slave ship
Floating human prison
A slave ship was a vessel designed or used to transport enslaved people, particularly during the Atlantic slave trade from the 16th through 19th centuries.
These ships were configured to maximize human cargo, with enslaved Africans packed into holds under brutal conditions.
Many died during the Middle Passage from disease, dehydration, or violence.
The slave ship arrived in Charleston with three hundred captives.
Metal bonds for prisoners
- chainsLinked metal restraints
- holdsKeeps in possession
- overcrowdingCapacity exceeded dangerously
- diseaseDisorder impairing normal function
starvation · dysentery · scurvy · suffocation · branding · whipping · mortality · dehydration
Transatlantic slave trade crossing
- transatlanticSpanning the ocean between continents
- AmistadHistoric maritime captive revolt
- triangular tradeThree-legged Atlantic exchange system
- abolitionistsThose opposing human bondage
Frederick Douglass · Harriet Tubman · William Wilberforce · Emancipation Proclamation · 13th Amendment · African diaspora · colonialism · plantation economy
Transported goods
- auctionCompetitive public sale
- merchantsThose who conduct commerce
- commoditiesTradeable raw materials
- sugarCrystalline carbohydrate sweetener
tobacco · cotton · rum · molasses · indigo · rice · plantation · economics
Holding area for enslaved people
- hullOuter covering or frame
- deckShip's flat surface
- cargo holdVessel's storage area
- barqueMulti-masted sailing vessel
brig · schooner · galleon · Amistad · masts · anchor · porthole · bilge
Transatlantic slave trade crossing
- transatlanticSpanning the ocean between continents
- crossingPoint where paths intersect
- navigationDetermining position and course
- captainOne who commands
crew · sailors · departure · arrival · ports · embarkation · disembarkation · duration
shackles
Metal bonds for prisoners
- chainsLinked metal restraints
- holdsKeeps in possession
- overcrowdingCapacity exceeded dangerously
disease · starvation · dysentery · scurvy · suffocation · branding · whipping · mortality · dehydration · filth
Middle Passage
Transatlantic slave trade crossing
- transatlanticSpanning the ocean between continents
- AmistadHistoric maritime captive revolt
- triangular tradeThree-legged Atlantic exchange system
abolitionists · Frederick Douglass · Harriet Tubman · William Wilberforce · Emancipation Proclamation · 13th Amendment · African diaspora · colonialism · plantation economy · Quakers
cargo
Transported goods
- auctionCompetitive public sale
- merchantsThose who conduct commerce
- commoditiesTradeable raw materials
sugar · tobacco · cotton · rum · molasses · indigo · rice · plantation · economics · capitalism
barracoon
Holding area for enslaved people
- hullOuter covering or frame
- deckShip's flat surface
- cargo holdVessel's storage area
barque · brig · schooner · galleon · Amistad · masts · anchor · porthole · bilge · berth
Middle Passage
Transatlantic slave trade crossing
- transatlanticSpanning the ocean between continents
- crossingPoint where paths intersect
- navigationDetermining position and course
captain · crew · sailors · departure · arrival · ports · embarkation · disembarkation · duration · winds
- boatsboat, canoe, kayak, yacht, ferry
- watercraftboat, sailboat, kayak, canoe, ships
- historic travelGrand Tour, carriage, pilgrimages, wagon, Silk Road
- shipsvessel, freighter, tanker, oil tanker, frigate
- slaverybondage, chattel, thrall, Middle Passage, slaveholders
- Black TheaterAugust Wilson, Dutchman, black experience, The Color Purple, Dreamgirls
slave shippassenger liner
Ship transporting paying travelers
cruise ship · luxury liner · ocean liner · emigrant ship · ferry
ship, slave, slavery, shipping, shipment, slaves, enslave, enslaved, enslavement