NO RETURN JOURNEY

European sailors approaching the African coast, began by throwing a salute to warn the local head of his arrival as a sign of homage to his authority. Pleased with this mark of respect, the chief received them the next day. The captain appeared and offered gifts: Mantos gold braid and stews, feathered tricorn, umbrellas and brightly colored fabrics. Having reached an agreement, the Captain gave the king the barrels of brandy, cloth, guns and other items agreed and the king declared open question.

A hand luggage then landed and built a large hut where the enslaved could be stored like cattle. African men and women arrived in long lines at the neck tied to a kind of forked stick, some after having gone thousands of miles through the forest and steppe. They were prisoners of war, victims of clashes between opposing tribes or hunted by the desire to respond to market demand. There were no children or older.

In the barracks the enslaved were examined. They looked at teeth, eyes, made them run, jump, dance. We looked for signs of disease: scurvy, worms, scabies ... for a man or woman in disrepair was worth less. If he was blind in one eye had a reduction in the price, as if he was deaf, or if he lacked any teeth.
The trip was terrible. Since boarding the ship, guessing the fate that awaited them, many Africans preferred to kill himself by jumping into the water. The rest, naked, branding on the chest, were cufflinks, chained two by two in the bottom of the vessel. There remained 15 to 16 hours per day in the dark, no ventilation and no health systems, having a space that was barely larger than a grave.
Not all men and women who left Africa came to America in the long journey many of them died from diseases and others were thrown overboard by foremen, when the boat came very heavy. According to some data, about fifteen million that went to America for all it is estimated that two million had died.