Slaves Mishandled: Inhumane Treatment and Unbearable Suffering - Essay Sample

Introduction

Slavery is the concept of selling human beings with the idea that they will offer free labor, and this act is inhuman, considering that their rights are not observed, and they are often subjected to humiliating instances. After reading these articles, there exist similarities between them that include the fact that the slaves are mishandled a situation that leaves a significant number of them sick. Some of them are unable to eat while others die while on a voyage. They are thrown to the sea depicting a significant loss of human life. Mittelberger states that "many of them died miserably and were thrown into the water." Disregard of human rights is a common notable concept in these articles, considering that in the Equiano-Slavery document, people are beaten for failing to eat or attempting to throw into the ocean. It is an indication that the pain they are experiencing while onboard the ship exceeds their desire to die. They are willing to drown rather than to continue encountering the struggles they are experiencing in the hands of their masters.

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In the Mittelberger article, it is noted that people are sold, and they are supposed to work for a given number of years to redeem the payment made for them when they were purchased. When they are working for their harsh masters, they may think of running away, and if they are caught while on the run, they are beaten and they may get a punishment in the form of the extension of the time they should serve. Another notable similarity is the breaking of family units (Mittelberger 29). When the slaves are taken to work for the whites, children are separated from their siblings and parents for a given duration or for life.

The differences between the two articles include the fact that in the Mittelberger document, the slaves are treated a bit better, for they are allowed even to marry. When a slave tries to run away, the worst that can happen is one working day being extended to cover a week or a month, or they are sold to another purchaser. The situation is different in the Equiano article where the slaves onboard who try to jump into the sea if caught, they are beaten to the verge of death. If the worst happens and they die, they are not given any decency but they are thrown into the ocean.

According to the narrator in the Equiano article, the whites are inhumane even to their fellow whites as the author explains that there was a situation where a white was frogged unmercifully with a rope leading to his death (Equiano 54). The narrator states that "This made me fear these people the more, and I expected nothing less than to be treated in the same manner." Therefore, it is an indication that these whites were very cruel even to their own.

The highlighted experiences do not portray anything that the slaves can enjoy an indication that they are all inconsiderate of human life and dignity. Therefore, these experiences are likely to trigger adverse effects in American society. These bad experiences are likely to cause bad blood between the slaves and their masters, and this will derail the growth of the economy. Lack of cohesion among the various stakeholders in a society will cause chaos and inability to raise the production. The slaves are forced to work in the work fields, and despite the labor that they offer, they often do not receive payment for it. Therefore, wealth will be concentrated in the hands of a few people in society, a situation that is not suitable for development. Therefore, American society is likely to remain in poverty.

Works Cited

Equiano, Olaudah. The interesting narrative of the life of Olaudah Equiano. Broadview Press, 2001.

Mittelberger, Gottlieb. "Gottlieb Mittelberger's Journey to Pennsylvania in the year 1750." Translated by Carl T. Eben. Philadelphia: John J. McVey (1898).