118 THE WEALTH AND POVERTY OF NATIONSafraid to allow his cargo to leave their fetid quarters and come above
deck—they might jump overboard. To lose one in seven was consid
ered normal; one in three or four, excessive but pardonable.
Every day's sail cost lives—no slave ship without its escort of sharks.
So slavers preferred to land and sell their cargo in the eastern islands—
the sooner the better—and charged a premium in the Greater Antilles.
Slave ships announced themselves for miles downwind by their stench,
which never left them, even after the slaves were unloaded, even after
the ship had left the trade. Survivors arrived so sick, weak, terrified, and
disheartened ("fixed melancholy")—the blacks were convinced that
the white man wanted to eat them—that many succumbed shortiy
after in the course of the "seasoning" process.
Only commercial interest protected the slaves: the trader did not
want to lose valuable stock. The crew, whose own mortality rates were
about as high as the slaves', had every reason, olfactory to begin with,
to keep the vessel shipshape and clean. We hear of some vessels that
made the trip without losing anyone, so it could be done. We are also
told that some countries shipped better than others. The Dutch were
said to be the best, with specially built vessels that had more spacious
quarters below deck and even cowls to draw in air for ventilation. Some
slavers packed tight, knowing that more would die but figuring to
maximize the number delivered. Others packed loose (less tight), on
the theory that it paid to buy fewer slaves but bring more of them to
port. But it was hard to deal kindly, if only because a slave ship's at
mosphere reeked of fear and hate.
Once on land, the slave was sold and, after a period of "seasoning,"
set to labor. The seasoning, a selection process, weeded out the weak
and tamed the rebellious. Flogging did for persistent offenders, ex
pendable as labor and useful as bad examples. Those who ran away
were often pursued and returned by their fellows, who otherwise had
to make up for labor lost and stood to gain by collaboration. Like
other such oppressive systems, slavery rested in part on cooperation
from the victims.
The work itself, toilsome and tiresome, was designed for some effi
ciency (coordinated gang labor), but also for monotony and stultifica
tion. The aim was to not stimulate the mind and hand, but rather to
keep these creatures dull and docile. When speed mattered, as at har
vest time, the slaves were whipped to the task. Master and overseers
thought the blacks no better than brutes, and used stick and lash freely,
sometimes so freely as to maim and kill. For good material reasons,
pregnant women were exempted from beating until after delivery; the