Igbo Landing: 75 Igbos drowned themselves instead of being Slaves

 

Igbo Landing: 75 Igbos drowned themselves instead of being Slaves.

Igbo landing which is also known as Igbo mass suicide is an unforgettable story in the history of man slavery. The Igbo Landing refers to the mass suicide of Igbo slaves in 1803 who chose to die than live a life of slavery.

The middle passage is a leitmotif for a lot of Afro-American and Caribbean literature and movies. The middle passage is the movement of captured Africans through the Atlantic Ocean after which they were sold in the Americas.

It is not surprising that this amazing story was also put into song by multi-talented singer, Beyonce in her song titled “Love Drought”.

This story has being carried along from years to years, though some powerful elements are working hard to clear all Nigerian (and Africa at large) true history.

 This event took place at Dunbar creek on St. SImons Island, Glynn County, Georgia. It was the setting of a mass suicide in 1803 by captive Igbo people, who refused to summit to slavery in the United States. During their voyage the Igbos slaves rose up in rebellion, taking control of the ship and they decide to drowned than to be a slave. The event`s moral value has symbolic importance in African American folklore and literary history.

Then death and sickness was common along the middle passage as a result of the poor ventilation, limited space, poor diet and shortage of medical supplies that the slaves had to endure.

It is reported that over 50 mutinies occurred on slave ships between 1699 and 1865, the most popular of which is the one led by Joseph Cinqué on a Spanish ship. This revolt eventually became the basis of a court case that went as far as the U.S Supreme court.

After surviving the rigours of the Middle Passage, the 75 Igbo slaves who were bought for labour on the plantations of John Couper and Thomas Spalding for 100 dollars each.

The slaves were chained and put aboard a small ship to be transported to their destinations. During this voyage, they took control of the ship and grounded it, drowning their captors in the process.

Igbo Landing: 75 Igbos drowned themselves instead of being Slaves .The sequence of actual events is unclear as most of the historical incidence was passed down by oral tradition.

A common version is that the slaves, once ashore, walked into the creek in unison, singing and chanting in Igbo under the direction of someone who seemed to be like a high priest among them.

This mutiny has been referred to in some quarters as the first major freedom march in America’s history