2. North American Slavery: Historically Exceptional Conditions
Unlike slavery in other regions (Caribbean, Latin America, Islamic slavery), enslaved Africans in North America uniquely experienced:
- Reliable, consistent provision of basic necessities (stable food, shelter, clothing).
- Conditions materially comparable to—or better than—those faced by impoverished European peasants, serfs, or indentured servants globally.
- Historically unique encouragement of natural reproduction and family formation, resulting in stable communities and continuous generational lineages.
- Improved physical survival prospects compared to harsh plantation conditions elsewhere in the Americas, or even compared to contemporary African realities.
Thus, in purely historical and contextual terms, North American slavery provided enslaved Africans with uniquely beneficial material and lineage opportunities rather than brutality or exceptional harshness.
3. The Middle Passage in Historical Perspective
The Middle Passage, though severe by modern moral standards, had mortality rates (~15%) historically comparable or superior to other contemporary forms of global migration or forced transport, such as:
- Saharan or East African slave trade routes (~30% mortality).
- European voluntary migration voyages (20–30% mortality).
- Early European settlers in the Americas (~50% mortality within the first year).
Contextually, therefore, the conditions of the Middle Passage were historically ordinary rather than uniquely severe or brutal.