Into the triangle trade

Enslaved Africans were transported ...

... in these ships of the Middelburg Commerce Company (MCC).

About 300 human beings were packed like cargo.

Men, women, boys, girls, babies.

Let us follow the slave voyage of MCC ship The Unity in 1761-1763 by way of the authentic archival documents.

The partition midships, right behind the main mast, tells us that this is a slave ship.

The African men were kept prisoner on and below the waist deck. The women were imprisoned in the stern.

The partition prevented the African men from entering the stern and protected the crew.

The booth aside the stern is the latrines for the women.

The latrines for the men on this ship were aside the waist deck at starboard.

The coast of West Africa was known to Europeans because of its trade in slaves, ivory and gold.

This sea map tells it all.

Near the coastline, the anchorages are shown.

The outback reveals the names of the African tribes and their trade such as slaves and gold.

The map is titled The Gold Coast. On the left dust gold is melted. On the right a European merchant sells his goods. The monkeys measure the gold weight.

The 'cargazoen' is the cargo with which the ship left home. The 'armazoen' is the cargo with which it crossed the Atlantic Ocean.

In the case of a slave voyage it was a human cargo...

The words 'slaven' or 'slaaf' were used to indicate that these human beings were not free.

A slave is the posession of someone else.

On leaving Africa for the Caribbean the ship was overcrowded with people and barrels of drinking water.

The average crossing took almost 2 months.

At night the African men were imprisoned on the ‘tween deck in the fore body (h); the African women on the 'tween deck in the stern.

At daytime the men were allowed on the waist deck (d) and the women in a wooden 'tent' that was put up on the stern (k).

Cross-section of the Unity with view of the bunks for the slaves on the ‘tween deck.

The partition can be seen above the ‘tween deck behind the main mast.

During the voyage the slaves slept between decks. Extra space was gained by putting up bunks halfway the ‘tween deck.

The journal kept by the surgeon informs us on the enslaved Africans aboard…

Surgeon Petrus Couperus made a description of all of his patients, including the enslaved Africans.

The first enslaved Africans already died while the ship was still at the coast.

April 6, 1762 the surgeon retrieved an enslaved African from below.
He understood that the man had been kicked and suffered pain. Though the surgeon treated the patient as best as he could, the man died the next day.

The following week a girl slave died from scurvy.

The
captain held the first auctions in Berbice, Guyana. The enslaved Africans were
sold to the highest bidder. The captain deemed the prices too low and ceased the
auction.

The sale of the enslaved Africans was registered by listing the sold person as:
- a man
- a woman
- a boy
- a girl
The person's name was not registered.

And furthermore:
- the name of the buyer and his guarantee.
- the price

The Africans faced a future as a slave on one of the many plantations.

This map shows the plantations in Demerara, Guyana, in 1759. Below are the names of the plantations and their owners.

Denis des Granges bought 3 men, 2 women, 3 boys and a girl from the captain of The Unity.

He owned a large plantation called ‘Des Granges’ on the west bank of the Demerary River.

Plantation ‘Des Granges’ is no. 5 on the map. The red color indicates that coffee was cultivated.

Chances are that the 9 enslaved Africans Denis des Granges bought would have worked here.

Sugar was the main product of Demerara. The sugar plantations are indicated in brown. The sugar mills are shown on the map with circles and crosses.