MINISTER of Culture, Youth and Sport, Dr. Frank Anthony, has said that the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which started in the fifteenth century for the purpose of providing labour to European colonies, ushered in one of the darkest epochs in humanity.

He declared that the trading has the dubious distinction of having been the largest forced migration in human history.
According to him, it is estimated that some 20 million Africans would have started the journey from various ports in Africa for the business which began in the mid 1440s, but many of them never made it to the colonial shores.  For this reason, it has the added dubious distinction of being history’s greatest maritime tragedy.
The Minister made the remarks in an address, last Wednesday, to launch the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) Transatlantic Slave Trade Exhibition at the National Museum, in Church Street, Georgetown.
He recalled that Spanish King Charles, in a 1518 attempt to regulate the slave trade, issued a special ‘Asiento’ or permission, allowing for the organised importation of the first set of 4,000 slaves into Hispaniola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
“With this act, he formalised the Transatlantic Slave Trade, which now has the dubious distinction of being history’s greatest maritime tragedy,” Anthony stated.
He said although the exact number of people who suffered in the Middle Passage will never be known, historians have estimated that, of the 20 million slaves who started the journey from various African ports, only between 11 and 13 million arrived on colonial shores. It is for that reason he dubbed the trade history’s greatest maritime tragedy.
Anthony said historians put the 16th century mortality rate on the ships as high as 40 percent; but, in the 17th century, it was reduced to 15 percent and, eventually, lowered to range from 10 to 5 percent in latter years. It is estimated that during the voyages, from seven to nine  million Africans died.
The minister said this ‘horrendous system of slavery’ denuded the captive Africans of their kin, homeland and, sometimes, ancestral ethnic identity.
Degrading treatment
“This sense of loss would have deeply wounded the psyche of these peoples, yet their travails were not just psychological, but brutal physical repression. The degrading treatment meted out to slaves was not just demeaning, in some cases it was criminal,” he lamented.
Pointing to a classic illustration of such atrocities as meted out to the slaves, Anthony cited the book ‘Hearing Slaves Speak’ by Trevor Burnard Case, which makes the point in the most graphic way.
On June 10, 1819, the Negress Roosje, of Plantation L’Esperance, five months pregnant, complained that, in that state, she was ordered to pick coffee beans. Unable to perform this task, she was flogged on the Friday and suffered a miscarriage on the Sunday.
These were her words: “I was five months gone with child, the labour was heavy, the midwife had to force the child from me, the child was dead, one eye was out, the arm broken and a stripe visible over the head, which must have been done by the whip doubled.”
Anthony said,“Those cruelties have littered the period of slavery,” adding that change was slow to come; but eventually, on March 25, 1807, the Transatlantic Slave Trade was abolished.
To mark the 200th anniversary of the abolition, the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool, England, developed the display currently being staged at the National Museum. It was donated to UNESCO to be used around the world to educate people about the horrors of the Transatlantic Slave Trade.
The Minister said that, in 2004, Guyana debated a motion in Parliament, calling for reparations.
1823 monument
“We also made a commitment to ensure that the Guyanese people understand the history and struggles of our ancestors. With this in mind, we committed to building the 1823 Monument and, very soon, we will have a monument to honour the hundreds of enslaved peoples who were murdered in the Demerara Uprising of 1823. This year would be 190 years since the Demerara Uprising,” he recalled.
He said February 23, 2013, marked 250 years since the 1763 Berbice Slave Uprising.
Anthony said,“As a people, it is important that we know our history, so that we can appreciate the struggles and sacrifices of our ancestors and, hopefully, draw inspiration from them to ensure that we work for a better Guyana.”
He said the showing is a timely reminder of the ‘Maafa’- the great disaster that took place during slavery and is aptly titled ‘Lest we forget.’
Anthony said his ministry is pleased to collaborate with UNESCO and the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool to stage this event for the people of Guyana.
He acknowledged the hard working staff, especially Mr. Elford Liverpool, Administrator of the National Museum, and Ms. Jenelle Osborne, Technical Director of the Burrowes School of Art, for their dedicated efforts in assembling the exhibits.
In conclusion, the minister challenged everyone to go and view the display, particularly parents and teachers to bring out the children.
“Let’s make this not just an excursion to the museum but an excursion into history, and remember the Maafa,” he encouraged.