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Of all these three sources, the most reliable source would have to be the slave ship doctor's perspective. Falconbridge went into great detail describing the horrid conditions the slaves were forced to endure on the Middle Passage. He describes the torture and scrambling over food that the slaves experienced; as well as this, Falconbridge was reliable with his tone, as he didn't indicate an implicit bias against the slaves. Contrasting with the other perspective of the slave ship captain, the doctor went more in depth on these hardships. And the former slave's perspective can be questionable considering the speculation that he may have actually been born in South Carolina. His position as the doctor for the ship meant that he was more involved with the everyday happenings of the slaves and crewmates. Whereas the captain lived in a more disconnected world from the slaves. Thus, Falconbridge's perspective can be considered the most reliable.

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The most reliable source from all three passages is the slave ship doctor, written by Alexander Falconbridge. I believe this document is the most reliable source because he gave us a detailed description about some of the many slaves he dealt with on a variety of ships he worked on. Alexander was able to provide the most information because of the many slaves he met and their experience. He gave his unbiased description on the treatment of slaves because he saw the side from the slave owner and slave. Even though his description is unbiased, he still describes the treatment to be brutal. The captain didn't pay much attention to the slave while the doctor was with them and nurtured them. "I frequently went down among them, till at length their apartments became so extremely hot, as to be only suffereable for a very short period of. But the excessive heat was not the only thing that rendered their situation intolerable."  This quote is an example of his descriptiveness because it helps put the readers mind into what the slaves were enduring at the time. The doctor was able to describe the awful treatment of the slaves while remaining unbiased and unsympathetic.

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The most reliable source is passage 2, written by the slave ship doctor. This is because passage 2 is unbiased unlike passage 1 and 2. passage 1 and 2 are bias because they come from a captain and a slave, while passage 2 comes from someone who sees both sides.  The doctor recorded what he saw and did daily while doing his job. He saw he terrible things that the slaves went through everyday. "I have also been credibly informed, that a certain captain in the slave trade, poured melted lead on such of the Negroes as obstinately refused their food..." He saw the treatment of these slaves everyday and understood how cruel it was. Falconbridge understood the harsh conditions that these salves were in and sympathizes with them in his writing.

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The most reliable source about the Middle Passage comes from the slave doctor, Alexander Falconbridge, in document 2. This is a middle source, not one sided. The slave doctor is neutral in the situation. Document's one and three come from a captain and a slave. These documents are biased and one sided, while the slave doctor sees both sides of the situation. He develops ideas and thoughts for both sides. Falconbridge had lots of experience on the ships of the Middle Passage, and saw everything that went on from the boarding of the slaves on the ship to the cruel and harsh treatments that occurred. He was there through ever hardship that occurred, while not actually experiencing it himself. He saw the treatment of the slaves and saw it as cruel, unlike the captains. Falconbridge even states "During the voyages I made, I was frequently a witness to the fatal effects of this exclusion of fresh air ...sufferings of those unhappy beings whom we wantonly drag from the native country, and doom to perpetual labour and captivity." This shows he has an understanding of the harsh treatments, and he sympathizes with the slaves, while still giving credible information.

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The second document, written by the slave ship doctor, Alexander Falconbridge, is the most reliable source. This is because his account of what happened is the least biased of the three sources. The first document is biased because the ship captain is trying to make himself and his crew look better and more humane. He explains that him and his crew gave the African Americans very good treatment and tried to do everything they could to keep them healthy, but still failed. This is proven to not be true in the doctors account of what happened. He describes them being "stowed so close, as to admit of no other posture than lying on their sides." The third document is also less accurate because it comes from the point of view of a former slave that was on the ship. Olaudah Equiano most likely remembers the trip across the middle passage as an extremely difficult time in his life. Since this excerpt is taken from his autobiography that was written many years after the trip across the middle passage happened, it would not be as accurate as the doctors perspective who was there solely as an observer and was not involved in any of the horrific things that happened during the trip.

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The doctor, Alexander Falconbridge is what i believe to be the most accurate account of the Middle Passage. Viewing the conditions and workings of the slave ship firsthand, he writes about it in great detail and without bias. Unlike the other writings about life on a slave ship, the doctor stays neutral, not favoring or disfavoring slavery in any way. He tells of the inhumane conditions salaves on the ship were forced to face and recalls  one particularly horrible problem with the air saying, "During the voyages I made, I was frequently a witness to the fatal effects of this
exclusion of the fresh air." The doctor being there to care for the slaves knows from upfront experience the severe illness and disease that the ship conditions spread and is therefor a reliable account of the Middle Passage slave trade.

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The most reliable source about the middle passages was the account of the Slave Doctor because they have been on many ships that were transporting slaves. The Slave Ship Doctor explains in detail about many conditions that the slaves were living in on their voyage to america. The Slave Doctor described the conditions that they were living in as "It is not in the power of the human imagination to picture to itself a situation more dreadful or
disgusting". The Slave doctor has many other details about how they were treated, their eating schedule, how much they ate, and many more things that you would need to know in order to understand the middle passage. Overall the slave doctor is the most reliable account because he had lived through the disgust and the horror that the slaves went through.

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The most reliable source of out of these different perspectives of the Middle Passage is the account written by the former slave because it is the most accurate account of the experiences of the slaves as it is a first hand source. A white man's experience on the Middle Passage inevitably leaves out essential details that only slaves are able to speak on as they did not suffer the abuse inflicted by the white men.  The descriptions of the torment are very detailed as Equiano describes the extremely poor treatment of himself and his fellow people. The torture was so unbearable him and other slaves highly considered and even succeeded at taking their own lives because it was more desirable than constant suffering "I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me; but soon, to my grief, two of the white men offered me eatables; and, on my refusing to eat, one of them held me fast by the hands, and laid me across I think the windlass, and tied my feet, while the other flogged me severely." The other two perspectives provide important information on the Middle Passage, but do not detail the true effects on the lives of the slaves as accurately as the slave's own story. The poor treatment of the slaves is the most historically important aspect of the Middle Passage as it progressed into further torture of black people.

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Alexander Falconbridge's, The Slave ship doctor, was the most reliable source because he gave us a very  detailed and first hand explanation of what happened on these ships. Alexander spent lots of time with these slaves and saw what happened first hand. He was able to record what he saw all while just doing his job. He could tell what they had to go through because of the injuries and illnesses they faced while he treated them. He also said that the slaves were also sometimes denied food. "I have also been credibly informed, that a certain captain in the slave trade, poured melted lead on such of the Negroes as obstinately refused their food..."  This is yet another first hand example of what the slaves had to go through. He described how some of the slaves couldn't even get fresh air because of the horrible conditions and tight spaces. " I was frequently a witness to the fatal effects of this exclusion of the fresh air." Falconbridge's distinct words and depressing tone made this a very heart touching yet reliable source for readers to learn more about how the slaves were treated.

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The account of the former slave is the most reliable resource we have available because it is a first hand source from someone who actually had endured the travel at its worst. The slaves were treated very poorly by all on board. This caused them to have the want to kill themselves before anymore torture could be forced onto them. There would also have been no reason to censor anything out because this was written with the idea that more people could use it to understand what the slaves went through. The only way that someone could be this detailed is if they had been there themselves to understand what truly happened. The worst part of this whole thing was that the slaves aboard the ship hated it so much that they just wanted to end their misery. They attempted suicide in multiple ways like refusing food or even throwing themselves over board when they got a few minutes to get fresh air on the deck. This is why I believe that the slave ships best account is the slaves autobiography.

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After reading all three of the passages I believe, Alexander Falconbridge's,  the slave ship doctor had the most reliable point of view. I say this because his piece had no sympathy for the slaves and was more truthful and not as fluffy as the others on the topic. Having said that there was no reason for him to lie in the first place. Even the captains weren’t with them at the time so Alexander’s is automatically more reliable since he spent time with the other slaves and treating their wounds and just doing his job as the ship doctor. While treating them he has able to accurately tell what experiences they went through,"I have also been credibly informed, that a certain captain in the slave trade, poured melted lead on such of the Negroes as obstinately refused their food..."  This gives a good understanding of what happened in their daily lives on the ship. The reason the other accounts would not be able to be as reliable is the captain might make the situation seem less than it actually was trying to save himself and the former slave might have over exaggerated what had actually happened on the ship to get sympathy from the reader.

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The former slave account is the most reliable source as it is one of the few accounts that actually came from a slave. The slaves were the ones being mistreated, not the white men, so there would be no reason to hide various details such as the degree of mistreatment or sheer number of deaths. The account itself is written sequentially and provides event after event such that one person would genuinely have to experience this to provide such an account. The description of ailment is detailed and he says "I had never experienced in my life: so that, with the loathsomeness of the stench, and crying together, I became so sick and low that I was not able to eat, nor had I the least desire to taste anything. I now wished for the last friend, death, to relieve me..." and claims that the treatment and sickness was so bad he wished to die. The other perspectives would not be as accurate because the slave ship captain would likely try to hide facts that would cause distaste towards what they did or create a bad image. The slave doctor can not provide an accurate account because he himself was not ill or under the same mistreatment. The perspective of the slave also provides an account of how the slaves felt towards the white people; fear, which neither of the other two perspectives provide.

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The article I believe is the most reliable source is the slave ship doctor. I chose this article because it is very detailed and specific and it is from his point of view. In the article, he describes things such as the terrible things they went through and also things like the ships and how gross they were. The doctor took time to take care of the slaves and the injury while the captain paid no attention at all. In the article, he talks about the horrible events and one example is  “I frequently went down among them, till at length their apartments became so extremely hot, as to be only sufferable for a very short period of. But the excessive heat was not the only thing that rendered their situation intolerable. The deck, that is, the floor of their rooms, was so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequences of the flux, that it resembled a slaughter-house.” He has a very unbiased point of view and used very specific words to help the readers understand the text better. The doctor's article is the best choice because the captain was not a very credible source as he was probably more bias and the slave's point of view would probably be thought of as exaggerated.

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The most reliable source out of the three passages is the slave ship doctor. This is because the surgeon, Alexander Falconbridge, provided strong details based on his experiences on the conditions for the slaves on the ship. He described how they were brought onto the ship in handcuffs, the cramped and dirty living accommodations, how the slaves were fed, and the fighting over food. He also wrote about hardships such as them being tortured with hot coals and the lack of fresh air from being below deck. Falconbridge writes all of this as just as what he saw with little to no opinion, even though he would later work with the Anti-Slavery Society. In contrast, the ship captain wasn't as reliable due to the lack of detail and only describing the diseases on board. As for the former slave, his passage could be considered as being reliable through his descriptions of the circumstances on the ship, but he is speculated to not being born in West Africa, but rather South Carolina. Compared to the other two texts, the slave ship doctor has a more reliable account of what happened due to his detail and his position.

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The slave ship doctor is the most reliable source due to the fact that he had worked for multiple ships and saw the horrors of the middle passage firsthand many times. He goes in to great detail that the negro slaves had to endure during the middle passage. This includes eating very little, being confined in small spaces, being tortured, and having very little fresh air. " I was frequently a witness to the fatal effects of this exclusion of the fresh air." He was also unbiased because he worked for the men taking the slaves, and later became part of the abolitionist movement.  A close second, the autobiography of a slave is a first hand account of what it was like to be a slave on the ship. The only reason it wasn't first because his story was refuted by historians that said he was born in the U.S., and didn't go through the middle passage. "Recently, a historian located evidence indicating that Equiano was actually born in South Carolina." The doctor also edges him out due to the many different times that he has gone through the middle passage, compared to the former slave. Dead last is the account of the ship captain. Even though he has gone through the middle passage many times, he is biased towards the slaves as he downplays the tragedies that had happened on the ship to not sound very bad. When a slave died, he only cared about the lost profits and not the person itself. "Company losing ten pounds by every slave that died, and the owners of the ship ten
pounds ten shillings, being the freight agreed on to be paid by the charter-party for
every Negro delivered alive ashore to the African Company’s agents at Barbados."

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The Slave Ship Doctor is the most reliable of all the passages. He gave us the most insight to what was happening and just how brutally people were treated. "Immediately fastened
together, two and two, by hand-cuffs on their wrists, and irons riveted on their legs." Falconbridge gave us extreme details that the other two passages didn't necessarily cover as well, even covered at all. Being a European man himself we are able to see what was happening to the Africans from an outside view, a broader view. "They are frequently stowed so close, as to admit of no other posture than lying on their sides. Neither will the height between decks, unless directly
under the grating, permit them the indulgence of an erect posture." We see here in this quote how bad the Africans were 'stowed' below decks, in barely survivable conditions. Also Falconbridge tells about the injuries the passengers are receiving either from fights or simply from just laying where they are put. He goes on to tell about how they would get sores and boils on their bodies and the burns, beatings, and cuts they would receive from their captures. The slaves were being treated as no more than livestock they could toss around at will.

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The former slave is the most accurate account. It is the most reliable source because it details the account of the person persecuted. It won't hide any details at the cost of ruining a reputation like the captain might. The slave surgeon has the most logic detail, but he isn't experiencing being a slave himself. He would not have seen what was going on in the slaves minds, or detailing what they went through. The captain would have been more concerned with the ship and crew rather than the cargo, focused on the journey. The slave has no reason to hide details and experienced first hand the middle passage and what is was being the cargo.

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Out of the three passages presented, the surgeon, Alexander Falconbridge's, point of view was the most reliable. He gave the most specific detail out of the three passages and states what he has seen in person in full detail. He describes the disgusting, harsh environments the slaves had to live with while on the ships. He describes the experiences the slaves had as follows, "I have also been credibly informed, that a certain captain in the slave trade, poured melted lead on such of the Negroes as obstinately refused their food..." He later goes on to state that the living quartets of the slaves "became so extremely hot, as to be only sufferable for a very short period of time..." Falconbridge uses descriptive words to evoke strong emotions in the readers and to paint a picture of what exactly the slaves went through. By doing this, it also helps the reader understand how the slaves must have felt and the boiling emotions of the slaves must have felt. The slaves were being treated as if they were mere livestock and not human beings.

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The most reliable document out of the three was that of the slave ship doctor. Out of the three accounts, he gave the most specific details. He explains the conditions of the ship and then elaborates using examples that he personally experienced. These examples included “These accidents, although unavoidable, are productive of continual quarrels, in which some of them are always bruised” and “I have also been credibly informed, that a certain captain in the slave trade, poured melted lead on such of the negroes as obstinately refused their food…” He was also able to write about his experiences with both the slaves and the traders, unlike the other authors. He wrote “They are far more violently affected by the seasickness, than the Europeans” to contrast the experiences of each group. The first author, Captain Phillips, was not the most reliable source because he was unable to show an unbiased perspective from both sides. The third author, Olaudah Equiano, wasn’t the most reliable because the validity of his story isn’t wholly accepted by historians.

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the article that I believe was the most reliable source of  the Middle Passage was the slave ship doctor. I believe this due to the fact that he is a doctor and is well educated and his details were very specific. The events that doctor Alexander Falconbridge states in this small excerpt from his book are all very detailed,  the imagery that he offers makes the reader feel like they are watching the events happen. This also trully shows Dr. Falconbrige's leval of empathy towards the slaves and the treatment of them, he was sad that they were treated so poorly and later worked towards ending slavery in Europe. This is shown when Falconbrige states " The hardships and inconveniences suffered by the negroes during the passage,
are scarcely to be enumerated or conceived."(4) This shows that

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Out of the three documents provided, I believe the surgeons point of view was one of the most reliable. I believe this because he specifically states what he has seen and describes in full detail, the brutality the slaves had to endure while on the ships. Alexander Falconbridge was constantly with the slaves, taking care of them. He saw both perspectives of the ship owners and the slaves themselves. He is unbiased and strictly describes his experiences. He recalls specific events such as, “I frequently went down among them, till at length their apartments became so extremely hot, as to be only suffereable for a very short period of. But the excessive heat was not the only thing that rendered their situation intolerable. The deck, that is, the floor of their rooms, was so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequences of the flux, that it resembled a slaughter-house.” Using descriptive words helps the reader understand the circumstances the slaves must undergo and that these are people, being treated as though they are animals.

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Out of the three passages I believe that the slave doctor is the most reliable source.His point of view was strait to the point with no sympathy to the slaves and didn't bother to make the story different and just record what happened on the ship. He had no reason to lie or make the condition of the slaves seem better. While i believe that the captain would make the condition seem better to attract more slaves or make it seem like the better choice. In the other way the former slave would over dramatize the condition to an extreme to prevent others from coming and or to get people to sympathize with them. The ship doctor would have no reason to lie or not record the truth as hes there on a job and there to treat the sick.

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Out of all the passages, the slave ship doctors, Alexander Falconbridge's,  point of view was the most credible. During those times many of the white folks did not sympathize with the slaves nor bother to describe in such detail exactly what they had to endure. Unlike the Captain of the ship, Falconbridge spent time under the ship with them, he took care of them, and he saw behind the scenes. He describes their living conditions as, "...so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequences of the flux, that it resembled a slaughter-house". Although, I do believe the point of view of the slave was just as credible, the slave doctor basically covered everything he had said and went into more detail. The captain explains how the voyage has effected his crew mates; however, by doing that he is comparing it to the struggle of the Africans, which are 2 things that cannot be equally compared without more context. The doctor was able to explain very well the circumstances of the slaves horrendous situation.

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I believe the Captain's point of view contains the most reliable information because they give specific dates, and share numbers of men who died, and details of the journey. In the passage the Captain states, "St. Thomas to Barbadoes two months eleven days, from the 25th of August to the 4th of November following:". This Captain is sharing really close detail on time, and what happened within that time frame. "In which time there happened such sickening and mortality among my poor men and Negroes". Here, he is aware of a huge issue that is affecting his crew, and is lowering his numbers of men. The following; "Of the first we buried 14, and of the last 320, which was a great detriment to our voyage, the Royal African Company losing ten pounds by every slave that died, and the owners of the ship ten pounds ten shillings, ". The Captain is giving us readers the affect of this event and sharing his observations within the event. As for the other passages, I find it hard to gain any logical information that isn't biased. It is one sided- and it doesn't give us a proper explanation on how it is affecting everyone on the ship, and the affect of the voyage. Since this was written by the Captain, the Captain observes everything from each side, point, and impact of every situation.