In the time period of 1450 through 1750, Africans living in the Americas had their

economic, political and cultural voices marginalized through stolen labor, a nonexistent ability to

participate in political functions, and the forced adoption of new languages, religions and

customs.

With the basic system of forced enslavement, the majority of slaves in the Americas did

not have any compensation for the long hours and hard labor that provided a kickstart of

economic uptake that made their owners and other profiteers from the Trans-Atlantic slave trade

extremely rich. In the early years of the Slave Trade, all peoples of African descent in the

Americas were slaves, but some were able to evade slavery thorough escaping, buying their

freedom or being freed by their master. By 1872, 75% of the population of Brazil’s black and

mulatto populations were no longer enslaved. But for the rest of the millions of enslaved

Africans in the Americas were subjected to a system that was no longer a term of indentured

servitude, but a heritable enslavement. In an attempt to prolong the insitution of slavery, as 15%

of all slaves who were transported along the middle passage died along the way, Virginia first

passed the law of partus sequetur ventrum that stated that the descendants of a mother who was

enslaved were to remain slaves, no matter of the race of the father. This continued the cycle of

oppression of those enslaved people, which prevented enslaved Africans from producing any

capital whatsoever for themselves. Slaves couldn’t buy or sell land, and they couldn’t inherently

own anything.

As to the enslaved people’s place in the eyes of the country they were brought to; they

were considered to be property rather than people, and thus they were not afforded the same

access to weaponry in an effort by the government that profited massively from the institution of

slavery to prevent any mutiny from their slaves and any potential “loss of profit”. A 1639
Virginia law provided the legal distinction between white and Black man in regards to access to

arms, “ALL persons except negroes to be provided with arms and ammunition or be fined at the

pleasure of the Governor and Council.” This inability to defend oneself based on their race is a

direct marginalization to prevent political opposition and keep those in power in power. As seen

in Olaudah Equiano’s testimony of his trip across the Middle Passage, despite being seen as

property and thus should be protected for profitable reasons, the enslaved Africans also faced

disgusting treatment from their masters and those overseeing them. Despite not being legal

citizens in the colonies, enslaved Africans were still considered in the census as property rather

than people, and yet they were taxable by the colony. A 1642 law passed in the British colony of

Virginia states “Be it also enacted and confirmed That there be tenn pounds of tob'o. per poll & a

bushell of corne per poll paid to the ministers within the severall parishes of the collony for all

tithable persons, that is to say, as well for all youths of sixteen years of age as upwards, as also

for all negro women at the age of sixteen years.” This law was enacted the first legal distinction

between English and African women, referencing to the belief that African and white women

were inherently different and thus have different roles in the colony and should therefore be

taxable. In general, white, land owning males, over the age of 21 were allowed to vote, and as all

slaves were not white nor land owning, they were prevented from having any say in the laws that

governed them. These tight restrictions upon those who were qualified, were set up in a way that

allowed for those with power and influence to remain in power, as nobody else had any say in

the laws to change or prevent this. Enslaved people were marginalized in all aspects of their

lives, as they had no control over their lives, on the macro or micro scale.

Once transported to their destination, slaves were not allowed to speak their mother

tongue, and were forced to learn and utilize the language of their masters, resulting in a blending
of languages spoken by the enslaved people, sometimes called patois. Patois is referred to as the

“bastardization” of English, and it “has come to represent the people, the culture, history and

struggles of the lives of many Jamaicans.” When first transported to their new country, slaves

were separated from each other based upon language in order to stop communication between

slaves to prevent revolt. To interact with other slaves, the patois was utilized as a mix of African

and European languages to allow for communication between slaves of different backgrounds.

The separation of enslaved Africans based on the region of origin and language marginalized

these people by preventing them to form bonds with people from their homeland in order to

remove their slaves from everything and everyone that they knew to prevent resistance in every

way possible. The traditional religious practices of those enslaved were not allowed by their

masters, but many communities were still able to incorporate some aspects of their religion and

culture into life on the plantation. Like the suppression of native languages among slaves,

slaveholders used the banishment of the practices of traditional spiritual practices to break any

sense of community that slaves would have, as this sense of community can spur an uprising.

These efforts (and the ones that would follow) were so effective in stopping the long term

political, economic and cultural growth of enslaved Africans in the Americas, that you can see

the lingering impacts today, such as high rates of poverty, lack of home ownership and business

and political leadership extremely prevalent in black communities in the Americas and the

Caribbean.

Addendum:
“At last, when the ship we were in had got in all her cargo, they made ready with many fearful noises, and
we were all put under deck, so that we could not see how they managed the vessel. But this
disappointment was the least of my sorrow. The stench of the hold while we were on the coast was so
intolerably loathsome, that it was dangerous to remain there for any time, and some of us had been
permitted to stay on the deck for the fresh air; but now that the whole ship’s cargo were confined
together, it became absolutely pestilential. The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added
to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost
suffocated us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from
a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus
falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation
was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the
necessary tubs, into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women,
and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable. Happily perhaps
for myself I was soon reduced so low here that it was thought necessary to keep me almost always on
deck; and from my extreme youth I was not put in fetters. In this situation I expected every hour to share
the fate of my companions, some of whom were almost daily brought upon deck at the point of death,
which I began to hope would soon put an end to my miseries. Often did I think many of the inhabitants of
the deep much more happy than myself; I envied them the freedom they enjoyed, and as often wished I
could change my condition for theirs. Every circumstance I met with served only to render my state more
painful, and heighten my apprehensions, and my opinion of the cruelty of the whites. One day they had
taken a number of fishes; and when they had killed and satisfied themselves with as many as they thought
fit, to our astonishment who were on the deck, rather than give any of them to us to eat, as we expected,
they tossed the remaining fish into the sea again, although we begged and prayed for some as well we
cold, but in vain; and some of my countrymen, being pressed by hunger, took an opportunity, when they
thought no one saw them, of trying to get a little privately; but they were discovered, and the attempt
procured them some very severe floggings.
One day, when we had a smooth sea, and a moderate wind, two of my wearied countrymen, who were
chained together (I was near them at the time), preferring death to such a life of misery, somehow made
through the nettings, and jumped into the sea: immediately another quite dejected fellow, who, on account
of his illness, was suffered to be out of irons, also followed their example; and I believe many more
would soon have done the same, if they had not been prevented by the ship’s crew, who were instantly
alarmed. Those of us that were the most active were, in a moment, put down under the deck; and there
was such a noise and confusion amongst the people of the ship as I never heard before, to stop her, and
get the boat to go out after the slaves. However, two of the wretches were drowned, but they got the other,
and afterwards flogged him unmercifully, for thus attempting to prefer death to slavery. In this manner we
continued to undergo more hardships than I can now relate; hardships which are inseparable from this
accursed trade. – Many a time we were near suffocation, from the want of fresh air, which we were often
without for whole days together. This, and the stench of the necessary tubs, carried off many. During our
passage I first saw flying fishes, which surprised me very much: they used frequently to fly across the
ship, and many of them fell on the deck. I also now first saw the use of the quadrant. I had often with
astonishment seen the mariners make observations with it, and I could not think what it meant. They at
last took notice of my surprise; and one of them, willing to increase it, as well as to gratify my curiosity,
made me one day look through it. The clouds appeared to me to be land, which disappeared as they
passed along. This heightened my wonder: and I was now more persuaded than ever that I was in another
world, and that every thing about me was magic. At last we came in sight of the island of Barbadoes, at
which the whites on board gave a great shout, and made many signs of joy to us. --Olaudah Equiano, The
Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vassa, the African, written by Himself
(London: 1790), 51-54.”

This source appropriately identifies the voice of enslaved Africans as the author was enslaved himself and
survived the Middle Passage.
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