On board, life as a slave was unpleasant and harsh.
Firstly, treatment towards slaves were very inhumane. Some examples being their freedom/rights being taken away from them, sexual harassment, public embarrassment, the list goes on.
Secondly, their hygienic needs, as well as their food supply, was poor and extremely unhealthy. Many slaves who wanted to pee or poo had to do it on the spot. Furthermore, many meals on board the ship consisted of porridge and rice.To add on to that, food alone on the ships were infested by bugs and rat excretion to the point of physical illness in the bodies.
However to "prevent" that from happening, many ships were supplied with felines to catch the rats and bugs. Many slaves were killed by diseases such as ammonia and hantavirus pulmonary syndrome or salmonellosis. Many of these slaves were thrown off the ships and into the sea.