Interestingly enough, I have just finished reading a historical novel called 'A Respectable Trade' which is essentially about the taking of slaves from Africa either to plantations or to England for 'work.' It is essentially a story of love between a black man and a white woman but tempered with factual events of that time.
Well, I am still reeling and horrified by what I read! Captured in Africa, marched onto a ship bound for Bristol, packed in on ledges like sardines, no sanitation, lying in their own faeces and urine and vomit for about 4 months, being tossed over the side if they became too ill, being beaten and whipped every day, babies torn from their mother's arms and thrown to the sharks for fun, women raped for something for the crew to do....If any of them tried to starve themselves to death, they were made to wear a metal bridle, which cut deeply into their nose and mouth and then force fed, to prevent death. There were nets over the sides of the ships to avert the black people from committing suicide as it was preferable to die.... The list could go on and on.
Eventually, on reaching England about another 25% would die within 2 yrs of either 'white man's germs' or from maltreatment. They were kept shackled and worked every day, very hard and kept half starved so they didn't have the energy to either rebel or run away. The women were routinely raped of course and if they became pregnant, generally died either before or during childbirth. The slaves in plantations fared even worse, with a death rate 0f 50 - 75% every 2 yrs, so had to be replaced with new 'stock.' These were people, who in their own country were noblemen, wives. mothers and workers like any of us.... So if anyone is interested in reading up on this I do recommend this book by Phillipa Gregory.
It would do none of us any harm to read up about the history of the Slave Trade and the cruelty of mankind.