1750 AD: The Atlantic Ocean

The slave ship bounded for Berbice, in the colony of British Guiana, plundered its way through the turbulent sea as huge waves lashed against it’s swollen hull , rocking it aft and starboard amidst the howling wind and the crooked lightning flashing on the sea. Crashing thunder rolled across the sky bursting with ungodly noise in the relentless gale.

The ship’s thin masts signed lines of blood against the black starless sky as it’s human cargo screamed in fear and terror in the darkened hatch below deck .  Fear and trepidition gripped their tortured minds of the chained slaves as they grasped each other for comfort and support,their naked bodies trembling with fear of a watery grave.

At last the storm abated, the dead and dying were cast into the hungry shark  filled sea as the profit  mad captain Wilson watched without a trace of conscience . He cursed his luck as the ship’s accountant took count of the victims being cast overboard. He knew that the insurance company would pay for those lost at sea, but still that wasn’t enough ,for it was actually a third of their estimated value.

Indeed, most died from the brutality, disease and harsh treatment meted out on board ever since they were kidnapped  from their vulnerable villages along the West Coast of the African continent and sold or traded to the money mad traders, hoping to make a huge profit from their human captives.

The slave ship was over crowded as the men and women were seperated on board, the meals were meager, mostly bits of salted beef, thin biscuits and water and the sanitation was atrocious.Many did what they had to do below deck. and the stench could well be imagined

 Many died from dysentery and other water borne diseases on board.

On the third day, the ship moored into port at New Amsterdam wharf, Berbice, with it’s now diminished cargo and there was an athmosphere of gaiety on the waterfront. .It was time for a big “celebration” among the buyers on the pier, as the slaves, chained by the neck, and in pairs were marched into “delousing” houses in a compound specially  made for the “trade” near the pier .

 Men and women were seperated into different groups and led into different  houses where they were “cleansed” and treated by the Auction house doctors before being “auction” off the following two days.

The method being that the slave was stripped naked ,both male and female, and relegated to separate booths for “inspection” by the potential buyers.by "probing" the body parts. When bought, they were carted off to the various plantations across the county to work in the various fields of coffee, sugar and cotton,

After all transactions were made by the captain, the ship set off again for another “shipment’.

On the ship that fateful day was a slave named Cuffy

The End