My name is Henry and I am a ship builder. I’m exhausted, thirsty and could barely move but if I wanted to keep me and my family alive; I had to work. I was a shipbuilder and each day me and 50 others who had been hired would come down to the the dock where the new ship was being built. Our boss was a mean middle aged man who seemed to be incapable of working yet he had the right to make us work. It was hard to get a job and I decided that my best option was to stay here, at least for a little while. I went to a near by tree where shade was available and had a sip of my water.

As I was looking into the distance a spotted something that we often see. It was a ship, but this one seemed to be larger then the others. I could see around ten men standing on deck which was abnormally small for the size of the ship. The ship drew closer in and everyone began to look. The ship slid into the dock and came  to a rearing stop. The men jumped of board and greeted us ” This is a big group of em” one of the men said to our boss.

I didn’t understand what he meant by that but that made me curious. Then I looked back at the ship and saw loads and loads of people coming out and onto the bank of the shore. They were dressed and raggedy and torn clothes. They were covered in dirt and you would occasionally see someone carried out and hear the groans. I heard one of my fellow shipbuilders ask why they were so dirty and the man said one word, “slaves”. I was now even more confused and was un aware of the term slaves. This may be because I was poor and could not focus on things that didn’t involve me and my families survival.  

 A day in the life of slave after the long boat ride…

We slowly dock into shore. I can see another ship much like the one that I was on bring built. As I step off the ship and the sun shows down on my face and it is blinding.I have been on this ship for eight weeks and the voyage is finally over. We all stumble off the ship having not been on land for so long. me and my brother follow the long line of groaning and shivering slaves. We reached a tall patch of grass and we began walking through. I was 14 and my brother was six.  He was crying as be put down our few belongings and walked into the house, he was thinking about our parents who had boarded the ship with us but had not been lucky enough to get off. Both of them had died on the long journey along with many others. Disease had spread rapidly and the dead were in humanely thrown overboard. I don’t think that they cared about us and we sure didn’t care about them. Now all I cared about was keeping me and my little brother alive. I stepped into the house as quietly as possible. My so called master called me and iwalked into the room and told me that I should drop my stuff and immediately go outside to help with the preparation of tobacco. It was hot out and probably June and I hit the air like I a wall of bricks. Me and my brother ran over to the field where we were given hoes. We instantly had to begin. Many of the men were singing songs and we decided that we would try to join in. It seemed many of these men had been here for years judging from their age and the brutal scares that lined there backs from the harsh man that was in charge of this place.

After about an hour I was exhausted and could barley move. My brother dropped to his knees and as I told him to stop the hard lash of a whip came down on his back sending him to tears. I picked him up and put him over my shoulder. Our master was about to strike again when I told him that I would work twice as long and twice as hard if he would just spare my brother. He gave me a disapproving look and then said, “I’m giving you this break once because you are new. You’re brother can work in the house for a bit but if I catch you slacking then you are being shipped off to another plantation.” That would be the worst punishment I could receive. Though the whip may be brutal I have already lost so many that I loved and couldn’t bare to loose anymore.