Black people
In the poems "#1’’ to "#5’’, the only characters mentioned are the declared "Negros’’, or black people. From the way in which they are described, it is clear that the black people are slaves transported from their countries in Africa to other European countries and other territories. These people suffer on the way to their masters, often starving to death and not being allowed access to basic sanitary conditions and food. As the narrator notes, many died on the road and never reached the final destination.
The owners
The owners are mentioned as being the last destination for the slaves. They are mentioned as being faceless people who do not care about anything else except for their own good and to profit as much as possible from the backs of the black slaves. For the slaves on the ship, the image of the unknown owners is so terrifying that for them, death is more desirable.
The mariners
The mariners are presented as a group, just like the other characters. They are the ones who "take care’’ of the slaves during the long voyage on the sea and the ones who cause the death of the slaves. While they are seen as merely pawns to the ship masters, they are just as much to blame for the suffering the slaves had to endure as their ship captains.
Africa
Africa is personified in the poems and is described as a loving mother who was robbed of her children. The comparison is used here to show just how attached a person can become to their home country and how the slave trade did not affect only the slaves but their country of origin as well.
