Owners of slave ships tried to confine as many enslaved people as possible to make travel more profitable, and those forced onboard were underfed and treated brutally. Enslaved men, women, and children were kept below deck aboard the Wanderer for six weeks as they traveled over 6,000 miles from their homes. Some were packed into pens or caged behind bars, and some were shackled. The captives were brought on deck for a daily ration of corn mush and perhaps a few beans. During storms, the hatch was closed for days at a time, and in the dark, cramped quarters the captives suffered from sickness, heat, and foul air. Only about 409 enslaved people survived the voyage, and the dead were thrown overboard.
