Most ships had three decks, the lower two used for transporting enslaved people. The lowest deck extended the full length of the ship and was no more than five feet high. In the next deck, wooden planks, like shelves, extended from the sides of the ship, where enslaved people, chained in pairs at the wrists and ankles, were crammed side by side. Although buckets were provided for use as toilets, they were not emptied regularly. The ships smelled of excrement, disease, and death. It is estimated that between 15 and 20 percent of the enslaved people died en route to the colonies, mostly from disease, spoiled food, contaminated water, starvation and thirst, and suicide.
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At What Cost?Enslaved people were acquired in Africa for an average price of about twenty-five dollars each, paid primarily in merchandise. They were sold in the Americas for about one hundred fifty dollars each. As the price of the enslaved increased, so did the inhumane overcrowding of the ships.
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Logistics:A typical slave ship traveling from the Gold (Slave) Coast would take four to eight weeks to reach the Chesapeake Bay, the Gulf of Mexico, or the West Indies. Shackling irons, nets, and ropes were standard equipment. These slave ships could carry as many as 400 slaves and a crew of 47, as well as 13,000 pounds of food.
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Punishments:Although African captives were shackled on board slave ships, the conditions were so terrible that slave merchants constantly feared rebellion. To ensure their own safety, the captains would punish unruly enslaved people severely, sometimes throwing them overboard, or punishing weaker Africans to discourage the others.
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