Oyeladun - Journey to the ship
They expected me to just walk away from my village - would they let a stranger take them away so easily? I refused so instead they first carried then dragged me until my feet and knees bled. A day's journey took us to the coast and the ocean. There was a new building - a huge wooden building. It was then I saw the white people and knew what had happened to me. I kicked and punched and screamed for the others in the field but my friends and family were too far away to help us.
People in stockade
Once at the coast many Africans like Oyeladun were forced into a fort or stockade. There they waited until a ship arrived to transport them to the Americas. They often spent months in these places, suffering in dark, stinking, and overcrowded dungeons. There was little food, water, light or air and many died.
White men swapped guns and ammunition for people. Some tribes became powerful using the weapons brought by white men and so altered the balance of power in West Africa.