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In the movie “Roots”, the life of an enslaved African male named Kunta Kinta is followed, beginning with his abduction from his eighteenth century home in Africa. During this time, the Middle Passage was almost unbelievable, being that hundreds upon hundreds of Africans were abducted from their homes to go on boats to America. Consequently, Europeans traveled to Africa and captured Africans such as Kunta Kinta using guns in which many Africans had never seen before. This would later help develop their land and satisfy their need for power in the New World.
The conditions on the boats were dreadful. The Africans soon to be slaves were packed like sardines and chained tightly together. Also, the temperature in the disease-infested rooms was unbearable and there was literally no fresh air for slaves to breathe. This particular part of the movie, I thought was one of the most significant parts, because it allowed the viewer to actually see the conditions on these boats. They seemed much like a slaughterhouse and I can’t imagine how anyone could have survived in such a detrimental environment.
Many slaves trying to jump overboard and commit suicide, however slaves were brutally punished if they tried to escape. So if you tried to commit suicide and failed you were punished considerably. Once arriving in the New World slaves such as Kunta Kinta were auctioned off to work on different plantations. During this time the population began to constantly increase due to new opportunities in the New World, therefore the demand of slaves began to increase as well.
As he gets sold off.

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