Day 1: Slave Trader

Money was everything. There was plenty of sugar coming into our port everyday. Now we
needed someone to get slaves from, and a lot of them. My team and I had sent ahead a few
men to Nantes to arrange for us to get slaves. Early that morning we loaded the carts with sugar
and pepper that we would then trade for slaves to send to our New World colonies. Our
plantation was about twenty miles from the Nantes port. It would take us most of the day to get
there.
We arrived at the port around sunset. Most of the ports were already closed. Our men that had
gone ahead had already gotten us a port so we could load tonight and be ready to sail
tomorrow.
As we unloaded the sugar and pepper I could hear the ship crews yelling at each other to
hurry the loads along. I was getting anxious, the men we were trading with hadnt showed up
yet. The docks were just about closed. I needed to make sure I was getting enough slaves for
my fair share of sugar.
Finally just after sunset a big, burly man came out of the shop close to our boat. He called my
name and greeted me roughly. He told me the slaves were on their way and should be ready to
load in the early morning.

Day 1: Slave

I was woken by my chains being clanged together with the guys next to me. The sun hadnt
even risen yet. I was still exhausted from the long trek wed made yesterday. The guards had
told us we were being sold today. Every part of me ached and strained from being whipped and
yelled at yesterday. My feet were hard with callus and blistered from the hot sun. My wrists were
rubbed raw from the chains that bind us all together.
I was only twelve and had been in the slave trade for four years now. My parents had left me
when I was five years old. I never really knew them or where theyd gone.
The master came in and yelled at us to hurry up. We were supposed to move on our last part
of the journey today. Every part of me ached as I got up. We were drug out of our camp and all
started trudging on toward the rising sun. We didnt get any breakfast, but I was used to it by
now. My stomach rumbled with the sounds of hunger. It was going to be a long day.
It was around noon when we finally reached the loading docks with the sound of the master's
voice yelling at us to pick up the pace. My lungs ached from having no water and my mouth
tasted like sand. When we were all arranged in our camps for the night, it was finally silent.
Day 2: Slave trader

Today was the day. The sooner we could get these slaves, the sooner our ships could leave.
We had four hundred pounds of sugar to trade, so there had better be a lot of slaves. The men
that had gone ahead had told me the slaves looked healthy and strong to work. I could hear the
chains of the slaves slowly coming toward the port. As they neared us the master called out to
me. He had a strong accent and I could barely make out what he was saying. He was yelling
loudly and flailing his hands around. I didnt have time for this and didnt want have to deal with
him. It looked like he had over seventy five slaves, which was a good sign. He told me he had
ninety slaves for me, which was less than Id expected; I was not impressed. I only gave him
half the sugar. Neither of us looked impressed, but he settled the deal without any further
arguing.
I later told some of my men, they were to stay back and find more slaves, so we could get rid
of the rest of the sugar. Then we would have fresh slaves after we had already arrived in the
New World.
After he left, my men started loading the slaves. I yelled to them to whip them so theyd move
faster. We only had one hour to load, if we wanted to stay on track. Finally after a lot of yelling
and whipping they were loaded. We were an hour behind schedule.
We pushed off the docks around six am. The slaves were all stowed away in the bottom bunks.
My men and I were on the upper decks drinking to a good day of dealing. I had stole a little
brandy before we loaded, and had a toast to me and my men.

Day 2: Slave

We were woken up even earlier than yesterday. The master was yelling at us again, clanging
our chains together to make us move faster. He yelled to say we had better move so we could
be loaded in time. I could barely move, my feet ached and I was growing weaker every day. It
was harder and harder to get up each morning, after spending a long night on the hard floors of
the stalls we were put in for the night. I could smell oats and sugar and silently hoped that today
we would get some. The master was still yelling at us to hurry along. I made my way outside,
still half asleep, to be shoved in the gut with maybe a spoonful of plain oats on a spoon. That
was probably all Id get for the day.
We made our way down to the docks, where I could see a tall white man in fancy clothes. He
was going to be our new master. He looked mean, and was standing there tapping his foot, like
the world was run by him. As soon as our master came into view, the white man started barking
orders at him, both of them yelling over the sound of the ships pushing off the docks.
We were then pushed along by new white men I hadnt seen before, onto the huge ship in front
of him. They had whips, which pierced through my skin immediately. One by one we were
loaded onto the ship, into tiny boarding rooms under the ship's deck. The room were no bigger
than ten feet in size, and the men shoved nearly ten men in each one. We were piled on top of
each other, no room to move or lie down. There were no windows or light, so we were stuck in
the dark. When the ship pushed off all of us were jolted forward collapsing into a huge pile of
bodies. All I could hope was that the journey to the New World was short.
Day 85: Slave Trader

This journey was taking forever. We were running low on food and the slaves were becoming
restless. The men had said it would take seventy days to get there. Were on day eighty five.
We had ran out of Brandy three days ago. I was starting to get impatient and wanted this
journey to be over. Once we arrived in the New World, the slaves would be immediately put to
work. I had purchased twenty quarters near the east coast of America, and all of the land
needed to be worked under before we could start farming it. I wanted to be done turning up the
land before the snowfall.
Around dusk, we saw land. The crew let out a cry of happiness. We had finally landed.
The docks were very busy as we neared them. It was maham. Three of my men jumped ship to
try and find us a spot. After a few minutes of searching they waved me over to a dock near the
end of the line. Soon we were docked and the slaves started unloading.
Slowly, one by one they emerged from the boards under the deck. I yelled to move faster.
Most of them looked half asleep. They had better be rested by morning, they would be starting
work in the morning.

Day 85: Slave

The journey was very long. I had lost count of how long I guessed wed been on the ship.
Each morning, or what I thought was morning, one of the white men would come down and
throw in a bucket of plain naan bread. This is how I kept track of how long wed been on the
ship. The men hadnt come down yet and it had been quite a long time since our last piece of
bread. My stomach was becoming weaker and each day there was a little more pain. The boat
rocks violently back and forth, making me very nausea. The room reeked of vomit from all the
nausea this trip caused us. Our boarding rooms were under the main deck, so part of our rooms
were under water. How did the white men expect us to work hard, if they were barely feeding
us. Five of the others had already died on the journey. When the white men found them, their
bodies were simply taken away, never to be seen again.
I felt a sudden jolt, the sound of the boat scrapping sand. We must have landed. One of the
white men came down to the boards and told us to get up and come with him. It took a great
effort to get up, especially be chained together. Once we were all standing, we started making
our way up to the top deck. The fresh air filled my lungs, burning as it went in. It was as if legs
had forgotten how to move. We were all stumbling out of the ship, swaying this way and that.
The white men just kept yelling to move faster.
Soon we were all marched into a small shack near the port. The master said this is where wed
sleep tonight, then tomorrow we would start our work.
Day 86: Slave Trader

Last night after the slaves were all locked away in their shacks, the men took me to see where
the land they had purchased was. The land was ten miles away, so we took a horse wagon. The
road was bumpy and windy, bouncing us around. When we reached the plot, it looked hard as
rock. It hadnt ever been broke. I kicked at the dirt, barely any dust kicking up. It was going to
take the slaves a long time. My next set of slaves had better be here soon. The more slaves I
had, the faster the land could be broke, the faster we could start farming. The faster we could
start making money.

In the morning, I got the men to wake the slaves just as the sun was coming up. I was still in
bed, but I could hear them clanking the chains together to get the slaves up. They were taking
the slaves first, then I would come later to make sure they were working hard.
When I arrived at the site around noon, they had only managed to till up about ten feet. At this
pace, wed be here until Christmas. They needed to speed up. I yelled to my men to speed them
up.

Day 86: Slave

The shacks we were put in were tinier that the ones on the ships. We basically had to sleep on
top of each other just so we could all fit. We had lost at least five of us on the journey, but could
all still barely fit.
The sun was just rising when the white men came in to wake up us. As usual, they just clanked
our chains together long enough so wed all wake up. Once we were all up, they marched us
outside and loaded us into the back of a horse wagon. We were each given one slice of bread,
the most Id gotten in a long time. On the wagon we rode down a very bumpy road, so bumpy it
was hard to stand and eat without choking.
Once we arrived at the land, I knew it wasnt going to be easy work. The ground looked like
rock. The white men ordered us all to get out of the wagon and grab a tiller. Then we were to all
get in one line and start tilling. Once the section we were working on was to their standard, we
would all move up the row and start again. It was hard labour. The sun was beating down us,
my hands aching from holding the tiller. I had blisters that had rubbed raw and were on the
verge of bleeding. The master was just showing up around the heat of the day. He marched up
and down the rows, inspecting our work. We had only managed to move about ten feet all day.
The master was yelling at the white men. Soon after, the white men came over and yelled at us
to speed up. I could barely feel my hands and they wanted us to speed up.
 By night my hands were so raw, it hurt to move them and I could barely move. All of us just
collapsed into our shack and I was asleep before the white men could bring us dinner.

Day 90: Slave Trader

I wanted to get a head start on today. I had travelled around the countryside yesterday to see
how other settlers were making out on their land. By my standards we were behind. We only
had twenty feet down, most of the others had at least one quarter done. I told my men to wake
the slaves even earlier today. I wanted to be up to par with everyone else.
After my breakfast of oatmeal and fruit, I found our wagon and headed out to meet with some
of the farmers of nearby farms. I wanted to buy more land that was already tilled and ready to
use. We needed money to be able to buy better equipment to farm with.
At the first farm, the owner was from my home town. We immediately started to talk business.
He was hoping to go back and get another load of slaves. I told him my plan to farm more land.
He was interested, but only if he got a share of the profit. I wasnt sure about this, but then he
offered to give me some of the slaves he was going to get. That sold the deal. By the time he
got back, most of my slaves would be weak or would have died. I needed stronger ones if we
were going to finish all six quarters before snowfall. Deal done. He said he would back by
September, just in time to help get the fall crop off.
When I got back to our land, there was only another half of the quarter done. Progress from
yesterday, but not enough. My men told me, they had tried everything, but that was as fast as
they were going to work.

Day 90: Slave

The clank of the chains felt like a knife through my bones. Everything ached and My hands had
scabbed over, but not for long. As soon as the tiller hit them, the skin would break open again.
We were each given one piece of bread as we exited the shack and the tillers were waiting
where wed left them yesterday. I savoured the bread, it was the only thing we got all day,
except when the white men threw a bucket of water on us at around noon, which made my feet
feel like bricks in the soft dirt.
On the field, the air felt like daggers, hot and dry as I breathed in the dirt filled air. The master
wasnt here again, he was probably off relaxing in his house somewhere, just watching us
struggle and do his work. It was hard, but being chained together made it even harder. I could
only take a few steps without feeling the pull of the guy next to me. When the white men blew
his whistle, we all marched ahead two paces and continued to work. By noon, the bucket of
water felt like a treat from the gods above. My hands were bleeding and the dirt was flying up
and landing in them, making them sting even worse.
 When the white men blew their whistle to signal that our day was over, we all dropped our
tillers immediately, silently thanking the Lord we were done for the day. We made our way back
to camp, dropping our tillers by the door. The white men handed us another piece of bread and
we all silently went to bed.

Rewriting History:
African Slave Trade
With France

By: Maria Maxwell