Aigne Guglielmini

November 6,2016

Zaragozano
The Zaragozano sailed from Africa and was on its way to
Senegambia and offshore Atlantic. Owners of slave ships did their
best to hold as many enslaved people as possible, cramming,
chaining, and selective grouping techniques were used to maximize
space and make travel more profitable. The voyage took 248 days to
get to the landing during middle passage it too 71 days. Those that
were on the ships were underfed and treated with brutality which
caused some to die before even arriving at their destination. The
voyage took place 1809-10-28. These people also were not treated as
human: living like animals throughout their long voyage to the New
World. The Zaragozano was a training ship it was a steel-hulled
vessel, with sails and a steam engine. In total 131 slaves aboard the
ship 39% men, 16% women, and 45% children. The slaves were all
inclosed under grated hatchways between decks. The space was so
low that they sat between each other's legs and were stowed so close
together that there was no possibility of their lying down or at all
changing their position by night or day. As they belonged to and were
shipped on account of different individuals, they were all branded like
sheep with the owner's marks of different forms. These were
impressed under their breasts or on their arms and as the mate
informed me with perfect indifference burnt with the red-hot iron.

Majority of the slaves captured were from Havana and spoke

creole. Many slaves were captured and put into slavery from the
Havanas. If anything happened to the ship while transporting slaves ,
slaves were more likely to be thrown overboard or died in the
crossfire. They expected 131 slaves to arrive but during the voyage 13
of them died leaving 118 slaves to make it to the destination. The 13
slaves that died were either sick, thrown overboard, or thrown
overboard because they were sick , weak, or damaged goods. After
the voyage slaves were probably set up for bidding to be sold so that
they can work for their owners. Slaves were traded majority of the time
because owners did business with other owners whereas if one
wanted to pay a higher cost for a slave they would then buy that slave
and welcome him/her to there new home and depending on how the
other slaves conditions where it could be a better or worse situation.
Some men had to work harder than other men in order to get some
kind of relief from their day. Women most likely had jobs that easy
dealt with. Children are taught the ways of how the new life was going
to be. Babies were sold a lot to owners who could give them better
lives even though they were still born into slavery. Before selling his
slaves, a captain did everything he could to improve the price he
would get for them. The Africans received increased food and water
rations, and their skins were rubbed with palm oil to have an healthy
appearance. The ships doctor tried to hide scars or evidence of
disease. The captain and crew were sent back to Africa to embark
more slaves so that their pay was at a higher cost. Before a sale, the
ships captain and buyers agreed on an equal price for all slaves,
often several hundred dollars a piece. These slaves were then
assembled in a large yard. Buyers burst into this yard to grab the best
slaves. The captain and crew went on new voyage to get more than
enough slaves so that they could have a nice big profit.