Question

Question
Olaudah Equiano, who had been enslaved and emancipated, described the horrors of the middle passage in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, published in 1789.

"The closeness of the place, and the heat of the climate, added to the number in the ship, which was so crowded that each had scarcely room to turn himself, almost suffocating us. This produced copious perspirations, so that the air soon became unfit for respiration, from a variety of loathsome smells, and brought on a sickness among the slaves, of which many died, thus falling victims to the improvident avarice, as I may call it, of their purchasers. This wretched situation was again aggravated by the galling of the chains, now become insupportable; and the filth of the necessary tubs [large buckets for human waste], into which the children often fell, and were almost suffocated. The shrieks of the women, and the groans of the dying, rendered the whole a scene of horror almost inconceivable."



According to the passage, what caused sickness among the people during the Middle Passage?

(1 point)
Responses

Malnutrition and lack of food
Malnutrition and lack of food

Seasickness from rough waters
Seasickness from rough waters

Contaminated drinking water
Contaminated drinking water

Unsanitary conditions and filth
Unsanitary conditions and filth

Answer 1

Unsanitary conditions and filth

The passage describes overcrowding, foul smells, filth in the waste tubs, and poor air, which produced sickness among the enslaved.