The Slave Trade's Diet: What Enslaved Africans Ate on the Middle Passage

The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering — Fexingo History · Jun 23, 2026 · 6m · transcript

What did enslaved Africans actually eat during the Middle Passage? This episode of The Atlantic Slave Trade: Empire Built on Human Suffering dives into the logistics of provisioning slave ships—from the vast quantities of horse beans and yams to the dried fish, palm oil, and rice that sustained captives across the Atlantic. Lucas and Luna examine ship manifests, the notorious 'squatting' position for feeding, and how malnutrition and disease were baked into the system. They also explore the contrast with the diet of enslaved people on plantations, the role of African provisions like…