Question

Write an account of the journey of an African boy of seventeen captured and taken to Brazil as a slave.

Answer 1

Peter, a boy of seventeen, was being taken to Brazil as a slave, far away from Kitaisa, a small village in Africa. Peter had never been on a sea voyage before. He was afraid and frightened thinking about his fate. He was aware of the condition of the slaves abroad. He had seen many of his friends and family being captured and sent to America and never had he seen them return. What had become of them, did they survive the harsh conditions of the mines and plantations where they had been working or had they succumbed to the extreme torture? He pondered upon such questions as he looked around himself and saw others like him shackled in heavy iron chains. Packed below the deck of the ship like animals, he could not even get to see the sunlight. All slaves were packed so close to one another that they could not reach the toilet buckets. Thus, they lay in their own filth. The dark, damp and filthy deck made Peter sick. He wished he could just run away to the safety of his home. However, there was no relief for him. The violent storm instead increased the time of the voyage from the usual six weeks to thirteen weeks. The terrified faces of panic and fear and the cries of the women and children made him feel more ill. Some slaves did try to resist but were beaten badly. The terror of the Americans resisted any slave to rise further. When the thirteen days voyage came to an end, Peter had grown weak. Yet, he survived to endure worse in his days as a slave.