Essay Questions

What is the Atlantic Ocean's symbolic meaning as depicted in 'The Slave Ship: A Human History’?

The Atlantic Ocean epitomized slavery activities in the early centuries when millions of Africans were captured and taken to America to work in agricultural plantations. During the transportation of slaves, the victims were violently handled and mistreated because they were taken against their wishes. Rediker's entire narration is about the ships in the Atlantic Ocean and their role in transporting slaves. As a result, numberless blacks were relocated to America. The issue of illegal immigrants in the United States of America did not start today. Still, centuries ago, Africans were illegally shipped to American soil to work as slaves for their masters.

Do you think that ‘The Slave Ship: A Human History’ by Marcus Rediker is conclusive of the history of slavery?

As much as Rediker has widely discussed how slavery took place in the African coasts and the Atlantic Ocean, the reader may not discern the main reason behind the slave trade and the primary beneficiaries of the business. The reader is aware that the slave trade did not just happen, but specific groups of people were behind it for their benefit. For instance, the African chiefs and other leaders collaborated with slave traders or merchants for their use. African traditional leaders were paid to facilitate the capture of the slaves. Additionally, there are those African chiefs who sold people because they were not fond of such tribes. The merchants who bought the slave transported them to America and sold them to plantation owners. Therefore, the slave trade was a trade in which specific groups of people stood to benefit at the expense of poor slaves who suffered the rest of their lives.

What was the main reason for the campaign against slavery in America and Europe?

The author argues that the abolition of the slave trade was motivated by the harsh conditions the slave merchants went through on the high seas but not the cruelty and suffering of the slaves. Most European slave traders and transporters experienced death and injury due to the harsh conditions of the sea waters, which provoked European leaders to start calling off the slave trade. It sounds ironic that the European leaders were only concerned about their people's welfare but not for that of slaves who died in large numbers during transportation. According to the author, abolishing the slave trade was not intended to save Africans from suffering, and such an idea is an illusion.