Slave Trade: The Issue Of Sources Through This Brutal Time

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The Issue of Sources through This Brutal Time
Over 12 million enslaved African women, men, and even children were compelled to migrate to the Americas from the early 16th to the late 19th centuries. Many of these slaves were bought and sold to European slave traders after the migration to the Americas. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade refers to the migration of slaves. The major problem is the problem of sourcing during that time period. The problem with sourcing is that many of the sources come from enslavers who hold varying prejudices and opinions. The viewer is only given one perspective on one of the most terrible periods of history because some of these materials were biased in their creation.
The majority of these sources are from slave …show more content…

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They would always tell their tales from the viewpoint of the master, which prevents people from knowing the truth about this awful period of history. Few sources from actual enslaved women like Mary Prince recounts her experiences and pain with the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, although the majority of the materials about this trade originated from enslavers. Mary Prince was born and raised in a family of slaves, where she saw the suffering inflicted by their masters on everyone who had to do their bidding. The History of Mary Prince: A West Indian Slave, Mary Prince's memoir, details the hardships and suffering that she and other slaves experienced firsthand while living under the tyranny of these vile people. In her book, she shows the true side of the history of the trans-Atlantic Slave Trade by sharing “He tied me up upon a ladder, and gave me a hundred lashes with his own hand, and master Benjy stood by to count them for him. When he had licked me for some time” All the enslavers wanted was for enslaved men and women to work, but they also wanted the women to perform all of these cruel and violent actions so they could feel satisfied. For the money and satisfaction they would get after all of this, these men would frequently beat and hurt these women. Enslavers would frequently beat these women, yet they would never feel sympathy for