英コミュ（本文）

When Newton transported African slaves,, he put into his ship, as many of them as possible.

The slaves were packed very, tightly in the cargo spaces.

Sometimes,, each of them had a space, that was only 30 cm wide, to lie in!, Moreover, each slave was chained to another,, so nobody could escape.

Actually,, they could not even move, without hurting their and their partners' wrists and ankles.

The slaves were forced to stay in the cargo spaces, most of the time.

When the weather was good,, Newton occasionally took the slaves out, on the deck, and cleaned the spaces.

When the weather was stormy,, the slaves were kept, under the deck,, where they could not breathe fresh air, for days.

So, the cargo spaces were filled, with a terrible smell.

These awful living conditions on the ship, often made the slaves sick.

It took four to six weeks, from Africa to the Caribbean region.

Almost every day,, Newton found at least one slave dead.

On average,, one-fourth of the slaves died, before the ship got to the Caribbean.

Those that did not die, were in despair, because they had been living, like animals.

We can easily see, what a bad thing slavery was..

The slaves, who had survived the horrible voyage, were sold in Caribbean markets.

Yet, an even harder destiny was waiting for them.

They were branded with a hot iron, on their cheeks, necks, or shoulders,, like farm animals.

Then,, they were compelled to work, on sugarcane plantations., The plantation life was terrible.

Under the burning sun,, the slaves had to plant and harvest sugarcane.

Then,, they had to toil at factories, to produce sugar from it.

They worked every day, from dawn to midnight, with only a little food, even though they had been working so hard.

The working conditions were severe,, so many slaves died, in less than ten years.

One day,, a slave owner said to Newton,, Should I give my slaves a moderate amount of work and enough food, so that they will live long?

Or, should I use them up quickly, by giving them nothing much, and purchase new slaves frequently?"

Before Newton could say anything,, the owner immediately added,, "Of course, I'll choose the latter option,, like everybody else."

In 1755,, Newton fell ill, and could not go on extended journeys, in the Atlantic, anymore.

Consequently,, he had no choice but to resign, from the slave trade.

Then,, he was appointed to a job, at a customs office,, which gave him a much more peaceful life.

To tell the truth,, when he had time to think,, he realized, what a bad life he had lived.

He prayed,, and sought God's grace to change., With his mind more at ease,, he remembered, that his mother,, who had died very young,, had hoped, he would become a clergyman.

Needless to say,, he felt unworthy,, but he thought of the grace of, God that could change anyone.

In 1764,, he managed to become a clergyman., In his new job,, he wrote hymn lyrics.

He was not proud of his former career, as a slave trader, and expressed remorse, in one hymn.

This hymn has come to be known, as "Amazing Grace"., A sense of regret is universal.