon?
A: According to The Slave Trade, “Doctors on slave ships were not always qualified but after 1789 British slavers were obliged to carry one.”
Q) What had they [the men being tied upon arrival on the ship] done to deserve such punishment?
A: A quote from Black Ivory says, “the slaves were exercised, though always in small, manageable groups.” This shows that they don’t trust the slaves and would chain them so they could keep in control, because they greatly outnumbered the crew (History Book Notes show highest amount of crew 30, and slaves 250.)
Q) Why were the white-skinned men suddenly paying attention to us?
A: Slaves’ skin was rubbed with oil before they were sold at auction. I know this is true because my History Book Notes say “oils were rubbed on the slaves to make their skin look really healthy” and The Slave Trade says “their skin given a healthy sheen by the application of palm oil.” They would have done this so bidders at auction wouldn’t realise how bad conditions were on the ships because they inspected them closely.
Q) What if no-one bid for me, [Ada-afo] what would happen then?
A: South America was the shortest destination, so if the ship had gone there first it could’ve progressed to the Caribbean Islands or North America (where prices for the slaves were better), so there was a second chance. Information from History Book Notes.
Q) Would she ever see him [Monifa’s husband] again?
A: Unless they both escaped and met up, or were both sold on to another plantation, then they wouldn’t, in my opinion.
Q) What had we [the slaves] done to deserve such punishment?
A: The iron branding was probably used to make the slaves understand they were now owned. They would also be easier to track if they escaped. The slaves hadn’t done anything wrong.
Q) Did he [Mr Merrythought] do this to others?
A: After reading Pirates! , I wanted to know whether plantation owners really did get their slaves pregnant. I found a number of quotes that support this idea: “people who were the offspring of Africans and Europeans” and “women of all ages were exposed to sexual predators, whether slave owners, white employees or even passing visitors”, from The Slave Trade. “Women and children were more popular than men (and were used for sexual purposes)” and “they [women] were exposed to the passing whims of white sailors”, Black Ivory. Because there is so much evidence, this suggests this happened quite often. I think this would be the worst part of being a slave because they could do good work and not get punished but they had no choice with this, they were “exposed.” This word is used in two separate quotes, showing how vulnerable the women were. My opinion is the worst part of being a slave is the things they couldn’t control (slaves in general) such as branding and losing family.
Who was Olaudah Equiano?
He was an abolitionist against slavery, and in 1789 he wrote a book about his experiences. However, according to a picture of the front cover of his book in The Slave Trade, it was “published March 1st 1789, by G.Vassa”. In Ada-afo Equiano’s diary, she escapes on April 1st and meets him after, saying his book was published later that year. Anyone studying my story would think it was an unreliable source because the facts didn’t match up. However, some people think Olaudah’s actual book may be unreliable because his baptism records say he was born in South Carolina, not Africa. Therefore they think he made his story up or heard it from a real slave (the depiction I have chosen) to support his argument to abolish slavery.
Bibliography
· Painting from The African-American Slave Trade
· Pirates! By Celia Rees, 2003, Historical Fiction
· The African-American Slave Trade, 2003, By Christine Hatt, Children’s History Book
· The Slave Trade, 2011, By James Walvin, Adult’s History Book
· Black Ivory, 1992, By James Walvin, Narrative History Book
· Journey to the River Sea, 2001, By Eva Ibbotson, Historical Fiction
· Unheard Voices, 2007, By Malorie Blackman, Primary Sources/Historical Fiction
· www.wikipedia.org/
· www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/empire_seapower/barbados_01.shtml
· History Book Notes
In my actual project, I evaluated all of these but I didn’t see the point of putting the evaluation part on Wattpad.
YOU ARE READING
The Diary Of Ada-afo Equiano
Historical Fiction"It was just Adannaya and I in the house. I was mending clothes in the front room when I heard a scream." When Ada-afo and her sister Adannaya are captured by a raiding party, they have no idea what horrors they are going to face. Sold into slavery...
