Olaudah Equiano on the Middle Passage

Based on what Olaudah Equiano mentioned in this passage, the crew of slave ships spared all expences to make the maximum profits from their business of transporting human cargoes. Examples of this, is shown in Equiano's description when he explains how the slaves were kept under the deck in such poor conditions that there was a unforgettable, repulsive stench present, there. In addition to this, they had constantly beat and oppressed any African prisoner who had thought of escaping or dying. In the last paragraph of the passage, Equiano also mentions how when a few of the African prisoners managed to jump into the ocean, the crew went through extreme measures to recapture the lost slaves. So it can be seen, just how conservative, and careful the crews of slave ships were, in order to make the most profit out of transporting human cargo.

Africa Map for Africa and the Atlantic World

Sub-Saharan Africa Map

Viewpoint on Griots of Africa

In my opinion I believe history would be more memorable if it were to be passed down the way the African Griots had done. Though this may be, there are issues with this method of preserving history. One of these issues concern the originality of the story, which means that when a story is being passed down from generation to generation, variations may be added to the original story to make it more easier to express. This depreciation of the originality of the concepts/events that have cured in history may ultimately lead to false interpretations of the story. Therefore, even though it would be more well known through words, by having it in text would preserve the accuracy of history as it happened. Thus I would not really like to learn history the way the Griots did, and would instead prefer history in text.