Medicine, Mortality, & the Middle Passage: Exploring Health Conditions, Disease, and Death Aboard Transatlantic Slave Ships

By Kate Rickwa

Equiano’s account of his experience aboard a slave ship was one of the most memorable parts of the book for me. His narrative was only the second time I had learned about or read a relatively detailed account of the reality of slave ships, and I think it’s disgraceful that the barbaric experiences Africans experienced while being forcibly shipped across the ocean have been glossed over and merely lumped in as means of commerce when describing the Columbian Exchange and the triangular trade. 

As I am also interested in medical history and epidemiology, I decided to focus my research on discovering more about the environment aboard the ships in terms of sanitation, health, and medical treatment. What sorts of diseases were slaves exposed to, and what measures were taken to prevent outbreaks? How did the ship layout, the psychology of slavery, and the abuse captives had already experienced contribute to health declines? Did physicians employed on slave ships truly adhere to their Hippocratic oath, or did they merely view the medical needs of the captives as opportunities to experiment?

This is also my first attempt at using Omeka, so while this may look a bit rusty as a first try, I am hoping to expand my skills over the quarter and become more equipped with the various tools available on the platform.