SLAVE TRADE IN AFRICA

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit the National Museum Calabar. It is located at Marina resort Calabar, CrossRiver State Nigeria which was the exact spot where slave trading took place many years ago. Marina resort is 30 minutes bolt ride to the Atlantic ocean through which the Europeans shipped the slaves they bought.

Slave trade was an inhumane and totally objectionable act carried out between Chiefs in Africa and European merchants whereby human beings are exchanged for cowries, a bottle of schnapp, a gun, a mirror, etc.

After purchase, the slave traders ascertain the strong ones by checking their teeth. It was believed that ones who has big teeth are strong while on the other hand those who had small or tiny teeth are believed not to be strong.

They are starved for 3 days so that they will loose weight making it easy for them to be packed like goods in the ship. Their legs and hands were chained to prevent them from fleeing.

It takes about 30-60 days to reach Europe then depending on the soundness of the ship. The slaves who were sick and couldn't survive were thrown out for sharks to devour. Also, where a storm occurs, some slaves were thrown into the sea to reduce the weight of the ship avoiding it from sinking.

On arriving Europe, the slave traders bargain and sell the slaves to their various masters and a mark crested on their backs with a hot and sharp knife so as to differentiate the owners.
The very strong ones were taken to sugar cane plantations with their mouths locked. While the less stronger ones are taken to cotton plantations.
They were made to mate so as to give birth to children who in turn become slaves and continue working .

The slaves who tried escaping and got caught, were bound, whipped brutally, some where given to dogs to bite to death and others were hung to death.

The slave trade lasted for over 400 years before it was abrogated and slaves so many slaves could not trace their roots. Some were settled in Sierra Leone and Liberia while others settled in America and Europe respectively.