Page 710 Olaudah Equiano

Slaves ships took a few steps to ensure maximum profits: physical beatings, psychological punishment, and restraining movement of the Africans. This stopped the rebellion and suicide of slaves, which in turn kept them alive to be sold across the Atlantic Ocean.

Physical beatings includes the whipping of Africans who attempted suicide by jumping out of the ship. Also, Equiano was beaten and force-fed food after refusing to accept their food. These physical beatings tie into the psychological punishments. The Africans on board the ship had to decide between remaining on the ship with filthy conditions, knowing that their future was empty of any hope. Or they could have attempted suicide and end their torture, and if they failed, then they would be tortutered hourly before they return to the same hopeless situation they were in before. The ships also restrained the movement of Africans on board. There was netting of some sort that prevented them from jumping overboard. In addition to that, many were chained to the ship, and the ones who weren't were placed under the supposedly careful watch of some crewmembers.

Map of Africa and DBQ

Map of Africa

The document based question is really different, and to me, not in a good way. There's so much more to write for the document based question, each document requiring 4 sentences with specific targets. I think with enough practice, the requirements for each document will become ingrained, making the DBQ relatively easy because there's no need for outside knowledge regarding these questions. Grouping the documents was a bit challenging for me as well. For me, it's something that needs to click, and that could take anywhere from a minute to 15 minutes. I think the organization will also come with practice too. Time management is also a key point in this essay compared to the other two essay types. It's different, but not too challenging except for the writing cramps.

Promotional Video

Looking at these videos, there are a couple of things that are key for a good promotion. Confidence is key, and this can be done with a strong voice. A quiet voice can easily be overwhelmed with white noise, so it's necessary to be loud. Asking questions also works really well. It addresses topics that might provide some doubt as to why they would want to come here, and then that question is answered right away. It takes all the doubt and gets rid of it. Presenting only the positives is also a really good idea. I think explanations about specifics like pros and cons about the geography about every region of South America is not a good idea. And speaking quietly is not effective; Mr. Whitten was louder than the people speaking in one of the videos. Personally, I was a fan of Yash and Prateek's promotional video. I found the duo to be entertaining, and the use of informal phrases was also amusing. They got all of their points down, and they didn't lose my interest even though it was a lengthier video. Yash also dresses really well.