Murder on the Middle Passage by Nicholas Rogers review – slavery and the British empire
Murder on the Middle Passage by Nicholas Rogers review – slavery and the British empire An atrocity unpunished ... forget the triumphant tales of abolition – the brutal death of a teenage slave girl reveals important truths of Britain’s imperial history You are trapped in a net cast by a white man reeking of rum and smoke, and then dragged miles to the coast. You are processed, bound into chains, and led to vast wooden ships. You are packed into the hold and spend months on the ocean. You have little to eat, little to drink, little air to breathe. All around you there is coughing and fever. On deck, they make you dance to keep your muscles taut, to preserve your price at the market. If you resist, they will beat you; if you die, they will throw you overboard. In time, you see land. You are paraded on the dockside, prodded and inspected. They feel your arms; they look at your teeth. One man says “Yes”. You are loaded on to a cart and driven over rough land along dirt tracks until you ar...