The Atlantic slave trade was damaging to the African slaves in numerous ways. The slaves were treated barbarously. They were beaten, branded, and delivered in chains. The Europeans inflicted ghastly wounds on the African slaves. The slaves were worked to the point of death and given little to no food (Berkin 93). On slave ships, they were tortured, whipped, and sacrificed (Oates 37). Many of the slaves died from diseases, suicide, and mutiny before even reaching the Americas (Berkin 93). The slave owners treated their slaves atrociously. Their purpose for this was to strip away the slaves' self-respect and self-identity. They wished to dehumanize the slaves (Oates 36). The slaves feared their owners as well as dreaded their life, in the
