The act of jumping into the sea from the slave ships by enslaved Africans during the middle passage was an act of resistance. Africans resisted from the first forceful capture.
The first Africans that were forcefully captured by the Portuguese sailors from around 1441 or 1444 arrived Portugal with bruises and wounds all over their bodies and Prince Henry the Navigator lamented over the ill treatment but later played along when he realized the economic benefit of enslaving other human beings.
The first resistance by the Africans actually took place in the homeland and the Africans who jumped into the sea during the slave middle passage to the Americas should be remembered and never forgotten by the Black race. It simply means that they were steadfast, devoted to their land, and were great thinkers.
They were great thinkers and the action to jump was concluded on their mind after rigorous thoughts. This is not an attempt to promote suicide as an alternative to suffering but the rediscovering of the thoughts of the African past, especially West Africa.
The decision to jump into the sea from the slave ship and perish by the enslaved Africans during the journey to unknown destinations is a peep into the mind of Africans and how courageous they were.
Reasons why they jumped
1, The Enslaved Africans jumped from the slave ships into the sea because they want their spirit to return home and not to an unknown destination.
2, The pain and experience on the slave ship's lower deck was too much for them to bear.
3, The enslaved ancestors jumped because it was dehumanizing for them to live under such terrible condition like lower animals.
The story of the Igbo slaves who drown themselves during the trans Atlantic slave trade is an example. It is also vivid in the ancient cultures of some African ethnic groups who would not accept humiliation and defeat but would rather chose death.
The Igbo Landing has an historic monument at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. Igbo captives committed mass suicide in 1803. They and other West African captives arrived Georgia, on the slave ship called the wanderer. They were bought by John Couper and Thomas Spalding and were meant to be resold to nearby plantations of St. Simons Island. On the way to Simons Island, about 75 Igbo slaves revolted and drown their captors, grounded the ship known as York at Dunbar creek.
The Igbo marched into the marshy water of Dunbar creek, singing, led by their chief and committed suicide. It was believed that few survived but majority of them died and many bodies were missing.
It should be remembered that those who jumped were princes, princesses, farmers, warriors, kings, queens, chiefs, husbands, wives, priests, hunters, musicians, story tellers, etc.
The actions of some ancient heroes and heroines in ancient times best explains the reason for the jump made by enslaved Africans from the slave ships into the sea. For example, the Yoruba warriors never accepted defeat. It was a taboo in Yorubaland for a warrior to return home defeated. The warriors who failed were supposed to die on the battle field or commit suicide.
If you study ancient Yoruba heroes and heroines, you will realize that most of them rather than face shame or defeat will use their supernatural or magical powers to transform from their human bodies to natural phenomenon such as rivers, rocks, animals, trees etc. Some entered the earth and the locations and sites are still marked today.
The ancestors who jumped from the slaving ships off the coast of West Africa, and everywhere should be remembered always and Africans in the homeland and Diaspora should recognize their courage of resistance in the face of death.
Anago Osho
+2348037043233
anago.tourism@gmail.com
The first Africans that were forcefully captured by the Portuguese sailors from around 1441 or 1444 arrived Portugal with bruises and wounds all over their bodies and Prince Henry the Navigator lamented over the ill treatment but later played along when he realized the economic benefit of enslaving other human beings.
The first resistance by the Africans actually took place in the homeland and the Africans who jumped into the sea during the slave middle passage to the Americas should be remembered and never forgotten by the Black race. It simply means that they were steadfast, devoted to their land, and were great thinkers.
They were great thinkers and the action to jump was concluded on their mind after rigorous thoughts. This is not an attempt to promote suicide as an alternative to suffering but the rediscovering of the thoughts of the African past, especially West Africa.
The decision to jump into the sea from the slave ship and perish by the enslaved Africans during the journey to unknown destinations is a peep into the mind of Africans and how courageous they were.
Reasons why they jumped
1, The Enslaved Africans jumped from the slave ships into the sea because they want their spirit to return home and not to an unknown destination.
2, The pain and experience on the slave ship's lower deck was too much for them to bear.
3, The enslaved ancestors jumped because it was dehumanizing for them to live under such terrible condition like lower animals.
The story of the Igbo slaves who drown themselves during the trans Atlantic slave trade is an example. It is also vivid in the ancient cultures of some African ethnic groups who would not accept humiliation and defeat but would rather chose death.
The Igbo Landing has an historic monument at Dunbar Creek on St. Simons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. Igbo captives committed mass suicide in 1803. They and other West African captives arrived Georgia, on the slave ship called the wanderer. They were bought by John Couper and Thomas Spalding and were meant to be resold to nearby plantations of St. Simons Island. On the way to Simons Island, about 75 Igbo slaves revolted and drown their captors, grounded the ship known as York at Dunbar creek.
The Igbo marched into the marshy water of Dunbar creek, singing, led by their chief and committed suicide. It was believed that few survived but majority of them died and many bodies were missing.
It should be remembered that those who jumped were princes, princesses, farmers, warriors, kings, queens, chiefs, husbands, wives, priests, hunters, musicians, story tellers, etc.
The actions of some ancient heroes and heroines in ancient times best explains the reason for the jump made by enslaved Africans from the slave ships into the sea. For example, the Yoruba warriors never accepted defeat. It was a taboo in Yorubaland for a warrior to return home defeated. The warriors who failed were supposed to die on the battle field or commit suicide.
If you study ancient Yoruba heroes and heroines, you will realize that most of them rather than face shame or defeat will use their supernatural or magical powers to transform from their human bodies to natural phenomenon such as rivers, rocks, animals, trees etc. Some entered the earth and the locations and sites are still marked today.
The ancestors who jumped from the slaving ships off the coast of West Africa, and everywhere should be remembered always and Africans in the homeland and Diaspora should recognize their courage of resistance in the face of death.
Anago Osho
+2348037043233
anago.tourism@gmail.com