Editing Middle Passage (section)

====Identity and communication====
In order to interact with each other on the voyage, the  enslaved created a communication system unbeknownst to Europeans: They would construct choruses on the passages using their voices, bodies, and ships themselves; the hollow design of the ships allowed  the enslaved to use them as percussive instruments and to amplify their songs. This combination of "instruments" was both a way for the enslaved to communicate as well as creating a new identity since slavers attempted to strip them of that. Although most of the enslaved were from various regions around Africa, their situation allowed them to come together and create a new culture and identity aboard the ships with a common language and method of communication:

<blockquote>[C]all and response soundings allowed men and women speaking different languages to communicate about the conditions of their captivity. In fact, on board the ''Hubridas'', what began as murmurs and morphed into song erupted before long into the shouts and cries of coordinated revolt.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Deadly Notes: Atlantic Soundscapes and the Writing of the Middle Passage|last=Skeehan|first=Danielle|year=2013}}</ref></blockquote>

This communication was a direct subversion of European authority and allowed the enslaved to have a form of power and identity otherwise prohibited. Furthermore, such organization and coming together enabled revolts and uprisings to actually be coordinated and successful at times.