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SHIPS OF SLAVES: THE MIDDLE PASSAGE (TV)

Summary

This documentary examines the four hundred-year history of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, specifically looking at the Middle Passage. The program consists of commentary by scholars, historical reenactments, poetry, and quotations, along with narration by Debbie Allen. After an introduction by Stephen Spielberg concerning his own film project based on the history of the Amistad mutiny, an overview is presented of slavery in the ancient empires of Egypt, Rome, and Mesopotamia. The viewer is informed that the beginning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade occurred when Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator made a journey to the Americas in 1441 with twelve enslaved African people. In addition, historians on the program define the Middle Passage as the middle part of the journey taken by Africans who were forcibly taken from their homelands, shipped on a trans-Atlantic voyage, and sold as property in the new world. Howard University professor Joseph Harris, Ph.D., comments on the cultures and civilizations of precolonial African nations, and Professor Edward Reynolds, Ph.D., of the University of California (San Diego), talks about the trade that transpired between African leaders and European slavers. Then Clifton H. Johnson, Ph.D., of the Amistad Research Center, notes the combination of racism and religion that allowed Europeans to rationalize the enslavement of Africans. A description follows of the part of the long journey when the shackled slaves were taken to "slave castles" along the coast of Africa (in regions such as Benin and Togo), where they were kept in dungeons. Today these places are referred to as the "points of no return." Howard Jones, Ph.D., author of "Mutiny on the Amistad," talks about the psychological trauma that the abducted Africans experienced during this period, and John Hope Franklin, Ph.D., of Duke University points out the acts of resistance committed by Africans throughout the journey. The program includes quotations made by slave ship captains and former captives, in addition to information regarding the actual trade of goods for slaves which European companies such as the British Royal African were involved in. A discussion follows of the conditions onboard slave ships, both in the "tight packers" holding up to 1,000 slaves and the "loose packers" holding up to 250 slaves. Quotations made by former slave Olaudah Equiano, as well as the information recorded in log books by several ship captains and surgeons, describe the filth and disease characteristic of the cramped, airless slave ship holds. Professor Reynolds states that it is a miracle that any Africans survived the eight-week trans-Atlantic voyage, given the conditions, while Franklin talks about the option of suicide, which many Africans preferred to their enslaved condition and terrifyingly uncertain future. During a discussion of instances of resistance by slaves, the Amistad mutiny, led by Joseph Cinque, is given as an example of the hundreds of rebellions that took place during the Middle Passage. However, scholars note that the Amistad mutiny was unique because the slaves were freed and returned to Africa by a Supreme Court ruling. Information follows on American slave markets, including historical accounts describing the techniques used to examine and select slaves who would be sold. The program concludes with a discussion of the longevity of the illegal slave trade, which continued for decades after it was outlawed, and comments by Professor Glenda Dickerson, of the University of Michigan, on slavery's lasting impact on the modern world.

This selection from the Alan Gerry Cable Collection has been made available by the Gerry Foundation, Inc.

Details

  • NETWORK: History Channel
  • DATE: 1997
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:48:10
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:58148
  • GENRE: Public Affairs/Documentaries
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Slave - trade; Slavery; Slavery - Insurrections, etc.; Slavery - Justification; Slavery - Law and legislation; Slaves' writings
  • SERIES RUN: History Channel - TV, 1997
  • COMMERCIALS: N/A

CREDITS

  • Debbie Allen … Executive Producer
  • Stephen Kroopnick … Executive Producer
  • Stu Schreiberg … Executive Producer, Writer
  • Christen Harry Schaefer … Producer, Writer
  • Jonathan Jerald … Associate Producer
  • Mike Mason … Associate Producer
  • Stacy Ryono … Line Producer
  • Laurie Carreira … Segment Producer
  • Glenda Dickerson … Writer, (Words of Yamba)
  • Alan Ett … Composer
  • Chike Okpala … Music (Misc. Credits), African music consultant
  • Debbie Allen … Narrator
  • Cinque, Joseph (See also: Pieh, Sengbe)
  • Glenda Dickerson
  • Olaudah Equiano
  • John Hope Franklin
  • Joseph Harris
  • Clifton H. Johnson
  • Howard Jones
  • Edward Reynolds
  • Stephen Spielberg