The conditions the slave traders forced upon the Africans being sold were inhumane. They would pack each person in by laying them down right next to each other, no room to move or spread out, it was akin to a sardine can. This type of practice led the way for infectious diseases to spread, killing many of the people being sold into slavery before they even arrived in the Americas, and sometimes, even before they set sail at all.

Descriptions of a slave ship. (accessed September 18, 2013). http://dcc.newberry.org/collections/olaudah-equiano

This line can be interpreted as John Carter seeing the dismal condition of the slaves, and thus the failure of his sale, as a result of where the slaves were from, rather than the actual condition of the passage itself. It seems he is even discriminating against one race within itself.

It was common for families of slaves to be separated when being sold, but there is quite a bit of evidence that if families stayed together, they created a strong unit where the slaves could feel more than the way they were treated.

Unfortunately, slaveholders realized the power of the family, and began to purposely plan activities and rules to lessen the importance of the family, especially to the younger slaves, so that the true authority of the owner was never questioned or below that of the parent.

Marie Jenkins Schwartz OAH Magazine of History , Vol. 15, No. 4, Family History (Summer, 2001), pp. 36-41: http://www.jstor.org/stable/25163462

Simon J. Hogerzeil and David Richardson make a point in their journal about the purchasing strategies of slaves during the trade, that most historians neglect to bring up the fact of mortality and condition of slaves bringing down their initial cost. To the slave trader, these African people are merely goods, and if the goods are spoiled, as they often were as a result of the Middle Passage, then their price would be dropped significantly. Thus, the trader, as is mentioned in this passage, would agree to sell at any decent price, which could alter the type of experience of enslavement the slave would endure.

Simon J. Hogerzeil and David Richardson The Journal of Economic History , Vol. 67, No. 1 (Mar., 2007), pp. 160-190: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4501137

Here again he is mentioning the condition of the slaves effecting his goals of monetary gain. Simon J. Hogerzeil and David Richardson also make a point relating to the writer here, in that many of the slaves would even die on the ship before it would even set sail. The ship itself could be boarded but not mobile for months at a time. The mortality of the slaves during those layover days, is a testament to how horrid the conditions of the slave trading ships were.

Simon J. Hogerzeil and David Richardson The Journal of Economic History , Vol. 67, No. 1 (Mar., 2007), pp. 160-190: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4501137

Anne Bradstreet, grew up as Anne Dudley, was born in 1612 . She was the daughter of a former solider of Queen Elizabeth I, who then managed the affairs of the Earl of Lincoln. Therefore she enjoyed luxuries as a child that was uncommon for the average young girls in England.

She also learned how to read and write as a result of her privileged upbringing. Yet, she never wanted her poetry to be publicized since the Puritan society forbade women to speak up about their issues or conflicts they may be facing.

She was particularly cautious because she was close friends with Anne Hutchinson, who was known for her preaches to New England colonial women questioning the idea of predestination and the "elect."

Hutchinson was tried and exiled, and then eventually killed by Native Americans during her exile.

It is not until Bradstreet's brother-in-law in 1650 goes to England and publishes her work without her knowledge, does her poetry become known.

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm

It is almost ironic how much Anne believed she was going to die in childbirth, for she had 8 children in 10 years, all of whom survived childbirth, and died when she was 60 years of age. This is most uncommon though, for women in her time period frequently died in childbirth, as she mentions in the first line of this segment.

http://www.vcu.edu/engweb/webtexts/Bradstreet/bradbio.htm

It is not surprising that Bradstreet would mention death as a fast approaching certainty. In the colonies, although more so in the Chesapeake rather than New England where she is from, the mortality rate was very high and it was rare for people to live well into their adulthood. Yet, she mentions friends that are close to her, which is also a characteristic of the New England colonies because they lived very close to one another and created a culture centered around the fellowship of the community, especially among the women.