Hello I am a West African or should I say an enslaved West African in the 1700s. I have faced a long and terrible journey in this middle passage. My name is Mario and I am a freedom fighter and in this case I have gone through some dilemmas. One of my best friends Jerry took a chance that I had wanted to do, he ran away and was shot and killed. From that day forward I didn’t do that after seeing what happened to Jerry. So, I got sold and taken to a ship called the Mutiny and they kept us at the very bottom of the ship in shekels, it was extremely hot, little water, and sun light that young children and adult slaves started to die. When a child or adult slave died they through them over board.      

There were about 35 Europeans on the ship. We had to stay in the bottom of the ship the whole way through the middle passage. Also, the average age for a slave is 16 years old. So, I am on the ship and I am planning an escape plan and I have some supporters including strong fighter Osage. On our way to America they poured a bucket of water right on the floor, so we had to swipe our hands on the floor to get our hands wet and wet our face. How we got water was we would cup our hands and they would pour a little bit of water in our hands and we would drink it. So, the captain decided to let some of us slaves go from there chains because there was no medicine for us on the ship. Also, we the slaves were waiting for this moment because we wanted to take over the ship. They made us clean the ship and if we didn’t work hard we would get whipped. Then something strange happened. They gave us spears and knifes to clean them, so then right then and there we had our chance for freedom. We got the spears and knives and I stuck a spear in a Europeans chest and he died before he even hit the ground. Right that second, we all slaves started to kill all the Europeans on the ship. It was a brutal beating. There was blood on the ship floor and we even through some Europeans over board.   

Then the slaves released the rest of the slaves from the chains. Then the ship captain got wounded on the back and the leg. He rushed to his cabin and thought to himself that the slaves would burst through the door at any moment, so the captain climbed out his window and climbed down to the gun room located right under the captain’s cabin where some other Europeans that survived were. All the Europeans that survived them only had a sack of potatoes and some raw bacon to eat. The rest of the food is on the top deck where all the slaves are. The Europeans know they can’t stay in the gun room for long they need to regain control of the ship. Then the slaves started to shoot down from the hatches. Then the owners tried to put gunpowder in a barrel containing 25 pounds of gunpowder, they took it up to the ship and lit it to frighten the slaves. The plan fails leaving the owners face with a 3rd-degree burn on their face, but it did get the slaves attention. The Europeans told the slaves that they would blow up the ship if the slaves would not surrender themselves and to offer them a peace proposal, the slaves agreed. The slaves told the Europeans that to take them back to their homeland West Africa and through the gun powder over board. So, the Europeans agreed to take them back to West Africa but not to throw the gunpowder over board. So, the slaves agreed and one of the slaves took the owners vest and put in on himself. Then the Europeans talked to the other three survived owners and they decided to not go to back to West Africa and not tell the slaves.

Then the slaves started to look for land and they found land the slaves thought they have reached land but Mario said, “this is not our land.” So then we the slaves told some of our slave to go to the island and see if it is our homeland if it is our land they will make three bond fires to signal that it is our land. Some of the slave’s head out to the land and when they got to the land people who lived there started to shoot the slaves that came, and they died. So, the slaves on the boat waited for hours. Until the Europeans that are in the gunroom make a letter saying they the owners are trapped in the gunroom that the people on this island please put three bond fires so the rest of these slaves think it’s their home land. The Europeans put the letter in a bottle and then they through it over board and hoped it would reach the land. It did, so then the people on the island read the note so then they put three bond fires on the land. The other slaves on the boat saw the bond fire and thought it was there home land so they go on the last row boat to the island. When they got there the people started to shoot and kill everyone but one, his name was Mario. So, then they took him to court and they asked two of the Europeans what happened, then they asked Mario. They decided to fire both Europeans, and they sent Mario to jail. Also, Mario knows he can’t return home. This land has a saver punishment; it is death by implement on a stake. So, Mario tried to get freedom but failed. Mario died three years later.