Homework: Historical Fiction- The Middle Passage
General Information
Warning- this is a very difficult homework. The subject matter is very brutal and the homework requires you to look at this from a very personal experience. Very challenging. Contact me if you have questions or concerns about this homework.
Carefully read the PDF of "British Surgeon Describes the Treatment of Slaves during the Middle Passage (Excerpts)"
Actions describing the process of loading Africans aboard a slave ship for transportation to the Western Hemisphere. The article was published in 1788 and was written by Alexander Falconbridge, a British surgeon who served as the doctor on a slave ship.
Also attached are two illustrations: one is a drawing of Africans being taken on board a ship and loaded into the hold or storage area of the slave ship. The second is a diagram of a slave ship, proving several views of the interior storage areas of these vessels. These are provided to give you visual clues as to what the conditions were for these captured people.
Approximately 8 to 10 million Africans were kidnapped in Africa, then taken to the New World to be sold into slavery. They had no idea of what fate awaited them: most of the slaves were destined for the West Indies cane fields and most died within five years, a smaller number were headed to North America.
Conditions aboard the slave ships were horrific and many died during the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, in what was known as the "middle passage." The homework is to write a short story written in the first person describing what it might have been like to be a person taken aboard a slave ship.
Instructions:
Review the information from the Falconbridge excerpt ("British Surgeon Describes the Treatment of Slaves during the Middle Passage."); look carefully at the drawing and the ship illustration. See the links above.
Note: Do not use any sources other than the ones listed here. The use of other sources will be considered plagiarism and will result in a failing grade for this project. (Unicheck plagiarism tool is used to verify any other sources.)
This is historical fiction. You are using the materials provided as a sources to write a story telling the reader what it was like to be a person being forced into slavery against your will. You will write a first person (use "I") account of what you imagine you would have felt as a captured African being taken aboard the ship and loaded in the hold. Use the Falconbridge account to learn about the specifics of the treatment you would have suffered through and use your imagination to personalize that experience. Describe in every detail you can imagine. What it would have been like? What you would hear, see, feel and smell as you are being loaded on the ship and into the hold (the storage below the deck)?
Format your homework according to the following formatting requirements:
o The answer should be typed, using Times New Roman font (size 12), double spaced, with one-inch margins on all sides.
o The response also includes a cover page containing the title of the homework, the student's name, the course title, and the date. The cover page is not included in the required page length.
o Also include a reference page. The Citations and references must follow APA format. The reference page is not included in the required page length.