Introduction
Colonialism manifested itself during the colonial period, when Africans were evicted from their native countries, boarded European ships, and transported to other countries as a source of labor. The central colonizing countries were Portugal, France, Spanish and British empires. It is essential to note that people were needed to work on the land and grow agriculture or to serve rich individuals. Hence, with the increasing demand for slave labor, many ships were designed for their transportation and future trade operations with them. At the same time, in addition to the fact that people were forced to work for other individuals, the transportation process had unsanitary and unhealthy conditions for humans. For example, the ships crossed the ocean in 3-4 months (Domingues da Silva 2020). Moreover, the human traffickers recruited many people on the ships, which is why there was insufficient space, water, and food, and many died during the transportation.
Therefore, the goal of this essay is to analyze the article “’I can’t breathe’, which is tied to a long history of Black asphyxiation,” from a historical perspective. Accordingly, I will argue that the author of the article provides credible and valid arguments, which I will verify through primary and secondary sources. In order to achieve this goal, I will first describe the issue and its presentation in the media article; then, I will analyze two additional academic articles in order to establish the validity of the content and arguments of the media article “‘I can’t breathe’ is connected to a long history of Black asphyxiation”. After that, I will critically contextualize the information about the transportation of slaves, considering the primary source, demonstrating that the people who were first transported on the ships for forced labor were not in unsatisfactory conditions.
Definition of the Problem
Domingues da Silva (2020), in the article “I can’t breathe,’ is tied to a long history of Black asphyxiation,” which is related to the problem of bias against African Americans that has arisen today, analyzes the negative attitude towards people of African ethnicities in the past. Accordingly, the author refers to the period when people were transported from the African continent for forced labor in Europe and the United States. At that time, the slave ship was a floating chamber of suffocation because people had no air to breathe. The author also notes that the ships that transported people for their further exploitation lacked food, water, and women were often raped. Moreover, to restrain the enslaved, chains and shackles were used, reducing their space. Therefore, people often died from asphyxiation because there was not enough air in the cells or from lack of food.
It is worth noting that Domingues da Silva (2020) presents the challenge as widespread during the colonial period. Moreover, the author considers bullying people through the prism of their race. Furthermore, Domingues da Silva (2020) provides evidence that proves the attempts of state authorities to stop the deaths of persons on the boxes, but the attitude of the captains remained unchanged. Hence, individuals transported from the African content for forced labor were subjected to violence and poor conditions.
Explanation and Credibility of Arguments
Significantly, Matthew (2012) discusses the fact that Europeans enslaved the people of the African content for the use of their work. This supports the general view that the article’s “’I can’t breathe’ is tied to a long history of Black asphyxiation.” Moreover, Matthew (2012) also confirms the argument by Domingues da Silva (2020), stating that the authorities have tried to improve the treatment of the people of the African content, primarily due to the poor transportation conditions on ships. Accordingly, Matthew (2012) notes that in 1730-1860, the ideas of equality of all human beings, regardless of race, began to spread, and the government started prohibiting this institution. In addition, the ineffectiveness of this ban is also demonstrated in Matthew (2012): “Alexander described the horrific conditions he witnessed as a surgeon aboard a slave ship in An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa” (Matthew 2012, 5). Thus, it confirms the arguments of Domingues da Silva (2020) about the poor transportation conditions of people from Africa and the unsuccessful attempts of the British government to influence the slave trade.
The article written by Heywood (2009) is also devoted to the trafficking of the inhabitants of the African continent. The author describes that they were used as payment for services and sent to European countries for forced labor. Moreover, Heywood (2009) refers to reliable sources to describe the process of human trafficking. For example, the author analyzed letters stating that “King Garcia sent a small advance of slaves, as circumstances do not permit otherwise” (Heywood 2009, 12). Later it was found that 700 people were sent on the ship. Therefore, this demonstrates the active development of selling human beings and shipping them in large batches to the European continent. Accordingly, it supports the reasoning in the article “’I can’t breathe’ is tied to a long history of black asphyxiation” that the number of people on the ships was extremely high, which caused suffocation due to a shortage of air.
Evidence from the Primary Source
Importantly, the primary source depicts people during the colonial period. They are created to demonstrate people’s life and way of life at that time, especially the involvement of human labor from the African continent. The target audience is persons interested in and studying human trafficking and their transfers to the European continent. Accordingly, the pictures depict the use of Africans’ labor and the privileged position of Europeans. Hence, such evidence is historically essential to explain the politics of dominance of a certain race.
The limitations of this type of evidence are the lack of textual explanations. However, depicting negative and positive scenes allows one to trust the witness who created the illustrations. Therefore, it is impossible to argue about the witness’s bias; respectively, the paintings will enable people to evaluate the critical moments in the life of Africans on the European continent. Accordingly, the pictures show that Africans served people and performed their tasks. Also, one can see the unhappy faces of the thin people who arrived on the ships, which indicates their exhaustion and unwillingness to be traded (Slavery Images 2022). The advertisement for the sale of people suggests that many of them were brought to the continent, but only the strongest survived. Therefore, they can be considered suitable for work. Accordingly, these paintings demonstrate the problems that Domingues da Silva (2020) wrote about.
Conclusion
Thus, the trade of the inhabitants of the African continent was on a large scale during the colonial period. Many individuals were transported on ships that were moving to the European continent for a long time, and therefore, there were challenges with the shortage of space and poor conditions for their lives on the ships. Thus, from a historical point of view, the arguments and content of the article written by Domingues da Silva (2020) are supported by facts evidence, and other primary and secondary sources.
References
Adam, Matthew. 2012. Cultural Contacts, c.1763-1969. Dr Jane Samson (Department of History & Classics, University of Alberta)
Daniel Domingues da Silva. 2020. “‘I Can’t Breathe’ Is Tied to a Long History of Black Asphyxiation.” The Washington Post, Web.
Heywood, Linda. 2009. “Slavery and Its Transformation in The Kingdom of Kongo: 1491–1800.” The Journal of African History 50 (1): 1-22.
Slavery Images. 2022. Primary Sources.