THE Transatlantic Slave Trade, which started in the fifteenth century, ushered in one of the darkest epochs in humanity and saw millions of slaves, bound for European colonies losing their lives, even before arriving at their destinations.

Relating a harrowing account of the atrocities of the Transatlantic Slave Trade as he spoke at the launch of the mobile UNESCO Trans Atlantic Slave Trade Exhibition, in the forecourt of the National Museum on Wednesday, President Donald Ramotar, commented that it is estimated that some 20 million Africans would have started the journey from various African ports, but many of them never made it to the colonial shores.
He recalled that the trade started in the mid 1440s, to provide labour to European colonies in the Americas, and though the exact number of people who suffered the horrors of the Middle Passage will never be known, historians put it that, of the approximate 20 million slaves shipped out of Africa, only about 11 to 13 million arrived on colonial shores.  This means that between about seven to nine million never completed the journey and ended up with watery graves.
The Trans Atlantic Trade, President Ramotar said, bore the dubious distinction of being the largest forced migration in history.  The conditions under which they travelled were inhumane and atrocious.   For this reason, many of the slaves en route to the colonies rejected it so vehemently, they literally committed suicide, preferring to end their lives, rather than endure the conditions and subsequently life on the plantations. Others were beaten and thrown overboard.
The African Slave Trade had its genesis in Spanish King, Charles I,  granting special ‘Asientos’ or permission for the importation of slaves. In 1518 he issued the first permission allowing for the organised importation of 4,000 slaves into Hispanola, Cuba, Jamaica and Puerto Rico.
President Ramotar recalled that in the 16th century the mortality rates on the ships were as high as 40%; in the 17th century it was reduced to 15% and eventually lowered to 10 % to 5% in latter years. “It is estimated that during the voyages 7 to 9 million Africans died,” he said.
He said that this horrendous system of slavery denuded to captive Africans of their kin, their homeland and sometimes their ancestral ethnic identity, “This sense of loss would have deeply wounded the psyche of these peoples. Yet their travails were not just psychological, but the brutal physical repression. The degrading treatment meted out to slaves was not just demeaning. In some cases it was criminal,” he conceded.
Pointing to another grim real life story, captured in the book ‘Hearing Slaves Speak,’ the Head of State alluded to the revelation of an account of the experience of Negress Roosje, of Plantation L’Esperance on June 10, 1819, in the book ‘Hearing Slaves Speak’ by Trevor Burnard Case.  Illustrated in a most graphic way, the story highlights Negress Roosje’s complaint to the Fiscal.
Roosjie was five months pregnant and was ordered to pick coffee beans, but because of stage of her pregnancy, she was unable to do this task, and so it was ordered that she be flogged. She was brutally flogged on a Friday and miscarried her baby on the Sunday.
Said Roosjie: “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.”
Such cruelties, President Ramotar said, have littered the period of slavery. Change was slow to come, but with great sacrifice, resilience, psychological and other warfare by the slaves, eventually on March 25, 1807 the Transatlantic Slave Trade was abolished.
To mark the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the International Slavery Museum in Liverpool developed this exhibition currently being staged at the National Museum. Dubbed: ‘The Horrors of the Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, it was donated to UNESCO to be used around the world to educate people about the chilling encounter. The exhibition features 32 full colour panels that reflect the experiences of the transatlantic slave trade, labour and systems, struggle against enslavement, abolition and the eventual triumph over this dastardly system.
In that same of the 200th anniversary of the Abolition of the trade, President Ramotar recalled:  “We debated a motion in parliament calling for reparations from the slaver nations. We also made a commitment to ensure that the Guyanese people understand the history and struggles of our ancestors.”
He said that, with this in mind, the Government of Guyana committed to building the 1823 Monument, noting that very soon Guyana will have a monument to honour the hundreds of enslaved peoples who were murdered in the Demerara Uprising of 1823.
This year marks the 190th anniversary since the Demerara Uprising, and February 23 marked 250 years since the 1763 Berbice Slave Uprising, in which Cuffy featured prominently.
The Head of State admonished the Guyanese people that: “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 we can draw inspiration from them to ensure that we work for a better Guyana.” This exhibition, he said, is a timely reminder of the “Maafa” – the great disaster that took place during slavery and is aptly titled “Lest we forget.”
He said the government is pleased to collaborate with UNESCO and the International Slavery Museum, Liverpool to bring this exhibition to the people. Moreover, he urged and encouraged everyone in Guyana come to the exhibition, and called on teachers and parents, especially, to ensure that the children attend.
President Ramotar expressed gratitude to the hardworking staff of the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, especially Mr. Elford Liverpool – administrator of the National Museum and Ms. Jenelle Osborne –the Technical Director of the Burrowes School of Art for their dedicated efforts in assembling the exhibition.
“Let’s make this not just an excursion to the Museum but an excursion into history and remember the Maafa,” he exhorted the gathering.