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Article ON AFRICAN SLAVERY. ← Page 3 of 4 →
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On African Slavery.
would procure them relief , were not the breasts of the traders steeled against the soft emotions of pity , and the generous sentiments of humanity . These victims of avarice are sold with less ceremony than the beasts of the field ; they are stowed in ships in a most uncomfortable situation , and loaded with shackles of iron . The father hears by turns the groans of a beloved son confined in chains , and the screams of his , Faithful wife and innocent daughters , struggling against the attacks of
their brutal ravishers . Can there be a human heart that does not softeii with compassion at the cries of anguish and exclamations of sorrow , ; when the ships depart from the coast—when the slaves take a last view of their native climes , to which they have no hopes ever to return —• when they bid an eternal adieu to all that is dear to them , and find themselves involuntarily embarking on a voyage , the unknown terrors of which give full scope to the most gloomy exercise of the imag ination . I seem to hear the melancholy sound of a thousand voices united in deploring their unspeakable calamities , and which re-echo
for the last time in their native groves and wilds , which have often witnessed their joyous songs and innocent amusements . But the African coast soon disappears , and they pursue their trackless path to the ' region destined to be the theatre of their wretchedness . In their passage they form such dreary ideas of their future condition , that they voluntarily deprive themselves of life to avoid approaching evil . — - Whenever they can break from their chainsanimated with a prospect
, of returning to their native country , they plunge themselves into the ocean , and terminate at once their lives and their misfortunes . Not only do these ignorant savages put a period to their own existence , but , fired by rage" and revenge , they sometimes burst the bands that confine ; them , and imbrue their hands in the blood of their oppressors . Instances have happened where the whole crew have fallen victims to the
rage , and satiated the vengeance of their injured slaves . The Africans are then left alone'in the ship , without a pilot to direct their course . Imagine the horror of their condition—unfkilled in the art of navigation—incapable of steering the ship , and driven before the winds , they are exposed to the fury of the waves , and depend on chance for relief . They wander round the ocean in the vain hopes of regaining their native shore , till their food becomes exhausted , and they perish b y the unrelenting hand of famine .
When the traders escape the storms of the ocean , and the vengeance of the Africans , and arrive in the West India islands , and those countries where there is a demand for their cargo , the sale of these unfortunate people completes their wretchedness . In distributing them through .-the p lantations ' , no regard is paid to the tender ties of consanguinity and the sacred bonds of friendship . They are compelled to undergo a severity of servitude unparalleled in- the annals of mankind . They
are dqoaied in the burning climes , beneath a meridian sun , to incessant labour and fatigue . When their strength is exhausted , and they totter under their burdens , the lash of the whip quickens them to the last exertion of expiring life . They are . denied a sufficient respite from their labours to rest their weary limbs and enjoy the necessary relaxation of"
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
On African Slavery.
would procure them relief , were not the breasts of the traders steeled against the soft emotions of pity , and the generous sentiments of humanity . These victims of avarice are sold with less ceremony than the beasts of the field ; they are stowed in ships in a most uncomfortable situation , and loaded with shackles of iron . The father hears by turns the groans of a beloved son confined in chains , and the screams of his , Faithful wife and innocent daughters , struggling against the attacks of
their brutal ravishers . Can there be a human heart that does not softeii with compassion at the cries of anguish and exclamations of sorrow , ; when the ships depart from the coast—when the slaves take a last view of their native climes , to which they have no hopes ever to return —• when they bid an eternal adieu to all that is dear to them , and find themselves involuntarily embarking on a voyage , the unknown terrors of which give full scope to the most gloomy exercise of the imag ination . I seem to hear the melancholy sound of a thousand voices united in deploring their unspeakable calamities , and which re-echo
for the last time in their native groves and wilds , which have often witnessed their joyous songs and innocent amusements . But the African coast soon disappears , and they pursue their trackless path to the ' region destined to be the theatre of their wretchedness . In their passage they form such dreary ideas of their future condition , that they voluntarily deprive themselves of life to avoid approaching evil . — - Whenever they can break from their chainsanimated with a prospect
, of returning to their native country , they plunge themselves into the ocean , and terminate at once their lives and their misfortunes . Not only do these ignorant savages put a period to their own existence , but , fired by rage" and revenge , they sometimes burst the bands that confine ; them , and imbrue their hands in the blood of their oppressors . Instances have happened where the whole crew have fallen victims to the
rage , and satiated the vengeance of their injured slaves . The Africans are then left alone'in the ship , without a pilot to direct their course . Imagine the horror of their condition—unfkilled in the art of navigation—incapable of steering the ship , and driven before the winds , they are exposed to the fury of the waves , and depend on chance for relief . They wander round the ocean in the vain hopes of regaining their native shore , till their food becomes exhausted , and they perish b y the unrelenting hand of famine .
When the traders escape the storms of the ocean , and the vengeance of the Africans , and arrive in the West India islands , and those countries where there is a demand for their cargo , the sale of these unfortunate people completes their wretchedness . In distributing them through .-the p lantations ' , no regard is paid to the tender ties of consanguinity and the sacred bonds of friendship . They are compelled to undergo a severity of servitude unparalleled in- the annals of mankind . They
are dqoaied in the burning climes , beneath a meridian sun , to incessant labour and fatigue . When their strength is exhausted , and they totter under their burdens , the lash of the whip quickens them to the last exertion of expiring life . They are . denied a sufficient respite from their labours to rest their weary limbs and enjoy the necessary relaxation of"