First Draft - Bibliographic Review

Death From Within: Variables in the Causality of Mortality On Slave Ships

Eltis, David. "Mortality and Voyage Length in the Middle Passage: New Evidence from the             Nineteenth Century." The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 44, No. 2, The Tasks of             Economic History (Jun., 1984), pp. 301-308.

Engerman, Stanley L., Haines, Robin., Klein, Herbert S., and Shlomowitz, Ralph.              "Transoceanic Mortality:  The Slave Trade in Comparative Perspective."  The William          and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 58, No. 1, New Perspectives on the Transatlantic   Slave Trade (Jan., 2001), pp. 93-118.

Garland, Charles., and Klein, Herbert S.  "The Allotment of Space for Slaves aboard Eighteenth-     Century British Slave Ships."  The William and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 42,           No. 2 (Apr., 1985), pp. 238-248.

Haines, Robin., and Ralph Shlomowitz.  "Explaining the Mortality Decline in the Eighteenth-     Century British Slave Trade."  The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 53, No.    2 (May, 2000), pp. 262-283.

Jensen, Richard A., and Steckel, Richard H.  "New Evidence on the Causes of Slave and Crew   Mortality in the Atlantic Slave Trade."  The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 46, No. 1   (Mar., 1986), pp. 57-77.

Miller, Joseph C.  "Mortality in the Atlantic Slave Trade: Statistical Evidence on Causality."      The Journal of Interdisciplinary History, Vol. 11, No. 3 (Winter, 1981), pp. 385-423.

Mustakeem, Sowande.  "I Never Have Such a Sickly Ship Before: Diet, Disease, and Mortality        in 18th-century Atlantic Slaving Voyages."  Journal of African American History, Vol.   93, Issue 4 (Fall 2008), pp. 474-496.

           

            The slave ships that carried the Africans across the Atlantic Ocean should be referred to as harbingers of death.  Conditions on board ships were so horrendous that steps were taken to regulate certain aspects during transportation.  Although, laws such as Dolben's Act were meant to decrease mortality rates amongst the vessels, studies continue to clash with each other on what exactly was the leading cause of death during transport.  In most cases of discussion on the topic, statistics are heavily relied upon, but to what avail?  These numbers can be interpreted and manipulated  in a variety of ways, adding confusion to the multitude of data that some may already consider inaccurate or unreliable.  Miller manages to break down the overwhelming 'facts' of the statistics used, shining light on missing values, distortions in numbers, and evidence that leaves mortality rates inconclusive.  One thing can be for certain, death was delivered each and every time to those unfortunate souls attached to those numbers. 

"The high rates of mortality on slave ships greatly exceeded the customary

death rates of populations on land, even considering those of the great

human disasters such as the Black Death, the decimation of Native Amer-

icans in the settlement of the Americas, and the Irish Famine, as well as

mortality on other types of sea voyages, such as those carrying indentured

workers and free migrants."[1]

            As numerical data surrounding mortality on slave ships became increasingly available, many historians attempted to formulate an understanding to the causation of these rates.  There are a few general ideas from the selected works that conflict with each other regarding some of the broader variables contributing to death during the slave trade. For example, Eltis argues that lengthier voyages are a leading factor in increased mortality rates, while Miller counters with convincing statistical analysis that the length of the voyages had little, if any contribution to increased deaths.  Steckel & Jensen, along with Mustakeem argue in favor of 'tight-packing,' which may have exacerbated the causes of death leading to higher mortality rates.  Although many of the historians reviewed refuse to attribute 'tight-packing' to increased death rates, interestingly enough, Garland & Klein not only refute this concept, but constructed mathematical equations which they then applied to slave ship data sets to invalidate the 'tight-packing' hypothesis. 

            Underlying within the 'tight-packing' hypothesis and lengthy voyage arguments, we can find countless additional 'sub' variables which cause these arguments to become deadly.  Some of these include: prevalent diseases, nutrition (or lack thereof), inadequate food/water quality/supply, and questionable medical care.  While a few historians argue that the conditions on the ships were the main focus, others mention pre-existing conditions in Africa as a leading cause of death.  Steckel & Jensen propose it was a type of synergistic relationship between both the conditions in Africa prior to departure and the horrific conditions on board the ships that led to mortality.[2]           

   

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[1] Engerman, Stanley L., Haines, Robin., Klein, Herbert S., and Shlomowitz, Ralph.              "Transoceanic Mortality:  The Slave Trade in Comparative Perspective."  The William          and Mary Quarterly, Third Series, Vol. 58, No. 1, New Perspectives on the Transatlantic   Slave Trade (Jan., 2001), p 95.

[2] Jensen, Richard A., and Steckel, Richard H.  "New Evidence on the Causes of Slave and Crew   Mortality in the Atlantic Slave Trade."  The Journal of Economic History, Vol. 46, No. 1   (Mar., 1986), p 73.