TIlE REAR A!}MIRAI. 
FRANK!.IN !iANFORD, U.S.N. 
CO!.!.ECTION IN TIlE 
NEW YORK PUB!.!C !.IBRARY 
.192q- 
; tt ø 
THE 
AFRICAN 
SLAVE 
TRADE. 
ß BY 
THOMAS FeWELL BUXTON, 
ESQ. 
"This is a people robbed and spoiled; they are all of them 
snared in holes, and they are hid in prison houses: they are for a 
prey, and none delivereth; for a spoil t and none saith, Restore'-- 
Isaiah, xlii. 22. 
SECOND EDITION. 
JOHN 
LONDON: 
MURRAY, ALBEMARLE-STREET. 
MDCCCXXXIX. 
Loadon: 
lated by W.L C.owss and 
Stamford-street. 
CONTENTS. 
INTKODUCTION 
PAB 
v 
'EXTENT 1 
Brazil . . . . . 2 
Cuba . . . . . . 12 
Porto Rico 
Buenos Ayres, &c. 
The United States 
Texasß . 
19 
21 
24 
Summary . . . . . 25 
Corroborative Proofs of the Extent of.the Slave Trade . 26 
Mohammedan Slave Trade. . . . 37 
Summary . . . . . 46 
MORTALITY . . . . . 
Seizure . . . . . 
March . . . . . 
Detention . . . . . 
Middle Passage 
Loss after Capture 
Loss after Landing, and in Seasoning 
Summary . ß . 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS ALREADY MADE FOR THE SUPPRESSION 
OF TEE SLAVE TRANE . . . 
49 
50 
74 
87 
96 
147 
154 
164 
171 
COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE WITH AFRICA 
African Productions . 
African Soil, &c. . . 
African Commerce . . 
Conclusion . . . 
191 
200 
206 
223 
234 
INTRODUCTION. 
No one possessing any knowledge of, or anxiety on 
the subject of the Negro race can fail to deplore the 
present state of Africa. 
Iesirous to ascertain why it is, that all our gigantic 
efforts and costly sacrifices for the suppression of the 
Slave Trade have proved unavailing, I have em- 
ployed some leisure time in surveying this whole 
subject, and in tracing out, as fr as I have been able, 
the true cause of our failure. My original impres- 
sion was, that, in increased efforts at sea, and in re- 
ducing Portugal to the necessity of executing her 
engagements with us, the effective remedy was to be 
found, and that little more than these would be re- 
quired for the gratification of the ardent desire felt 
by the British nation for the abolition of the Slave 
Trade. But a closer scrutiny into the facts of 
the case has conducted me to a different conclusion. 
There are, I now think, reasonable grounds for be- 
lieving, that we should still be disappointed, although 
we were to double our naval force engaged in that 
vi 
INTRODUCTION. 
ranch of service, and although it were resolved to 
take the most peremptory measures with Portugal. 
I do not underrate the value of our maritime ex- 
ertions. I think it may be good policy, and, in the 
long run, t'ue economy, to multiply the number of 
our vessels, to do at once and by a blow all that can 
be done in this way; to increase our expenses for a 
few years, .in order to escape the necessity of incurring 
cost, not materially less, for an indefinite period. 
Neither do I wish that our government should ad- 
dress Portugal in any terms short of a declaration, 
that our cruisers will ha. re orders to seize, after a 
fixed and an early day, every vessel under Portu- 
guese colours engaged in the slave.tratYlc, to bring 
the crew to trial as pirates, and inflict upon them the 
severest secondary punishment which our law allows. 
Decisive measures of this kind would, the'e is no 
doubt, facilitate our success, by removing some of tle 
great impediments which stand in the way of other 
remedial measures; nevertheless, I am compelled, 
by the various evidence which it has been my pro- 
v ce to examine, to place my main reliance, not on 
the employment of force, but on the encouragement 
which we may be able to give,to the legitimate com- 
merce and the agricultural cultivation of Africa.. 
We attempt to put down the Slave Trade "by the 
strong hand" alone; and this is, I apprehend, the 
INTRODUCTION. 
vii 
cause of our failure. Our system, in many respects 
too feeble, is in one sense too bold. The African 
has acquired a 
civilised world. 
taste for the productions of the 
They have become essential to him. 
The parent,--debased and brutalised as he is, .bar- 
ters his child; the chief his subject; each individual 
looks with an evil eye on his neighbour, and lays 
snares to catch him,--because the sale of children, 
subjects, and neighbouts, is the only means as yet 
afforded, by European commerce, for the supply 
of those wants which that commerce has created. 
To say that the African, under present circumstances, 
shall not deal in man, is to say that he shall long in 
vain for his accustomed gratifications. The tide, 
r' 
thus pent up, will break its way over every bar er. 
In order effectually to divert the stream from the di- 
rection which it has hithereto taken, we must open 
another, a safer, and a more convenient channel. 
When we shall have experimentally convinced the 
African that it is in his power to obtain his supplies 
in more than their usual abundance, by honest means, 
then, and not till then, we may expect that he will 
be reconciled to the abolition of the Slave Trade. 
This work' does not fully carry into effect the de- 
sign with which it was commenced. To a descrip- 
viii 
INTRODUCTION. 
tion of the extent and horrors of the Slave Trade, 
the failure of our efforts for its suppression, and the 
capabilities of Africa for legitimate cmnmerce, I had 
intended to add some practical suggestions for calling 
forth the latent energies of that quarter of the globe, 
and for exhibiting to its inhabitants where their true 
interest lies. 
Upon consideration it appeared that a premature 
disclosure of these suggestions might be inconvenient; 
I therefore withhold that part of my subject for the 
present, with the intention of resuming it hereafter; 
but, although I am disabled from entering into de- 
tail, and consequently from rendering this work as 
practically useful as I had hoped, it may not be alto- 
gether without benefit to expose, to the public eye, 
the atrocities which to this day are in full operation in 
that land of misery, and to point out the source from 
which, as I believe, a remedy can alone be hoped for. 
The principles of my suggestions are comprised 
in the following propositions :-- 
1. That the present staple export of Africa renders 
to her inhabitants, at infinite cost, a miserable return 
of profit. ß 
9. That the cultivation of her soil, and the barter of 
its productions, would yield an abundant harvest, and 
a copious supply of those articles which Afi-ica re- 
qu. ires. 
INTRODUCTION. 
3. That it is practicable to convince the African, 
experimentally, of the trtlth of these pr.opositions, and 
thus to make him our confederate in the suppression 
of the Slave Trade. 
I despair of being able to put down a traffic in 
which a vast continent is engaged, by the few sh. ips 
we can afford to employ: as auxiliaries they are of 
great value, but alone they are insufficient. I do not 
dream of attempting to persuade the African, by ap- 
pealing merely to his reason or his conscience, to re- 
nounce gainful guilt, and to forego those inhuman 
pursuits which gratify his cupidity, and supply his 
wants. But when the appeal we make is to his in- 
terest, and when his passions are enlisted on our side, 
there is nothing chimerical in the hope that he may 
be brought to exchange slender profits, with danger, 
for abundant gain, with security and peace. 
If these views can be carried into effect, they have 
at least thus much to recommend them. 
They will not plunge the country into hostilitt 
with any portion of the civilised world, for they in- 
volve no violation of international law. We may 
cultivate intercburse and innocent commerce with the 
natives of Africa, without abridging the rights or da- 
maging the honest interests of any rival power. 
They equie no monopoly o.f t,ade ; if other na- 
tions choose to send their merchantmen to carry on 
x 
INTRODUCTION. 
legitimate traffic in Africa, they. will but advance our 
object, and lend their aid in' extinguishing that which 
we are resolved to put down. 
Their involve no schemes of conquest; our ambi- 
tion is of another order. Africa is now torn to pieces. 
She is the victim of the most iron despotism that the 
world ever saw: inveterate cruelty reigns over her 
broad territory. We desire to usurp nothing,---and 
to conquer nothing,--but the Slave Trade. 
Finally, we ask of the Government only that 
which subjects have a right to expect from their 
rulers, namely, totectio to leon and opet in 
their lawful pursuits. 
Here I must pause; for I feel bound to confess, 
much as it may tend to shake the whole fabric of 
my views, that there is a great danger to which we 
shall be exposed, unless it be most carefully guarded 
against at the outset: the discovery of the fact that 
man as a labouter on the soil is superior in value 
to man as an article of merchandise may induce the 
continuance, if not the increase, of that internal 
slavery which now exists in Africa. 
I hope we shall never be so deluded as to give 
the slightest toleration to anything 'like constrained 
labour. We must not pat down one iniquity by 
abetting another. I believe implicitly that free la- 
bour will beat all other labour; that slavery, besides 
INTRODUCTION. 
xi 
being a great crime, is a gross blunder; and that the 
most refined and sagacious policy we can pursue is, 
common honesty and undeviating justice. Iet it 
then be held as a most sacred principle that, 
wherever our authority prevails, slavery shall cease; 
and that whatever influence we may obtain shall be 
employed in the same direction. 
I have thus noticed several of the negative advan- 
tages which attach to these views, an,d I have frankly 
stated the danger which, as I conceive, attends them. 
I shall now briefly allude to one point, which, I own, 
weighs with me beyond all the other considerations, 
mighty as they are, which this great question in- 
volyes. 
Grievous, and this almost beyond expression, as 
are the physical evils endured by Africa, there is 
ret a more lamentable feature in her present con- 
dition. Bound in the chains of the grossest igno- 
rance, she is a prey to the most savage superstition. 
Christianity as made bat feeble inroads on 
kingdom of dark.hess, nor can she hope to gain an 
entrance where the frame in man pre-oeeupies the 
t' 
ground. But were this obstacle removed, A ned 
would present the finest field for the labours of 
Christian missionaries which the world has yet seen 
opened to them. I have no hesitation in stating my 
belief that there is in the negro race a capacity for 
xii 
INTRODUCTION. 
receiving the truths of the Gospel beyond lnost other 
heathen nations; while, on the other hand, there is 
this remarkable, if not unique, circumstance in their 
case--that a race of teachers of their own blood is 
already in course of rapid preparation for them; that 
the providence of God has overruled even slavery 
and the Slave Trade for this end; and that from 
among the settlers of Sierra Leone, the peasantry of 
the West Indies and the thousands of their children, 
now receiving Christian education, may be expected 
to arise a body of men who will return to the land 
of their fathers, carrying Divine truth and all its 
concomitant blessings into the heart of Africa. 
One noble sacrifice in behalf of the negro race has 
already been made. In the words of the most eloquent 
citizen of another nation--" Great Britain, loaded 
with an unprecedented debt, and with a grinding 
taxation, contracted a new debt of a hundred million 
dollars, to give freedom, not to Englishmen, but to 
the degraded African. I know not that' history re- 
cords an act so disinterested, so sublime. In the 
progress of ages England's naval triumphs will 
shrink into a more and more narrow space in the 
records of our race. This moral triumph will fill a 
broader, brighter page." * 
Another, it may be a more inveterate evil, remains, 
Dr. Channing. 
INTRODUCTION. 
xiii 
.--an evil which for magnitude and malignity stands 
without a parallel. One thousand human victims * 
(if my facts will bear sifting) are daily required to 
.feed this vast and devouring consumer of mankind. 
In vain has Nature iven to Africa noble rivers; 
man is the only merchandise they carry. In vain a 
fertile land ;--lavish in wild and spontaneous produc: 
tions, no cultivating hand calls forth its riches. In 
vain hoz she placed it in the vicinity of Civilisation 
and Christianity; within a few weeks' voyage of the 
Thames there is a people who worship the shark and 
the snake, and a prince who imagine. s the agency of 
an evil spirit in the common properties of the load- 
stone.T Africa is indeed encircled by an effectual 
barrier against the entrance of commerce, cultivation, 
and Christianity. That barrier is the Slave Trade. 
It may be thought wild extravagance to indulge 
the hope that evils so rank are capable of cure. I do 
not deny that it is, of all tasks, the most arduous, 
or that it will require the whole energy of Great 
Britain; but if it shall be made a capital object of 
British policy, for the accomplishment of which 
our whole strength, if necessary, shall be put for- 
ward, and if it shall be, as I am sure it is, a cause in 
which we may look for Divine countenance and help, 
I see no reason for despair. What has been done, 
* See page 170.  Laird, vol. i. p. f!19. 
INTRODUCTION. 
may be done again; and it is natter of history, that 
from superstitions as bloody, from a state of intellect 
as rude, and from the Slave Trade itself, a nation 
has .been reclaimed, and now enjoys, in comparison 
with Africa, a blaze of light, liberty, religion, and 
happiness. That nation As Great Britain. What 
we find the African, the Romans found us ;* and it 
is not unreasonable to hope that, in the language of 
Mr. Pitt, "even Africa will enjoy, at length, in the 
evening of her days, those blessings which have de- 
* By the concurrent testimony of the best ancient historians, 
our forefathers were nothing better than "painted savages," the 
eca 
votaries of a sanguinary superstition which consumed its h - 
tombs of human victims; "Alii immani magnitudine simulacra 
habent; quorum contexta viminibus membra vivis hominibus 
complent; quibus succensis, circumventi flammlk exanimantur 
homines." (Cesar, Bell. Gall., 1. vi. c. 16.) And, if we may 
credit the testimony of Diodorus Siculus, they were also addicted 
to cannibalism; "for," says he, "the Gauls are such savages that 
they devour human flesh; as do also those British nations which 
inhabit Ireland." (1. v. c. 32.) Cicero, in one of his letters, 
speaking of the success of an expedition against Britain, says, the 
only plunder to be found, consisted, "ex mancipiis; ex quibus 
nullos puto te literis aut musicis eruditos.expectare;" thus, in 
the same sentence proving the existence of the Slave Trade, and 
intimating that it was impossible that any Briton should be intel- 
ligent enough to be worthy to serve the accomplished Atticus. 
Ad Att. 1. iv. 16. Henrys in his History of England, gives us 
also the authority of Strabo for the prevalence of the Slave Trade 
amongst us, and tells us that slaves were once an established ar- 
ticle of our exports. "Great numbers," says he,, were exported 
from 'Britain, and were to be seen exposed for sale, like cattle, in 
the Roman market."-. Henry., vol. ii. p. 225. 
INTRODUCTION. 
x¾ 
scended so plentifully upon us in a much earlier 
period of the world." 
To raise Africa from the dust is an object worthy 
of the efforts of the highest order of ambition. It is 
calculated that Napoleon, in the course of his career, 
occasioned the sacrifice of three millions of the 
human race. The suppression of the Slave Trade 
would, in a very few years, save as many lives as he 
was permitted to destroy. The' most patriotic and 
loyal amongst us cannot frame a loftier wish for 
our country and its sovereign, than that her reign, 
which, in its dawn, witnessed the deliverance of our 
colonies from slavery, may'be prolonged, till, through 
British agency, Africa shall also be released from a 
still greater curse: nbt, however, for the henour's 
sake, though it would give imperishable renown; 
nor for the profit's sake, though it promies to open 
boundless fields for capital, industry and enterprise; 
but in pity to Africa, and for His fagour who has 
said." Undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed 
go free, and break every yoke." "Then shall thy 
light break forth as the morning ;" "and the glory 
of the Lord shall be thy rereward."* 
Isaiah lviii. 6, 8. 
THE 
SLAVE 
TRADE. 
"You will perceive that this horrid traffic has been carried On to 
an extent that almost staggers belief.*' 
Cormnodo Sir Robert Mod, ierra Leone. 
I preparing this work, my chief purpose has been 
to offer some views which I entertain of the most 
effectual mode of suppressing the Slave Trade; but 
before I enter upon these, I must state the extent to 
which that traffic is now carried on, and the sacrifice 
of human life which it occasions. 
EXTENT. 
My .fist proposition is, that upwards of 10,000 
human beings are annually conveyed from Africa, 
across the Atlantic, and sold as slaves. 
It is almost impossible to arrive at the exact 
extent to which any contraband trade, much more 
a trade so revolting, is carried on. It is the interest of 
those concerned in it to conceal all evidence of their 
guilt; and the Governor of a Portuguese colony is 
not very likely, at once to connive at the crime, and 
to confess that it is extensively practised. By the 
mode of calculation I propose to adopt, it is very 
possible I may err; but the error nust be on the 
B 
THE SLAVE TRADEß 
right side; I may underrate, it is almost impossible 
that I can exaggerate, the extent of the traffic. 
With every disposition on the part of those who are 
engaged in it to veil the truth, certain facts have, 
from time to time, transpired, suttcient to show, if 
not the full amount of the evil, at least, that it is 
one of prodigious magnitude. 
I commence with what appears to be the most 
considerable slave market, viz.---that of 
BRAZILß 
In the papers on the subject of the Slave Trade 
annually presented to Parliament, by .authority 
of his Majesty (and entitled, "Glass A" and 
"Class B"), the following official information is 
given by the British Vice-Consul at Rio de Janeiro, 
as to the number of slaves inported there :. 
From I July to 31 Dee. 1827 . 
From I Jan. to 81 March, 1828 
From I April to 80 June, 18'28, say 
From I July to 31 Dec. 1828 . 
From 1 Jan. to $0 June, 1829 . 
From I July to 81 Dec. 1829 . 
From I Jan. to 30 June, 1830 . 
ß . . 15,481a 
ß . . 15,483 s 
ß . 11,5328 
ß . ß 24,4884 
ß . . 25,1795 
ß ß . 22,813  
ß . . 33,964 r 
148,940 
i Class B, 1828, p. 105. ' Class B, 18'28, p. 107. 
8 1o returns. These numbers are given on the average of 
the three months previous to, and three months subsequent to 
the dates here mentioned. 
' Class B, 1829 pp. 80, 81.  Class B, 1829, p. 89. 
 Ditto, !830, p. 71.  Ditto, 1830, p. ?8. 
EXTENT---BRAZIL. 
3 
That is, in the twelve months 
preceding the 30th June, 1828 . . . 42,964 
,, ,, 1829 . . . 49,667 
,, ,, 1880 . . . 56,??? 
148,940 
Thus it stands confessed, upon authority which 
cannot be disputed, that from the 1st of July, 1827, 
to the 30th of June, 1830 (three years), there were 
brought into the single port of Rio de Janeiro, 
148,940 negroes, or, on an average, 49,643 annually. 
It appears also, that, in the last year, the number 
was swelled to 56,777 per annum.* 
Caldcleugh, in his Travels in South America, 
speaking of the Slave Trade at Rio, (which, however, 
was not then so extensive as it now is,) states, "that 
there are tippee other ports in Brazil trading to 
same etet." If this be correct, the number o 
negroes annually imported vastly exceeds any estimate 
I have formed; but it is more safe to rely on the 
authority of the British Commissioners, scanty as 
* I see in the Patriot newspaper of 25th June last (1838), 
the following statement :---" A Brazil mail has brought advices 
from Rio to the 22nd April. That fine country appears to be 
making rapid strides in civilisation and improvement; the only 
drawback is the inveterate and continued encouragement of the 
slave-trade. The Rover corvette had just captured two slavers, 
having 494 negroes on board; and the trottic is said to amount 
to 60,000 annually, into Rio alone, almost entirely carried on 
under Portuguese colours. 
 Caldcleugh's Travels, Lomlon, 1825, vol. ii. p. 56. 
** By the treaties with foreisn powers for the suppreion of the 
Slave Trade, Commissioners are appointed to act as Judges, in a 
4 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
it necessarily is. They reside in the capital; and 
their distance from the three outports of itself might 
render it difficult for them to obtain full information. 
But when to the distance is added the still greater 
difficulty arising from the anxiety on the part of 
almost all the Brazilian functionaries to suppress 
information on the subject, it is clearly to be in- 
ferred that the number stated by the Commissioners 
must fall materially below the truth. They tell us, 
however, that in a year and a-half, from 1st of 
January, 1829, to 30th of June, 1830, the numbers 
imported were, into 
Bahia . . 
Pernambuco 
Maranham . 
ß . . . 22,202 
.... 8,079 
ß . . . 1,252 
To these we must also add those 
imported into the port of Para . 
Total in eighteen months . . 
Or annually . . . . 
To which add Rio, as before stated  
And we have for the annual number 
landed in Brazil . . . 
31,533 
799 
32,332* 
21,554 
56,777. 
78,331 
So many, at least, were landed.. That number 
is undisputed. The amount, however, great as it is, 
Court of Mixed Commission for the adjudication of captured 
slave-vessels. 
* Class B, 1529, 1830.  P. 3. 
EXTENT--BRAZIL. 
5 
probably falls short of the reality. If the question 
were put to me, what is the number which I believe to 
be annually landed in Brazil ? I should rate it con- 
siderably higher. I conceive that the truth lies be- ' 
tween the maximum as taken from Caldcleugh, and 
the minimum as 'stated in the OflSCial Returns; and 
I should conjecture that the real amount would be 
moderately rated at 100,000, brought annually into ' 
these five Brazilian ports. But as the question is, 
not how_ many I suppose, but how many I can show, 
to be landed, I must confine myself to what I can 
prove; and I have proved that 78,381 were landed 
at five ports in Brazil, in the course of twelve months, 
ending at the 80th June, 1880. 
But is it easy to believe, while Brazil receives so 
vast a number into five of her principal ports, that 
the trade is confined to them, and that none are intro- 
duced along the remaining line of her coast, extend- 
ing over 88 degrees of latitude, or about ,600 
miles, and abounding in harbours, rivers, and creeks, 
where disembarkation can easily be effected ? 
' It may safely be assumed, that the slave-trader 
would desire to avoid notoriety, and to escape the 
duty which is paid upon all impos; either of these 
motives may induce him to smuggle his negroes 
ashore. That numbers are so smuggled, is esta- 
blished by the fact, that nost vessels from the coast 
of Africa report themselves in ballast on arriving at 
Bahia. In the last Parliamentary Papers,* more 
than half the vessels are found to have reported 
* Class B, 1837, and Class B, Farther Series, 1837. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
themselves in ballast, and the remainder to have come 
from Prince's Island, Ajuda (Wydah), and Angola, 
---the very Places where the Slave Trade most pre- 
vails.* The Commissioners interpret these returns 
in ballast thus :--" In the six months ending 30th 
June, 1836, twenty vessels entered this port (Rio) 
from the coast of Africa; they came in ballast, and, 
upon the usual declaration, that the master or pilot 
had died on the voyage, were stopped, with scarcely 
an exception, by the police, on suspicion of having 
landed slaves on the coast; but as usual also, were, 
r ' The Jui 
afte .s.few days detention, released." 
di Dreto, of Ilha Grande, (one of the few func 
tionaries who appears to have done his duty with 
respect to the Slave Trade, and whose activity has 
been rewarded, on the part of the populace, by 
attempts on his life, and on the part of the Brazilian 
Goverument, as I have been informed, by dismissal 
from his oce,) confirms this view of the Commis- 
sioners in s Report, dated lth November, 1834, in 
which he says :--" I see that in the trade in Africans 
brought to this district are committed almost the 
whole population of this place, and of the neigt- 
bouring district." "Here, since I have been in the 
district, there have been twenty-two disembarkations, 
which I can remember; and I can assure your Ex- 
cellency, that an equal, or even a greater' number 
have called off this port; and it is certain that they 
did not return to Africa.": 
Class B, 1837, p. 83. T Class A, 1836, p. 251. 
 Class B, 1834, p. 233. 
.EXTENT.-Bi/AIL. 
7 
It is then clear that, over and above the n.umb.er 
annually introduced into the five port, negroes are 
landed along the line of the Brilian coast; but as 
we have no facts to guide us to the. preise number, 
I will assume that the trading in slaves is confined 
to these five places, and tlmt not a single negro ws 
landed in Brazil beyond the 78,331 negroes in twelve 
months, ending in June, 1830. 
! admit that this proves little, as to the Slave 
Trade at the present time. It is very possible that 
it raged at a former period, but that it has now 
ceased; and it may be rgued that the facts stateA 
were prior to the treaty with Great Britain, and that 
the operation of that treaty has considerably .reduced 
the number. If we are to believe the otcial reports 
made to our Government, it is just the reverse. The 
Slave Trade has increased since that time. The 
Brazilian Minister of Marine recommends to his go- 
vernment the formation of u "cordon zanitaire, which 
may prevent the access to our shores of tho.se swarms 
of Africans that re aontinually poured forth from 
vessels engaged in so bominable a traffic."* This, 
be it observed, was on the 17th of June, 1833, three 
years after the treaty had come into operution. 
The Ministers of Foreign Affairs and of Justice, 
in their report of the Chamber of Deputies, in 
1835, speak "of the continuance of the traffic,. to 
n extent at once frightful to humanity, and alarm- 
ing to the best interests of the country." "The fury 
* Class A, 1833, p. 58. 
8 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
of this barbarous traffic continues every day to in- 
crease with a constantly progressing force." "Six- 
teen hundred new blacks. are openly maintained on 
an estate in the neighbourhood of Ilha Grande." 
"The continued--we might almost say the unin- 
terrupted .traffic in slaves is car,ying on, on these 
coasts. " On the 17th June, 1836, Mr. Gore Ouseley, 
B,'itish resident at Rio Janeiro, states in his de- 
spatch, that "The Slave Trade is carried on in Brazil 
with more activity than ever." In the preceding 
May, in a despatch to Viscount Palmerston, he 
speaks of" an association of respectable persons who 
were going to use steam-boats for the importation of 
Afrcans." 
In March, 1836, the President of Bahia observed, 
in a speech to the Assembly of that province, "That 
the contraband in slaves continues with the same 
scandal*." In the following September the British 
Commissioners say, "At no period, perhaps, has the 
trade been ever carried on with more activity or 
daring. TM And again, in November, 1836, "The 
traffic in slaves is every day becoming more active 
and notorious on this coast." 
Thus, then, not only by the-reports of our Com- 
,nissioners and our Resident, but by the admission of 
the Brazilians themselves, it appears, that the Slave 
Trade has increased since the treaty was formed. 
Class A, 1835, p. 265. 
Class B, 1836, p. 67. 
Class A, 1836, p. 250. 
Class B, 1836, p. 68. 
Class A, 1836, p. 23 I. 
Class A, 1836, p. 260. 
EXTENT---BRAZIL.' 
It seems hardly necessary to add, that I have 
received letters to the same effect from gentlemen 
on whom I have entire reliance. A naval officer, 
in a letter dated 16th September, 1835, says, "For 
the last six months the importation of new slaves 
is greater than ever remembered." A gentlema 
write s to me, of date 7th April, 1837, "It may be 
well to acquaint you, that the Slave Trade has now 
got to an unprecedented pitch." 
The parliamentary Papers presented in 1838, 
remarkably confirm the two positions which I have 
laid down; first, that the Slave Trade is enormous; 
and, secondly, that so far from abating, it has in- 
creased since the period when the treaty was formed. 
By a. private letter from a highly respectable 
quarter, I learn that in the month of December, 
1836, the importation of slaves into the province of 
Rio alone was not less than . . 4,831 
Our Minister at Rio states that there 
arrived in the following month of 
January, 1837 . . . . 
February . . . . . 
March . . . . . 
April . . . . . 
May . . . . . . 
4,870  
1,992  
7,395  
5,596' 
2,753  
27,437 
Class B, 1837, p. 58. ' Class B, 1837, p. 65. 
Ibid. . 60.  Ibid. ---- /1. 
Ibid. ----- 64. 
1o 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
Thus, within six months, in the province of Rio, or 
the vicinity, there were known to have been landed 
this vast number. This is hrdly disputed by the 
Brazilian authorities. Our Minister at Rio, in a letter 
to Lord Plmerston, dated l Sth April, 1837, speak- 
ing of 7,395 negroes landed in the preceding month, 
says: "As a satisfactory proof of the general accu- 
racy of these reports, it my be observed here, that the 
Government has excepted to two only of the numerous 
items. they comprehend. "* 
It would be an error to suppose that these re- 
ported numbers comprehend nything like the whole 
amount of the importations: conclusive evidence to 
the contrary appears in  wriety of passages of the 
same reports. I shall take but one as an instance. 
Mr. Hamilton, in his Enclosure of l st March, 1837, 
states as follows :--" Brig Joloal frown Angola. 
This vessel, since she left this port, thirteen months 
ago, has made three voyages without entering any 
port. The first voyage she landed 700 slaves, very 
sickly, at Ponta Nea, about half way betwixt 
this port and Cape Frio; on the second'voyage, 600 
slaves at the island of St. Sebastian; and on the pre- 
sent voyage, 50 slaves at Tapier close to the en- 
trance of this port. The greater number of these 
last were put into boats and fishing canoes, and 
brought to town." The last number, namely 590, 
only, are reported in the return for the month of 
February preceding; but the remaining 1300 have 
Class B, 1837, p. 63. t Class B, 1837, p. 60. 
EXTENT.-BRAZIL. 
11 
not appeared in any returns. It is evident from this, 
as well as many other passages, that vessels land 
their negroes on the coast, and return direct to 
Africa, and all who do so, escape notice, and are not 
included in the account. If these 1300 are added to 
the returns for the first six months in the year 1837, 
the importations into Rio alone for this year will ex- 
ceed those of 1830. 
So much tor the province of Rio. I would next 
observe as to Pernambuco. In a letter from Mr. 
Watts, the British Consul, to Lord Pabnerston, 
of date 5th May, 1837, be'says, "I have just received 
dh'ections to furnish Mr. Hamilton with a monthly 
return of vessels arriving from the coast of Africa, 
at any port within my consulate," &c.; and he adds, 
"the supinehess, not to say connivance, of the Go- 
vernment of Brazil in general on the subject in 
reference, the gross venality of subordinate otcers, 
the increasing demand of hands for the purposes of 
husbandry, the enormous profits derivable fi'om this 
inhuman tratc, which is rapidly increasing at this 
port in the most undisguised manner, combined with 
the almost insuperable di/fieulty of procuring au- 
thentic information through private channels from 
the dread of the assassin's knife or bullet, even in 
the OPEN dast, and in the publie gaze; and the dark 
and artful combinations of the dealers in slaves, their 
agents, and the agriculturists, to mask and facilitate 
the disembarkation of imported slaves;--all these 
glaring and obstructive facts combine to render the 
1'2 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
attainment of authentic data on which to ground 
effective official representation on the subject of the 
unprecedented increase of the Slave Trade all along 
the coast of Brazil, an almost insurmountable 
obstacle."* 
The case then may be stated thus:prior to the 
treaty the annual importation of negroes into .five 
port s of Brazil was 78,333, to which might be added 
the indefinite but considerable number smuggled into 
other places in Brazil. Since that tine the trade has, 
by general testimony, increased. Notwithstanding 
the difficulty thrown in the way of obtamng in- 
formation, the facts which we have been enabled 
to glean, demonstrate what the Marquis of Bar- 
bacena stated in the Senate of Brazil on the 
30th June, 1837, namely, "That it mast be safelst 
asserted, without fear of ewaggeation, that during, 
the last three $teas, the importation has been mueh 
more coasideable, than it had eve before been wen 
the eommece was unfettered and legal." On these 
groundswe might be entitled to make a considerable 
addition. It is enough for us to know, that at the 
very least, 78,333 human beings are annually torn 
fi-om Africa, and are imported into Brazil. 
CUBA. 
It is scarcely practicable to ascertain the num- 
ber of slaves imported into Cuba: it can only 
Class Bi 183/, ' p. 84. t Class B, 1837, p. 69. 
EXTENT CUBA. 
13 
be a calculation on, at best, doubtful data. We 
are continually told by the Commissioners, that 
difficulties are thrown in the way of obtaining correct 
information in regard to the Slave Trade in that 
island. Everything that artifice, violence, intimida- 
tion, popular countenance, and official connivance 
can do, is done, to conceal the extent of the traffic. 
Our ambassador, Mr. Villiers, April, 1837, says, 
"That a privilege (that of entering the harbour after 
dark), denied to all other vessels, is granted to the 
slave-trader; and, in short, that with the servants of 
the Government, the misconduct of the persons con- 
cerned in this trade finds fayour and protection. The 
crews of captured vessels are permitted to purchase 
their liberation; and it would seem that the persons 
concerned in this trade have resolved upon setting 
the Government of the mother country at defiance."* 
Almost the only specific fact which I can col- 
lect from the reports of the Commissioners, is the 
statement, "that 1835 presents a number of slave 
vessels (arriving at the Havana), by which there 
must have been landed, at the very least, 15,000 
negroes." But in an official letter, dated P.th May, 
18õ, there is the following remarkable passage :-- 
"I wish I could add, that this list contains even one- 
fourth of the number of those which have entered 
after having landed cargoes, or sailed after having 
refitted in this harbour." _This would give an 
Class B, 1837, p. 2. l Class A, 1335, p. 206. 
 Class A, 1836, p. 153. 
14 
THE' 81.AYE TRADE. 
amount of 60,000. for the Havana alone; but is 
Havana the only lort in Cuba in which negroes 
are landed ? The reverse is notoriously true. The 
Commissioner says, "I hve every reason to believe 
that several of the other ports of Cuba, more par- 
ticu]arly the distant city of St. Jago de Cuba, carry 
on the trafl/c to a considerable extent." Indeed, 
it is stated by Mr. Hardy, the consul at St. 
Jago, in a letter to Lord Palmerston, of the l@th 
February, 1837, "That the Portuguese brig Boca 
N,ra landed on the 6th instant at Juragua, a little 
to windward of this port (St. Jago), 400 Africans of 
all ages, nd subsequently entered this port."* But 
in order that we may be assuredly within the mark, 
no claim shah be made on account of these distant 
ports. Confining ourselves to the ttavana, it would 
seem probable, if it be not delnonstrted, that the 
number for that port, fortiori, for the whole island, 
may fairly be estimated at 60,000. I hve many 
strong grounds for believing that this is no exagge- 
ration, one of which I will name. At a meeting 
* Class B, 1837, p. 29. 
T T,E SLAVZ Tab. DE.---" It has occurred to us, now that 
the Spaniards and Portuguese are pushing the inhumau traffic 
with so much zeal and energy, whether it would not be preferable 
to employ steamers than sailing-vessels in cruising about thatgrand 
receptacle of stolen Africans, the island of Cuba. We have heard 
it stated that upwa'cls of sixtit vessels per month arrive in Cuba 
from the coast of Africa with slaves. Supposing that each vessel 
on an average carries two hundred of the, and that the number 
of arrivals continue the same for one year certain, we should have 
EXTENT CUBA. 
15 
which I had with several merchants and cap- 
rains of vessels trading to the coast of Africa, I 
inquired what was the proportion of the slave trade 
.with Cuba compared with that of Brazil ? Captain 
M'Lean, governor of Cape Coast Castle (than whom 
no one has better opportunities of information, as all 
the vessels from the Bight of Benin, in their way to 
St. Thomas, pass his fort), stated that, as far as he 
could judge, there we. re. three for Cuba, to two for 
Brazil, and in this opmwn every person present on 
the occasion concurred.* 
Having proved that there are landed in Brazil at 
least 78,000, this would give to Cuba more than 
100,000. But let the minor number be taken as 
deduced from the reports of the Commissioners, and 
the account will stand thus :--- 
the incredible number of one hundred and forty-four thousand 
slaves imported into that colony in twelve months! Although 
we cannot believe that the trade is carried on to this extent, still 
we think the Government is called upon to resort to prompt and 
vigorous measures to repress, if not put a sWp to it. Whether 
steamers would be preferable to schooners, such as were previously 
employed, we are not seamen enough to decide; certainly the 
slavers would have less chance of escape from the former than 
the latter."--ffratn, Februarll 21, 1838. 
= Since the above went to press, I have'learnt on good authority, 
"that there have been about 100,000 boxes of sugar, of 400lbs. 
each, exported from Cuba during the season just closed (July, 
1838), more than in any preceding ;" and that a very intelligent 
merchant in that island had declared, "that he knew of no fewer 
than forty new estates that had been lately opened, remembering 
that it. will take about two years to make them productive." 
16 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
Brazil . . 
To this number of slaves actually landed 
must be added those who have been 
captured, which on the average of 
the years 1836 and 1837, was at 
Sierra Leone . . . . 
'11 
And at Havana  1837 
60,000 
78,33 
138,333 
7,852 
146,185 
449 
I cannot find that any have been ad- 
judicated at Rio. 
Further than this I cannot go by actual 
proof; but there can be no doubt, that 
the Slave Trade has other victims than 
those included in this table. For example, 
we know that several slave vessels are 
annually wrecked or founder at sea;* 
though it is impossible to arrive at any- 
thing like exact numbers. Many negroes 
also are thrown overboard, either during 
a chase, or fi'om dearth of provisions and 
water.- 
For these, I will assume . . 
See Wrecks, &c., page 139, &c. 
ß ..See p. 130, Captain Wauchope, R.N. 
Peutmn at p. 11 $. 
3,373 
Total.. 150,000 
See also the Paris 
EXTENT---PORTO RICO. 
17 
I have no authority for this assumption of 3373, 
it is merely a guess; it may be excessive. I only 
take hs number to make a round sum. And if in 
t ' 
this trivial point I have gone beyond the mark, I 
shall give abundant compensation for it hereafter. 
I will next take the case of the Island of 
PORTO RICO. 
In regard to Porto Rico, I learn, from the valuable 
work of Colonel Flinter, entitled ' Present State of 
the Island of Porto Rico,' some important facts; 
the exports from that island were.. 
In 1814 . . 
1830 . . 
500,840 dollars. 
3,411,845 
The amount of sugar produced has increased 
from 37,969 arrobas in 1810 
to 414,663 ,, in 1830 
He calculates that there are only 45,000 slaves 
in the island; but he tells us that the landed pro- 
prietors conceal the real number of their slaves in 
order to escape a tax. 
From the Parliamentary Papers of 1837, it 
appears, as stated by Mr. Courtenay, the British 
Consul at Port-au-Prince, Haiti, "that a slaving 
schooner, under the Brazilian flag, called Pacquette 
de Capo Verde, was wrecked on the Folle reefs 
near Aux Cayes, on the 28th February, 1837, having 
previously landed his cargo at Ponce, in the Island 
of Porto Rico."* It appears, also, that one-ninth 
Class B, 183qi p. 140. 
c 
18 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
part of all the vessels condemned at Sierra Leone 
in 1837 were bound for Porto Rico, and that one of 
them, at. least, the Descubierta, belonged to the 
island and was built there.* 
In a Report by the Commissioners at Sierra 
Leone, of date 0th March, 1837, it is stated that 
the Temerario had been captured with 35'2 slaves 
on board, bound for the Island of Port Rico;' 
the Commissioners, on the Sth .of April following, 
report the case of the Ginco Amigos, "belonging to 
the Spanish Island of Porto Rico, where slaving 
adventures have latterly been fitted out, with in- 
creased activity."  
A gentleman, on whom I can rely, has informed 
me that in November, 1836, he saw two slave-vessels 
fitting out in the harbour of Porto Rico, and on 
his return in March, 1837, he saw a slaver enter- 
ing the harbour, and he learned on the spot from 
good authority that about 7000 negroes had been 
landed in the space of the preceding year. 
From the above facts, especially from the in- 
creased production of sugar; from the constant 
smuggling communication which is kn. own to exist 
with the slave-mart of St. Thomas, from the 
circumstance that apprentices have been kidnapped 
by their masters in the British settlement of An- 
guilla,õ for the purpose of being carried to Porto 
Class A, (Farther Series), 1837, pp. 5, 13. 
Class A, 1837, p. 50. : Class A, 1837, p. 28. 
Class B, 1837, p. 10. 
EXTENT---BUENOS AYRES. 
19 
Rico,--and frown the fact, that there is some Slave 
Trade with that island, it is not ditcult to come 
to the conclusion, that there has been a traffic in 
slaves to a considerable amount. Upon the same 
principle, however, which has led me to wave all 
additions to which any shade of doubt may attach, 
I will not claim any increase on the sum of slaves 
exported from Africa in respect of Porto Rico. 
BUENOS AYRES, ETC. 
I am raid that some addition might too justly 
be claimed with regard to Buenos Ayres, Rio de la 
Plata, and the United Provinces of the Uruguay. 
In a letter from Mr. Hood to Lord Palmerston, 
dated from Buenos Ayres, [833, it is stated,. "that 
the dormant spirit of Slaw Trading has been awak- 
ß " that the A. guila Primera, a schooner 
ened , " 
belonging to this place, and under this flag, was 
fitting, and in a forward state, to proceed to the 
coast of Congo for a cargo of slaves; and that other 
fast-sailing vessels were in request for the same 
service," The 'Uruguese minister did not deny that 
the Government were coõnisant of the proceedings, 
and confessed that "they had given their concur- 
rence to import 2000 colonists from the coast of 
Africa, which he considered a fair and legitimate 
trade." Nor is it to be wondered at, that he had 
arrived at so extraordinary a conclusion; for it 
appears by the same letter that the same "ninister 
had received a bribe of 30,000 dollars to permit a 
c2 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
company of merchants to import 2000 slaves, under 
the denomination of colonists."* 
In September, 1834, Lord Palmerston, in a letter 
to Mr. Hamilton, states'that "the Slave Trade is 
now increasing in the River Plata, supported by the 
capital of Monte Video citizens, and covered by the 
flag of the United Provinces of the Uruguay," and 
that the Abolition Law is wholly without effect.T 
How unavailing were the remonstrances then 
made, appears by the fact of the seizure, on the 
10th November, 1834, of the Rio da Prata, a slave- 
brig of 202 tons, under the flag of Monte Video, 
with licenc from the authorities to import 650 co]o- 
nists, with 521 slaves on board, men, women, and 
children." 
"We may form some idea," 
says Mr. M'Queen, 
"of the numbers imported into the Argentine Re- 
public, from the fact that, in 1835 (see Porter's 
Tables), twenty Portuguese vessels departed for 
Africa, and as nany arrived from it in the port of 
Monte Video, after landing their cargoes of slaves 
from Africa on the adjacent coasts." 
It is most disheartening to find, that, in spite of 
all our efforts, the Slave Trade, instead of ceasing 
where it has long prevailed, is spreading over these 
new and petty states;and that the first use they 
make of their flag (which but for us they never 
would have possessed) is to thwart Great Britain, 
Class B, 1833, pp. 55 and 56. - Class B, 1834, p. 81. 
:[ Class B, 1835, p. 141. 
EXTENT---UNITED STATES. 
and to cover the Slave Trade; and, farther, to learn 
that their s]ave-traic is attended with even more than 
the usual horrors. It must not be forgotten that, 
as we have just seen, for a voyage from the southern 
coast of Africa to Monte Video, (a voyage of some 
thousands of miles,) the space allowed is less than 
one ton for three slaves. 
Lists are given in the Parliamentary Papers 
of many vessels employed in the Slave Trade, 
which are continually arriving at, or sailing from, 
Monte Video ;* but it seems hardly necessary 
to pursue the subject further. We know there is 
a Slave Trade with these states; but as we have 
no data to compute the extent of it, I cannot 
avail myself of the fact, however certain it may be. 
I must, therefore, in regard to these countries, as I 
have done in the case of Porto Rico, wave ex- 
tending my calculations. I will next advert to 
THE UNITED STATES. 
In the Report of the Commissioners at Havana, 
for 1836, dated iSth Oct. 1836, I find these 
words :--" During the months of August and Sep- 
tember (1836) there arrived here for sale, from the 
United States, several new schooners, some of which 
were already expressly fitted for the Slave Trade. 
"The Emanuel and Dolores were purchased, and 
ß ¾ 
have since left the port (we behe e with other names) 
on slaving expeditions, under the Spanish flag." 
Class B, 1835, pp. 141--143. 
THE SLAYE TRADE, 
"But to our astonishment and regret, we have 
ascertained that the Anaconda and Viper, the one 
on the õth, and the other on the 10th, current, 
cleared out and sailed from hence, for the Cape de 
Verde Islands, under the American flag. 
"These two vessels arived in tl Havana, fitted 
in evep larticula fo t]e Slave Trade; and took 
on board a cargo which would at once have con- 
demned, as a slave, any vessel belonging to the 
nations that are parties to the equipment article. "* 
The Commissioners farther observe, that the de- 
claration of the American President "not to make 
the United States a party to any convention on the 
subject of the Slave Trade, has been the means of 
inducing American citizens to build and fit, in their 
own ports, vessels, only calculated for piracy or the 
Slave Trade, to enter this harbour, and, in concert 
with the Havana slave-traders, to take on board a 
prohibited cargo, manacles, &c.; and proceed openly 
to that notorious depbt for this iniquitous trathc, the 
Cape de Verde Islands, under the shelter of their 
national flag :" and "we may add, that, while these 
American slavers were making their final arrange- 
ments for departure, the Havana was visited more 
than once by American ships of war, as well as 
British and French." 
The Commissioners also state, that "two 
American vessels, the Fanny Butler and Rosanna, 
Class A,'1836, p. 191. 
EXTENT----UNITED STATES. 
3 
have proceeded to the Cape de Verde Islands, and 
the coast of Africa, under the American flag, upon 
the same inhuman speculation."* A few months ater- 
wards they report that--" We cannot conceal our 
deep regret at the new and dreadful iraperu# im- 
parted to the Slave Trade of this island (Cuba), 
by the manner in which some American citizens im- 
punibly violate every law, by embarking openly for 
the coast of Africa under their national. flag, with 
the'avowed purpose of bringing slaves to this market. 
We are likewise assured that it is intended, by means 
of this flag, to supply slaves for the vast province of 
Texas; agents from thence being in constant com- 
munication with the Havana Slave Merchants." 
This "new and dreadful impetus" to the Slave 
Trade, predicted by our commissioners, has already 
come to pass. In a list of the departure of vessels 
for the coast of Africa, from the Havana, up to a 
recent date, I find that, "in the last four months,'" 
no other flags than those of Portugal and the United 
States have been used to cover slavers.  
* Class A, 1836, pp. 191, 192. 
p Class A, 1836, p. 218, and Class B, 1836, pp. 123 and 129. 
 While preparing this work for the press,.I received a communi- 
cation from Major M'Gregor, late Special Magistrate at the 
Bahamas, in which he notices the wreck of the schooner Invincible, 
on the 28h October 1837, on one of these islands; and he adds, 
"the captain's name was Potts, a native of Florida. The vessel 
was fitted out at Baltimore in America, and three-fourths of the 
crew were natives of the United States, although they pretended 
to be only passengers." . 
õ The Venus, said to be the sharpest clipper built vessel ever con- 
structed at Baltimore, left that place in July 1838, and arrived at 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
The list states that vessels, fitted for the Slave 
Trade, sailed from Havana for the coast of Africa, 
beating the American flag, as follows:. 
American. 
During the month of June, 1838, 2 
,, July, 
,, August 
,, September 
lO 
No symptom in the case is so alarming as this. 
It remains to be seen, whether America will endure 
that her flag shall be the refuge of these dealers in 
human blood. 
I confidently hope better things for the peace of 
Africa and for the honour of the United States. 
This leads me to the provinceof 
TEXAS. 
I have been informed, upon high authority, 
that "within the last twelve months* 15,000 negroes 
Havana on the 4th of August following. She sailed from thence, 
in September, for Mozambique; there she took in a cargo of 
slaves, being all this time under the flag of the United States. 
On the '/th January, 1839, she landed 860 negroes near Havana, 
under Portuguese colours; and on the 9th these blacks with 1200 
more were een at one of the Barracoons, within two miles of 
that city, "expoaed for sale, and presenting a most humiliating 
and melancholy spectacle." PIIVaTS LIT?iRs. 
ß Referring to 183 and 1838. 
EXTENT----TEXAS---SUMMARY. 
were imported from Africa into Texas." I have the 
greatest reliance on the veracity of the gentleman 
from whom this intelligence comes; but I would 
fain hope that he is in error. I can conceive no 
calamity to Africa greater than that Texas should 
be added to the number of the slave-trading states. 
It is a gulf which will absorb millions of the human 
race. I have proof, quite independent of any state- 
ments in this work, that not less than four millions 
of negroes have in the last half-century been torn 
from Africa for the supply of Brazil. Texas, once 
polluted with the Slave Trade, will require a number 
still more appalling. 
In the case of Texas, as I have not sutcient 
proof to adduce in support of the numbers which it 
is reported have been carried into that country, 
I shall, as I have already done in similar instances, 
wave my claim for increasing my general estimate. 
SUMMARY. 
I have then brought the case to this point. There 
is Slave Trading, although to an unknown and in- 
definite amount, into Porto Rico; into Texas; and 
into some of the South American republics. 
There is the strongest presumptive evidence, that 
the Slave Trade into the five ports of Brazil which 
have been noticed, is "much more considerable" 
than my estimate makes it; and that I have also 
underrated the importation of negroes into Cuba. 
There are even grounds for suspicion that there are 
26 
THE. SLAVE -TRADE. 
other places (beSides Porto Rico, Texas, Cuba, 
onte Video, &c., and Brazil), whe.re slaves are 
ntroduced; but for all these presumptions I reckon 
nothing, I take no account of them; I limit myself 
to the facts which I have established, viz., that 
there are, at the present time, imported annually 
into Brazil . . . . . 78,333 
That the annual importations into Cuba 
amount to . . . . . 
That there have been captured. . 
And I assume that the casualties* 
amount to . . . . 
60,000 
8,294 
3,373 
ments, on which I have alone relied, in order to 
detect any inaccuracy which might lurk in them, or 
in the inferences deduced kom them. No such 
mistake can I discover; but my conviction that the 
calculation is not excessive, has been fortified by 
finding that other persons, who have had access to 
* See pp. 130, 139, &c. 
degree of doubt, and even suspicion. I have not 
been wholly free from these feelings myself, and I 
have again and again gone over the public docu- 
Making together 150,000 
CORROBORATIVE PROOFS OF THE EXTENT Or TH!7. 
SLAVE TRADE. 
I confess there is something startling in the asser- 
tion, that so vast a number are annually carried from 
Africa to various parts of the New World. 
Such a statement may well be received with some 
, CORROBORATIYE PROOFS, ETC. 
7 
other sources of information, and who rest their 
estimates on other data than those on which I have 
relied, make the number of human beings torn from 
Africa stiff greater thn I do. 
For example:--Captain M L an, Governor of 
Cape Coast Castle for many years, who estimates 
the extent of the Slave Trade by the vessels which 
he has seen passing along the coast, rates the num- 
ber of slaves annually taken from the Bights of 
Benin and Biafra alone at 140,000. 
In a letter from that gentleman, .dated June ] 1, 
1838, he says :- 
Sa, 
In compliance with your wishes, I be leave to state to 
you, in this form, what I have already mentioned to you verbally; 
namely, that "in the year 1834, I have every reason to believe 
that the number of Slaves carded off from the Bights of Benin 
and Biafra amounted to 140,000." I have not beside me the 
particular. data whereon I grounded this calculation; but I can 
state generally, that I founded it upon the number of slave- 
vessels which actually passed the forts orr the Gold Coast during 
that year, and of those others, of whose presence on the coast I 
had certain information from her Majesty's cruisers or otherwise. 
When I say that I have rather under than over-stated the number, 
I ought at the same time to state that, in the years 1834--5, 
more slavers appeared on the coast than on any previous year 
within my observation; and this was partially, at least, accounted 
for (by those engaged in the traffic) by the fact of the cholera hav- 
ing swept off a large number of the slaves in the Island of Cuba. 
The ports of Bahia, also, were opened for the introduction of 
slaves, after having been shut for some time previous, on account 
of an insurrection among the negro population in that country. 
This does not include the slaves enbarked from 
the many notorious slave-ports to the northward of 
8 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
Cape Coast, nor those carried from the eastern shores 
of Africa, nor those who are shipped at Loango, and 
the rest of the south-western coast. I confess 
that I have not any very clear grounds for calcu- 
lating 
these 
or estimating 
three quarters. 
the numbers shipped from 
Along the south-eastern 
coa_st, we know that there are a great many ports 
from whence slaves are taken. With respect to 
the majority of these, we are left in the dark, as to 
the extent to which the Slave Trade is carried on; 
but in a few cases we have specific information. For 
example :---in the letters found on board the Soleil, 
which was captured by Commodore Owen, H.M.S. 
Leven, we have the following statement :---" From 
the port of Mozambique are exported every year 
upwards of 10,000 blacks."* Commodore Owen, 
in the account of his voyage to the eastern coast, 
informs us, that from eleven to fourteen slave-vessels 
come annually from Rio Janeiro to Quilimane and 
return with from 400 to 500 slaves each, on an ave- 
rage, which would an.ount to about 5500. ' 
Captain Cook has reformed me that, during the year 
1837, l slave-vessels sailed from Mozambique, with 
an average cargo of 400 slaves each, making 8400. 
These, added to 700 exported from Quilimane in 
eighteen vessels, also in 1837, according to Captain 
* Class B, 1828, p. 84. 
 Owen's Voyage, &c., London, 1833, vol. i. p. 293. 
 Captain Cook commanded a trading vessel, employed on the 
East coast of Africa, in 1836, 7, and 8. 
CORROBORATIVE PROOFS, ETC. 
29 
Cook, give a total of 15,600 slaves conveyed to 
Brazil and Cuba from these two ports alone. Of 
all the vessels, in number about thirty-eight, which 
sailed from the eastern coo. st in that year, Captain 
Cook believes that only one was captured. He 
adds,--" Some slaves are shipped from Inhambane, 
and other places along the coast ;" but, having no 
accurate information, ß he has altogether omitted them. 
Lieutenant Bosanquet, of H.M.S. Leveret, in a 
letter addressed to Admiral Sir P. Campbell, dated 
29th September, 1837, says: "From my observa- 
tions last year, and from the information I have 
since been able to obtain, I conceive that upwards of 
1,000 slaves must have left the east coast of Africa 
in 1836, for the Brazils and Cuba; and I think, from 
the number of vessels already arrived, * and there 
being many more expected, that that number will 
not be much decreased this year."' 
We now turn to the south-western coast :-- 
In 1 $26 the Governor of Benguela informed Com- 
modore Owen, that "Some years back that place 
had enjoyed greater trade than St. Paul de Loando, 
having then an annual averaged export of' 20,000 
slaves." Owen also informs us that "From St. 
Paul de Loando 18,000 to f0,000 slaves are said to 
be annually exported, in great part to Brazil; but 
* The letter is dated at the close of the rainy season on 
eastern coast. 
 Class B, Farther Series, 183'/, p. 25. 
Owen's Voyage, &c., vol. ii. p. 2'/2. 
the 
THE $LAYE TRADE. 
that the supply had considerably decreased on ac- 
count of the dishonesty of the black agents in the 
country." . 
Commodore Owen shortly afterwards (in 18'27) 
visited Kassenda, near the river Congo, which place, 
he says, "is principally resorted to by slavers, of 
whom five were at anchor, in the harbour, on our 
arrival, one French, and the rest under the Brazilian 
flag."* 
On looking over the Slave Trade papers presented 
'II 
to Parliament  1838, I find it stated, in monthly 
lists, that in the course of the year 1837 seventy 
vessels were reported by the British authorities to 
have imported into the vicinity of Rio Janeiro 
29,929 slaves, from Angola, Benguela, and Loando. 
All these vessels came in ballast to the port of Rio 
Janeiro, after having landed heir slaves on the coast. 
The reader will see, vide pp. 4, 5, that there are 
other points in Brazil at which slaves are disem- 
barked. To say nothing of these, though the consul 
at one of them reports the arrival of the Portuguese 
brig Aleide, from Angola, on the 10th July, 
1837, having previously landed 460 slaves in the 
neighbourhood; though the consul at another states 
that "the frequent disembarkation of negroes im- 
ported from the coast of Africa in the vicinities of this 
port, is the common public talk of the day ;" and though 
the vice-consul at a third, notices the arrival of three 
* Owen's Voyage, &c., vol. ii. 292. 
 Class B, 183q, and Class B, Farther Series, 1837. 
CORROBORATIVE PROOFf, ETCß 
31 
vessels from Angola in the montlm of NOvember and 
December, 1836, I only claim from Angola 99,9'29 
negroes landed in Brazil in 1837. 
Then, as to the ports and rivers to the north of 
Cape Palmas, I find that General Turner, late 
Governor of Sierra Leone, in a despatch dated the 
0th December, 1825, states that the exports of 
slaves from that part of the coast amounts annually 
to 30,000? 
From these extracts it appears that we have satis- 
factory evidence that the export of slaves from the 
south-eastern coast of Africa to America amounts 
annually to say, . . 
From Angola, &c to America 
From the ports to the northward of Cape 
Coast to America . . . 
15,ooo 
9,929 
30,OOO 
Anounting in all to . . 74,929 
Thus then stands the case. 'We have information 
that the Slave Trade prevails in a variety of ports 
and rivers besides thosd in the Bights of Benin and 
Biafra. This information, though conclusive as to 
the fact that the Slave Trade prevails, is vague as to 
the extent to which it is carried on; but we have 
specific authority to this extent, that from a limited 
number of these ports there is an annual draft of 
about - 75,000 
To these we must confine ourselves, and 
ß 140,000 
these, added to 
Extracted from the Records of the Colonial Office for 1825. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
given by Mr. M'Lean for the export 
from the Bights of Benin and Biafra, 
make the total annual Slave Trade 
between Africa and America amount to 215,000 
If we deduct from this number the usual amount 
of mortality, it will leave a remainder not ve dif- 
ferent from, though somewhat exceeding, the esti- 
mate of 150,000 landed annually in America. 
With another gentleman, Mr. M'Queen, whose 
authority I have already quoted, I did not become 
acquainted till after the time that I had completed 
my own estimate. His channels of information 
are totally distinct from mine. Besides being con- 
versant with all the informatiou which is to be 
found in this country, he has recently returned 
from a visit to Brazil, Cuba, and Porto Rico, where 
he went on the business of the Colonial Bank, and 
where he availed himself of opportunities of collect- 
ing information relative to the Slave Trade. 
He rates the Slave Trade .of Brazil at 90,000 
Cuba and Porto Rico . . 100,000 
Captured in the year 1837 . 6,146 
196,146 
of judging. 
I now resort to a mode of proof totally different 
from all the foregoing'. I have had much commu- 
Besides Texas, Buenos Ayres, and the Argentine 
Republic, into which he believes there are large im- 
portations, though to wht otent he has no means 
CORROBORATIVE PROOFS, ETC. 
33 
nication with African merchants, engaged in 
legitimate trade; and it was suggested by one of 
them that a very fair estimate of numbers might be 
formed, from the amount of goods, prepared for the 
Slave Trade, (and absolutely inapplicable to any 
other purpose except the Slave Trade,)manufac- 
tured in this country. At my request, they furnished 
me with the following very intelligent summary of 
the argument, prepared, as I understood, by Captain 
M'Lean :-- 
It is necessarily impossible, from the very nature of the Slave 
Trade, to ascertain directly, or with any degree of precision, the 
number of slaves actually exported from the coast of Africa for 
the Transatlantic slave-markets, in any given year or space of 
time. But it is very possible, by instituting careful and minute 
inquiries into the several ramifications into which that traffic 
branches, to obtain results, by the combination of which we may 
arrive at an approximation to the truth, sufficiently accurate for 
all the purposes of the main inquiry. And if we find that the 
data, thus obtained from the most opposite sources, and from 
parties upon whose. judgment and veracity the most implicit 
reliance may be placed, bring us to the same general result, it 
may, we think, be fairly taken for granted that that result is sub- 
stantially correct. ' 
Among the various sources to which we have applied ourselves, 
in order to ascertain the present actual extent of the Slave Trade, 
not the least important or satisfactory in its results has been a 
careful inquiry as to the quantity and value of goods manufactured 
expressly and exclusively for the purchase of slaves. The grounds 
upon which we instituted and carried on this investigation were 
these :-- 
1. We ascertained, by the concurrent testimony of competent 
and unimpeachable authority, that the merchandise chiefly, if not 
exclusively, given in exchange for slaves, consisted of cowries, 
Brazilian tobacco in rolls, spirits, and Manchester piece-goods. 
D 
34 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
2. That the proport/ohs of the goods thus paid might be taken 
generally to be,--one-third cowries, a third tobacco and spirits, 
and a third Manchester cotton goods. 
3. We ascertained that the average sum paid for each slave 
(taking the goods at cost prices) was about ø4 sterling. 
Lastly, we ascertained that all, or nearly all, the cotton goods 
purchased for the Slave Trade, were manufactured in Lancashire; 
and that the description of goods so manufactured were altogether 
unsuitable for any other market save that traffic alone. 
Assuming these premises to be correct, and we verified them 
with much care, and by the most strict investigation, it of course 
followed that, if, by any means, we could ascertain, even proxi- 
mately, the value and quantity of the cotton goods manufactured 
in, and exported from, Lancashire, for the Slave Trade, during any 
one of the last few years, we should arrive at a proximate (but, 
in the main, correct) estimate of the number of slaves actually 
purchased on the coast of Africa. 
To some, this indirect modus probandi, as to an important fact. 
may appear far-fetched; but we are assured by those who are most 
conversant with the African trade generally, as well as with the 
Slave Trade and its operations in particular, that it is much more 
conclusive than, to those unacquainted with that peculiar trade, it 
would appear. As corroborative of other proofs, at least, it must 
certainly be regarded as very valuable. 
From returns with which we have been furnished by parties 
whose uames, were we at liberty to mention them, would be a 
sufficient guarantee for their correctness, we have ascertained that 
the entire quantity of cotton goods manufactured in Lancashire, 
for the African trade (including the legitimate, as well as the 
Slave Trade), was, in the year 1836, as follows :- 
Value of Manchester goods manufactured exclu- 
sively for the African legitimate trado . ./150,000 
Value of goods manufactured in Lancashire, and 
shipped to Brazil, Cuba, United States, and 
elsewhere, intended for the Slave Trade, and 
adapted only for that trade . . . 250,000 
Thus Showing an excess in the quantity of goods manufactured 
for the Slave Trade, over that intended for legitimate trade, 
CORROBORATIVE PROOFS, ETC. 
3 
during the year 1836, of ,g100,000, or two-fifths of the whole 
amount. 
Calculating by the data already given, we shall find that the 
number'of slaves to the purchase of which the above amount of 
goods (manufactured and exported in one year, 1836) was ade- 
quate, would amount to the large number of 187,500,---a number 
which we have strong reazon to believe, according to information 
derived from other sources, to be substantially correct. 
Assuming the data on which the merchants cal- 
culate to be correct, some considerable addition must 
be made to the number of I87,i00. 
1. Goods only suited for the Slave Trade are 
manufactured at Glasgow as well as in Lancashire. 
. Specie to a very considerable extent finds its 
way through Cuba and Brazil to Africa, and is there 
employed in the purchase of Slaves. To the num- 
ber then purchased by goods must be added the 
number purchased by money. 
. 3. Ammunition and fire-arms to a large amount, 
and, like the goods, of a quality only fit for the Slave 
Trade, are sent from this country to Africa. The 
annual amount of such exports is stated in the Oiti- 
cid Tables,' No. 6, of 1836, to be 137,698/. This 
item alone would give an increase of 34,174. 
4. The Americans also furnish Cuba and Brazil 
with arms, ammunition, and goods. 
5. East Indian goods also are employed in the 
Slave Trade. 
It is superfluous to quote authority for the facts 
just enumerated, as they are notorious to commercial 
Tables of revenue, &c., published by authority of Parliament. 
36 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
men. Thus, by the aid of this circumstantial evi- 
dence, of scarcely inferior value to direct and imme- 
diate proof, we show that the Slave Trade between 
Africa and the West cannot be less than 200,000, 
and probably reaches 250,000, annually imported. 
There is also another mode of looking at the same 
question, though under an aspect quite distinct. 
From an examination of the number of slave- 
ships which lei Brazil, Cuba, &c., in the year 
1899,* as compare. d with the number captured in 
the same rear, it appears that on the average, one in 
thirty, only, is taken; now, on the average of the 
years 1836 and 1837, we have 7538 negroes as the 
number captured, which being multiplied by 30, 
gives a total, ffõ, 140. 
Thus, then, the estimate of 150,000 at which, on 
the authority, principally, of the British Commis- 
sioners, I have myself arrived, with the number 
which 'perish on the passage, make together an 
amount, which corresponds with, and is confirmed, 
1st, by the actual observation of the 
Governor of Cape Coast Castle, coupled 
with other authorities, by which the 
number must amount to . . f00,000 
2ndly, by Mr. M'Queen's researches, 
by which the number must amount to 196,000 
3rdly, by the estimates founded on the 
quantity of goods exported for the 
Mr. M'Queen communicated this to me, last year. 
See Summary--Mortality, Middle Passage, p. 144. 
MOHAMMEDAN 8LAVE TRADE. 
Slave Trade, by which it must amount 
to, from 200,00_0 to 250,000 
4thly, by acomarin between the pro 
portion captured with those who es- 
cape, by which it must amount to . 226,000 
I have now to consider the 
MOHAMMEDAN SLAVE TRADE. 
Hitherto, I have confined my observations to the 
trafic across the Atlantic, from the east and west 
coasts of Africa; there is yet another drain upon this 
unhappy country, in the immense trade which is car- 
ried on for the supply of the Mohammedan markets 
cf Morocco, Tunis, Tripoli, Egypt, Turkey, Persia, 
Arabia, and the borders of Asia. 
This commerce comprises two distinct divisions, 
l st, the maritime, the victims of which are shipped 
from the north-east coast, in Arab vessels, and 
2nd, the Desert, which is carried on, by means of 
caravans, to Barbary, Egypt, &c. 
The maritime trade is principally conducted by 
the subjects of the Iraaura of Muskat; and as this is 
a branch of our subject, heretofore but little known, 
I will make a few remarks as to its extent, the 
countries which it supplies, and the amount of its 
annual export. 
Captain Cogan, of the Indian Navy, who, from 
his frequent intercourse with the Imaum, and from 
having been his accredited agent in-England, had 
the best opportunities of becoming acquainted with 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
this Prince and his subjects, has informed me that 
the Imaum's African dominions extend from Cape 
Delgado, about I C ø S. Lat., to the Rio dos Fuegos, 
under the Line; and that formerly this coast was no- 
torious, for its traffic in slaves, with Christians as well 
as Mohammedans; the River Lindy, and the Island 
of Zanzebar, being the principal marts for the supply 
of the Christian market. 
In 182, a treaty was concluded by Captain 
Moresby, R.N., on behalf of the British Government, 
with the lmaum, by which the trade with Christian 
countries was declared abolished for ever, throughout 
his dominions and dependencies; but this arrange- 
ment, it must be remembered, does not in any way 
touch upon the Slave Trade carried on by the 
Imaum's subjects, with those of their own faith. 
By means of this reserved trade, slaves are ex- 
ported to Zanzebar; to the ports on both sides of 
the Arabian Gulf; to the markets of Egypt, Cairo, 
and Alexandria; to the south part of Arabia; to both 
sides of the Persian Gulf; to the north-west coasts 
of India; to the island of Java, and to most of the 
Eastern islands.' The vessels which convey these 
negroes are in general the property of Arabs, or other 
Mohammedan traders. 
Both SirAlexander Johnston, who vas long resident 
at Ceyloa in a judicial zituation, and Captain Cogan, 
hve heard the number, thus exported, reckoned at 
,0,000 per annum; but Captain Cogan admits 20,000 
to be the number' legally exported from Afi'ica, Ul,n 
MOHAMMEDAN SLAVE TRADE. 
39 
which the Imsum derives s revenue of so much per 
head; and he also admits that there is, besides, an 
'illicit trade, by which 10,000 more may be smuggled 
every year. 
All travellers who have recently visited the chief 
seats of this traffic, agree in describing it as very 
considerable. 
"At Muskat," says Lieutenant Wellsted,* "about 
4000 slaves of both sexes, and all ages, are disposed 
of annually." 
Captain Cook, (to whom I have already referred,) 
who returned, in 1838, from a trading voyage to the 
eastern coast of Africa, informs me, that he was at 
Zanzebar at several different periods, and that he 
always ". found the slave-market, held there daily, fully 
supplied. He could not ascertain.the number annually 
sold, but slaves were constantly arriving in droves, o 
from 50 to 100 each, and found a ready sale; they 
were chiefly," he understood, "purchased by Arab 
merchants, for the supply of Egypt, Abyssinia, Arabia, 
and the ports along the Arabian Gulf, to the markets 
of which countries hundreds were carried off and 
sold daily." 
Many, however, are kept in Zanzebar, where there 
are sugar and spice plantations, and where, accord- 
ing to Ruschenberger, the population amounts to 
150,000, of which about two-thirds are slaves. 
I also find, from Lieutenant WellstedS, that there 
* Wellsted' Travels in Arabia &c., vol. i. p. 388. 
 Ruchenberger' Voyage, 1835, 6, q. vol. i. p. 40. 
 Wellsted's Travel in Arabia, &c., vol. ii. p. 363. 
4O 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
is s Slave Trade carried on with the opposite coast of 
Arabia by the Somaulys, who inhabit the coast of 
Berbers, between Cape Guardafui and the Straits 
of Babel Mandel. 
I am therefore warranted in taking Captain 
Cogan's estimate, viz., 30,000 per annum, as the 
number of negroes annually drained off by the Moham- 
medan Slave Trade from the east coast of Africa.* 
I now come to the other division, that of the 
Desert, or caravan Slave Trade; and here I shall 
briefly notice the countries which furnish its victims, 
so that we may see how vast a region lies under 
its withering influence. 
By the laws of the Koran, no Mohammedan is 
allowed to enslave one of his own faith. The power- 
ful Negro Moslem. kingdoms, south of the desert, 
are thus, in a great measure, freed from the evils of 
this commerce; and the countries from which it is 
supplied are almost entirely Pagan, or only partially 
* There seems also to be an export of slaves from the Portu- 
guese settlements on the east coast of Africa to their possessions 
in Hindustan, which, an appears from the accounts of travellers, 
commenced towards the close of the seventeenth century, and has 
continued to the present time. In a dispatch to the Court 
of Directors from the Bombay Government, dated 12th May, 
1538, Mr. Erskine, resident at Kattywar (in the province of 
zerat), state, that "a considerable importation of slaves takes place, 
at Dieu, both directly from the Arabian Gulf, and from Goa, and 
Dumaun, from whence they are brought into the province. For 
this I may confidently say, I see no remedy whatever, as it rests 
entirely with the British Government to say how far they consider 
it politic to interfere with their allies the Portuguese on this im- 
portant question." 
MOHAMMEDAN SLAVE TRADE. 
41 
Mohanunedan, and comprehend, in addition to the 
Pagan tribes (chiefly Tibboos), which are scattered 
over parts of the Desert, and lie intermixed among the 
Moslem kingdoms, all the northern part of Pagan 
Negroland, reaching, in a continuous line, from the 
banks of the Senegal to the mountains of Abyssinia 
and 'the sources of the Nile. The Negro Mo- 
hammedans, though not themselves surfeits from 
this Slave Trade, are active agents in carrying it on. 
The Mohammedan towns of Jenn/, Timbuctoo; 
Kano and Sackstoo, in Houssa; Kouka and An- 
gornou, in Bornou; Wawa, or Ware, the capital 
of Waday; and Cobbe the capital of Darfour,---are 
so many large warehouses, where the stores of hu- 
man merchandise are kept for the supply of the 
Arab carriers or traders, who c9nvey them in cara- 
vans across the Desert. The Soudan* negroes, so 
conveyed, and by many different routes, are not only 
intended for the supply of Barbary and Egypt, and 
the banks of the Nile, from its mouth to the southern 
frontiers of Abyssinia, but, as I have learnt from a 
variety of authorities, they are exported to Turkey, 
Arabia,' Syria, Persia, and Bokhara. ß 
* The term "Soudan" is chiefly applied to the countries lying 
to the South of the Saharra or Great Dcsert. 
 The great posts on the northern side of the Desert, where 
the traders collect, appear to be Wednoon, Taftlet, Fez, and 
Ghadanies; Mourzouk, the capital of Fezzan; and Siout and 
Shendy, on the Nile. 
The Hon. Mountstuart Elphinstone, his account .of 
Caubul (London, 1889, Vol. i. p. 318), says, i,n, there are slaves m 
Afghanistan: Abyssinians and Negroes are sometimes brought 
froui Arabia." 
4 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
With regard to the number thus annually exportS, 
the absence of official documents, the imperfect 
evidence afforded by the statements of African travel- 
lers, and the immense extent of the subject itself, in 
its geographical relations, render it extremely dif- 
ficult .to obtain anything approaching to a correct 
estimate. ' 
For these reasons, and as I have no wish to go 
beyond the bounds of producible proofs, I shall not 
estimate the Mohammedan Slave Trade at a greater 
extent than that which I am fairly entitled to 
assume, from .the observations of African travellers. 
Jackson, in his Travels in Africa,* speaks of a 
caravan froin Timbuctoo to Taftlet, in 1805, con- 
sisting of "12000 persons, and 1800 camels." 
Riley tells us,T that the Moor, Sidi Hamer, in- 
formed him, that m one yearly caravan with Which 
he travelled (1807), from Timbuctoo to Morocco, 
there were '2000 slaves. 
Captain Lyon  gives 5000 or 5500, as the annual 
import into Fezzan; and Ritchieõ, who travelled 
with him, says, that in 1819, 5000 slaves arrived at 
Mourzouk from Soudan. 
Ritter II, in his observations on the Slave Trade, 
tells us, that the Darfour caravans arrive yearly at 
Cairo, from the interior, varying in their numbers ac- 
Jackson's Travels, 1809, p. 239. T Riley's Narrative, p. 382. 
 Lyon's Narrative. London, 1821, pp. 188, 189. 
Ritchie, quoted in the .Quarterly Review, 1820, No. 45, p. 228. 
A German, who published a geographical work in 1820, 
MOHAMMEDAN SLAVE TRADE. 
43 
cording to' time and circumstances; the smaller 
caravans, consisting of from 5000 to 6000 (accord- 
ing to Browne,* only 1000); the larger, which how- 
ever do not often arrive, of about 12,000.' Far 
fewer come down the Nile with the Sensat caravan, 
and only a few, from BornoU through Fezzan, by 
the Maugraby caravan, although hunting-parties are 
fitted out in Bornou, against the negroes, in the ad- 
joining highlands. 
Browne, who resideS in Darfour three years, about 
the end of the last century, says, that in the caravan 
with which he travelled through the Desert to 
Cairo, there were 5000 slaves.. 
Burkhardt, who travelled n Nubia, &., in 1814, 
infoz'rns us,õ that 5000 slaves are annually sold in 
the market of Shendy, "of whom 9..500 are carried 
off by the Souakin merchants, and 1500 by those of 
Egypt; the remainder go to Dongola and the Be- 
douins, who live o the east of Shendy, towards 
Akbara and the Red Sea ;" and he afterwards says, II 
"Souakin, upon the whole, may be considered as one 
of the first Slave Trade markets in eastern Africa; 
it imports annually, from Shendy and Sensat, from 
2000 to 3000 slaves, equalling nearly, in this respect, 
Esne and Siout, in Egypt, and Massouah in Abys- 
* Browhe's Travels, 193, p. 246. 
, Mtmoires aur L'Egypte, tom. iii., p. 303. 
 Pinkerton's VOyages, &c. Vol. xv. p. 155. 
õ Burkhardt's Traveis, p. 324. [ lb. p. 442. 
Lapanouse, iv. 
44 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
sinia, where, as I afterwards learnt at Djidda, there 
is an annual transit from the interior of about 3500 
slaves. From these four points, from the southern 
barbours of Abyssinia, and from the Somauly and 
Mozambique coast, it may be computed, that Egypt 
and Arabia draw an annual 
or 120,000 slaves, 
Africa."* 
brought 
supply of !5.000 
from the interior of 
Colonel Leake, who was in Egypt a few years 
ago, has informed me, that besides the supply from 
Shendy, noticed by Burkhardt, Cairo derives an addi- 
tional number of 5000 annually, which are brought 
to tle market there, from Soudan, by other routes. 
Dr. Holroyd, who has lately returned from travel- 
ling in Nubia and Kordofan, has stated that the 
Pacha of Egypt's troops bring into Kordofan cap- 
tives from his northern frontiers, to the amount of 
7000 or 8000 annually; that about one-half so intro- 
duced are retained for the use of the rmy and the 
inhabitants, while the other half are sold to the mer- 
chants of Shendy and Siout: that 5000 negroes, 
* In the' Times' newspaper of the 14th February, 1839, I 
find that on the evening of the 1 l t h, at the meeting of the Royal 
Geographical Society, "the paper read was, an account of the 
survey of the south-east coast of Arabia by Captain Haines of the 
Indian navy." After describing Aden, he says, "the next town 
of importance is Mokhara, containing about 4500 inhabitants, 
with a very considerable trade, particularly in slaves. The 
writer has seen exposed for sale in the market, at one time, no 
less than 00 Nubian girls, subject to all the brutality and insults 
of their masters; the prices which they fetch varying from 
'/l. to 25/. 
MOHAMMEDAN SLAVE TRADE. 
45 
annually, reach Cairo by Es Souan, but that others 
also are brought there from Abyssinia by the Red 
Sea, and from Darfour, by the Desert; and that 
laves are conveyed from Senant, by three separate 
routes, in daily caravans, varying in extent from 5 
to 200. Dr. Holroyd visited the governor of Kor- 
dofan in 1837; he had then just returned from a 
"gasoua," (slave-hunt) at Gibel Nooba, the product 
of which was 2187 negroes. From these, "the 
physician to the forces was selecting able-bodied 
men for the army; but so repeatedly has the Pacha 
waged war against this chain of mountains, that the 
population has been completely drained, and from 
the above number, only 250 men were deemed tlt 
for military service." * . 
Dr. Bowring, who visited Egypt in 1837, has 
informed ne, that he estimates the ann.ual importa- 
tion of slaves into Egypt at from 10,000 to 12,000; 
.that the arrivals in Kordofan mnount to about the 
same number: that in 1827, a single caravan brought 
9,820 slaves to Siout, but that, in general, the annual 
arrivals there fluctuate between 500 and 5000; and 
that such is the facility of introducing slaves, that 
they "now flitrate into Egypt by almost daily 
arrivals." 
From the authorities which I have now given, I 
think I may fairly estimate the northern or Desert 
portion of the Mohammedan Slave Trade at 20,000 
Der annum. 
I am aware that this amount is far below the 
* Statement by Dr. Holroyd, yet unpublimhed. 
46 , THE SLAVE TRADE. 
numbers given by others who are well acquainted 
with the subject; for example, the eminent eastern 
traveller, Count de Laborde, estimates the number 
that are annually carried into slavery from East 
Soudan, Abyssinia, &c. at 30,000. He also tells us 
ß that, in the kingdom of Daftour, an independent 
Slave Trade is carried on ;* and Burkhardt states, 
that Egypt and Arabia together, draw an annual 
supply of from 15,000 to 20,000 from .the same 
countries;but having no desire to depart from the 
rule I have laid down, of stating nothing upon con- 
jecture, however reasonable that conjecture may be, 
I sMll not take more than 
For the Desert trade . . . . . 
which, added to the annual export from the 
eastern coast, proved to be . . . 30,000 
o,ooot 
gives the number of . . . . 50,000 
as the annual amount of the Mohamlnedn Slave 
Trade.** 
* Chasse anx llgres. Leon de Laborde. Paris, Dupont et 
Cie., 1838, pp. 14 and 1 . , 
t The following are some of these authorities: 
1st. For the number exported annually from Soudan 
to Morocco, &c., I take Jackson and Riley at . . 2000 
2nd. From Soudan to Mourzouk, Lyon and Ritchie give 5000 
3rd. From Abyssinia to Arabia, &c., Burkhardt, says about 3500 
4th. From Abyssinia, Kordofan, and Darfour, to Egypt, 
Arabia, &c., I take Browne, Burkhardt, Col. Leake, 
Count de Laborde, Dr. Holroyd, and Dr. Bowring, at 12,000 
Total for Desert trade 22,500 
** It ought to be borne in mind, that I have not taken into the 
account the number of slaves which are required for the home 
'SUMMARY. 
47 
UMMARY. 
Such, then, is the arithmetic of the case; and I 
earnestly solicit my reader, before he proceeds 
further, to come to a verdict in his own mind, upon 
slavery of the Mohammedan provinces and kingdoms in Central 
Africa. These are very extensive and .populous, and traveller 
inform us that the bulk of their population is composed of slaves. 
We have therefore the powerful nations of Houssa (including the 
Felatahs), Bornou, Begarmi, .and Darfour, all draining off from 
Soudan annual supplies of negroes, for domestic and agricultural 
purposes, besides those procured for the foreign trade. On this 
lead, Burkhardt say  "I have reason to believe, however, that 
the numbers exported from Soudan to Egypt and Arabia bears 
only a small proportion to thoze kept by the Mussulmen of the 
southern countries themselves, or, in other words, to the whole 
number yearly derived by purchase or by force from the nations 
in the interior of Africa. At Berber and Shendy there is scarcely 
a house which does not possess one or two slaves, and five or six 
are frequenfiy seen in the same family; the great people and 
chiefs keep them by dozens. As high up the Nile as Senaar, the 
ame system prevails, as well as westwards to Kordofan, Darfour, 
and thence towards Bornou. All the Bedouin tribes, also, who 
urround those countries are well stocked with slaves. If we may 
judge of their numbers by those kept on the borders of the Nile, 
(and I was assured by the traders that slaves were more numerous 
in those distant countries than even at  Shendy,) it is evident that 
the number exported'towards Egypt, Arabia, and Barbary, is very 
greatly below what remains within the limits of Soudan." He 
then states that, from his own observation, the slaves betwixt 
Berber and Shendy amount to not less than 12,000, and that, 
probably, there are 20,000 slaves in Darfour; "and every account 
agrees in proving that as we proceed further westward, into the 
populous co_mtries of Dar Saley, Bornou, Bagarm, and the king- 
doms of Afnou and Housa, the proportion of the slave population 
doe not diminish." 
 Burkhardt, p. 340. 
THE SLAVE TRADEß 
the fairness and accuracy of these figures. I am 
aware that it requires far more than ordinary patience 
to wade through this mss of calculation; I have, 
however, resolved to present this part of the subject 
in its dry nd uninviting form, prtly from utter 
despair of being able, by any language I could use, 
to give an adequate image of the extent, variety, and 
intensity of human suffering, which must exist if 
these figures be true; and partly from the belief that 
a bare arithmetical detail, free from whatever could 
excite the imagination or distress the feelings, is best 
fitted to carry conviction along with it. I then ask, 
is the calculation a fair one? Some may think that 
ther is exaggeration in the result, and others may 
complain that I have been too rigorous in striking off 
every equivocal item, and have made my.estimate as if 
it were my object and desire, as far as possible, to re- 
duce the sum total. It signifies little to the argument, 
whether the error be on the one side or the other; but 
it is of material importance that the reader, for the 
purpose of following the argument, should now fix 
and ascertain the number which .seems to him the 
reasonable and moderate result from the facts and 
figures which have been produced. To me, it seems 
just to take, annually, 
For the Christian Slave Trade 
For the Mohammedan . . 
160,000 
50,0OO 
Making a total of 
200,000 
49 
MORTALITY. 
HITHERTO, I have stated less than the half of this 
dreadful case. I am now going to show that, be- 
sides the 200,000 annually carried into captivity, 
there are claims on our compassion for almost count- 
less cruelties and murders growing out of the Slave 
Trade. I am about to prove that this multitude of 
our enslaved fellow men is but the remnant of num- 
bers vastly greater, the survivors of a still larger 
multitude, over whom the Slave Trade spreads its 
devastating hand, and that for every ten who reach 
Cuba or Brazil, and become available as slaves,- ß 
fourteen, at least, are destroyed. 
This mortality arises from the following causes :-- 
1. The original seizure of the slaves. 
2. The march to the coast, and detention there. 
3. The middle passage. 
4. The sufferings after capture, and after landing. 
And 
5. The initiation into slavery, or the "seasoning," 
az it is termed by the planters. 
It will be necessary for me to make a few remarks 
on each of these heads; and l st, As to the mortality 
incident to the period of 
E 
THE $LAYE TRADE. 
SEIZURE. 
"The whole, or the greater part of that immenee continent, is a 
field of warfare and desolation; a wilderness, in which the inha- 
bitants are wolves to each other,"---$peecA of Bryan Edwards. 
On the authority of public documents, parlia- 
mentary evidence, and the works of African travel- 
lers, it appears that the principal and almost the 
only cause of war in the interior of Africa, is the 
desire to procure slaves for tra/]/c; and that every 
species of violence, from the invasion of an army, to 
that of robbery by a single individual, is had re- 
course to, for th attainment of tlis object. 
Lord Muncaster, in hi able historical sketche 
of the Slave Trade,* in which he gives us 
analysis of the evidence taken before the Privy 
Council and the House of Commons about the year 
1790, dearly demonstrates the truth of my assertion, 
at the period when he published his work (1792); 
and the authorities from that time, down to the pre- 
sent day, as clearly show, that the most revolting 
featuro of the Slave Trade, in this resiect, (at 
least, as regards the ngtive chiefs sad slave-traders 
of Af:'ica,) have continued to exist, and do now exist. 
Bruce, who travelled in Abyssinia in 1770, in 
describing the lave-hunting expeditions there. says: 
"The grown-up men are all killed, and are then 
mutilated, parts of their bodies being always carried 
away as trophies; several of the old nothera are 
* Lord Munca,ter'8 Historical Sketches. London, I 
MORT A LITY---S g I ZU RE. 
51 
also killed, while others, frantic with fear and d 
,pair, kill themselves. The boys and girls of a 
more tender age are then carried off in brutal 
triumph."* 
Mr. Wilberforce, in his letter to his constituents 
in 1807,' has described the mode in which slaves aro 
usually obtained in Africa, and he quotes several 
passages from the work of the enterprising traveller, 
Mungo Park, bearing particularly on this subject, 
Pm'k says, "The king of Bambarrs having d 
clared war against Kaarta, and dividing his army 
into small detachments, overran the country, and 
seized on the inhabitants before they had time to 
escape; and in ß few days the whole kingdom of 
Kaarta became a scene of desolation. This attack 
was soon retaliated; Daisy, the king of Kaarta, 
took with him 800 of his best men, and surprised, 
in the night, three large villages near Kooniakary, 
in which many of his traitorous subjects had taken 
ap their residence; all these, and indeed all the able 
men who fell into Dsisy's hands, were immediately 
put to death." Mr. Wilberforce afterwards says: 
ß ' In another Imrt of the country, we learn from the 
most respectable testimony, that a practice prevail,, 
called ' village-breaking.' It is precisely the' tegria' 
of Mr. Park, with this difference, that, though oftea 
s Bruce's Travels in Abyssinia. 
T Wilberforce's Letter on the Abolition of the 
London. 180, p. 392. 
 Ptrk's Travels, Londa 161, vat. i. p. 164. 
E 
Slave Trade. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
termed mking war, it is acknowledged to be prac- 
tised for the express purpose of obtaining victims for 
the slave-market. The village is attacked in the 
night; if deemed needful, to increase the confusion, 
it is set on fire, and the wretched inhabitants, as 
they are flying naked from the flames, are seized 
and carried into slavery." "These depredations 
are far more commonly perpetrated by the natives 
on each other, and on a larger or smaller scale, 
according to the power and number of the assailants, 
and the resort of ships to the coast; it prevails so 
generally as throughout the whole extent of Africa 
to render person and property utterly insecure." * 
And in another place, "Every man who has ac 
quired any considerable property, or who has a 
large family, the sale of which will produce a con- 
siderable profit, excites in the chieiain near whom 
he resides the same longings which are called forth 
in the wild beast by the exhibition of his proper prey; 
and he himself lives in a continual state of suspicion 
and terror." 
The statements of Mr. Wilberforce have been 
corroborated by Mr. Bryan Edwards, (from whom 
I have already quoted,) himself a dealer in slaves, 
and an able and persevering advocate for the con- 
tinuance of the traffic. In & speech delivered ia 
the Jamaica Assembly, he says, "I am persuaded 
that Mr. Wilberforce has been very rightly informed 
as to the manner in which slaves are very generally 
ß Wilberforce'a Letter, &c., p. 23. T Ibid. p. 28. 
MORT ALITY-SEIZUR]. 
procured. The intelligence I have collected from 
my own negroes abundantly confirms his account; 
and I have not the smallest doubt that in Afric the 
effects of this trade are precisely such as he repre- 
sents them to be." 
But it may .be said, admitting these statements t 
be true, they refer to a state of things in Africa 
which does hog ow exist. A considerable period of 
time has indeed elapsed since these statements were 
made; but it clearly appears, that the same system 
has obtained, throughout the interior of Africa, 
down to the present time;' nor is it to be expected 
that any favourable change will take place during 
the continuance of the slave-traffic. 
Professor Smith, who accompanied Captain Tuckey 
in the expedition to the Congo in 1816, says, "Every 
man I have conversed with acknowledges that, if 
white men did not come for slaves, the wars, which 
nine times out of ten result from the European Slave 
Trade, would be proportionally less frequent." * 
Captain Lyon states that, when he was at Fezzan 
in 1819, Mukni, the reigning Sultan, was con- 
tinually engaged in these slave-hunts, in one of 
which 1800 were captured, all of whom, excepting 
& very few, either perished on their march before 
they reached Fezzan, or were killed by their captor. 
'II 
Major Gray, who travelled I the vicinity of the 
River Gainbin, and Dupuis, who was British Consul 
* Tuckey'B Expedition, &½., p. 187. 
T Lyon'8 Travels, p, 129. 
 THB SLAVE TRADE. 
at Ashantee about the same-period, 1820, both 
agree in attributing the wars, which they knew to 
be frequent in the countries where they travelled, to 
the desire of procuring slaves ibr traffic.* Dupuis 
narrates a speech of the king of Ashantee. "Then 
my fetische made me strong, like my ancestors, and 
I killed Dinkera, and took his gold, and brought 
more than 0,000 slaves to Coomassy. Some of these 
people being bad men, I washed my stool in their 
blood for the fetische. But, then, some were good 
people, and these I sold or gave to my captains; 
many, moreover, died, because this country does not 
grow too much corn, Jike Sarem, and what can I do ? 
Unless I kill or sell them, they will grow strong 
and kill my people. Now, you must tell my master 
(the King ot England) that these slaves can work 
for him, and if he wants 10,000 he can have them."T 
Captain Moresby, a naval officer, who was stationed 
on the eastern coast in 1821, and who had peculiar 
opportunities of learning the mode in which slaves 
were obtained, informed me that "The Arab traders, 
t¾om the coast of Zanzebar, go up the country, pro- 
vided with trinkets and beads, strung in various 
forms; thus they arrive at a point where little 
intercourse has taken place, and where the inhabit- 
ants are in a state of barbarism; here they display 
their beads and trinkets to the natives, aecoling 
to the nutnber of slaves they want. A certain 
* Gray's Travels in Western Africa. London, 1825, p. 97. 
 Dupuis' Residence in Aslmntee. London, 1824, p. 164. 
MOItTA LITY-----SglZ UI. E. 
village is doomed to be surprised'; in $ short time 
tho Arabs have their choice of its iahsbitants-- 
the old and infirm are either left to perish, or be 
slaughtered." 
In 18'22 our Minister at Paris thus addressed 
Count de Villle: "There seems to be scarcely a spot 
on that coast (from Sierra Leone to Cape Mount) 
which does not show traces of the Slave Trade, 
with all its attendant horrors; for the arrival of a 
ship, in any of the rivers on the windward coast, 
being the signal for war between the natives, the 
hamlets of the weaker party are burnt, and the 
miserable survivors carried off and sold to the slave- 
traders." 
We have obtained most valuable information as to 
the interior of Africa from the laborious exertions of 
Denham and Clapperton. They reached Soudan, or 
Nigritia, by the land-route through Fezzan and 
Bornou, in 1823, and the narrative of their journey 
furnishes. many melancholy proofs of the miseries to 
which Africa is exposed through the demands for the 
Slave Trade. Major Denham says: "On attacking a 
place, it is the custom of the country instantly to fire 
it; and, as they (the villages) are all composed of 
straw huts only, the whole is shortly devoured by the 
flames. The unfortunate inhabitants fly quickly 
from the devouring element, and fall immediately 
into the hands of their no less merciless enenies, 
who surround the place; the men are quickly mas- 
sacred, and the women and children lashed together 
THE SLAYE TRADE. 
and made slaves. '** Denham then tells us that the 
Begharmi nation had been discomfi by the Sheik of 
Bornou "in five different expeditions, when at least 
0,000 poor creatures were slaughtered, and three* 
fourths of that number, at ]eat, driven into slavery."T 
And, in speaking of these wars, he uses this re- 
markable expression "The season of the year had 
arrived (Sth November) when the sovereigns of 
these countries go out to batfie." He also narrates 
the terms of an alliance betwixt the Sheik of 
Bornou and the Sultan of Mandara. "This treaty 
of alliance was confirmed by the Sheik's receiv- 
ing in marriage the daughter of the Sultan, and 
the marriage-portion was to be the produce of an 
immediate expedition into the Kerdy country, by the 
united forces of these allies. The results were as 
favourable as the most savage confederacy could have 
anticipated. Three thousand unfortunate wretches 
were dragged from their native wilds, and sold to 
perpetual slavery, while probably double tat ,um- 
her were saereed to obtain them." 
Denham, himself, accompanied an expedition 
against Manclara, one of the results of which was, 
that the town, "Darkalia, was quickly burnt, and 
another smaller-town near it, and the few inhabit- 
ants who were found in them, chiefly infants and 
aged persons, were put to death without mercy, and 
thrown into the flames."õ 
* Denham and Clapperton's Travels, &c. in Africa. London, 
1826, p. 164. T Ib. p. 214. +* Ib. p. 116. õ lb. p. 131. 
MORTALITY--SEIZURE. 
Commodore Owen, who was employed in the survey 
of the eastern coast of Africa about the years 1823 
and 1824, says: "The riches of Quilimane con- 
sisted, in a trifling degree, of gold and silver, but 
principally of grain, which was produced in such 
quantities as to supply Mozambique. But the intro- 
duCtion of the Slave Trade stopped the pursuits of 
industry,, and changed those places, Where peace and 
agriculture had formerly reigned, into the seat of 
war and bloodshed. Contending tribes are now 
constantly striving to obtain, by mutual conflict, pri- 
soners as slaves for sale to the Portugnese, who excite 
these wars, and fatten on the blood and wretchedness 
they produce." 
In speaking of Inhambane, he says: "The slaves 
they do obtain are the spoils of war among the petty 
tribes, who, were it not for the market they thus find 
for their prisoners, would in MI likelihood remain 
in peace with each other, and probably be connected 
by bonds of mutual ' - ' "* 
interest. ß 
Mr. Ashynun, agent of the American Colonial 
Society, in writing to the Board of Directors, from 
Liberia, in 18'23, says, "The following incident I 
relate, not for its singularity, for similar events 
take place, perhaps, every month in the year, but 
it has fallen under my own observation, and I 
can vouch for its authenticity: King Boatswain, 
our most powerful supporter, and steady friend 
among the natives, (so he has uniformly shown 
* Owen's Voyage, &c., vol. i. p. 28'/. 
THE SLAVE TRAD!. 
himseft,) received a quantity of goods on trust from 
a French sl.aver, for which he stipulated to pay 
young slaves-he makes it a point of honour to be 
punctual to his engagements. The time was at 
hand when he expected the return of thi slaver, 
and he had not the slave!..Looking around on the 
peaceable tribes about him for his victims, he_singled 
out the Queaks, a small agricultural and trading 
people of most inoffensive character. His warriors 
were skilfully distributed to the different hamlets, 
and making a simultaneous assault on the sleeping 
occupants in the dead of the night, accomplished, 
without difficulty or resistance, in one hour, the 
annihilation of the whole tribe ;- every adult, man 
and woman, was murdered--every hut fired! Very 
young children, generally, shared the fate of their 
parents; the boys and girls alone were reserved to 
pay the Frenchman." * 
The Commissioners at Sierra Leone, in a despatch 
of April 10, 1825, speaking of a great increase in 
the Slave Trade, which had then lately taken place 
on the coast between that colony and the Gallinaz, 
state that the increased demand for slaves conse- 
quent thereon was "the cause of the destructive war 
which had raged in the Sherbro' for the last eighteen 
months, between the 'Cassoos,' a powerful nation 
living in the interior, and the Fi people, and Sherbro' 
Bullores, who live near the water-side, and are com- 
pletely under the influence of the slaving chiefs and 
* Ashmun's Life. New York, 1835, p. 160. 
MORTALITY---SEIZURE. 
factors settled in the neighbourhood."* The Caoos 
are represented as having carried fre, rapine, and 
murder, throughout the different villages through 
which they passed, most of the women and children 
of which, together with the prisoners, were imme- 
diately sold to the slave-factors who were at hand to 
receive them. 
¾e have also, on this head, the more recent testi- 
mony of Lander and Laird. Lander accompanied 
Clapperton from Badagry to 8ockatoo, and on the 
death of Clapperton he returned to Badagry, with 
little variation, by the same route. In 1830 he was 
sent out by the British Government to Africa, and 
succeeded in navigating the Niger from Boossa, 
where Park was drowned, to the sea, in the Bight of 
Benin. In his journal, he observes that slavery has 
ß ' produced the most baleful effect. s, ca. using anarchy, 
injustice, and oppression to reign in Africa, and 
exciting nation to rise up against nation, and man 
against man; it has covered the face of the country 
with desolation. All these evils, and many others, 
has slavery accomplished; in return for which the 
Europeans, for whose benefit, and by whose conniv- 
ance and encouragement it has flourished so ex- 
tensively, have given to the heartless natives ar- 
dent spirits, tawdry silk dresses, and paltry neck- 
laces of beads." 
Laird ascended the Niger and its tributary the 
* Class A, 1826, p. /. 
Lander's Records. London, 1830, vol. i. p. 38. 
0 THE 8LAYE TRADE. 
Tschadda, in 1832, and was an eye-witness of the 
cruelties consequent on the Slave Trade, while in 
the river near to the confluence of the two streams. 
He says, speaking of the incursions of the Felatahs, 
"Scarcely a night passed, but we heard the screams 
of some unfortunate beings that were carried off 
into slavery by these villainous depredators. The 
inhabitants of the towns in the route of the Felatahs 
fled across the river on the approach of the enemy." 
"A few days after the arrival of the fugitives, a 
column of smoke rising in the air, about five miles 
above the confluence, marked the advance of the 
Felatahs; and in two days afterwards the whole of 
the towns, including Addah Cuddah, and five or 
six others, were in a blaze. The shrieks of the 
unfortunate wretches that had not escaped, answered 
by the loud wailings and lamentations of their 
friends and relations (encamped on the opposite 
bank of-the river), at seeing them carried off into 
slavery, and their habitations destroyed, produced a 
.scene, which, though common enough in the eountr!l, 
had seldom, if ever before, been witnessed by Eu- 
ropean eyes, and showed to me, in a more striking 
light than I had hitherto beheld it, the horrors 
attendant upon slavery."* 
Rankin, in the narrative of his visit to Sierra 
Leone in 1833, says:The warlike Sherbros had 
recently invaded the territories of the Timmanees, 
* Laird and Oldfield's Narrative. London, 183q, vol. i. pp. 149, 
247. 
MORTALITY---BE I Z U R E. 
õ! 
and had fallen on the unguarded Rokel, which be; 
came a prey to the flames. "The inhabitants who 
could not escape across the river to Magbelly pe- 
fished, or were made slaves, and the town was 
reduced to ashes." * 
Colonel Nicolls, late Governor at Fernando Po, 
has informed me, that when he visited the town of 
Old Calebar in 1834, he found the natives boasting 
of a predatory excursion, in which they had recently 
been engaged, in which they had surprised a village, 
killed those who resisted, and carried off the remainder 
as slaves. In alluding to this excursion, Colonel 
Nicolls heard an African boy, who had formed one of 
the party, declare that he had killed three himselœ! 
The Rev. Mr. Fox, a Wesleyan missionary at the 
Gambia, in a letter dated 13th March, 1837, addressed 
to the Secretary of the Wesleyan Missionary Society, 
says,--" I visited Jamalii a few weeks ago, and also 
Laming, another small Mandingo town, on the way: 
at the latter place I counted. twelve huts that had 
been destroyed by fire, and at the former about forty. 
Proceeding to the Foulah town, about half a mile 
eastward, I found it was not in the least injured, but, 
like the other two, was without inhabitants; not a 
soul was to be seen." 
"Foolokolong, a large Foulah town in Kimming- 
ton's dominions, has lately been attacked by Wooli, 
and, I believe, nearly the whole of it destroyed, 
the cattle driven away, many of the inhabitants 
ß Rankin's Sierra Leone. London, 1836, ol. ii. p. 259. 
SLAVS 
killed, and many others taken prisoners. On V1f- 
nesday evening last I returned from a hasty visit to 
the upper river. I went as far as Fattatenda. At 
Baunatenda, not quite half the way, I found a poor 
aged Foulah woman in irons, who, upon inquiry, I 
found was from Foolokolong, one of the many who 
were captured in the recent war, and that she was 
se0t on the south side of the river to be sold, for a 
horse; I immediately rescued the half-famished and 
three-parts-naked female from the horrors of slavery 
by giving a good horse, broke off her Chains, and 
brought her to this settlement, where, by a singular 
but happy coincidence, she met with her own brother 
(who lives upon Hattaba's land), who, hearing that 
she, her daughter, and daughter's children, had been 
taken in the war, had been a considerable way up 
the river to inquire after them, but heard nothing of 
them, and had consequently returned. I of course, 
gave the woman up to her brother, from whom, as 
well as herself, and several Foulahs who came to see 
her, I received a number of blessings." 
In another part of the same letter he writes,--- 
"From the king himself I learned that they brought 
$50 Foulahs from FOOlokolong (Kimmington's 
largest Foulah town), besides 100 whom they killed 
on the spot." 
In another letter, dated 5th January 1838, Mr. 
Fox says, "The Bambarras have proceeded a con 
siderable distance down the north bank of the river 
(Gambia), have pilJaged and destroyed several small 
MORTALITY-'--SEIZURE. 
towns, taken some of the inhabitants into slavery, 
and a few people have been killed." 
"The neighbourhood of M'Carthy'a Ialand is 
again in a very diaturbed sram. Scarcely are the 
rains over, and the produce of a plentiful harveat 
gathered in, ere the noise of battle and the din of 
warfare is heard at a distance, with all its attendant 
horrors; mothers, snhing. up their children with a 
few necessary articles, flee for their lives; towns, 
after being pHiaged of as much cattle, &c., as the 
banditti require, are immediately set on fire; columns 
of smoke ascend the heavens; the cries of those who 
are being butchered may be more easily conceived 
than expressed; and those who escape destruction 
are carried into the miseries of hopeless slavery. A 
number of Bambarras are again on the north bank of 
the river, not far fi'om this place, and the poor Fou- 
labs at Jamalii have consequently fled to this island 
for protection, b4nging with them as many of their 
cattle, and other things, as they could." 
The Rev. Mr. M'Brsir, another Wesleyan mis- 
sionary, who has seen much of the interior of Africa, 
in the vicinity of the Gambia from which he has 
recently returned to this country, makes the follow- 
ing observations, in a letter .also to the Secretary of 
the Wesleyan Missionary Society: 
"On other occasions & party. of men-hunters 
associate together, and, falling suddenly upon s small 
town or 'village during the night, they massage all 
tte men that offer any resistance, and aarry away the 
TIlE SLAVE TRADE. 
rest of the inhabitants as the best parts of their spoil. 
Or, when a chieftain thinks himself sufficiently power- 
ful, he makes the most frivolous excuses for waging 
war upon his neighbour, so that he may. spoil his 
country of its inhabitants. Havin been in close 
connexion with many of the liberated Africans in 
M'Carthy' Island, 50 miles up the Gambia, and 
also in St. Mary's, at the mouth of that river, we 
had many opportunities of learning the various modes 
in which they had been captured; from Which it 
appeared that the wholesale method of seizure is by 
far the most frequent, and that, without this plan, a 
sufficient number of victims could not be procured 
for the market; so that it may be called the prevail- 
ing way of obtaining slaves." 
"Whilst I was in M'Carthy's Island, a capture 
took place at the distance of half a day's journey 
from my abode. The king of WooHi, on a very 
slight pretence, fell upon a village during the night, 
slew six men, and carried off forty captives. The 
inhabitants also ofa neighbouring place were destined 
to the same fate, but having had timely notice of his 
approach, they saved themselves by a precipitous 
flight, and M'Carthy's Island was filled for a time 
with refugees from all the country round about." 
The Rev. Mr. Morgan, another Wesleyan mis- 
sionary, lately from the Gainbin, writes to the Se- 
cretary as follows: "I feel confident that the Slav. e 
Trade has established feuds among them (the African 
tribes around the Gainbin), by which they will be 
MORTALITY--SEIZURE. 
65 
embroiled in war for generations to come, unless the 
disposition be destroyed by the Christian religion, or 
their circumstances be changed by civilization." 
I must not leave this part of .my subject without 
calling attention to the extraordinary facts which 
h. ave recently been made public, regarding the prac- 
tices of the Pacha of Egypt, and the chiefs in Nubia 
and I)arfour. There has been revealed to us a new 
feature in the mode of procuring negroes for slaves; 
and we find that troops regularly disciplined are, at 
stated seasons, led fox'th to hunt down and harry the 
defenceless inhabitants of Eastern Nigritia. 
In a despatch from Lieutenant-Colonel Campbell, 
Her Majesty's Consul at Cairo, of date 1st December 
1837,* we are informed that the Consul waited on 
Mahommed Ali, and communicated to him "that 
statements had gone home to the Governmen and 
people of England, from eye-witnesses, that slave- 
hunts (8'azoua) had been carried on by the officers 
and the troops of the pacha; that large numbers of 
negroes had been taken, and had been distributed 
among the soldiers, in liquidation of the arrears of 
their pay; that on one occasion the gazoua had 
collected 9700 slaves, of whom 250 had been forced 
among the ranks of his army, and the remainder had 
been divided among the officers and soldiers at fixed 
prices, according to the state of their arrears." 
The pacha professed not to know that his army 
had been employed in slave-hunts for the purpose 
Class B, Farther Series, 1837, p. 69. 
F 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
of discharging arrears of pay; but he admitted he was 
aware that his officers had carried on the Slave Trade 
for their own account, "a conduct of which he by 
no means approved." We have no farther particulars 
in this important despatch: but the enterprise of a 
traveller, Count De Lalrde, who has lately returned 
from Nubia and Egypt, will enable me to introduce 
those of my readers who have not seen his work,* to 
the scenes of, cruelty and devastation perpetrated 
by the pachas troops, which he has graphically 
described. 
The narrative, of which I can only give a brief 
outline, was communicated to him by a French 
officer, who went to Cairo in 188, and resided ten 
years in Egypt. 
M.. there learnt that four expeditions, called 
gaswahs, annually set out from Obeid, the capital of 
Kordofan, towards the south, to the mountains 
inhabited by the Nubas negroes. The manner and 
object of their departure are thus described: "One 
day he heard a great noise; the whole village ap- 
peared in confusion; the cavalry were mounted, and 
the infantry discharging their guns in the air, and 
increasing the uproar with their still more noisy 
hurras. M.. , on inquiring the cause of the 
rejoicing, was exultingly tol,,d by a follower of the 
troop, "It is the gasWah. "The gaswah! for 
what---gazelles ?" "Yes, gazelles; here are the 
nets, ropes, and chains; they are to be brought home 
* Chasse aux Ngres, Leon De Laborde, Paris, 1838. 
MORTALITY SEIZURE. 
67 
alive." On the return of the expedition, all the 
people went out, singing and dancing, to meet the 
hunters. M..-.- . went out also, wishing to join in 
the rejoicing. He told Count Laborde he never could 
forget the scene presented to his eyes. What did he 
see.? What gain did these intrepid hunters, after 
twenty days of toil, drag after them ? Men in chains; 
old men carried on litters, because unable to walk; 
the wounded dragging their weakened limbs with 
ß 1 ' 
pan, and a multitude of children fo lowing their 
mothers, who carried the younger ones in their 
arms. Fifteen hundred negroes, corded, naked, and 
wretched, escorted by 400 soldiers in full array. This 
was the gaswah. These the poor gazelles taken 
in the Desert. He himself afterwards accompanied 
one of these gaswahs. The expedition consisted of 
400 Egyptian soldiers, 100 Bedouin cavalry, and 
t.w.elve village chiefs, with peasants carrying pro- 
wsons. On arriving at their destination, which 
they generally contrive to do before dawn, the cavalry 
wheel round the mountain, and by a skilful move- 
ment form themselves into a semi-circle on one side, 
whilst the infantry enclose it on the other. The ne- 
groes,.whose sleep is so profound that they seldom 
iave tme to provide for their safety, are thus com- 
pletely entrapped. At sunrise the troops commence 
operations by opening a tire on the mountain vith 
musketry and cannon; immediately the heads of the 
wretched mountaineers may be seen in all directions, 
among the rocks and tree, as they gradually retreat, 
F 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
dragging after them the young and infirm. Four 
detachments armed with bayonets, are then de- 
spatched up the mountain in pursuit of the fugitives, 
whilst a continual fire is kept up from the musketry 
md cannon below, which are loaded only with 
powder, as their object is rather to dismay than to 
murder the n abtants. The more courageous natives, 
however, make a stand by the mouths of the caves, 
dug for security against their enemies. They throw 
their long poisoned javelins, covering themselves 
with their shields, while their wives and chi'ldren 
stand by them and encourage them with their voices; 
but when the head of the family is killed, they sur- 
render without a  murmur. When struck by a ball, 
the negro, ignorant of the nature of the wound, may 
generally be seen rubbing it with earth till he falls 
through loss of blood. The less courageous fly with 
their families to the cves, whence the hunters expel 
them by firing pepper into the hole. The negroes, 
almost blinded and suffocated, run into the snares 
previously prepared, and are put in irons. If after 
the firing no one makes his appearance, the hunters 
conclude that the mothers have killed their children, 
and the husbands their wives and themselves. When 
tle negroes are taken, their strong attachment to 
their families and lands is apparent. They refuse . 
to stir, some clinging to the trees with all their 
strength, while others embrace their wives and 
children so closely, that it is necessary to separate 
them with the sword; or they are bound to a horse, 
MORTALITY , , SEIZURE. 
69 
and are dragged over brambles and rocks until they 
reach the foot of the mountain, bruised, bloody, and 
disfigured. If they still continue obstinate, they 
are put to death. 
Each detachment, having captured its share of the 
spoil, returns to the main body, and is succeeded by 
others, until the mountain, "de battue en battue," is 
depopulated. If from the strength of the position, or 
the obstinacy of the resistance, the first assault is un- 
successful, the General adopts the inhuman expedient 
of reducing them by thirst; this is esily effected by 
encamping above the springs at the foot of the moun- 
tain, and thus cutting off their only supply of water. 
The miserable negroes often endure this siege for a 
week; and may be seen gnawing.the bark of trees 
to extract a little moisture, till at length they are 
compelled to exchange their country, liberty, and 
families, for a drop of water. They every day 
approach nearer, and retreat on seeing the soldiers, 
until the temptation of the water shown them be- 
comes too strong to be resisted. At length they 
submit to have the manacles fastened on their hands, 
and a heavy fork suspended to their necks, which 
they are obliged to lift at egery step. 
The march from the Nuba mountains to Obeid is 
short. From thence they are sent to Cairo. There 
the pacha distributes them as he th.nks p oper, th 
aged, infirm, and wounded, are gven to the Be 
douins, who are the most merciless o' masters, and 
exact their due of hard labour with a severity pro- 
7{.) THE SLAVE TRADE. 
portioned to the probable short duration of the lives 
of their unhappy victims. 
At Obeid alone 6000 human beings are annually 
dragged into slavery, and that at the cost of 2000 
more, who are killed in the. captu. The king of 
Darfur also imports for sale yearly 8000 or 9000 
slaves, a fourth of whom usually die during the 
fatigues of a forced march: they are compelled, by 
the scarcity of provisions, to hurry forward with all 
speed. In vain the exhausted wretches supplicate 
for one day's rest; they have no alternative but to 
push on, or be left behind a prey to the hungry 
jackals and hyenas. "On one occasion," says the 
narrator, "when, a few days after the march of a cara- 
van, I rapidly crossed the same desert, mounted on 
a fleet dromedary, I found my way by the newly- 
mangled human carcasses, and by them I was guided 
to the nightly halt." ' d 
Dr. Hoh, oyd, whom I have already mentone , in a 
letter to me, of date 14th January 1839, says, in re- 
ference to these "gazouas," of the Egyptian troops, 
"I should think, if my information be correct, that, in 
addition to 7000 or 8000 taken captive, at least 1500 
were killed in defence or' by suffocation at the time of 
being taken; for I learnt that, when the blacks saw 
the troops advancing, they took refuge in caves; the 
soldiers then fired into the caverns, and, if this did 
not induce them to quit their places of concealment, 
they made fires at the entrances, and either stifled 
the negroes, or compelled them to surrender. Wher 
MORTALITY SEIZURE. 
71 
this latter method of taking them was adopted, it was 
not an uncommon circumstance to see a female with 
a child at her breast, who had been wounded by a 
musket-ball, staggering from her hiding-place, and 
dying immediate. ly after her exit."* 
* In the same letter dated January 14, 1839, Dr. Holroyd 
having mentioned that he had "brought from Kordofan, at his 
own request, a negro (an intelligent boy) about twelve years 
of age, who had been seized by Mahomed Ali's troops from 
Gebel Noobah, and from whom all particulars can be ob- 
tained in reference to that inhuman method of taking the 
blacks," I asked that the boy might be questioned as to what 
he had seen of the slave-hunts. Dr. Holroyd has favoured me 
with the following "Statement of Aimas, a negro boy taken in 
the gazzua of Gebel Noobah, three years ago, by the troops of 
Mahomed All Pacha. Almas is a native of Korgo, a very con- 
siderable district on the south side of Gebel N oobah; it is 
governed by a sheik, who is under the command of a local sultan. 
He was living at Korgo at the time of his capture, and says, that 
the pacha's troops made the attack during the night, whilst the 
negroes were sleeping; that they fired repeatedly upon the dis- 
trict with cannon and muskets, both loaded with shot; and that 
they burnt the straw huts of the negroes. As they escaped from 
their burning huts they were seized by the troops: many, espe- 
cially the children, were burnt to death, and many were killed. 
Those who ran away, and were pursued by the soldiers, defended 
themselves with stones, spears, and trombashes; the latter, an 
iron weapon in common use among the natives of these mountains. 
"The negroes retreated to the caves in the sides of the moun- 
tains, from whence they were eventually obliged to come forth, 
from fear of suffocatioh from the fires made at the entrances, or 
from want of food and water. He never heard of pepper, men- 
tioned by Laborde, as having been used in loading the guns, or 
of firing it into the caves to blind or stifle the negroes. Pronged 
stakes were fastened round the throats of the men, and their 
hands were fixed in blocks of wood nailed together. Boys, of 
twelve or fourteen years, had their hands only manacled, and the 
7 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
I could add, were it necessary, a thousand other 
instances of the scenes of cruelty and bloodshed 
which are exhibited in Africa, having their origin in 
the Slave Trade; but enough has been said to prove 
the assertion with which I set out, that the principal 
and almost the only cause of war in the interior of 
A¾ica is the desire to procure slaves for traffic; and 
that the only difference betwixt the former times and 
the present day is this--that the mortality consequent 
on the cruelties of the system has increased in pro- 
portion to the increase of the tratc,' which, it ap- 
pears, has doubled in amount, as compared with the 
period antecedent to 1790. 
I shall now estimate, as nearly as I can, the 
probable extent of mortality peculiarly incident to 
the period of seizure; but the difficulty of this is 
great, because our authorities on this point are 
not numerous. Lord Muncaster notices a state- 
ment of an African Governor to the Committee of 
young children and women were without any incumbrance. Two 
or three times Almas saw a stubborn slave drawn (to use his 
expression) like a carriage, by a horse across the rocks, until he 
was dead. He cannot say how many were killed in the attack; 
he thinks 500 were taken along with him from Korgo, but many 
of these died of thirst, hunger, and fatigue, on their march to 
Kordofan. Almas's father and brother were captured along with 
him, and the former was compelled to wear the pronged stick 
from Gebel Noobah to Kordofan. They are both soldiers at 
Sobeyet. His mother was seized by the sultan of Baggarah, who 
makes expeditions continually against the inhabitants oœ Gebel 
Noobah." 
MORTALITY---SEIZURE. 
73 
1790:.." Mr. Miles said, he will not admit it to be 
war, only skirmish-fighting; and yet," Ird Mun- 
caster adds, "Villault, who was on the Gold Coast 
in 1663, tells us, that in one of these ' skirmishes' 
above 60,000 men were destroyed; and Bosman says 
that in two of these ' skirmishes' the outrage was so 
great, that above 100,000 men were killed upon the 
spot. Mr. Devaynes also informs us that, while he 
was in the country, one of these ' skirmishes' hap- 
pened between the kings of Dahorney and Eyo, in 
which 60,000 lost their lives."* 
The Rev. John Newton, rector of St. Mary's Wool- 
nooth (who at one period of his life was engaged in 
slave-tratfic on the coast of Africa,) observes, "I verily 
believe that the far greater part of the wars in Africa 
would cease, if the Europeans would cease to tempt 
them by offering goods for slaves; and, though they 
do not bring legions into the field, their wars are 
bloody. I believe the catties .eseved fo sale 
are FEWn than the slain. I have not sufficient 
data to warrant calculation, but I suppose that not 
less than 100,000 slaves are exported annually from 
all parts of Africa. If but an equal numbe are 
killed in war, and if many of these wars are kindled 
by the incentive of selling their prisoners, what an 
annual accumulation of blood must there be crying 
against the nations of Europe concerned in this 
trade !" 
I have no modan authority to support the spe- 
* Lord Muncaster on the Slave Trade, p. 42. 
Newton on the Slave Trade. London, lq88, p. 30. 
*74 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
cific statements of Newton and Lord Muncaster, 
excepting that of Denham, who says, "That in one 
instance twentF tlousand were killed, for sixteen 
tlwusand carried away into slavery ;"* and in another 
case, that "probably more than double" t.he nu. mber 
of those captured for slaves fell a sacrifice m the 
onset of the captors. 
The second head of mortality, arising from the 
March, and Detention before being embarked, comes 
next in order; and first as to the 
MARCH. 
"The legarmee, says Browne, in his journey 
to Darfour in 1793, "attack on horseback the 
Kardee, Serrowa, Showa, Battah, and Mulgui tribes, 
and, seizing as many captives as possible, drive them 
like cattle to Begarmi."$ Mungo Park informs us 
that" by far the greater number of slaves purchased 
by Europeans on the coast are brought down in 
large caravans from the inland countries, of which 
many are unknown even by name to the Europeans. 
"I was met," he says, "by a eoflte (caravan) of 
slaves, about seventy in number, coming from Sego. 
They were tied together by their necks, with thongs 
of bullocks hide twisted like a rope, seven slaves 
upon a thong and a man with a musket betwoen 
every seven. Many of the slaves were ill-condi- 
tioned, and a great number of then women; they 
Denham's Narrative, p. 214. 't Ibid., p. 116. 
See Leyden's Discoveries, vol. i. p. 413. 
MORTALITY--MARCH. 
75 
were going to Morocco by the way of Ludamar and 
the Great Desert."* 
In another part of his journal, Park says that, 
on his route to Pisania, (a distance of 500 miles,) 
he joined a coflle, under a slattee (slavemerchant), 
Kaarfa, who was particularly kind to him, and 
whom he describes as "a worthy negro, with a 
mind above his condition--a good creature," and 
therefore not likely to be among the most cruel, 
in the treatment of his slaves. IVhi]e this slattee 
was collecting the cofite, Park arrived at his house. 
'Kaarfa liberally offered to keep him there till the 
country should be fit for travelling. On the third 
day after his arrival Park fell ill with the fever, and 
he bestows great praise on his "benevolent ]and- 
lord," for his kindness and attention. We are 
afterwards informed of the treatment of the slaves 
during the journey, which, be it remembered, was 
performed under the direction of this" worthy, good, 
and benevolent negro." It appears that "The slaves 
are commonly secured by putting the right leg of 
one and the ]eft of another into the same pair of 
fetters. By Supporting the fetters with a string, 
they can walk, though very slowly. Every four 
slaves are likewise fastened together by the neck, 
with a strong pair of twisted thongs; and in the 
night an additional pair of fetters is put on their 
hands, and sometimes a light iron chain passed 
around their necks." 
* Park's Travels, vol, i. pp. 438, 290. 
 Ibid., vol. i. p. 388, &c. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
"Such of them as evince marks of disconnt are 
secured in a different manner; a thick billet of 
wood is cut about three feet long, and, a smooth 
notch being made upon one side of it, the ancle 
of the slave is bolted to the smooth part by means of 
a strong iron staple, one prong of which passes on 
each side of the ancle. All these fetters and bolts 
are made from native iron. In the present case 
they were put on by the blacksmith as soon as the 
slaves arrived from Kancaba, and were not taken 
off until the morning when the coffie departed for 
Gambia." 
He goes on to say, "Even to those who accompa- 
nied the caravan as a matter of choice, the toil was 
immense; and they travelled sometimes from morn- 
ing till night without tasting a morsel of food." 
And afterwards---" During this day's travel, two 
slaves, a woman and a girl, were so much fatigued 
that they could not keep up with the coffie. They 
were severely whipped and dragged along, until 
about three O'clock in the afternoon, when they were 
both affected with vomiting, by which it was disco- 
vered that they had eaten clay." He then narrates a 
case of great cruelty: one of the female slaves had 
become quite exhausted, and every exertion was made 
by the whip to cause her to keep up with the cofite. 
When every effort failed, "the general cry of the 
cofile was ' kang-tegi' (cut her throat). I had not 
walked forward a mile, when one of Kaarfa's domestic 
slaves came up to me with poor Nealee's garment 
upon the end of his bow and exclaimed, ' Nealee 
MORTALITY MARCH. 
77 
is lost ;' he afterwards said, he had left her on the 
road."* A few days after this took place, a party of 
Serawoolie traders joined the coffle, and one of their 
male slaves became also completely exhausted; he 
was whipped and tortured to no purpose, and then 
left in charge of another slave, who, it was generally 
believed, put him to death. ß 
It appears that there is also great suffering when 
these poor victims are conveyed to the coast, by the 
rivers. Falconbridge says, "While I was on the 
coast, during one of the voyages I made, the black 
traders brought down in different canoes from 1200 
to 1500 negroes, which had been purchased at one 
fair." They consisted of all ages. Women some- 
times form a part of them who happen to be so far 
advanced in their pregnancy as to be delivered 
during their journey from the fairs to the coast. 
And there is not the least room to doubt, but that, 
even before they can reach the fairs, great numbers 
perish from cruel usage, want of food, travelling 
through inhospitable deserts, &c. They are brought 
in canoes, at the bottom of which they lie, having 
their hands tied, and a strict watch is kept over 
them. Their usage, in other respects, during the 
passage, is equally cruel. Their allowance of food 
is so scanty as barely to support nature. They 
are, besides, much exposed to the violent rains which 
frequently fall here, being covered only with mats 
that afford but a slight defence; and, as there is 
* Park' Travels, vol. i. p. 507, &c. 
78 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
usually water at the bottom of the canoes, from leak- 
' F 
inõ, they are sca cely ever dry. 
liere, again, it may be rejoined, 
"But these were 
Riley informs us 
the practices of the last century." 
that Sidi Hamet, the Moor, narrated to him, as an 
instance of the sufferings consequent on the route by 
the Desert, that the caravan which he acompanied 
from Wed noon to Timbuctoo, in 1807, consisted on 
its setting out of 1000 men and 4000 camels; but 
only twelve camels and twenty-one men escaped alive 
from the Desert. Let us examine whether these 
cruel sufferings have been mitigated in our own 
times; and whether we may flatter ourselves that 
Africa is no longer the scene of such atrocities. 
Burckhardt, in 1814, accompanied  caravan from 
Shendy in Nubia, across the Desert, to Suakin on the 
Red Sea. There were slaves with the cravan on 
their way to Arabia. In the middle of the journey 
the caravan was alarmed by a threatened attack of 
robbers; they "moved on," we are told, "in silence; 
nothing was heard but the groans of a few infirm 
tmale slaves, and the whips of their cruel masters."$ 
He also says that the females are almost universally 
the victims of the brutal lusts of their drivers. 
Major Gray, while travelling in the country of 
Galam in 1812[, fell in with a part of the Kaartan 
* Falconbridge on the Slave Trade. London, 1788, pp. !2, 13, 
19, &c. 
 Riley's Narrative, p. 361. 
 Burckhardt's Travels, pp. 381,336. 
MORTALITY---MARCH. 
79 
force, which he said had taken 107 prisoners, chiefly 
women and children. "The men were tied in pairs 
by the necks, their hands secured behind their 
backs; the women by their necks only, but their 
hands were not left free from any nse of feeling 
for them, but in order to enable them to balance 
the immense loads of pang, corn, or rice, which 
they were forced to carry. on their heads, and the 
children (who were unable to walk, or sit on horse- 
back) behind their backs. They were hurried 
along at a pace little short of running, to enable 
them to keep up with the horsemen, who drove 
them on as Smithfield drovers do fatigued bullocks. 
Many of the women were old, and by no means able 
to endure such treatment." . On a subsequent day 
he says, "The sufferings of the poor slaves during a 
re. arch of nearly eight hours, partly under an exces- 
sively hot sun and east Wind, heavily laden with 
water, of which they were allowed to drink but very 
sparingly, and travelling bare foot on a hard and 
broken soil, covered with long dried reeds, and 
thorny underwood, may be more easily conceived 
than described." 
In the course of his journey Major Gray fell in 
with another detachment of slaves, and he says, 
"The women and children (all nearly naked, and 
carrying heavy loads) were tied together by the 
neck, and hurried along over a rough stony path, 
that cut their feet in a dreadful manner. There. 
were a great number of children, who, fi'om their 
(0 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
tender years, were unable to walk; and were car- 
ried, some on the prisoners' backs, and others on 
horseback behind the captors, who, to prevent their 
falling off, tied them to the back part of the.saddle 
with a rope made from the bark of the baoball, 
which was so hard and rough that it cut the back 
and sides of the poor little innocent babes, so as to 
draw the blood. This, however, was only a second- 
ary state of the sufferings endured by those children, 
when compared to the dreadfully blistered and chafed 
state of their seats, from constant jolting on the bare 
back of the horse, seldom going slower than a trot, 
or smart amble, and not unfrequently driven at full 
speed for a few yards, and pulled up short."* 
In speaking of the route by the Desert, Lyon 
says :--" Children are thrown with the bag.gage on 
the camels, if unable to walk; but, if five or sx years 
of age, the poor little creatures are obliged to trot on 
all day, even should no stop be made for fourteen 
or fifteen hours, as I have sometimes witnessed." 
"The daily allowance of food is a quart of dates 
in the morning, and half a pint of flour, made into 
bazeen, at night. Some masters never allow their 
slaves to drink after a meal, except at a watering- 
place." "None of the owners ever moved without 
their whips, which were in constant use. Drinking 
too much water, bringing too little wood, or falling 
asleep before the cooking was finished, were con- 
* Gray's Travels in Africa, pp. 290, 295, and 323. 
 Lyon, p. 297. 
MORTALiTY---MARCH. 
81 
sldered nearly capital crimes; and it was in vain for 
these poor creatures to plead the excuse of being 
tired,---nothing could avert the application of the 
whip." "No slave dares to be ill or unable to walk; 
but, when the poor sufferer dies, the master suspects 
there must have been something 'wrong inside,' and 
regrets not having liberally applied the u.s'ual remedy 
of burning the belly with a red-hot iron; thus re- 
conciling thenselves to their cruel treatment of these 
unfortunate wretches." 
This description is confirmed by Caillie, who, in 
his account of his journey from Timbuctoo through 
the Desert, gives the following case of barba- 
rity, which he says' he-had the misfortune to see 
too often repeated:---" A poor Bambara slave of 
twenty-five years was cruelly treated by some 
Moors, who compelled him to walk, without allow- 
ing him to halt for a moment, or to quench his burn- 
ing thirst. The complaints of this unfortunate crea- 
ture might have moved the hardest heart. Some- 
times he would beg to rest himself against the 
crupper of a camel; and at others h e threw himself 
down on the sand in despair. In vain did he implore, 
with uplifted hands, a drop of water; his cruel mas- 
ters answered his prayers and his tears only with 
stripes."* 
In another part of his work Caillie says-- 
"Our situation was still the same; the east wind 
blew with violence; and, far from affording us any 
* Caillie's Travels, vol. ii.P. 89. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
refreshment, it only threatened to bury us under the 
mountaina of sand which it raised; and, what was still 
more alarming, our water diminisled rapidly from 
the extreme drought which it occasioned. Nobody 
suffered more intensely from thirst than the poor 
little slaves, who were crying for water.. Exhausted 
by their sufferings and their lamentations, these un- 
happy creatures fell on the ground, and seemed to 
have no power to rise; but the Moors did not suffer 
them to continue there long when travelling. In- 
sensible to the sufferings which childhood is so little 
fitted to support, these barbarians dragged them 
along with violence, beating them incessantly till 
they had overtaken the camels, which were already 
at a distance."* 
In 184 Denham and Clapperton penetrated to 
Nigritia by the Desert from Fezzan, the route usually 
taken by slave-caravans going to the north of Africa. 
In narrating his excursion to Munga, Major Denham 
speaks of a caravan which he met at Kouka, consist- 
ing of ten merchants from Scudan with nearly 100' 
slaves, and he observes, "If the hundreds, nay thou- 
sands, of skeletons that whiten in the blast between 
this place and Murzouk, did not of themselves tell 
a tale replete with woe, the difference of appearance 
in all slaves here (where they are fed tolerably), and 
the state in whicl they usually arrive in Fean, 
would but too clearly prove the acuteness of the 
sufferings which commence on their leaving the 
* Csillie's Travels, vol. ii. p. 114. 
MORTALITY---MARCH. 
negro country: going as they do, poor creatures, 
nearly naked, the cold of Fezzan, in the winter sea- 
son, kills them by hundreds."* This fact, as to the 
change of climate, is also noticed by Captain Lyon, 
who, speaking of the passage across the mountains of 
Fezan, says, "Feb. 12th, Ther. 30 ø below 0ø. . .. 
Water freezes, and the poor negroes in great dis- 
tress from the cold."' 
When the travellers arrived at the well of Meshtoo, 
Denham says: "Round this spot were lying more 
than one hundred skeletons: our camels did not come 
up till dark, and we bivouacked in the midst of those 
unearthed remains of the victims of persecution and 
avarice, after a long day's journey of twenty-six 
miles, in the course of which one of our party counted 
107 of these skeletons." Shortly afterwards, he adds: 
"Dining the last two days we had passed on an 
average from sixty to eighty or ninety skeletons each 
day; but the numbers that lay about the wells at El 
Hammar were countless."J Jackson informsõ us that 
in 1805 "a caravan from Timbuctoo to Taftlet was 
disappointed at not finding water at the usual water- 
ing-place, and entirely perished; 2000 persons and 
1800 camels." 
Dr. Holroyd, in the letter to me which I have 
already quoted, in speaking of the "gaswah" in Kor- 
dolan, says: "These slave-hunts have produced a 
Denham, pp. 1 2, 280.  Lyon, p. 298. 
l: Denh.am, p.. 12. 
õ Jackson's Travels m Africa, 1809, p. 239. 
2 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
great depopulation in the districts where they are 
practised; there is not only a terrible waste of life in 
the attempts to capture the negroes, but after they 
are seized there is so much of ill-usage and brutality 
that I have been assured that no less tan thirtg per 
cent. perish in the first ten days after their seizure." 
Dr. Bowring stated to me, that "in conversa- 
tions which I have had with the domestic slaves 
in the towns of Egypt, they talk with the greatest 
horror of the sufferings connected with their first 
experience of the bitterness of slavery. And these 
are but the beginning of sorrows. In the progress 
across the Desert many perish from thirst and from 
fatigue. I have often heard their miseries described 
on their way, from the poverty of the fellahs and 
insufficiency of the caravans, which are often charged 
with an excessive number of slaves. An estimate 
being made of the .greatest number which it is pos- 
sible to presexe with the supply of water that re- 
mains, all the rest are abandoned and die of starva- 
tion in the sandy wilderness." 
"I will give you t¾om the mouth, and nearly in the 
words, of a female slave at Cairo, her account of the 
journey across the Desert to Siout. 'We had a 
long, long journey, and we suffered very much. We 
had not food enough to eat, and sometimes we had 
no drink at all, and our thirst was terrible. When 
we stopped, almost dying for want of water, they 
killed a camel and gave us his blood to drink. But 
the camels themselves could not get on, and then 
MORTALITY, MARCH. 
85 
they were killed, and we had their flesh for meat and 
their blood for water. Some of the people were too 
weak to get on, and so they were left in the Desert to 
die. The fellahs were some of them good people, 
and when we were tired allowed us to ride upon the 
camels; but there were many who would never let the 
negroes ride, but forced them always to walk, always 
over the sand but when we had been days without 
water, many dropped down and were left upon the 
sand; so that, when we got to the end of our journey, 
numbers of those that had been with us were with us 
no longer.'" 
Dr. Holroyd says that" These unfortunate indivi- 
duals (those selected for the army) were marched 
down to Kartoom, fourteen days' journey, completely 
naked; and,. to add to their misery, a wooden stake, 
six or seven feet long, and forked at one extremity, 
was attached to the neck of one by means of a cross 
bar retained in its position by stripes of bull's hide; 
to the other end of the stake an iron ring was 
fastened, which encircled the throat of another of 
these poor harmless creatures. They were then un- 
mercifully driven to Kartoom, with scarcely anything 
to eat on the way, and compelled to traverse a burn- 
ing desert with a very sparing and scanty supply of 
water. They were dispatched in companies of fifties, 
and so great were their privations and fatigue on the 
journey, that a letter arrived at Kordofan, addressed 
to Mustapha Bey, from Shotshid Pacha, of Kartoom, 
Governor General of Soudan, and which was read 
THE $LAVI TRADE. 
during a visit I made to the divan of the former, in 
which the latter stated, that of fifty slaves who left 
Kordofan some days before, only thirty-five were 
living on the arrival of the caravan at Kartoom. 
Richard Lander, in his account of Captain Clap- 
perton's last journey in 1826, in which he attended 
that traveller, speaking of the state of the slaves whom 
he saw on their journeys, observes: "In their toil- 
some journeyings from one part of the country to 
another, it must be admitted that the captured 
slaves undergo incredible hardships." He left Soc- 
atoo, with a party of traders, and the "king of 
Jacoba," who had fifty slaves, whom he was conduct- 
ing (with heavy loads on their heads) to his own 
country. Two days afterwards Lander was informed 
that the whole of these slaves were missing; and on 
search being made, it was ascertained that they had all 
perished from excessive fatigue and want of water.* 
Mr. Oldfield, who accompanied Laird in the expe- 
dition up the Niger in 1833, in giving a description 
of Bocqua market, says: "Under the mats and in the 
enclosures, are to be seen male and female slaves 
from the age of five, up to thirty. Some of these 
children of misfortune, more intelligent than others, 
are to be seen sitting pensive and melancholy, appa- 
rently in deep thought, while their poor legs are 
swelled from confinement in irons, or being closely 
stowed at the bottom of a canoe; and he adds, "It is 
painful to contemplate the number of slaves annually 
* Lander's Records, vol. i. p. 301; and vol. ii. p. 95. 
MORTALITY ,,  DETENTION. 
$7 
sold at this market, most of whom are forwarded to 
the sea-side."* 
Many more extract might have been taken, from 
the remarks of modern travellers, on this branch of 
the subject; but enough has been adduced to prove 
tlmt the cruelties and consequent mortality arising 
from te mach afte eizue have not de½eaed since 
the time of Falconbridge and Pa'k. 
I shall only further add, on the authority of Dr. 
Meyen, (a German who, a few years ago, published 
an account of a Voyage round the World,) that 
"M. Mendez, the author of a very learned treatise 
on the Causes of the great Mortality of the Negro 
Slaves, estimates the number of those who die, 
merely on the journey from the interior to the coast, 
ot five. twelft of e wtol." 
DETENTION. 
The next cause of mmality arises from the deten- 
tion of the slaves on the coast, before they are em- 
barked, and this occurs, for the most part, when the 
veszel for which they may be destined, has not 
arrived, or is not ready to sail, or may be in dread of 
capture after sailing. 
A õentleman resident at Senegal in 1818, stated 
to his correspondent at Paris, that, "No one in the 
town is ignorant that there are here 600 wretched. 
creatures shut up in the slave yards, waiting for 
* Laird and Oldfield, vol. i. p. 409. 
Dr. Meyen, German edition, vol. i. p. . 
88 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
embarkation. The delay which has occurred causing 
a serious expense, they receive only what is sufficient 
to keep them alive, and they are made to go out for a 
short space of time, morning and evening, loaded 
with irons.* 
When Commodore Owen visited Benguela in 
1815, he says, "We had here an opportunity of'see- 
ing bond slaves of both sexes chained together in 
pairs. About 100 of these unhappy beings had just 
arrived from a great distance in the interior. Many 
were mere skeletons labouting under every misery 
that want and fatigue could produce. In some, the 
fetters had, by their constant action, worn through 
the lacerated flesh to the bae bone, the ulcerated 
wound having become the resort o.f myriads of flies, 
which had deposited their eggs in the gangrenous 
cavities." 
Oiseau, commanding the brig Le Louis, on com- 
pleting his cargo of slaves at the Old Calebar, thrust 
the whole of the unfortunate beings between decks, 
a height of nearly three feet, and closed the hatches 
for the night. When morning made its appearance, 
fifty of the poor sufferers had paid the debt of nature.. 
The wretch cooBy ordered the bodies of his victims 
to be thrown into the river, and immediately proceeded 
on shore to complete his execrable cargo. 
Richard Lander tells us that the Brazen, in which 
he went to Africa in 1895,'captured a Spanish bri- 
13th Report of the African Institution, Ap. G. p. 99. 
Owen, vol. ii. p. 234. 1: Class B. 1825, p. 123, 
MORT ALI TY---DETEN TI ON. 
89 
ganfine which was waiting off Accra, for a cargo of 
slaves. A few days after this capture, the com- 
mander of the Brazen landed at Papoe, and de- 
manded the slaves which were to have been embarked 
in the brigantine They were ultimately given up, 
and Lander says, "The slaves at length made their 
appearance, and exhibited a long line of melancholy. 
faces, and emaciated frames, wasted by disease and 
close confinement, and by their having suffered 
dreadfully from scantiness of food, and the impure 
air of their prison;house. They were in a complete 
state of nudity, and heavily manacled; several of them 
were lamed by the weight of their irons, and their 
skin sadly excoriated from the same cause.* 
ß I1 
At the close of this jour ey, Lander says :---" I 
saw 400 slaves at Badagry in the Bight of Benin, 
crammed into a small schooner of eighty tons. 
The appearance of these unhappy human beings 
was squalid and miserable in the extreme; they 
were fastened by the neck in pairs, only one-fourth 
of a yard of chain being allowed for each, and 
driven to the beach by a parcel of hired scoundrels, 
whilst their associates in cruelty were in front 
of the p. arty pulling them along by a narrow 
band, their only apparel, which encircled the 
waist." "Badagry being a general mart for 
the sale of slaves to European merchants, it not 
unfrequently happens that the market is either over- 
stocked with human beings, or no buyers are to be. 
* Lander's Records, vol. i. p. 31. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
found; in which case the maintenance of the un- 
happy slaves devolves solely on the Government. 
The king then causes an examination to be made, 
when the sickly, as well as the old and infirm, are 
carefully selected and chained by themselves in one 
of the factories (five of which, containing upwards 
of one thousand slaves of both sexes, were at Badagry 
during my residence there); and next day the 
majority of these poor wretches are pinioned and 
conveyed to the banks of the Hver, where having 
arrived,  weight of some sort'is appended to their 
necks, and being rowed in canoes to the middle of 
the stream, they are flung into the water, and left 
to perish by the pitiless Badagrians. Slaves, who 
for other reasons are rejected by the merchants, 
undergo the same punishment, or are left to endure 
more lively torture at the sacrifices, by which means 
hundreds of human beings are annually destroyed."* 
Mr. Leonard informs us, "that about 1830, the 
king of Loango told the officers of the Primrose that 
he could load eight slave-vessels in one week, and 
give each 400 or 500; but that, having now no means 
of disposing of the greater part of his pHsoners, he 
was obliged to kill them. And, shortly before the 
Primrose arrived, a great number of unfortunate 
wretches, who had been taken in a predatory incur- 
sion, after having been made use of to carry loads 
of the plundered ivory, &c., to the coast, on their 
arrival there, as there was no market for them, and 
* Lander's Records, vol. ii. pp. 241,250. 
MORTALITY DETENTION. 
91 
as the trouble and expense of their support would 
be considerable, they were taken to the side of a 
hill, a little beyond the town, and coolly knocked on 
the head."* 
In 1833 Mr. Oldfield found several dozen human 
skulls lining the bank of the river Nunn, (one of 
the mouths of the Niger,) at a barracoon or slave.- 
house, which he discovered were the remains of 
slaves who had died there. 
An intelligent master of a merchant-vessel, who, 
for many years past, has been engaged in the African 
trade, informs me, that after the slave-dealing cap- 
rains have made their selection of the slaves brought 
on board for sale, the unfortunate creatures who may 
be rejected "are sent immediately on shore, and 
marched down to the barracoon, chained together, a 
distance of five miles. I have seen the most piteous 
entrearies made by the poor rejected creatures to the 
'captain to take them, for they knew that to be re- 
turned on shore was only to encounter a worse fate 
by starvation." He is speaking of the River Bonny, 
and he goes on to say, "Ju Ju town contains about 
twelve barracoons: they are built to contain from 300 
to 700 slaves each. I have seen from 1500 to i000 
slaves at a time, belonging to the several vessels then 
in the ' " 
river. 
"I have known disease to make dreadful havoc 
in these places, more especially in the year 1831, 
Leonard's Voyage to Western Africa, p. 147. 
 Laird and Oldfi½ld's Journal, vol. i. p. 339. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
when the small-pox carried off 200 in one barracoon. 
Great numbers are carried off annually by diarrhcea 
and other diseases." 
Colonel Nicolls has stated to me that, during his 
residence at Fernando Po, he visited the River Came- 
roons, where he saw a number of slaves in a barracoon; 
"they were confined in irons, two and two, and many 
of them had the irons literally grating against their 
bones through the raw flesh." 
It is stated by a naval officer serving in the 
Preventive Squadron, in a letter to a relative, dated 
about a year ago, and communicated to me, that in 
1837' having been employed in blockading a Portu- 
guese brig, up one of the rivers in the Bight of Biafra, 
"On arriving at my station, I had positive informa- 
tion that the Portuguese had bought upwards of 400 
slaves, and was about to sail. By some means or 
other, she got information that a British boat was 
blockading her, consequently she postponed her 
sailing for several weeks. Shortly afterwards, on 
my inquiring into her state, I found 300 of her 
slaves had died chiefly of starvation, and a few were 
shot by the Portuguese whilst attempting to escape. 
A few days afterwards the brig sailed without any 
slaves, all with the exception of about a score, having 
fallen victims to the system pursued." 
Captain Cook has informed me that he saw many 
blind negroes in Quilimane (1837), who subsisted 
by begging; they were the i he was informed 
rema ns, , 
of a cargo landed from a Monte Videan vessel, whict 
MORTALITY---DETENTION. 
93 
had been attacked by ophthalmia. If they lived, 
they were left to starve. 
He also says, that in September, 1837, a number 
of slaves were suffocated on board the brig Generous 
at Quillmane. "The boatswain had, it appeared, 
shut the hatches close down after the slaves had 
been put below in the evening; it was his duty to 
have kept the hatch uncovered, and to have placed 
guards over them; but this would have required his 
own vigilance, and he considered a sound sleep was 
to him worth all the slaves on board, especially as 
they cost him nothing." 
Cook's knowledge in 
This case came to Captain 
consequence of a quarrel 
between the captain and the boatswain. "The pe- 
cuniary loss was all that was regretted by the 
captain." 
Captain Cook adds, that slaves who "die on 
board, in port, are never interred on shore, but are 
invariably thrown overboard, when they sometimes 
float backward and forward with the tide for a week, 
should the sharks and alligators not devour then. 
Should a corpse chance to be washed on shore at 
the top of high-water, it is permitted to remain until 
the vultures dispose of it." "I have known one to 
be near the Custom-house upwards of a week, during 
which time the stench was intolerable." 
In a letter addressed by Captain Cook to the 
editor of the Standard, dated 16th July 1838, he 
says that instances have been known of slaves having 
been buried alive in Quillmane for some trifling 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
offence, and that the consequen.t punishment (if there 
was any at all)was a mere trifle, as imprisonment 
for a month; and he adds,- - 
"The fact, holyever, which I am now about to 
state, occurred in August, 1837, and came under my 
own observation, and to all of which I am ready to 
bear testimony on oath, if required. Slaves to the 
number of 50, or thereabouts, male and female, 
adults and children, were brought in canoes from 
Senna, a Portuguese settlement at some distance in 
the interior of Africa, to be sold at Quilimane, there. 
being at that time several slavers lying in the river. 
These unfortunate beings were consigned to a 
person holding a high civil appointment under the 
Portuguese Government (the collector of customs): 
these poor creatures were from a part of the country 
where it is said that the natives mke bad slaves; 
consequently, and as there was abundance of human 
flesh in the market, they did not meet with  ready 
sale. The wretch to whom they were consigned 
actually refused them sustenance of any kind. Often 
have I been compelled to witness the melancholy 
spectacle of from twelve to twenty of my fellow- 
creatures, without distinction of age or sex, chained 
together, with a heavy iron chain round the neck, 
wandering about the town in quest of food to satisfy 
the cravings of nature, picking up bones and garbage 
of every description from the dung-heaps, snails from 
the fields, and frogs from the ditches, and, when the 
tide receded, collecting the shell-fish that were left 
MORTALITY---DETENTION. 
95 
on the bank of the river, or sitting round a fire roast- 
ing and eagerly devouring the sea-weed. 
"Again and again have I seen one or more of 
tJhese poor creatures, when unable from sickness to 
walk, crawling on their hands and knees, accom- 
panying the gang to which they were chained when 
they went in search of their daily food . . .. for one 
could not move without the whole. In consequence 
of this treatment, they soon became so enaciated 
that the slave-dealers would not purchase them on 
any terms; in this stgte, horrid as it must appear, 
the greater part were left to perish, without food, 
medicine, or clothing, for the little piece of coarse 
cotton cloth, worn by a few of the females, did not 
deserve the name, and could answer no other purpose 
than to lodge the vermin with which they were 
covered; their bones protruding through the skin, 
they presented the appearance of living skeletons, 
lingering amidst hunger and disease till death, their 
best friend, released most of them at once, from suffer- 
ing and bondage." 
From these extracts, it is evident that this branch 
of the case furnishes an item of no small magnitude 
in the black catalogue of negro destruction. 
I now proceed to the 
96 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
IDDLE PASSAGE. 
"The stings of a wounded conscience. man cannot inflict; but 
nearly all which man can do to make his fellow-creatures miserable, 
without defeating his purpose by putting a speedy end to their ex- 
istence, will still be here effected:and it will still continue true, 
that never can so much misery be found condensed into so small a 
space as in a slave.ship during the middle passage "--/r. for, 
Letter, 1807. 
It was well observed by Mr. Fox, in a debate on 
the Slave Trade, that "True humanity consists not 
in a squeamish ear; it consists not in starting or 
shrinking at such tales as these, but in a disposition 
of heart to relieve misery. True humanity apper- 
tains rather to the mind than to the nerves, and 
prompts men to use real and active endearours to 
execute the actions vhich it suggests." 
In the spirit of this observation, I now go on.to 
remark, that the first feature of this deadly passage, 
which attracts our attention, is the evident insuffi- 
ciency, in point of tonnage, of the vessels employed, 
for the cargoes of human beings which they are made 
to contain. 
In 1788 a law passed the British legislature, by 
which it was provided that vsse]s under 150 tons 
should not carry more than five men to every three 
tons; that vessels above 150 tons should not carry 
more than three men to every two tons; and that 
the height of slave-vessels between decks should 
not be less than five feet. In 1513 it was decreed 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
97 
by the government of Portugal and Brazil that two 
tons should be allowed for every five men; and the 
Spanish" Cedula," of 1817, adopted the same scale. 
It is understood that the Spanish and Potuguese 
ton bears the proportion of one nd a half to the 
British ton. The allowance in British transports is 
three men to every two tons. 
Men. Tons. 
The lowest rate then allowed by the 
British was . . . 5 to 3 
And by Spain, Portugal, and Brazil, it 
should be . . . . 5 to 3 
But for British soldiers the regula- 
tion is . . . . . 3 to '2 
and, although this allowance in the transport of troops 
seems to be liberal, when compared with the space 
afforded fo.r slaves, even here complaints have often 
been made of the insufficiency. 
Let us then keep in view these rates of tonnage, 
as we proceed to ascertain the accommodation which 
has been, and is now, afforded to the negroes on the 
middle passage; and here, at ]east, one :eason will 
be apparent for the increase of suffering and mor- 
tality which have recently occurred, viz. that the 
extent of accommodation, limited as it was, has been 
geatlt curtailed. 
We have a faithful description of the miseries of 
the middle passage, from the pen of an eye-witness, 
Mr. Falconbridge. His account refers to a period 
antecedent to 1790. He tells us, that "The men 
H 
98 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
negroes, on being brought aboard ship, are immediately 
fastened together two and two, by handcuffs on their 
wrists, and by irons riveted on their legs." "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 pos- 
ture, especially where there are platforms, which is 
generally the case. These platforms are a kind of 
shelf, about eight or nine feet in breadth, extending 
from the side of the ship towards the centre. They 
are placed nearly midway between the decks at the 
distance of two or three feet from each deck. Upon 
these the negroes are stowed in th, e same manner as 
they are on the deck underneath.' After mention- 
ing some other arrangements, he goes on to say, "It 
often happens that those who are placed at a distance 
from the buckets, in .endeavouring to get to them, 
tumble over their companions, in consequence of their 
being shackled. These accidents, although unavoid- 
able, are productive of continual quarrels, in which 
some of them are always bruised. In this distressed 
situation they desist from the attempt, and... . . 
This beeomes a fresh source of broils and disturbances, 
and tends to render the situation of the poor captive 
wretches still more uncomfortable." 
"In favourable weather they are fed upon deck, 
but in bad weather their food is given to them below. 
Numberless quarrels tke place among them during 
their meals; more especially when they are put upon 
MORTALITY, MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
99 
short allowance, which frequently happens. In that 
case, the weak are obliged to be content with a very 
anty portion. Their allowance of water is about 
half a pint each, at every meal. 
"Upon the negroes refusing to take sustenance, I 
have seen coals of fire, glowing hot, put on a shovel, 
and placed so near their lips as to scorch and burn 
them, and this has been accompanied with threats of 
forcing them to swallow the coals, if they any longer 
persisted in refusing to eat. These means have ge- 
nerally the desired effect. I have also been credibly 
informed that a certain captain in the Slave Trade 
poured melted lead on such of the negroes as obsti- 
nately refused their food." Falconbridge then tells 
us that the negroes are sometimes compelled to 
dance and to sing, and that, if any reluctance is ex- 
hibited, the cat-o'-nine-tai]s is employed to enforce 
obedience. He goes on to mention the unbounded li.- 
cence given to the officers and crew of the slavers, as re- 
gards the women; and, speaking of the officers, he says, 
they "are sometimes guilty of such brutal excesses 
as disgrace human nature." "But," he continues, 
"the hardships and inconveniences suffered by the 
negroes during the passage are scarcely to be enu- 
merated or conceived. They are far more violently 
affected by the sea-sickness than the Europeans. It 
frequently terminates in death, especially among the 
women. The exclusion of the fresh air is among the 
most intolerable. 
whenever the sea is 
Most ships have air-ports; but, 
rough and the rain heavy, it be- 
100 THE $LAYE TRADE. 
comes necessary to shut these and every other con- 
veyance by which air is admitted. The fresh air 
being thus excluded, the negroes' rooms very soon 
grow intolerably hot. The confined air, rendered 
noxious by the effluvi exhaled from their bodies, 
and by being repeatedly breathed, soon produces 
fevers and fluxes, which generally carry off gret 
numbers of them. During the voyages I made I 
was frequently a witness to the fatal effects of-this 
exclusion of the fresh air. I will give one instance, 
as it serves to convey some idea, though a ve.ry faint 
one,  of the state of these unhappy beings. Some 
wet and blowing weather having occasioned the 
port-holes to be shut, and the gratings to be covered, 
fluxes and fevers among the negroes ensued. My pro- 
fession requiring it, I frequently went down among 
them, till t length their apartments became so ex- 
tremely hot, as to be only sufferable for a very short 
time. But the excessive. heat was not the only thing 
that rendered their situation intolerable. The dek, 
that is, the floor of their rooms, was so covered with 
* One circumstance has struck me very forcibly. I have re- 
ceived communications, both by lette and in conversation, from 
many naval officers who have boarded 81ave-ships, and I have 
observed, that without an exception they all make this observa- 
tion-" No words can describe the horrors of the cene, or the 
ufferings of the negroes." I have recenfiy shown these page 
to a naval officer, now a Captain in the ervice, who had long been 
employed in the preventive squadron, requesting him to point out 
any error into which I might have fallen. He replied, "Your 
statement is true a far as it goes; but it is, after all, only a 
faint picture of the reality." 
MORTALITY MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
lol 
the blod and mucus which had proceeded from them 
in consequence of the flux, that it resembled a 
slaughter-house. It is not in the power of the human 
imagination to picture to itself a situation more dread- 
ful or more disgusting. 
"Numbers of the slaves having fainted, they 
were carried on deck, where several of them died; 
and the rest were with great difficulty restored. It 
had nearly proved fatal to me also; the climate was 
too warm to admit the wearing of any clothing but 
a shirt, and that I had pulled off before I went down; 
notwithstanding which, by only continuing among 
them for about a quarter of an hour, I was so over- 
come by the heat, stench, and foul air, that I had 
nearly fainted; and it was not without assistance 
that I could get upon deck. The consequence was, 
that I soon after fell sick of the same disorder, from 
which I did not recover for several months. A 
circumstance of this kind sometimes repeatedly 
happens in the course of a voyage, and often to a 
greater degree than what has just been described; 
particularly when the slaves are much crowded, 
which was not the case at that time, the ship having 
more than 100 short of the number she was to 
have taken in; yet, out of 380, 105 died on the pas- 
sage,.. a proportion seemingly very great, but by no 
means uncommon. 
He proceeds to notice the case of a Liverpool 
vessel, which took on board at the Bonny River 
nearly 700 slaves (more than three to each ton !); 
tO Tire SLAVS TRADEø 
and Falconbridge says,--" By purchasing so great 
a number, the slaves were so crowded, that they 
were even obliged to lie one upon another. This 
occasioned such a mortality among them, that, with- 
out meeting with unusual bad weather, or having a 
longer voyaoe than common, nearly one-half of them 
died before the ship arrived in the West Indies." 
He then describes the treatment of the sick as 
follows :--" The place allotted for the sick negroes 
is under the haft-deck, where they lie on the bare 
plank. By this means, those who are emaciated 
fi'equently have their skin, and even their flesh, en- 
firely rubbed off, by the motion of the ship, from the 
prominent parts of the shoulders, elbows, and hips, 
so as to render the bones in those parts quite bare. 
The excruciating pain which the poor sufferers feel 
fi'om being obliged to continue in so dreadful a situa- 
riots, frequently, for several weeks, in case they 
happen to. live so long, is not to be conceived or 
described. Few indeed are ever abte to withstand 
the fatal effects of it. The. suxgeon, upon going 
between decks in the morning, frequently findz se- 
veral of the slaves. dead, and, among the men, some- 
times a dead and a living negro fatened by their 
irons together." 
He then states that surgeons are driven to engage 
in the "Guinea Trade" by the confined state of their 
finances; and that at most the onIy way in w]xicla a 
surgeon can render himself useful is by seeing that 
the food is properly cooked and distributed to tte 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
i03 
slaves: "when once the fever and dysentery get to 
any height at sea, a cure is scarcely ever effected." 
"One-half, sometimes two-thirds, and even beyond 
that, have been known to perish. Before we left 
-Bonny River no less than fifteen died of fevers and 
dysenteries, occasioned by their confinement."* Fal- 
conbridge also told the Committee of 1790, that, "in 
stowing the slaves, they wedge them in, so that they had 
not as much room as a man in his coffin; that, when 
going from one side of their rooms to the other, he 
always took off his shoes, but could not avoid pinch- 
ing them, and that he had the marks on his feet 
where they bit and scratched him; their confinement 
in this situation was so injurious, that he has known 
them to go down apparently in good health at night, 
and found dead in the morning." 
Any comment on the statement of Falconbridge 
must be superfluous; he had been a surgeon in 
slave-ships, he was a respectable witness before the 
Committee of Inquiry in '[790, and gave the sub- 
stance of this statement in evidence. And it ought 
to be borne in mind that he was an eye-witness of 
the scenes which he has described. His evidence 
is the more valuable, when it is considered that we 
have long been debarred from testimony equally cre- 
dible and direct; as, since 1807, Britain has taken 
no part in the slave-traffic; and it has been the 
policy of the foreign nations who have continued 
ß the trade to conceal, as far as they could, the horrors 
and miseries which are its attendants. 
* Falconbridz, p. 19,&c. 
104 THE $LAYE TRADE. 
Mr. Granville Sharpe (the zealous advocate of 
the negro) brought forward a case which aroused 
public attention to the horrors of this passage. In 
his Memoirs we have the following account taken 
from his private memoranda. 
"March 19, 1783. Gustavus Vasa called on 
me with an account of 130 negroes being thrown 
alive into the sea, from on board an English slave- 
ship. 
"The circumstances of this case could not fail to 
excite a deep interest. The master of a slave-ship, 
trading from Africa to Jamaica, and having 440 slaves 
on board, had thought fit, on a pretext that he might 
be distressed on his voyage for want of water, to 
lessen the consumption of it in the vessel, by throw- 
ing overboard 18 of the most sickly among the 
slaves. On his return to England the owners of the 
ship claimed from the insurers the full value of those 
drowned 'slaves, on the ground that there was an 
absolute necessity for throwing them into the sea, in 
order to save the renaining crew, and the ship itself. 
The underwriters contested the existence of the al- 
leged necessity; or, if ithad existed, attributed it to the 
ignorance and improper conduct of the master of the 
vessel. "Thiscontest of pecuniary interest brought to 
light a scene of horrid brutality which had been acted 
during the execution of a detestable plot. From the 
trial it appeared that the ship Zong, Luke Coiling- 
wood master, sailed from the island of St. Thomas, 
on the' coast of Africa, September 6, 1781, with 440 
slaves and fourteen whites on board, for Jamaica, 
MORTALITY ,,MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
105 
and that in the November following she fell in with 
that island; but, instead of proceeding to some port, 
the master, mistaking, as he alleges, Jamaica for 
Hispaniola, run her to leeward. Sickness and mor- 
tality had by this time taken place on board the 
crowded vessel; so that, between the time of leaving 
the east of Africa and the f29th of November, sixty 
slaves and seven white people had died; and a great 
number of the surviving slaves were then sick and 
not likely to live. On that day the master of the 
ship called together a few of the otcers, and stated 
to them that, if the sick slaves died a natural death, 
the loss would fall on the owners of the ship; but, if 
they were thrown alive into the sea on any sufficient 
pretext of necessity for the safety of the ship, it 
would be the loss of the underwriters, alleging, at 
the same time, that it would be less cruel to throw 
sick wretches into the sea than to suffer them to 
linger out a few Iays under the disorder with which 
they were afflicted. 
"To this inhuman proposal the mate, James Kel- 
sal, at first objected; but Coilingwood at length pre- 
vailed on the crew to listen to it. He then chose out 
from the cargo 132 slaves, and brought them on deck, 
all or most of whom were sickly and not likely to 
recover, and he ordered the crew by turns to throw 
them into the sea. ' A parcel' of them were accord- 
ingly thrown overboard, and, on counting over the 
remainder the next morning, it appeared that the 
number so drowned had been fiftY-four. He then 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
ordered another parcel to be thrown over, which, on a 
second counting. on the succeeding day, was proved to 
have amounteA to forty-two. 
"On the third day the remaining thirty-six were 
brought on deck, and, as these now resisted the cruel 
purpose of their masters, the arms of twenty-six were 
fettered with irons, and the savage crew proceeded with 
the diabohcal work, casting them down to join their 
comrades of the former days. Outraged misery could 
endure no longer; the ten last victims sprang disdain- 
fully from the grasp of their tyrants, defied their 
power, and leaping into the sea, felt a momentary 
triumph in the embrace of death."* 
The evidence taken before the Parliamentary Com- 
mittees of 1790 and 1791, abounds with similar cases 
of enormity. I should be entitled, if it. were neces- 
sary, to quote every one of them, because the middle 
passage, at that time, when the traffic was legal, was 
less horrible than now, when it is ontraband. But 
I have limited myself to two extracts; the one, 
because it is the narrative of a surgeon, T a class of 
otficers now scarcely to be met with in a slave-ship, 
and because it gives, in a brief and continuous narra- 
tive, the chief features of the voyage across the 
* "Memoirs of Granville Sharp," edited by Prince Hoare 
London, 1820, pp. 236 238. 
T Captain Cook, from whose communication to me I have already 
given extracts, narrating some of the cruelties of the middle pas- 
sage, says, "With all this probability, or rather certainty, of dis- 
ease, I never knew but one slaver that cattiest a surgeon." 
MORTALITY-MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
107 
Atlantic; the other, because every fact was proved in 
a court of justice. 
Such were some of the cruelties of the middle pas- 
sage towards the end of the last century; and it might 
have been expected, that since that time, some ira- 
provement should have taken place; but it is not so: 
the treatment of slaves by the British, subsequent to 
the Slave Regulation Act, and down to. 1 .8, 
nildness itself, when eompm-ed with the msenes con 
sequent on the trade, and the system which has been 
pursued in the vain attempt to put it down, since that 
period to the present time. 
Mr. Wilberforce, in his letter to his constituents 
in 180, observes, "Many of the sufferings of these 
wretched be. hags are of a sort for which no legislative 
regulations can provide a remedy. Several of them, 
indeed, arise necessarily out of their peculiar circum- 
stances, as connected with their condition on ship- 
board. It is necdssary to the safety of the vessel to 
secure the men by chains and fetters. It is necessary 
to confine them below during the night, and in very 
stormy weather during the day also. Often it hap- 
pens, that with the numbers still allowed to be taken. 
especially when some of those epidemic diseases pre- 
vail, which, though les frequent than formerly, will 
yet occasionally happen; and when men of different 
countries and languages, or of opposite temper, 
are linked together, that such scenes.take place 
as are too nauseous for descriptiau..Stdt in rough 
weather their limbs must be excoriat by lying 
108 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
on the boards ; still they will often be wounded 
by the fetters; still food and exercise will be deemed 
necessary to present the animal in good condition at 
the place of sale; still some of them will loathe their 
food, and be averse to exercise, from the joint effect, 
perhaps, of sea-sickness and mentM uneasiness; and 
still, while in this state, they will probably be charged 
with sulkiness; and eating and dancing in their fetters 
will be enforced by stripes; still, the high netting 
will be necessary, that standing precaution of an 
African ship agains. t acts of suicide; but more than 
all, still' must the dseases of the mind remain entire, 
nay, they may perhaps increase in force, from the 
attention being less called off by the urgency of 
bodily suffering; the anguish of husbands torn from 
their wives,---wives from their husbands, and parents 
from their children; the pangs arising from the con- 
sideration that they are separated for ever from their 
11 ' 
country, theh' friends, their relations, and con eyaons, 
remain the same."* 
Such is the statement of Wilberforce as to the 
middle passage in its mildest form. This truly great 
man had the satisfaction shortly afterwards to witness 
the abolition of the traffic on the part of Britain, a 
triumph on the side of humanity, which his unceasing 
and strenuous efforts were mainly instrumental in 
obtaining'. 
Since 1808 the English Government has, with 
various succesa, been indefatigably engaged in en-. 
* Wilberforce's Letter, p. 99, &c. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
109 
deavouring to procure the co-operation of foreign 
powers for the suppression of the Slave Trade. In 
virtue of the treaties which have been entered into, 
many vessels engaged in the traffic have been cap- 
tured; and much information has been obtained, 
Which has been regularly laid before Parliament. A 
few of the cases which have been detailed, will now 
be noticed, for the purpose of ascertaining whether 
the miseries which have been narrated have ceased to 
exist; or whether they do not ow exist in a more 
intense degree than at any former period. 
The first case I notice is that of the Spanish brig 
Carlos, captured in 1814. In this vessel of 200 
tons, 512 negroes had been put on board (nearly 
180 moe than the complement allowed on the pro- 
portion of five slaves to three tons). The captor 
reported that "they were so miserably fed, cloth d, 
&c., that any idea of the horrors of the Slave Trade 
would fall short of what I saw. Eighty were thrown 
overboard before we captured her. In many in- 
stances I saw the bones coming through the skin 
from starvation."* 
In the 
40 tons, 
same 
was 
negroes (nearly four to each ton). "The only care 
seemed to have been to pack them as close as pos- 
sible, and tarpaulin was placed over tarpaulin, in 
order to give the vessel the appearance of being 
laden with a well-stowed cargo of cotton and rice." 
year (1814) the schooner Aglae, of 
captured with a cargo of 152 
* African Institution Report, 1815, p. 1 
 lb., Appendix, p. 86. 
110 THE 8LAVE TRADE. 
In 1815 a lieutenant of the navy thus describes 
the state of a Portuguese slaver, the St. Joachim: he 
says, "That within twenty-two days after the vessel 
had left Mosambique, thirteen of the slaves had died; 
that between the capture and their arrival at Simon's 
Bay, the survivors of them were all sickly and weak, 
and ninety-two of them afflicted with the flux; that 
the slaves were all stowed together, perfectly naked, 
and nothing but rough, unplaned planks to crouch 
down upon, in a hold situated over their water and 
provisions, the place being little more than two feet 
in height, and the space allowed for each slave so 
small, that it was impossible for them to avoid touch- 
ing and pressing upon those immediately surround- 
ing. The greater part of them were fastened, some 
three together, by one leg, each in heavy iron shackles, 
a very large proportion of them having the flux. 
Thus they were compelled." &c. (here a cene of 
disgusting wretchedness is described). *' The pilot 
being asked by Captain Baker how many he sup- 
poed would have reached their destination, replied, 
' about half the number that were embarked.' "* 
We have next the case of the Rodeur, as stated in 
a periodical work, devoted to medical subjects, and 
published at Paris. This vessel, it appears, was of 
'200 tons' burden. She took on board a cargo of 
160 negroes, and after having been fifteen days on 
her voyage, it was remarked that the slaves had con- 
tracted a considerable redness of the eyes, which 
spread with singular rapidity. At this time they 
* Aft. Inst. Report, 1818, p. 2/. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
111 
were limited to eight ounces of water a-day, for each 
person, which quantity was afterwards reduced to 
the half of a wine-glass. By the advice of the sur- 
geon, the slaves who were in the hold were 
brought upon deck for the advantage of fresh air; 
but it became necessary to abandon this expedient, 
as many of them who were affected with nostalgia 
threw themselves into the sea, locked in each other's 
arms. The ophthalmia which had spread so rapidly 
and frightfully among the Africans, soon began to 
infect all on board, and to create alarm for the crew. 
The danger of infection, and perhaps the cause 
which produced the disease, were increased by a 
violent dysentery, attributed to the use of rain-water. 
The number of the blind augmented every day. 
The vessel reached Guadaloupe on June 2l, ] 819, 
her crew being in a most deplorable condition. 
Three days after her arrival, the only man who 
during the voyage had withstood the influence of 
the contagion, and whom Providence appeared to 
have preserved as a guide to his unfortunate com- 
panions, was seized with the same malady. Of the 
negroes, thirty-nine had become perfectly blind, 
twelve had lost one eye, and fourteen were affected 
with blemishes more or less considerable. 
This case excited great interest, and several addi- 
tional circumstances connected with it were given 
to the public. It was stated that the captain caused 
several of the negroes who were prevented in the 
attempt to throw themselves overboard, to be shot 
11 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
and hung, in the hope that the example might deter 
the rest from a similar conduct. I is further stated, 
that upwards of thirty of the slaves who became 
blind were thrown into the sea and drowned, upon 
the principle that had they been landed at'Guada- 
loupe, no one would have bought them, while by 
throwing them overboard, the expense of maintain- 
ing them was avoided, while a ground was laid for 
a claim on the underwriters by whom the cargo had 
been insured, and who are said to have allowed the 
claim, and made good the value of the slaves thus 
destroyed. 
Wnat more need be said in illustration of. the ex- 
ß 
tremty of suffen g, induced by the middle passage, 
as demonstrated by the case of the Rodcur ? But 
the supplement must not be omitted. At the time 
when only one man couhi see to steer that vessel, 
a large ship approached, "which appeared to be 
totally at the mercy of the wind and the waves. 
The crew of this vessel, hearing the voices of the 
crew of the Rodeur, cried out most vehemently for 
help. They told the melancholy tale as they passed 
along; that their ship was a Spanish slave-ship, the 
St. Leon; and that a contagion had seized the 
eyes of all on board, so that there was not one indi- 
vidual sailor or slave who could see. But alas! this 
pitiable narrative was in vain; for no help could be 
given. The St. Leon passed on, and was never 
more heard of! " 
* Afr. Inst. Report, 1820, p. . 
MORTALITY MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
113 
In the African Institution Report for 1820, I find 
the following case stated. Captain Kelly, of H.M.S. 
ship Pheasant, captured on July 30, 1819, a Portu- 
guese schooner, called the Novo Felicidade, belong- 
ing to Prince's Island, having on board seventy-one 
slaves, and a crew, consisting of one master and ten 
sailors. ß This vessel measured only eleven tons. 
She was carried by Captain Kelly to Sierra Leone, 
for adjudication, and his judicial declaration con- 
tains the following statement :-- 
"I do further declare, that the state in which. 
these unfortunate creatures were found is shocking 
to every principle of humanity;--seventeen men 
shackled together in pairs by the legs, and twenty 
boys, one on the other, in the main hold,---a space 
.measuring eighteen feet in length, seven feet eight 
inches main breadth, and one foot eight inches in 
height; and under them the yams for their support." 
The appearance of the slaves, when released from 
their irons, was most distressing; scarcely any of 
them could stand on their legs, from cramp and 
evident starvation. The space allowed for the 
females, thirty-four in nmnber, was even lnore con- 
tracted than that for the men, measuring only nine 
feet. four inches in length, four fe. et eig.ht inches 
man breadth, and two feet seven nches n height, 
but not being confined in irons, and perhaps allowed 
during the day to come on deck, they did not pre- 
sent so distressing an appearance as the men."* 
* Aft. Int. Report, 1820, p. 11. 
I 
114 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
We have next another instance of the varied 
cruelties of this part of the subject. La Jeune 
Estelle captured by Admiral Collier in 18'20, after 
a chase of some hours, during which several casks 
were observed to be floating in the sea; but no 
person could be spared at the time to examine them. 
On boarding the Estelle, the captain denied that he 
had any slaves on board; but from the very sus- 
picious appearances around, the officer ordered a 
strict search to be made. An English sailor, on 
striking a cask, heard a faint voice issue from it, as 
if of some creature expiring. The cask was imme- 
diately opened, when two slave girls, about twelve 
or fourteen years of age, were found packed up in it; 
a prisoner on board the captor's ship recognised the 
girls as two out of fourteen, whoin the slaver had 
carried off from a village on the coast. Admiral 
Collier, on this, ordered another search to be made, 
in hopes of discovering the other twelve; but they 
were nowhere to be found. The painful suspicion 
then arose that the slaver had packed up the twehre 
girls in casks, and had thrown them overboard dur- 
ing the chase; but it was too late to ascertain the 
truth of this conjecture, as the chase had led the 
English frigate many leagues to leeward of the 
place where they had observed casks floating in the 
sea.* 
Some of the following extracts are also taken from 
the Reports of the African Institution :-- 
* Aft. Inst' Report, 1821, p. 15. 
MORTALITYMIDDLE PASSAGE. 
115 
A Spanish schooner, the Vicua, when taken pos- 
session of, in 1822, had a lighted match hanging 
orer the open magazine hatch. The match had been 
placed there by the crew before they escaped.. It 
was seen by one of the British seamen, who boldly 
put his hat under the burning wick, and removed it. 
The magazine contained a large quantity of powder. 
One spark would have blown up 3'25 unfortunate 
victims, lying in irons in the hold. These monsters 
in iniquity expressed their deep regret, after the 
action, that their diabolical plan had failed. Thumb- 
screws were also found in this vessel. From con- 
finement and suffering the slaves often injured 
themselves by beating, and vented their grief upon 
such as were next them, by biting and tearing their 
flesh..* 
Les Deux Sceurs was of forty-one tons; the 
Eleanor of about sixty; the first had crammed 132 
negroes, the last 135, into a space capable of con- 
raining about thirty, at full length.' 
In the Report of 1823, we have an account of a 
gallant feat achieved by the boats of a man-of-war, 
commanded by Lieutenant Mildmay, on the 15th of 
April, 182'2. The action took place in the fiver 
Bonny. On the one side were six sail of slavers, 
three of which opened a heavy fire upon "the English 
boats as they advanced. When the latter were near 
enough for their shots to take effect, the firing was 
ß Afr. Inst. Report, 1823, p. 29. 
lb., 1826, p. 55. 
116 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
returned. They advanced, and in a short time took 
possession of all the vessels. 
"Many of the slaves jumped overboard during the 
engagement, and were devoured by the sharks. On 
board the Yeaham, the slaves suffered much; four 
were killed, and ten wounded. Of the wounded, 
three were females; one girl, of about ten years old, 
lost both her legs, another her right arm, and a third 
was shot in the side. Even after the vessel had been 
surrendered, a number of the Spanish sailors skulked 
below, and, arming the slaves with muskets, made 
them fire upwards on the British. On board this 
ship Lieutenant Mildmay observed a slave girl, about 
twelve or thirteen years of age, in irons, to which 
was fastened a thick iron chain, ten feet in length, 
that was dragged along as she moved."* 
Commodore Bu]len writes, of date September 5, 
1825, that the Brazen, last October, overtook 
L'Eclair. "She belongs to Nantz. The master 
stated that he had lost a third of his cargo in em- 
barking them. She measured three feet one inch 
between decks; the men chained; many of them 
unable to sit upright." 
A resident at Freetown thus writes in the Sierra 
Leone Gazette of the 1 l th of December, 1823: 
"Having gone off to the slave-vessels lately sent into 
this harbour, I was struck by the appearance of some 
very fierce dogs, of the bloodhound species, natives 
* Afr. Inst. Report, 1823, p. 28. t I.b., 1826, p. 60. 
MORTA.LITY--MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
117 
of Brazil, nd, on inquiry, found that they hd been 
taken on board for the purpose of assisting their in- 
human masters in coercing the unfortunate victims 
of their lawless cupidity. They had been trained, it 
appears, to sit watch over the hatches during the 
night, or whenever the wretched beings were con- 
fined below, and thus effectually precluded them fi'om 
coming up. This bominable system is, I under- 
stand, pretty generally practised on board the slavers_ 
from Bahia and Cuba. 
In the Sierra Leone Advertiser of November 
2 ' ' ' ta 
18 4, we have some striking ins nce. s of the. frauds 
practised by the Portuguese slavers n c. arrynõ on 
their trade. Of three vessels captured, t appeared 
that the Diana had a royal licence to carry 300 
slaves, as being a vessel of 10 tons; and this in 
accordance with the law allowing five slaves to every 
two tons (equal to three tons British); but in fact 
she admeasured only sixty-six tons, which would give 
a rate of five slaves to one ton. She had shipped at 
Badagry, for Brazil, 156 slaves, besides. her crew, 
eighteen in number. 
The Two Brazilian Friends, licensed to carry 365 
slaves, as being of 146 tons, proved to be of only 95 
tons; and the platform for the men only two feet six 
inches in height; yet she had on board 260 slaves, 
besides a crew of eighteen persons. 
The Aviso, asserted to be 231, found to be only 
165 tons; 465 slaves were stowed in this vessel, 
with a crew thirty-three in number. 
118 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
A great many deaths had occurred in these vessels, 
and the survivors were in a very emaciated stat.* 
The Paris petition of -- February, 1825, states, 
"That it is established, by authentic documents, that 
the slave captains throw into te sea, every year, 
about 3000 negroes, men, women, and children; of 
whom more than half are thus sacrificed, whilst yet 
alive, either to escape from the visits of cruisers, or 
because, worn down by their sufferings, they could 
not be sold to advantag." 
In the Appendix (G)to the Report of the'.fc 
Institution for 1 $27, we have the case of the schooner 
* "' Of all the vessels I was on board of,' says Captain Wool- 
combe, ' this (the Diana.) was in the most deplorable condition; 
the stench from the accumulation of dirt, joined to that of so many 
human beings packed together in a small space (the men all ironed 
in pairs), was intolerable. To add to the scene of misery, the 
small-pox had broken out among them.' 
"Commodore Bullen, who visited the Two Brazilian Friends, 
says, ' Its filthy and horrid state beggars all description. Many 
females were far advanced in pregnancy, and several had infants 
from four to twelve months of age; all were crowded together in 
one mass of living corruption; and yet this vessel had not her 
prescribed complement by nearly 100.' 
"Commodore'Bullen found the A viso in a most crowded and 
wretched condition, although she had on board 120 less than di- 
rected in her passport. Such were the filth and crowd, that not 
one-half could have reached the Brazils alive. At the date of her 
capture she had scarcely 20 days' provisions for the slaves, and less 
water. ' How they intended to subsist them till their arrival at 
Bahia,' says the Captain, ' is to me a problem, ualess they could 
have calculated on a great decrease from death.' " 
' Aft. Inst. Report for 1825, pp. 27, 28. 
t Ib., 1826, pp. 62, 63. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
119 
L'Espoir, as narrated by General Milius, governor of 
Bourbon. "In the month of September, 186, the 
schooner left the Mauritius under English colours, 
shaping its course towards the coasts of Madagascar. 
The Sieur Lemoine was the master; .he fell in with 
a Portuguese vessel laden with negroes and gold- 
dust. An eagerness and thirst of gain seized upon 
his soul; he ran alongside of the Portuguese vessel, 
and immediately killed the mate by a musket-shot; 
having boarded her, he soon obtained possession of 
the vessel attacked, and his first questions were ad- 
dressed to a Portuguese colonel, aged fifty, of whom 
he inquired where the money and gold-dust were 
deposited. After this short interrogatory, Lemoine 
purposely stepped aside, and a man named Reineur, 
who was behind him, with a pistol blew out the un- 
fortunate colonel's brains. The master of the cap- 
tured vessel, alarmed by the rapid succession of these 
massacres, threw himself overboard, in order to es- 
cape a more immediate death. Vain hope! the fury 
of Lemoine and his accomplices was not yet allayed. 
They pro'sued him in a boat, and, having soon over- 
taken him, they cut hin on the head with a sabre. 
The unfortunate man, feeling himself wounded, 
caught hold, in order to support himself, of the boat 
in which his murderers were, who, profiting by this 
last effort of despair, had the dastard cruelty to run 
a sword into his throat, the point of which came out 
: ' d 
at his side the body d:sappeare , and they returned 
on board, fatigued but not satiated with murder. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
They shut up in the hold the remaining Portuguese 
sailors, and, after taking off the rich cargo, they 
scuttled the ship, and unk her with the crew they 
had thus shut up. 
"This is one of many proofs of the piratical habits 
and cruelty produced by the Slave Trade."* 
In the evidence before the Committee on Sierra 
Leone, &½., in 1830, we find it tated, by Lieute- 
nant Tringham, that about 18'25, the vessel in which 
he sailed captured a slave-schooner of seventy or 
eighty tons, bound for Brazil, with o80 slaves on 
board. There were about 100 on deck and 180 
below. They were so crowded on deck, that (as 
the witness says) "We were not able to work the 
vessel without treading on them." As to their pro- 
visions, he remarked that the "jerked beef" was very 
salt, and that there was always a scarcity of water: 
"the allowance was about a pint a-day; they had 
two meals in the day, and about half a pint at each 
meal was their full allowance." 
In the Despatches of Sir Charles MacCarthy, 
dated the 3rd of August, 182, I find the case of 
the San Jos Hallaxa, a schooner under seven tons 
burden, which was captured, by H.M.B. Thistle, in 
the river Calabar; and it appears, by the acknow- 
ledgment of the master, that he shipped at Duke 
Ephraim's Town, on that river, thirty slaves; that 
he had gone to sea with that number on board, in- 
* Aft. Inst. Report, 182. App. G., p. 144. 
 Parl. Report. Sierra Leone, &c., 1530, p. 33. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
121 
tending to proceed to Princes Island, but, not having 
been able to make that port, he had returned to Cala- 
bar, having his provisions and water nearly expended, 
after having been at sea five or six weeks. 
During this voyage, ten unfortunate objects of his 
avarice, not being able to procure sufficient nourish- 
ment to satisi the cravings of nature, had been re- 
leased from further sufferings by starvation! One 
poor female, in the absence of food, had existed on 
salt water until her faculties were destroyed, and she 
became raving mad; but even the deplorable and 
affecting state of insanity did not shield her from the 
brutal outrage of her oppressors, who, with a view 
of stifling her cries by frequent repetition of the lash, 
literally flogged her to death. The owner of this 
vessel, and the purchaser. of these human beings, is 
a woman !---Donna Mara de Cruz, daughter of the 
notorious Gomez, formerly governor of Princes Island, 
and now holding the appointment of fiscal, and mem- 
ber of council. This woman is known to the Mixed 
Commission Cou, having been under their cogni- 
zance some time since as proprietor of the" Concei- 
ao," condemned by the British and Portuguese 
judges."* 
Sir John Barrow, in his able observations on the 
Slave Trade in 1826, says: ." We have also dis- 
covered among the papers before us (those laid be- 
fore Parliament), that the amiable Donna Maria de 
Cruz, daughter of the governor of Princes Island, of 
* Pari. Paper, 1 l th July, 1823, p. 9. 
1 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
whom we had occasion once before to make honour- 
able mention, is still engaged in carrying on the 
tratc, though in a small way. The Victor sloop- 
of-war fell in with and captured a schooner-boat be- 
longing to this paragon of her sex, ?11ed the Mafia 
Pequina. Her burden was five tons She had taken 
on board in the river Gaboon, besides her crew, water, 
and provisions, twenty-three slaves, six of whom had 
already died; they were stowed in  space between 
the water-casks and the deck, of eighteen inches in 
height; and Lieutenant Scott reports that, when he 
seized her, the remaining negroes were in a state of 
actual starvation."* 
Commodore Bullen, in his despatch of 6th No- 
vember, 182õ, describing the capture of Le Daniel, 
says, "in consequence of the heavy rain which com- 
menced shortly after I brought him to, the slaves 
quarrelled among themselves regarding the right of 
precedence of those below to get on deck for fresh 
air, and those who had already the possession of it, 
when, shocking to relate, 19 fell victims." The Com- 
missioners at Havana, in their despatch of the 28th 
August, 188, mention the case of the "Intrepido," 
which, out of a cargo of 343, lost 190 in her passage, 
and 18 after capture, making a total of 9_08. They 
attribute a certain portion of this mortality to two in- 
surrections of the negroes on board, but principally 
Edinburgh Review, No. 44, 1826. 
T Class A, 1829, p. 138. ß 
MORTALITY MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
to the horrible confinement of so great a number on 
board so small a vessel.* 
"The Invincible had on board a cargo of 440 he- 
groes, a number, it seems, sixty-three short of her 
full complement; but these so crowded together that 
it became absolutely impossible to separate the sick 
from the healthy; and dysentery, ophthalmia, and 
scurvy breaking out among them, the provisions and 
water being of the worst kind, ad the filth and stench 
beyond all description, ]86 of the number had pe- 
fished in less than sixty days."+ 
The Maria, 133 Spanish tons burden, captured 
by H.M.B. Plumper, õth December, 1830, was 
found to contain 545 persons, including the crew, ß 
thus allowing only the unprecedented small space of 
one ton for the accommodation of four persons; the 
consequence was., that though she was out only eleven 
days, the small pox, dysentery, and other diseases 
had broken out with great virulence.$ 
Captain Wauchope, R.N., late of the Thalia, has 
stated to me, that while on service with the preven- 
tive squadron in 188, H.M.S. Medina, in which he 
sailed, captured the Spanish brig E1 Juan, with 407 
slaves on board. It appeared that, owing to a press 
of sail during the chase, the E1 Juan had heeled so 
much, as to alarm the negroes, who made a rush to 
the grating. The crew thought they were attempt- 
* Class A., 1829, p. 153. 
t Afr. Inst. Report, 1827, pp. 4, 5. 
 Class A. 1832, p. 13. 
14 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
ing to rise, and getting out their arms, they fired upon 
the wretched slaves through the grating, till all was 
quiet in the hold. When Captain Cassel went on 
board, the negroes were brought up, one living and 
one dead shackled together; "it w as an awful scene 
of carnage and blood; one mass of human gore: 
Captain Cassel said he never saw anything so hor- 
rible in his life." 
Dr. Walsh, in his "Notices of Brazil," gives a 
most animated picture of the state of a Spanish slaver, 
detained by the vessel of war, in which he returned 
from Brazil, in May, 1829. He says, "When we 
mounted her decks we found her full of slaves; she 
had taken on board 562, and had been out seventeen 
days, during which she lost fifty-five. The slaves 
were all enclosed under grated hatchways between 
decks. The space was so low that they sat between 
each other's legs, and stowed so close together that 
there was no possibility of their lying down, or at all 
changing their position by night or day. As hey 
belonged to, and were shipped on account of different 
individuals, they were all branded like sheep, with 
the owners' marks of different forns. These were 
impressed under their breasts, or on their arms; and, 
as the mate informed me with perfect indifference, 
' burnt with the red-hot iron'" 
After many other particulars, the statement of 
which my limits will not admit, Dr. Walsh con- 
tinues:" The poor beings were all turned up to- 
gether. They came swarming up like bees from the 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
125 
aperture of a hive, till the whole deck was crowded 
to suffocation from stem to stern. On looking into 
the places where they had een crammed, there were 
found some children next the sides of the ship. The 
little creatures seemed indifferent as to life or death, 
and when they were carried on deck many of them 
could not stand.. Some water was brought; it was 
then that the extent of their sufferings was exposed 
in a fearful manner. They all rushed like maniacs 
towards it. No entrearies, or threats, or blows could 
restrain them; they shrieked and struggled and fought 
with one another for a drop of the precious liquid, as 
ift.hey grew rabid at the sight of it. There is nothing 
which slaves during the middle passage suffer from 
so much, as want of water. It is sometimes usual to 
take out casks-filled with sea-water as ballast, and 
when the slaves are received on board, to start the 
casks, and refill them with fresh. On one occasion 
a. ship from Bahia neglected to change the contents 
of the casks, and on the mid-passage, found to their 
horror, that they were filled with nothing but salt- 
water. All the slaves on board perished! We 
could judge of the extnt of their sufferings, from the 
sight we now saw. When the poor creatures were 
ordered down again, several of them came and pressed 
their heads against our knees with looks of the great- 
est anguish, at the prospect of returning to the hor- 
rid place of suffering below. It was not surprising 
that they had lost fifty-five, in the space of seventeen 
days. Indeed, many of the survivors were seen lying 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
about the decks in the last stage of emaciation, and 
in a state of filth and misery not to be looked at." 
"While expressing my horror at what I saw, and 
exclaiming against the state of this vessel, I as in- 
formed by my friends, who had passed so long a time 
on the coast of Africa, and visited so many ships, that 
this was one of the best they had seen. The height 
sometimes between decks, was only eighteen inches; 
so that the unfortunate beings could not turn round, 
or even on their sides, the elevation being less than 
the breadth of their shoulders; and here they are 
usually chained to the decks by the neck and legs. 
After much deliberation, this wretched vessel was 
allowed to proceed on her voyage." 
"It was dark when we separated; and the last 
parting sounds we heard from the unhallowed ship 
were the cries and shrieks of the slaves, suffering 
under some bodily infliction."* 
In the same year, 18'29, the Commissioners at 
Havana reported, that "The Fama de Cadiz came 
into port, having previously landed 300 laves at 
Santa Cruz. It is said that this notorious slave- 
trader and pirate had plundered other slave-vessels 
on the coast of Africa of about 980 slaves, and had 
scarcely saile. d for. Cuba, when the small-pox and 
other contagious dseases broke out, which reduced 
the crew of 157 to 66, and her slaves to about 300; 
oœ whom the greatest part are in so wretched a 
* Walh's Notice of Brazil. London, 1830. Vol. ii. p. 
475, &c. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
127 
state that her owners have been selling them as low 
as 100 dollars." 
They also report the arrival of the schooner Con- 
stantia in ballast, after having landed seventy slaves 
on the coast. She is said to have left Africa with 
438 negroes, who have been reduced by the small- 
pox to the above small number. And they add, 
"The mortality on board the slave-vessels this year 
has been truly shocking."* 
In 1829 we have the case of the Midas. This 
vessel left the Bonny with a cargo of 560 slaves, 
and had only 400 on board at the time of detention. 
Of these, after the surrender, about thirty threw 
themselves into the sea. Before she arrived at Ha- 
vana, nine other negroes had thrown themselves 
overboard, sixty-nine had died of the small-pox and 
other diseases. After their arrival ten more died. 
The remainder, 82, were then in a most dreadful 
state; so ill and so emaciated, that" It has hitherto 
been impossible," says the medical officer, "to make 
out the descriptions of their persons and marks that 
are inserted in their certificates of emancipation."t 
In 1831 Captain Hamilton thus writes to the 
Commissioners :--" On our getting into Bahia, in 
the afternoon of the same day, I sent two ottacers on 
board the Destimida to search. They, after some 
time, and with much difficulty, discovered fifty male 
negro slaves concealed in the bottom of the vessel." 
* Class A. 1829, p. 156. t Class Ai 1829, p. 148. 
 Class A. 1831, p. 127. 
I- THE SLAVE TRADE. 
"Five young men were extricated from one water 
butt; but the greater part had been stowed or 
forced into the small or close paces between the 
water-casks under the false decks."* 
Captain Hayes, R.N., mentions the case of a 
slaver, having a large cargo of human beings, chained 
together: "The master of the vessel, with more 
humanity than his fellows, permitted some of them 
to come on deck (but still chained together) for the 
benefit of the air, when they immediately corn- 
meneed jumping overboard, hand in hand, and 
drowning in couples." He explains the cause 
of this circumstance by saying, "they were just 
brought from a situation between decks, and to 
which they knew they must return, where the 
scalding perspiration was running frown one to the 
other, covered also with their own filth, and where 
it is no uncommon occurrence for women to be 
bringing forth children, and men dying by their 
side, with, full in their view, living and dead bodies 
chained together, and the living, in addition to all their 
other torments, labouting under the most famishing 
thirst (being in very few instances allowed more 
than a pint of wa'er a-day). He goes on to say, "I 
have now an officer on board the 'Dryad,' who, on 
examining one of these slave-vessels, found, not only 
living men chained to dead bodies, but the latter in a 
putrid state; and we have now a case which, if true, 
is too horrible and disgusting to be described." 
Class B. 1831, p. 11. t Class B. 1831, p. 10. 
MORTALITY MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
129 
In the.same year (1831), the Black Joke and Fair 
Rosamond fell in with the Rapido and Regulo, two 
slave-vessels off the Bonny River. On perceiving 
the cruisers, they attempted to regain the port, and 
pitched overboard upwards of 500 human beings 
chained together before they were captured. From 
the abundance of sharks in the river their track 
ras literally a blood-stained one."* 
The master of an English merchant-vessel, who 
happened to be in the Bonny, at the time, witnessed 
the whole affair. He lately told me, that "The 
hase was so vigorous, and the slavers so anxious to 
escape, that the four vessels came flying into the 
creek, nearly all together, and ran aground in the 
mud, where the slavers threw overboard Wht re- 
mained of the negroes, very few of whom, from their 
being shackled together, reached the shore; and 
that he and his crew helped to get the vessels again 
afloat, which was accomplished with much difficulty. 
He afterwards met the captain of one of the slavers, 
who justified what he. had done as an act which 
necessity compelled hm to adopt, for the preset- 
vation of his property." 
Captain Ramsay, who at the time commanded 
the Black Joke, has stated to me, that during the 
chase he and his men distinctly saw the sharks 
tearing the bodies of the negroes who were thrown 
overboard by the slavers; and that had it not been 
for the fortunate rescue of two of the slaves of the 
* Laird, vol. ii. p. 3q2. 
K 
130 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
Rapido, who had been flung into the sea shackled 
together, and who were brought up from under 
water l,y a boat-hook, that vessel would have 
escaped conde,nation, as all her slaves had been 
thrown overboard or landed in canoes, before they 
came up with her.* 
Captain Wauchope lias informed me, that on 
the voyage out to Africa, about three years ago, 
his vessel captured a Portuguese slaver, and that 
when the prize-otcer went on boaxl, the Portuguese 
captain asked him, if no slaves had been on board, 
could he have been taken ? The officer answered, 
"No." "Then," said the Portuguese, "if I had 
known it, I would have thrown every one over- 
board." 
In a letter which I received from Captain 
Wauchope, of date 13th August, 1838, he says, 
"In February, 1836, I was informed by Com- 
mander Puget, that the Spanish slaver, Argus, three 
months before this date, was chased by the Cha- 
rybdis, Lieutenant Mercer; that during the chase 
ninety-seven slaves had been thrown overboard, and 
that a Spanish captain he had captured, declared he 
would never hesitate to throw the slaves overboard, 
to prevent being taken." 
Were it not that the evidence on these cases is 
unexceptionable, we could not believe that there did 
exist human beings capable of uttering such senti- 
ments, or of perfox*ming such infamous deeds. 
* See an account of this case in the United Service Journal for 
1833, part i.,p. 505, &c. 
MORTALITY MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
131 
Captain Wauchope in the same letter informs me, 
that on the 18th September, 1836, the Thalia cap- 
tured the Portuguese brig Felix, 590 slaves on board. 
"After capture," he says, "I went on board, and such 
a scene of horror it is not easy to describe; the long- 
boat on the booms, and the deck aft, were crowded 
with little children, sickly, poor little unhappy things, 
ome of them rather pretty, and some much marked 
and tattoed; much pains must have been tken by 
their miserable parents to ornament and beautify 
them. 
"The women lay betwen decks ft, much 
crowded, and perfectly naked; they were not barred 
down, the hatchway, a small one, being off; but 
the place for the men was too h0rrib]e, the wretches, 
chained two and two, gasping and triving to get at 
the bars of the hatchways, and such a steam and 
stench as to make it intolerable even to look down. 
It requires much caution at first, in allowing then 
to go on deck, as it is a common practice for them 
to jump overboard to get quit of their misery. 
"The slave-deck was not more than three feet six 
in height, and the human beings stowed, or rather 
c'ushed as close as possible; many appeared very 
sickly. There was no way of getting into the slave- 
room but by the hatchway. I was told, when they 
were all on deck to be counted, that it was impos- 
sible for any of our people to go into the s]ave-ropm 
for a single minute, so intolerable was the stench 
The co]our of thee poor creatures was of a dark 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
squalid yellow, so different from the fine glossy 
black of our liberated Africans and Kroomen. I 
was shown a man much bit and bruised; it was 
done in a struggle at the gratings of their hatchways 
for a mouthful of fresh air." 
It is fearful to contemplate the increase, of late 
years, in the mortality during the middle passage. 
The chief reason, as it appears, is well given by 
Laird in his journal of the recent expedition to the 
Niger. He says :--" Instead of the large and com- 
modious vessels which it would be the interest of the 
slave-trader to employ, we have by our interference, 
forced him to use a class of vessels, (well known to 
naval men as 4mericazt Clippers,) of the very worst 
description that 'could have been imagined, for the 
purpose, every quality being sacrificed for speed. 
In the holds of these vessels the unhappy victims of 
European cupidity are'stowed literally in bulk."* 
It ought also to be kept in view, that there is this 
material difference betwixt these "clippers" and 
other merchant-vessels: that while the latter usually 
carry far more than their registered tonnage would 
seem to permit, the former invariably exhibit a 
capacity for a cargo greatly below the tonnage by 
registration. 
As a proof of the increase in the mortality on the 
middle passage, I may adduce the evidence of Mr. 
Jackson (who had been a judge in the Mixed 
Laird, vol. ii. p. 369. 
MORTALITY ,, MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
133 
Commission Court at Sierra Leone) before the 
Committee on Sierra Leone, &c., in 1830. In 
answer to a question, he said, 
sufferings of those poor slaves are 
rated by the course now adopted; for the trade 
"I think the 
greatly aggra- 
is .now illegal; and therefore whatever is done, is 
done clandestine]y; they are packed more like bales 
of goods on board than human beings, and the ge- 
neral calculation is, that if in three adventures one 
succeeds, the owners are well paid."* 
Were it not that I feel bound to substantiate my 
case up to the present tine, I would gladly pass over 
the numberless instances of cruelty and mortality 
connected with this branch of the subject, which are 
made known to us by the papers laid before Parlia- 
lnent within the last few years. But I shall notice 
some of these instances, as briefly as can be done, 
without suppressing the main facts which are esta- 
blished by them. 
The Carolina, captured in 1884, off Wydah.t 
"This vessel was only seventy-five tons burden, yet 
she had 350 negroes crammed on board of her, 180 
of whom were literally so stowed as to have barely 
sufacient height to 'hold themselves up, when in a 
sitting posture. The poor creatures crowded round 
their deliverers, with their mouths open and their 
tongues parched for want of water, presenting a 
perfect spectacle of hunan misery." 
Sierra Leone Report, 1830, p. 55. 
t Class A. 1834, p. 17. 
134 THE SLAVE TRAI)E., 
The Patacho, reported by the Commissioners at 
Rio de Janeiro in 1835. This "vessel was in the 
first instance detained only on suspicion, and the 
capturing party had had possession forty-eight hours, 
and had made every possible search, as they supposed, 
before it was discovered that there were any slaves 
concealed on board. What the state of these wretched 
beings, to the number of forty-seven, must have been, 
deprived for 8o long a time of air and food, and 
packed in the smallest possible compass, like so 
many bales of goods, we need not pain your I,ord- 
ship by describing."* 
In a letter from the the Cape of Good Hope, of 
date 0th January, 1837, we find it stated that Her 
Majesty's brig Dolphin had lately captured the 
corvette Incomprehensible; and that, on taking pos- 
session of her, "the scene presented on board was 
harrowing in the extreme. One hundred had died 
from sickness, out of the 800 embarked; another 
100 were lying nearly lifeless on her decks, in 
wretchedness and misery, and all the agony of de- 
spair; the remaining 600 were so cramped from 
the close manner in which they were packed (like 
herrings in a barrel), and the length of time they 
had been on their voyage, and the cold they had 
endured in rounding the Cape, in a state of nudity, 
that it took the utmost exertions of the English 
sailors, favoured by a hot sun, to straighten them." 
* Class A. 1835, p. 286. 
From a correspondent of the Times newspaper. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
135 
In the mppm and Mercantile Gazette of nd 
June, 1838, is the following paragraph: "A letter 
from the ' Snake'sloop of war, dated 81st March, 
1838, says, ' We have captured a very fine schooner, 
called the Arogan, off Cape Antonio, having 350 
slaves of both sexes, under the age of twenty, and 
have sent her into the Havana for adjudication. 
She cleared out from Gallinas, and lost fifty on her 
passage by death, owing to the crowded manner in 
which they were packed, resembling goods in s 
draper's shop.'" 
In the parliamentary papers printed last year by 
the House of Commons, I observe the following 
cases reported : "The brig Don Manuel de Por- 
tugal, from Angola, embarked 600 slaves; of these 
seventy-three died on the voyage." 
"Brig Adamastor, from Quilimane, embarked 
800 slaves; of these 304 died on the voyage !" 
ß ' Brig Leao, frorn Quilimane, embarked 855 
slaves; of these 283 died, or were thrown overboard 
alive, during the voyage. The small-pox having 
appe. ared among the slaves, thirty of them were im- 
mediately thrown overboard alive; aftersyards the 
measles made its appearance, of which 53 died. 
The remaining slaves, 572 in number, were landed 
on the coast of Brazil at Mozambayo, near to 
Ilha Grande, but in so miserable a state that the 
greater part could not walk, but were carried on 
shore."* 
Class B. 183, p, 58. 
136 ?H siw ?mvg. 
"The brig Flor de Quilimane, from Quilimane_, 
embarked 8,50 slaves; of these 163 died on the pas 
sage, and (}97 were landed at Campos in a very 
sickly state."* 
In a letter from a member of the Societyof Friends, 
dated Havana, July 14th, 183(}, and published in 
the Colonization Herald, Philadelphia, Aug. 15th, 
1838, I find the following passage: "In company 
with an English naval otllcer,'I made a visit 
across the bay to several of these slave-vessels. 
YVe were permitted to walk over then, but no 
particular attention was paid to us; on the con- 
trary, we were looked upon with suspicion, and 
received short and unsatisfactory answers to our 
questions in genera]; all attempts to enter into 
conversation with those on board appeared useless. 
With one, however, we were more s.uccessful:  an 
old weather-beate.n Spaniard was .walking the deck; 
although an old prate, his expression of countenance 
was fine: taking a seat under the awning on the 
quarter-deck, offering him a bundle of cigaritas, and 
lighting one ourselves, by degrees induced him to 
enter into conversation, and, in the course of one hour 
or more, I learned from him some horrid truths. He 
told us that, in four voyages, he had brought in the 
vessel in which we were 1600 human beings; his 
was a fortunate vessel, and seldon lost more than 
!alf a dozen a-voyage; once, however, he told us, he 
was not so lucky; a malignant disease broke out on 
Class B. 183/, p. 60. 
MORTALITY MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
137 
board soon after leaving the coast, and, of 300 taken 
in in Africa, but ninety-five were landed, more dead 
than alive, on the is]and. 
"The materiel, such as handcuffs, chains, and even 
the lower-decks, are taken out and are fitted up on 
the coast of Africa. We saw the apertures in'the 
decks to admit the air, and, as we were leaving the brig 
in our boat alongside, the captain exultingly told us 
that he knew we were officers of the British sloop of 
war, pointing to the Champion, which was riding at 
anchor at a little distance from us; 'but,' added he, 
'you are welcome. I yesterday showed your captain 
(meaning of the Champion) all over my trim vessel. 
I have nothing to conceal--you dare not touch tne 
here; and, once outside (with an expressive shrug of 
the shoulders), you may catch me if you can.'" 
We have little authentic information as to the 
transport of the slaves from one part of the coast to 
another in south-east Africa, or from that coast to 
Arabia, and the other countries northwards, to which 
ihey are conveyed. But Captain Moresby, to whom 
I have already alluded, described to me the passage 
coastways, in the following terms: .... "The Arab 
dows, or vessels, are large, unwieldy, open boats 
without a deck. In these vessels temporary plat- 
forms of bamboos are erected, leaving a narrow pas- 
sage in the centre. The negroes are then stowed, in 
the literal sense of tile word, in bulk; the first along 
the floor of the vessel, two adults, side by side, with 
a boy or girl resting bctwee or on them, until the 
138 THE SLAYE TRADE,. 
tier is complete. Over them the first platform is 
laid, supported an inch or two clear of their bodies, 
when a second tier is stowed, and so on until they 
reach the gunwale of the vessel." 
"The voyage, they expect, will not exceed twenty- 
four or forty-eight hours; it often happens that a 
calm, or unexpected land-breeze delays their pro- 
gress: in this case a few hours are sufficient to decide 
the fate of the cargo; those of the lower portion of 
the cargo that die cannot be removed. They remain 
until the upper part are dead, and thrown over, and, 
from a cargo of from 200 to 400 stowed in this vay, 
it has been known that not a dozen, t the ex- 
piration of ten days, have reached Zanzebar. On 
the arrival of the vessels at Zanzebar, the cargo 
are landed; those that can walk up the beach are 
arranged for the inspection of the Imaum's officer, 
and the payment of duties--those that are weak or 
maimed by the voyage are left for the coming tide to 
relieve their miseries. An examination then takes 
place, which for brutality has never been exceeded in 
Snn hfield." 
't 
In immediate connexion with the mortality in- 
cident to the middle passage I come now to the 
subject of 
WRECKS, ETC. ß 
In Appendix D. of the African Institution Repo 
for 1820 we are told that a "Spanish brig, on arri- 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
139 
val at Point k Petre, experienced a severe squall, 
and, on the captain opening the hatches (which 
were let down during the squall), he found fifty of 
the poor Africans dead." 
In Appendix B. of the same report we find, in a 
statement of Sir G. Collier, Dec. 27, 1821, that the 
schooner Carlotta embarked, off Cape Palmas, "260 
slaves; and the very next day, in a tornado off St. 
Ann's, for want of timely precaution, upset, and, 
dreadful to relate, the whole of these wretched people, 
confined in irons, sank with her." 
In the parliamentary papers for 1822 we find, 
"The schooner Yeanam was separated from the other 
vessels in a dreadful storm, as they were proceeding 
to Havana, and sank, with 380 slaves on board."* 
The Accession, an English brig, brought into 
Bahia thirty-nine negroes, whom she rescued from a 
wreck abandoned by its crew. Thirty-one were 
found holding by the top of a mast. - On cutting the 
side of the vessel open, they took out ten more from 
an almost pestilential atmosphere, and saw a number 
lying dead. The crew, and 138 of the slaves, had 
been previously taken out by the Viajante; but, as 
that vessel was herself carrying 622 negroes, she had 
left these others to perish in the waves.y 
I find, by an extract from the Sierra Leone Gazette 
of the 12th June, 1824, that, "on the appearance of 
H.M.S. Victor, a boat full of men was seen to leave 
* Parl. Papers, 11 th July, 1823, p. 7. 
t Aft. Inst. Report, 1826, Pl. 37, 38. 
140 . ß THE SLAVE TRADE. 
the lugger (l'Henrietta Aime), after which she got 
under weigh, but, instead of attempting to escape, run 
on shore in a heavy surf, where she immediately went 
to pieces; and, from the number of blacks observed 
on her decks, there can be no doubt she had her 
cargo of slaves on board, all of whom perished." 
, By the despatch of the Commissioners at Havana, 
of õth February, 18(, it appears that "the Magico 
was fallen in with and chased by H.M.S. Union, and, 
having been brought to action in the course of the 
lst January, she was finally run on shore on the 
morning of the 2nd, and shortly after taken posses- 
sion of. lne crew had previously escaped to land 
with (it is supposed)about 00 negroes; many, how- 
ever, were left behind, severely wounded, some were 
hanging on at different parts of the. vessel, and from 
twenty to thirty of their dead bodies' were seen in 
the sea, evidently the consequence of the endearours 
made to force them to jump overboard and svim 
to the shore. The crew even carried their barbarity 
so far as to leave a lighted match in the powder- 
magazine.* 
In the parliamentary papers of 1827 I find the 
case of the "Teresa," a Spanish schooner, which 
was suddenly laid on her beam-ends by a tornado, 
and almost immediately went down, with 186 slaves 
on board.' 
We have also the account of a wreck of a Portu- 
guese slave-schooner, the Piombeter, at the Bahamas, 
* Class A. 1827, p. 99.  Clas A., 1827, p. 30. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE' PASSAGE. 
14! 
on the 90th of'January, 1837, communicated to.me by 
Major M'Gregor, a special justice. He states that 
the vessel was under fifty tons.burden, and that 180 
slaves had been embarked in her; "they were chiefly 
fine young lads under fifteen years of age." About 
twenty had died before the wreck took place. 
In another letter, dated Nov. 1, 1837, he states 
that several wrecks of slavers had taken place 
in his vicinity. As to one of these he says, "Last 
Friday, the 27th ult., a schooner vessel, under 
the Portuguese flag, was totally wrecked on the 
shore of Harbour Island, where I now reside in 
my official capacity, having upwards of 00 African 
slaves on board at the time, only fifty-three of which 
were saved; the greater part of the ablest men, being 
chained together below at the time, were consequently 
drowned in the hold of the vessel. Sixty bodies have 
since been washed ashore, which I got inferred; up- 
wards of twenty were drifted yesterday to the. mouth 
of the harbour, who seem to have been lettered upon 
the deck, and grouped together in one heap. It is 
supposed that from fifty to sixty bodies are still re- 
maining in the hold of the hull, now almost imbedded 
in the sand. Attempts have been made to dive for 
the bodies, but without success, they being found so 
fast chained 'and crowded together, it was found im- 
possible to remove them. 
"I shall not shock your feelings by entering into 
the details of the abominable conduct of the captain 
and crew of this vessel during the passage towards 
14 ?H SLAVE TRADI. 
some of the most youthful and best. looking on board; 
this was brought to my knowledge by two of the 
Africans, who speak Portuguese, and one who speaks 
a little broken English. .They, appear to have con- 
ducted themselves more hke aemons than human 
beings. 
"This slaver, named the Invincible, took in the 
Africans st Port Prague, Cape de Verd Islands, and 
was bound for Matanzas in the island of Cuba." 
In a letter t¾om Colonel Nicolls, at the Bahamas, 
of date l st August, 1837,* it is stated that "the 
peranza, a Spanish slave-schooner, had been wrecked 
on one of these islands during the preceding month. 
It was ascertained that this vessel had embarked 
320 negroes on the coast of Africa; of these only 
'2'20 were landed at the time of the wreck. It 
appears that between sixty and seventy murders had 
been committed during the voyage on the helpless 
Africans; and in this manner :--When any of the 
slaves refused their food or became sick, the boat- 
swain's mate, with a weighty club, struck them on 
the back of the neck, when they fell, and were 
thrown overboard." 
I make the following extract from the Jamaica 
Watchman, of 9th May, 1838 :--" A report having 
reached Port Royal, that a Spanish schooner, hav- 
ing on board upwards of 300 Africans, had been 
stranded off the Pedro shoals, H.M. ship Nimrod, 
Communicated to me by his brother, Col. Nicolls, R.M. 
MORTALITY---MIDDLE PASSAGE. 
143 
and the Hornet schooner, sailed yesterday morning 
for the purpose of taking her cargo, and bringing 
them into port." "The vessels of war humanely ent 
to seek the unfortunate Africans on board the slaver 
lately wrecked on the Pedro reefs, have returned, 
bringing the melancholy information that no traces of 
them could be found. The vessel had gone to pieces, 
and 300 human beings consigned to a watery grave. 
The crew had taken to their boats and landed at Black 
River."* 
Captain Wilson, R.N., in a letter on this subject, 
dated 9th January, 1839, says; "I have overhauled 
many slave-ships, and freely confess that it is impos- 
sible to exaggerate the horrors they exhibit; they a 
all very much alike, the greater or less misery de 
pending, usually, upon the size of the vessel, and the 
time they might have been embarked, as every day 
brings with it a fearful increase of diseoze, despera- 
tion, imbecility, and death." 
Passing over hundreds of cases of a description 
similar to those which I have noticed, I have now 
done with these heart-sickening details; and the 
melancholy truth is forced upon us, that, notwith- 
* I lately learnt, that the "Aguila Vengadora," had arrived 
at Havana, under the name of the "Esplorador," on the 30th 
June, 1838, with 200 negroes, the remnant of a cargo of 560. 
During her passage from Mozambique, she encountered a storm, 
which compelled the crew to close the hatches on the negroe for 
two days. When the storm abated, it appeared that about 300 
had perished from hunger and suffocation. 
144 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
standing all that has been accomplished, the cruelties 
and horrors of the passage across the Atlantic have 
increased; nay, more, they have been aggravated by 
the very efforts which we have made for the abolition 
of the tratc. 
"Facts too, like these just mentioned, are not extra- 
ordinary incidents, selected and remembered as such. 
They are hourly occurrences of the trade; and as they 
are found in every instance where detection affords 
an opportunity of inquiry, it is absurd to suppose 
that the undetected slave-vessel is exempted from 
sceaes of similar cruelty. It may fairly be assumed, 
that greater cruelty does not obtain in the one vessel 
which is captured, than in the one hundred which 
escape. Some of these have made eleven, some 
thirteen, successful voyages, and there is little doubt 
that similar acts of atrocity have been perpetrated in 
all--that all have been marked by the same accumu- 
lation of human agony, and the same waste of human 
life."* 
I will endearour to give a 
SUMMARY 
of the extent of the mortality incident to the 
middle passage. Newton states, that in his time, it 
amounted to one-fourth, on the average, of the num- 
ber embarked.+ 
From ppers presented to the House of Lords, in 
1799, it appears that, in the year 1791, (three years 
 Afr. Inst. Report for 1825, p. 31. 
Newton, p. 36. 
MORTALITY ,,. MIDDLE PASSAGE SUMMARY. 145 
after the passing of the Slave Carrying Regulation 
Act,) of 15,754 negroes embarked for the West 
Indies, &c., 1378 died during the passage, the aver- 
age length of which was fifty-one days, showing a 
mortality of 8- per cent. 
The amount of the mortality in 1792 was still 
greater. Of 31,.54 slaves carried from Africa, no 
fewer than 5413 died on the passage, naking some- 
what less than 17 per cent., in fifty-one days.* 
Captain Owen, in a communication to the Admi- 
ralty, on the Slave Trade with the eastern coast of 
Africa, in 189_8, states ." That the ships which' use 
this traffic, consider they make an excellent voyage 
.., 
if they save one-third of the number embarked, 
"some vessels are so fortunate as to save one-half of 
their eargo alive." 
Captain Cook says, in the communication to which 
I have before alluded, as to the East coast traffic, "If 
they meet with bad weather, in rounding the Cape, 
their sufferings are beyond description; and in some 
instances, one-half of the lives on board are sacri- 
ficed. In the case of the 'Napoleon,' from Quili- 
mane, the loss amounted to two-thirds. It was stated 
to me by Captains and Supercargos of other slavers, 
that they made a profitable voyage if they lost fifty 
per cent; and that this was not uncommon." 
Cald½leugh says, "scarcely two-thirds live to be 
landed." 
Debates in Parliament, 1806 Ap. p. 1õ1. 
Class B. 1825, p. 41.  Vol. i. p. 56. 
L 
146 THE SLAVE .TRADE. 
Governor M'Lean, of Cape Coast, who has had 
many opportunities of acquiring information on the 
subject, has stated to me, that he considers the ave- 
rage of deaths on the passage, to amount to one-third. 
Captain Ramsay, R.N., who was a long time on 
ervice with the Preventive Squadron, also stated to 
me, that the mortality on the 'passage across the 
Atlantic must be greater than the loss on the pas- 
sage to Sierra Leone, front the greater liberty allowed 
after capture, and from the removal of the shackles. 
He believes the average los to be one-third. 
Rear-Admiral Sir Graham Eden Hamond, Com- 
mander-in-Chief on the South American station, 
in 1834, thus writes to the British Consul at Monte 
Video :--" A slave-brig of 202 tons was brought 
into this port with 521 slaves on board. The vessel 
is said to have cleared from Monte Video in August 
last, under a licence to import 650 African colonists. 
"The licence to proceed to the Coast of Africa is 
accompanied by a curious document, purporting to 
be an application fim two Spaniards at Monte Video, 
named Villaca and Barquez, for permission to import 
650 colonists, and 250 moe--to cov the dtits on 
te voitage."* 
Here we have nearly one-third given, apparently 
for the average loss on the passage, and this, esti- 
mated by the slave-dealers themselves on the Ame- 
rican side of the Atlantic. 
I come next to consider the loss after capture. 
Class B. ] 885, p. 141. 
147 
LOSS AFTER CAPTURE. 
It is melancholy to reflect, that the efforts which 
we have so long and so perseveringly made for the 
abolition of the Slave Trade, should not only have 
been attended with complete failure, but with an in- 
crease of negro mortality. A strikihg exampl.e of 
the truth of this remark is afforded, when we consider 
he great loss of negro life which annually t. akes 
place subsequently to the capture of the slave yes- 
ß sels, on their passage to South America and the Wet 
Indies. 
I do not intend, .in this part of my subject, to dis 
cuss the merits of the construction of the Mixed 
CommissionCourts, or their forms of proceeding; nor do 
I propose, here, to say anything as to the preference 
which it appears to me, ought to be given to Fernando 
Po, over Sierra Leone, as a station for a Commission 
Court, and a dep6t for liberated Africans; my pur- 
pole for the presont is, merely to tate the facts which 
have.come to my knowledge, with the requisite evi- 
dence, bearing on the mortality after capture. 
Admiral Hamond, in a despatch to the Admiralty 
on tiffs subject, in the year 1834, puts the case of a 
14 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
slaver overloaded with negroes, many of them in a 
sickly or dying state, captured and brought into Rio 
Janeiro, (as in the case of the ' Rio de la Plata,') 
where the miserable slaves confined to the vessel, in 
a hot and close port, must await the tarfly process of 
the Mixed Commission Court: and he goes on to say, 
that in such a case, "the stopping of the slave-vessel - 
is only exposing the blacks to greater misery, and a 
much greater chance of speedy death, than if they 
were left to their original destination of slavery."* 
In the'21st Report of the African Institution, we 
have the case of the Pauleta, captured off Cape For- 
mosa, in February, 18'26, by "Lieutenant Tucker, 
H. M. Ship Maidstone, with 1 slaves on board. 
Her burden was only 69 tons, and into this space 
were thrust 8 men, 56 women, 39 boys, and 44 
girls. The ordy provision found on board for their 
subsistence, was yams of the worst quality, and fetid 
water. When captured, both small-pox and dysen- 
tery had commenced their ravages; 30 died on the 
passage to Sierra Leone, and the remainder were 
landed in an extreme state of wretchedness and ema- 
ciation." 
In 1830, a Committee of the House of Commons 
was appointed to consider the relative merits of Sierra 
Leone and Fernando Po. Captain Bullen stated in 
evidence before the Committee, that the Aviso, cap- 
tured near Fernando Po, took five weeks to reach 
Sierra Leone, during which time forty-five of the 
* Class B. 1835, p. 66. 'T Aft. Inst. lport for 182q, p. 9. 
MORTALITY---AFTER CAPTURE. 
149 
slaves died: and that in the case of the Segunda Ro- 
salia, the passage occupied eleven weeks, during 
which more than 120 of the slaves were lost.* 
Lieutenant Tringham informed the Committee that 
he carried a Spanish schooner up to Sierra Leone as 
prize-master. She had 480 slaves on board at the 
time of capture. The voyage to Sierra Leone occu- 
pied six weeks, and 110 slaves died on the passage. 
In answer to the question "If you had had to have 
taken the vessel to Fernando Po for adjudication, 
instead of Sierra Leone, the lives of those persons 
would have been saved ?" he replied, "I think so." 
He afterwards said, that the average voyage of the 
vessels he had taken from the Bights of Benin and 
Biafra to Sierra Leone, was five weeks. 
Mr. Jackson stated to the Committee, that the 
condition of the slaves, at the time of capture, was 
"Inost deplorable, as to disease, and as to the mor- 
tality which has ensued: in one instance, 179 out of 
448 slaves, on board of one vessel, died in their pas- 
sage up;in another, 115 out of f271. In all, with 
only one exception, the nmnbers have been con- 
siderable." 
Mr. John McCormack, in his evidence, said, that 
on going aboard slave-vessels after capture and the 
passage to Sierra Leone, he genelally found the 
slaves who had been any length of time on the voyage, 
"in a most miserable state of debility." And he 
Sierra Leone Report, 1830, p. 8. 
 lb., p. 52. 
lb., p. 32. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
adds, "They unavoidably must, from the description 
of the vessels, suffer very greatly; many of these ves- 
sels have not more than three feet between decks, and 
no air can get to them except what comes down the 
hatchways. They are so low in the water, no air- 
ports can be cut in their sides."* 
In the Appendix to the Report of this Committee, 
a return is given for the period between 10th August, 
1819, and 1 lth October, 1829, 
Of slaves captured . . . . 
Landed at Sierra Leone, or Fernando Po 
Loss on the. passage 
21,563 
3,649f 
Being nearly one-seventh, or about 14 per cent: and 
this almost entirely on the passage to Sierra Leone. 
Mr. Rankin, in his Visit to Sierra Leone, tells 
us of a Portuguese schooner, the Donna Maria 
da Gloria, which he saw there, with a cargo of 
slaves on board. She had embarked them at 
Loando, in August, 1833, and was captured by 
H. M. B. Snake. The captor took the vessel to Rio; 
but the Brazilian'Mixed Commission Court would 
not entertain the case; he was therefore obliged to 
send her to Sierra Leone, Where she arrived on Feb- 
ruary 4, 1834. ()n her arrival, it was ascertained that 
she had lost 95 out of 430 slaves. A long process en- 
sued before the Mixed Commission Coux, the result 
of which was the liberation of the vessel; and at this 
Sierra Leone Report, p. 66. 
lb., Ap. p. 122. 
MORTALITY---AFTER CAPTURE. 
period, her state is thus described: "Notwithstand- 
ing the exertions of Mr. Thomas Frazer, assistant- 
.surgeon of the capturing ship, who continued to ad- 
minister to them while himself in a state of extreme 
suffering and danger, before reaching Sierra Leone, 
104 had died, and 64 more (in a state that moved 
the heart even of the slave-crew) were voluntarily 
landed by the master, and taken charge of by the 
liberated African.department. The miserable rem- 
nant, in a state impossible to describe, afflicted with 
ophthalmia, dysentery, and frightful ulcers, and show- 
ing, also, some symptoms of small-pox, left the kar- 
hour of Sierra Leone; the slaves having been then 
on board 165 days, 137 having elapsed since her 
capture: and of her original cargo of 430,1240 alone 
remained."* 
Dr. Cullen, of Edinburgh, who lately returned 
from Rio de Janeiro, after a five years' residence 
there, thus writes to Lord Glenelg, of date 28th 
February, 1838, in reference to the Donna Mafia 
having been released at Sierra Leone: "Some 
months after this, they were met by a Brazilian 
ship of war, near Bahia, in distress; and their num- 
bers reduced to 170." 
Mr. Rankin visited La Pantics, another yes. 
sel which had been brought into Sierra Leone. 
"The ship," he says, "was thronged with men, 
women, and children, all entirely naked, and 
* Rankin' Visit, &c., vol. ii. p. 96. 
T Class: A (Further Series), 183'/, p. 91. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
disgusting with disease: 74 were at this mo- 
ment in the little schooner. When captured, 315 
had been found on board, forty had died during the 
voyage from Old Calebar. Of the remainder, 8 or 
10 died in the first week after liberation. The ma- 
jority of the survivors were miserably persecuted by 
ophthalmia and dysentery, and 50 were sent to the 
hospital, for fever, at Kissey."* 
In a rep6rt of the Sierra leone Commissioners, 
dated 4th February, 1885, it is stated that "the 
Sutil arrived in this harbour on the 9_..3 rd utt., with 28 
slaves on board, 79 having died on the passage to 
this port, whilst the vessel was in charge of t. he cap- 
tons, in addition to a frightful loss of life which had 
previously occurred on the first night of the voyage, 
owing to a ferocious scramble for room, amongst the 
densely-crowded negroes, and by which many were 
suffocated and killed. The surgeon to the courts 
immediately visited the slaves, and reported that there 
were 21 men and boys, and 8 girls, sick with dysen- 
tery, many of them being in an advanced stage of the 
disease.' 
In the Falmouth Packet of the 8th of December 
last, I find the following statement: "The Brilliant, 
captured by H.M.S Rover, on the 1 l th April, 1838, 
had 89 negroes board; but' owing to the d.elays 
which kept them n their horrible state o f nnpnson- 
ment on board, were daily dying, and from that time 
Rankin, vol. ii. p. 1 . Class A. 1835, p. 48. 
MORTALITY---AFTER CAPTURE. 
153 
to the 16th of September, 119 of these miserable 
creatures had died..When the Buffalo left, the small- 
pox and dysentery had broken out, and was sweeping 
them at the rate of 8 and 10 per day." 
The following list of seventeen vessels, most of 
which were captured in the Bights of Benin and 
Biafra, and brought for adjudication to Sierra Leone, 
will serve to exhibit the loss after capture in a forcible 
manner --- 
ß 
hero , 
con- Vessel s Name. 
demned. 
 ;Emelia 
õ |Invinciv.el 
 Clementma 
d Ceres 
 lArciuia 
 Mensagera 
  nstancm* 
 [ama d Ct 
'Christina 
Tentadora 
Umbellina 
Formidable 
S.u.m 
, Minerva 
Diligencia 
Number 
IL On 
Spanish : 282 
Portu...guese 440 
Brazlmn 471 
do. 279 
do. 448 
do. 353 
Spad%h 562 
438 
do. 980 
do.. 348 
Brazilian 432 
do. 377 
Spanish 712 
do. :335 
do. 725 
do. 600 
do. 210 
7992 
Died 'l'Refe 
Adjudi-J ., 
cation, ICluo A 
107 1828 
190 ,, 
115 1829 
151 1830 
179 ,, 
109 , 
281 ,, 
368* ,  
6807 ,, 
132 1831 
112 ,, 
214 ,, 
3O4 1835 
124 ,, 
208 ,, 
197 
90 
3561 
Page. 
39' 
82 
58 
148 
162 
156 
21 
54 
65 
163 
200 
This vessel w. not brought before the Court. The numbers are 
iven On the authority of Mr. ommissar Judge Macleay. 
. Y 
The same of the Fama da Ca&s. 
Showing a loss on these selected cases of 44 per 
cent. ! 
1,54 . THE SLAVE TRADE. 
In 1830, the Committee of the House of Commons 
came to the following resolution: that captured ves- 
sels are, "on an average, upwards of five weeks on 
their passage from the place of capture to Sierra 
Leone, occasioning a loss of the captu. red slaves 
amounting to from oe-#ixth to oe-half of the whole 
number, while the survivors are generally landed in a 
miserable state of weakness and debihty. 
I have not adverted to Rio de Janeiro, or the Ha- 
vana, on this head, because there are very few cap- 
tures on the American side'of the Atlantic, and when 
ß captures do occur, the time consumed in the passage 
to either of these ports is little, if at all, more than 
what would have been required for completing the 
voyage. 
But it appears to be demonstrated, by evidence 
which cannot be impugned, that the loss after cjoture 
on the African side of the Atlantic, varies froan one- 
ixth to one-half of the whole number. 
LOSS AFTER LANDING AND IN THE SEASONIN(. 
The last head of mortality, is that which occurs 
after landing from the slave vessel, and in the season- 
lng. 
We are here again.obliged to go back, for infor- 
mation, to the evidence at the end of the last century; 
but in this branch of the subject, so far as can be as- 
certained, there has been no improvement; on the 
contrary, the slaves are now subjected to. greater 
* Sierra Leone Report, 1830, p. 4. 
MORTALITY---AFTER LANDING. 
hardsMps, in their being landed and concealed as 
smuggled goods, than they were. in former times, 
when a slave-vessel entered the ports of. Rio Janeiro 
and Havana as a fair trader, and openly disposed 
of her cargo. 
Mr. Falcon bridge, whose evidence has already 
been'largely quoted, tells us, that on being landed 
the negroes are sold, sometimes by what is termed a 
scramble; "but previous thereto," he adds, "the sick 
or refuse slaves, of which there are frequently many, 
are usually conveyed on shore, and sold at a tavern 
by public auction. These, in general, are purchased 
by the Jews and surgeons, but chiefly upon specula- 
tion, at so low a price as five or six dollars a-head. 
"I ws informed," he says, "by a Mulatto woman, 
that she purchased a sick slave at Grenada upon spe- 
culation, for the small sum of one dollar, as the poor 
wretch was apparently dying of the flux. It seldom 
happens that any who are carried ashore in the ema- 
ciated state to which they are generally reduced by 
that disorder, long survive their landing. I once saw 
sixteen conveyed on shore, and sold in the foregoing 
manner, the whole of whom died before. I left the 
island, which was within a short time' after." Va- 
' U 
rio s are the deceptions made use of in the disposal 
of the sick slaves, and many of these such as must ex- 
cite in every humane mind the liveliest sensations of 
horror. I have been well informed that a Liverpool 
captain boasted of his having cheated some Jews by 
the following stratagem:. "A lot of slaves afflicted 
THE SLAVE TRADE. ' 
with the flux, being about to be landed for sale, he 
directed the surgeon to . . . . . . . . . 
ß . . . . Thus prepared, they were landed and 
taken to the accustomed place of sale, where, being 
unable to stand, unless for a very short time, they are 
usually permitted to sit. The Jews, when they ex- 
amine them, oblige them to stand up . . . . . 
ß . . . . . . and when they do not perceive 
this appearance, they consider it as a symptom of 
recovery. In the present instance, such an appear- 
ance being prevented, the bargain was struck, and 
they were accordingly sold. But it was not long 
before a discovery ensued. The excruciating pain, 
which the prevention occasioned, not being to be borne 
by the poor wretches, was removed, and the deluded 
purchasers were speedily convinced of the imposi- 
tion "* 
In t]he report of the African Institution for 
1818, the case of the Joachim, a Portuguese slave- 
vessel, is noticed; and Lieutenant Eicke, after stating 
the wretched condition of the slaves at and s.ubsequent 
to the time of capture, says, "That between the nine- 
teenth and twenty-fourth day of their being landed, 
thirteen more died, notwithstanding good provisions, 
medical aid, and kind treatment, and t]itp more 
died between the 24th of February and 1 õth instant; 
all occasioned, as he in his conscience is firmly per- 
sued, by the cruel and inhuman treatment of the 
Po-tuguese owners; that more than 100 of them 
* Falconbridge, p.33. 
MORTALITY---AFTER LANDING. 
1,57 
were at the time of their. landing just like ske- 
letons covered with skin, and moving by slow ma- 
chinery, hardly maintaining the appearance of ani- 
ß .O' 
matqd human bemos. That the remainder of them 
were all enervated, and in a sickly state."* 
In an official medical report as to the health of the 
liberated Africans at the Gambia, of date 31st of 
December, 1833, and drawn up by Mr. Foulis, Assist- 
ant-Surgeon of the Royal African Corps, and Dr. 
James Donovan, Acting Colonial Surgeon, it is 
stated, that the greater part of those, who are weak 
and emaciated on arrival, soon afterwards die; many, 
after a longer or shorter residence, fall into the same 
state, linger, and also perish from causes not very 
dissimilar. For this mortality, the medical board 
assigned, as probable causes, the long confinement in 
slave-houses previous to embarkation, want of clean- 
liness and ventilation while on board the slave-ships, 
alterations in dress, food, and habits, and, not the 
least, change of climate. These act directly, simul- 
taneously, and banefully, on the system in a very 
great number of instances. But when. the sad re- 
collection of perpetual expatriation; the lacerated 
feelings of kindred and friendship; the rude vio- 
lation of all the sacred and social endearments of 
country and relationship; the degrading anticipa- 
tion of endless unmitigated bondage, are added to 
those, they act still more injuriously on the consti- 
* Aft. last, Report, 1818, p. 28.' 
']  THE 8LA.VE TRADE. 
tu!ion, although exerted through the medium of 
mind. The moral and physical combination of such 
extraordinary circumstances, concentrated with such 
fearful intensity, conjunctly creates disease in such 
a redoubtable shape, as to induce a belief that 
nothing similar has yet appeared in the annals of 
physic."* 
Mr. Rankin, in his work on Sierra Leone, says, t 
"To the King's Yards I paid frequent visits, and 
found an interest awakened on behalf of the people. 
Of the women, many were despatched to the hospi- 
tal at Kissey, victims to raging fevers. Others had 
become insane. I ws informed that insanity is the 
frequent fate of the women captives, and that it 
chiefly comes upon such as at first exhibit mot 
intellectual development, and greatest liveliness of 
disposition. Instances were pointed out to me. 
The women sustain their bodily sufferings with 
more silent fortitude than the men, and seldom 
destroy themselves; but they brood more over 
their misfortunes, until the sense of them is lost 
in madness." 
Dr. Cullen,õ in his letter to Lord Glenelg, men- 
Records of the Colonial Ottlce for 1833. 
 Vol. ii. p. 124.  Ibid. 
õ Dr. Cullen also writes, that,. about the same time, a British 
cruiser, the Raleigh, Captain Qum, brought in a laver, the Rio 
da Plata, with about 400 Africanz on board, who were lmded, 
and a guard placed over them; and that, "a few nights after 
they were put ashore, the guard was surprised in fie middle of 
the night, by a band of feilow pretending to be justice of the 
MORTALITY'--AFTER LANDING. 
159 
tiens the following case: "About the beginning of 
1834, a small schooner (I think the name was the 
Duqueza de Braganza) was captured by one of Her 
British Majesty's cruisers, and brought into Rio de 
Janeiro, having on board between 300 and 400 Afri- 
cans, mostly children ;-these poor creatures had suf- 
fered much from their long confinement in such a 
small vessel, and it is believed a great many had died 
on the passage. By the humanity of the late Admiral 
Sir Michael Seymour, they were taken on shore, 
and properly cared for, otherwise the mortality 
amongst them after landing must have been greater 
than it was." He then says, that they were ad- 
judged to be free. At the time of the sentence of 
the Cout, "they were reduced by deaths to 288, 
all of whom were sent to the house of correction, to 
work for the Brazilian government. I called at this 
house of correction eight days after their arrival 
there, when seven more had died, and there were 
then thirty-five sick, confined in a small room, lying 
on the floor, without bed or covering of any kind 
with their heads to the wall and their feet towards 
the centre, leaving a narrow passage between the 
rows. The same day, I saw about 100 of these 
children in an apartment on the ground-floor, 
sitting all round on their .heels, after the fashion 
peace, who carried off 200 of the negroes, and next day no traces 
of them could be-found. Those that remained were taken to the 
house of correction, and disposed of in the Brazilian fashion ." 
 Class A (Farther Seriel) 153, p. 91. 
160 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
of the country, and looking most miserable. On 
the November following, I again visited the house 
of correction, and learned that out of the f88, sent 
there in June, 107 had died, and a great many more 
were sick."* 
In the letter from Havana, dated in 1838, from 
which I have already quoted, the following account 
is given: "In the cool of the evening we made a 
visit to the bazaar. A newly imported cargo of 220 
human beings were here exposed for sale. They 
were crouched down upon their forms around a 
large room: during a visit of more than an hour 
that we were there, not a word was uttered by 
one of them. On entering the room, the eyes of 
all were turned towards us, as if to read in our 
countenances their fate; they were all nearly naked, 
being but slightly clad in a light check shirt, upon 
which was a mark upon the breast; with a few ex- 
ceptions they were but skin and bone, too weak to 
support their languid forms; they were reclining on 
the floor, their backs resting against the wall. 
When a purchaser came they were motioned to 
stand, which they obeyed, though with apparent 
pain; a few were old and grey; but the greater 
proportion were mere children, of from ten to thir- 
teen or fifteen years of age; when they stood, their 
legs looked as thin as rees, and hardly capable of 
supporting the skeletons of theirwasted forms. The 
Class A (Farther Series), 183, p. 91. 
MORTALITY---AFTER LANDING. 
161 
keeper informed us they were of several distinct 
tribes, and that they did not understand one another: 
this was apparent from the formation of the head. 
While we were there, five little boys and girls were 
selected and bought to go into the interior: no 
regard is.paid to relationship, and, once separated, 
they never meet again! We left the tienda, and, 
turning through the gateway, we saw some who 
were lying under the shade of the plantain, whose 
appearanc e told that they, at least, would be h- 
berated frown bondage by death. They were those 
who had suffered 1IIost during the voyage,- their 
situation was most melancholy. [ offered to one 
the untasted bowl of cocoa-nut milk I was about 
drinking,.--she motioned it away with a look which, 
even from a negress, was expressive of thankfulness, 
and which seemed to say how unused she was to 
such kindness." . 
The Quarterly Review (vol. xxx.), contains an 
article on Mengin's ' Histoire de l'Egypte,'* in 
which the reviewer, speaking of Ismael Pacha's 
expedition to the south, says, "The hopes of the 
Pacha, however, were greatly disappointed in these 
black troops (captured in Soudan). They were 
strong, able-bodied men, and not averse from being 
taught; but when attacked by disease, which soon 
broke out in the camp, they died like s. heep infected 
with the rot. The medical men ascribed the mor- 
* Histoire de l'Egypte par Felix Mengin, l$23.--Quarterly 
Review, vol. xxx. p. 491. 
16' THIt SIAYB TRADE. 
tality to moral rather than physical causes; it 
appeared in numerous instances, that having been 
snatched away from their homes and families they 
were even anxious to get rid of life, and such was 
the dreadful mortality that ensued, that out of 
20,0(O of these unfortunate men, 3000. did not. 
remain alive at the end of two years." 
Dr. Bowring has stated to me, that the negroes 
which have been conveyed into Egypt, "suffer muck 
from nostalgia, and when they have been gathered 
together into regiments, the passionate desire to re- 
turn home frequently produced a languishing malady, 
of which they die in large numbers. The mor 
tality among the slaves in Egypt is frightful,---when 
the epidemical plague visits the country, they are 
swept away in immense multitudes, and they are 
earliest victims of almost every other domineering 
disease. I have. heard it estimated that five or six 
years are suicient to sweep away . generation of 
slaves, at the end of which time the whole ]as to 
be replenished. This is one of the causes of their 
low market-value. When they marry, theix de* 
scendants seldom live; in fact, the laws of naturs 
seem to repel the establishment of hereditary 
v0ry." 
'8 
But it  needless to mtiply instances oa thi 
head; and I shall only further notice a few of the 
authorities for the amount of tke mortality aft 
landing and in the seasoning. 
Mr. Pitt, in .the debate on the Slave Trade,. in 
MORTALITY---AFTER LANDING. 
168 
1791, made the following bbservation----" 'The evi- 
dence before the House, as to this point (the morta- 
lity), was perfectly clear; for it would be found in 
that dreadful catalogue of deaths in consequence of 
,the seasoning and the middle passage, which tha 
House had been condemned to look into, that 
one-half die." . 
Mr. Wilbefforce, in his letter of 1807, (page 95,) 
says, "The aurvivora were landed in such a diseased 
at, that 4 per cent. of the whole number imported, 
were estimated to die in the short interval between 
the arrival of the ahip and the sale of the cargo, 
probably not more than a fortnight; and after the 
slaves had passed into the hands of the planters, the 
numbers which perished from the effects of the 
voyage were allowed to be very considerable." It 
ought not to be forgotten, that Pitt and Wilberforce 
are speaking of a period when the Slave Trade was 
legal, and the Slave Carrying Act in operation. 
What then may be the increase of this mortality, 
now that the trade is clandestine, and the slaves 
packed on board of the "Clippers,' like "bales of 
goods ?" 
The Duc de Bfoglie, when addressing the Cham- 
ber of Peers on this subject, in March 182, made 
the following remark--" And it is a weB-known 
fact, that a fourth, or even a third, of the eargo gene- 
rally perishes either on ship-board, or soon after the 
landing, from the diseases incident to the voyage."* 
* A fT. Inst. Report, Ap. 2, No. 15, 1  
164 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
In the debate of 1791, Mr. Stanley (then agent 
for the Islands and advocating the continuance of the 
Slave Trade) said, speaking of the negroe "As 
to their treatment in the West Indies, he was himself 
witness that it was in general highly indulgent and 
humane," and yet "he confessed that ONE-HALI, 
very frequently, died in the SEASONI'e." 
I have now, in the discharge of a most painful 
duty, brought under review a complication of human 
misery and suffering, which I may venture to say 
has no parallel; but before concluding this branch 
of the case, it may be proper to exhibit, in a summary. 
manner, the amount of negro mortality, consequent 
on the Slave Trade. 
' SUMMARY. 
1st. The loss incident to the seizure, march to 
the coast, and detention there. 
Newton. (p. 73) is of opinion, that the captives 
reserved for sale, are fewer than the slain. 
Mr. Miles (p. 73) stated to the Committee in'1790, 
that in one of the "Skirmishes" for slaves, "above 
sixty thousand men" were destroyed. . 
Bosman narrates, that in two of these skirmishes 
"above one hundred thousand men were killed ;" 
and Mr. Devaynes has said, that in one of these 
"skirmishes" "60,000 lost their lives."* And 
Denham (p. 74) narrates, that in five marauding ex- 
ß It is obvious that these very large numbers must be received 
with considerable qualification. There can be no doubt, however, 
that the slaughter was great. 
MORTALITY. AFTER LANDING. 
16.5 
cursions, "0,0()0 at least," were slaughtered, and 
16,000 sent into slavery; and he gives another 
instance, where "probably 6000" were slaughtered, 
in procuring 3000 slaves. 
On the route to the coast, we may cite the autho- 
rity of Park, Denham, t; and M. Mendez (p. $7) 
estimates the loss on' head, to amount to five- 
twelths of the whole. 
For the mortality occasioned by detention be- 
fore embarkation, we have the authority of Frazer, 
Park, Leonard, Landers, gnd Bailey. 
From these authorities, we are fairly entitled to 
assume that from the sources seizure, march, and 
detention, for ever .slave emba'ked, o life 
criyoed. 
fndly. The loss from the middle passage ap- 
pears to be not les than f per eeat. For this 
there is conclusive evidence. The witnesses have 
no assignable motive for exaggeration; they are 
men holding public situations, of unimpeachable 
veracity, and with the best opportunities of forming 
a correct estimate. 
The Rev. John Newton had, himself, been for 
many years a slave-trader, and speaks of what he 
saw. The Slave trade was then legal, and the 
vessels employed were usually large and commo- 
dious, and very different from the American clippers 
.now in use. He rates the loss during the mid-pas- 
sage at 25 per cent. Captain Ramsay had com- 
'manded one of H. M. cruisers, employed .in sup- 
pressing the Slave Trade, had taken many slavers, 
and could not be ignorant of the state of the cap- 
lured cargoes. His estimate is 33 per cent. 
Slave-trading vessels are continually passing 
under the eye of the Governor of Cape Coast Castle. 
His attention has been constantly kept alive to the 
subject, and few men have had such opportunities of 
arriving at the real truth. Mr. Maclean's estimate 
is thirty-three per cent. 
Commodore Owen reports that which came to his 
knowledge while he was employed by government 
in surveying the eastern coast of Africa. His esti- 
mate is fifty per cent. This excess, as compared 
with the others, is accounted for, by the additional 
length of the voyage round the Cape of Good 
If, after such testimony, there were room for hesi- 
tation, it must be removed by witnesses of a very 
different kind. The Spanish slave-merchants of 
Monte Video, it is fair to presume, are well ac- 
quainted with the usual rate of mortali in their 
slave-vessels; and we may give them credit for not 
acting contrary to their own interests; so confident 
are they that, at least, one-third will perish, that they 
providently incur the expense of sending out that 
amount of surplus, for the purpose (in their own 
words) "of covering the deaths on the voyage." 
I hould be justified in taking the average of these 
authorities, which would be thirty-four per cent; but 
a it i my wih to be ozuredly within the mark, I 
MORTALITY----AFTER LANDINg. 
will state the mortality from the middle passage at 
ttotp-.five 1e cent. 
In the ame pirit I will take no notice of the 
mortality after capture, which, says the report of the 
Parliamentary Committee, amount to from one- 
ixth to one-half. 
3dly. As to the loss after landing, and in the 
seasoning. 
Under this head, we have, among others, two au- 
.thorities which require particular attention; one of 
them referring to the time when the Slave Trade was 
legal, the other to a recent date, and both of them 
coming f-om unexceptionable quarters. Mr. Stanley, 
a West India Agent, arguing for the continuance of 
the Slave Trade, and lauding the treatment of the 
neg'oes, confesses that one-half frequently die in the 
seasoning. The other, the report of the Medical 
Olcers appointed to investigate the state of the libe- 
rated Africans at the Gambia; which describes a 
large proportion of them as labouting under disease, 
"nothing equal to which has been known hitherto in 
the annals of physic." If such be their state when they 
fall into the hands of the British, are treated by them 
with kindness, and are relieved from their most fright- 
ful apprehensions, may we not suppose that their 
state is still more miserable, and the mortality still 
greater, when they are landed clandestinely at Cuba, 
and know that they are doomed to interminable 
bondage ? 
Upon the strength and authority of these facts, I 
165 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
might fairly estimate the loss under this head at one- 
third; but I think I cannot err, on the side of exag- 
geration, in setting it down at twento per cent. 
Nor does the mortality stop here. In slave coun- 
tries, but more especially where the Slave Trade 
prevails, there is, invariably, a great diminution of 
human life; the numbers annually born, fall greatly 
below the numbers which perish. It would not be 
difficult to prove, that in the last fifty years there has 
been, in this way, a waste of millions of lives; but 
as this view of the subject would involve the horrors 
of slavery, as well as of the Slave Trade, I shall ab- 
stain from adding anything on this head, to the cata- 
logue of mortality which I hav already given. 
We have thus brought into a narrow compass the 
mortality arising from the Slave Trade.. 
Per Cent. 
1. Seizure, march and detention . . 100 
2. Middle passage, and after capture 25 
3. After landing, and in the seasoning 20 
155 
So that for every 1000 negroes alive at the end of a 
year after their deportation, and available to the 
planter, we have a sacrifice of 1450. 
Let us apply this calculation to the number landed 
annually in Cuba, Brazil, &c., which, as I have al- 
ready shown (p. 26) may be fairly rated at 150,000; of 
these 20 per cent, or 30,000, die in the seasoning, 
leaving 120,000 available for the planter. 
MORTALITY---AFTER 'LAN DING. 
169 
If 150,000 were landed, there must have been 
embarked 95 per cent, or 37,500 more, who perish 
in the passage: and if 187,500 were embarked, 100 
per cent, or 187,500 more, must have been sacrificed 
in the seizure, march, and detention. 
It .is impossible for any one to reach this result, 
without suspecting, as well as hoping, that it must 
be an exaggeration;and yet there are those who 
think that this is too low an estimate.* 
I have not, however, assumed any fact, without 
giving the data on which it rests; neither have I 
extracted from those data any immoderate inference. 
I think that the reader, on going over the calcula- 
tion, will perceive that I have, in almost every in- 
stance, abated the deduction, which might with jus- 
tice have been made. If then we are to put confl- 
Mr. Rankin ays :-- ' 
"The old and new Calebar, the Bonney, Whydah, and the Oal- 
linas, contribute an inexhaustible supply for the French islands of 
the West Indies, Rio Janeiro, Havana, and the Brazils, where, 
notwithstanding every opposition and hindrance from the British 
cruisers, one hundred thousand are supposed to arrive in safety 
annually; five times that number having been lost by capture or 
death. Death thins the cargoes in various modes; suicide de- 
stroys many; and many are thrown overboard at the'close of the 
voyage; for as a duty of ten dollars is set by the Brazilian Go- 
vernment upon each slave upon landing, such as seem unlikely to 
survive, or to bring a price sufiicienfiy high to cover this custom- 
house tax, are purposely drowned before entering port. Those only 
escape these wholesale murders who will probably recover health 
and flesh when removed to the fattening pens of the slave-farmer, 
a man who contracts to feed up the skeletons to a marketable 
appearance." Vol. ii. p. /1. 
!70 ?fOe SIVI 
dence in the authorities (most of them oilcid) which 
I have quoted, we cannot avoid the conclusion,--ter- 
rible as it is,--that the Slave Trade between Africa 
and America annually subjects to the horrors of 
slavery . . . . . 120,000 
And murders . . .30,000 
37,5OO 
187,500 
255,000 
Annual victims of Christian Slave Trade 375,000 
,, ,, of Mohammedan . 100,000 
475,OOO 
Annual loss to Africa 
ß The following is au estimate of the amount and mortality of 
the Northern or Mahommedan Slave Trade :-- 
Number annually exported by the Iraaura of 
Muscat . . . . . 80,000 
Do. by Traders to Barbary, EsTpt, &c. . . 20,000 
Loss on Seizure, . . 
,, March . . 
,, Detention . 
Middle Passae 
Seasoning . 
50 per cent 
0 . 
tt t 
Inall .. 100  
Annual victims of Mohammedan Slave Trade 
50,000 
' Dr. Bowring states, (as to Egypt) that 30 per cent. perish in 
the first 10 days after aeizure; and that the loss from the time of 
capture to the arrival at the market in Cairo may be estimated at 
] 00 per cent. 
FAILURE OF IllOa?S, ETC. 171 
(IoNSEqUENT STATE OF AacA. 
Even this is but a part of the total evil. The great 
evil is, that the Slave Trade exhibits itself in Africa 
as a barrier, exehding everything which can soften, 
or enlighten or civilise, or elevate the people of that 
vast continent. The Slave Trade suppresses all other 
trade, creates endless insecurity, kindles perpetual 
war, banishes commerce, knowledge, social improve- 
ment, and above all, Christianity, from one quarter 
of the globe, and from 100,000,000 of mankind. 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS ALREADY MADE FOR UP- 
PRESSION OF THE LAVE TRADE. 
It is but too manifest that the efforts already made 
/'or the suppression of the Slave Trade, have not ac- 
complished their benevolent object. 
The people of England take a more lively and in- 
.tense interest in this, than perhaps in any other fo- 
reign subject. The Government, whether in the hands 
of the one party or the other, cannot be accused of 
having, for a long series of years, been wanti0g either 
in zeal, or exertion, for its suppression. Millions of 
'money and multitudes of lives have been sacrificed; 
and in return for all, we have only the afflicting con- 
viction, that the Slave Trade is as far as ever from 
being suppressed.. Nay, I am afraid the fact is 
not to be disputed, that while we have thus been 
endeavouring to extinguish the traffic, it has actu- 
ally doubled in amount. 
172 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
In the debate of 9.A April, 1792, Mr. Fox rated 
the Slave Trade at 80,000 annually: he says, "I 
think the least disreputable way of accounting for 
the supply of slaves, is to represent them as having 
been convicted of crimes by legal authority. What 
does the House think is the whole number of these 
convicts exported annually from Africa ? 80,000." 
In the same debate Mr. Pitt observed, "I know of 
.no evil that ever has existed, nor can imagine any 
evil to exist, worse than the tearing of 80,000 per- 
sons annually from their native land, by a combina- 
tion of the most civilised nations in the most enlight- 
ened quarter of the globe." The late Zachary Ma- 
caulay, than whom the African has had no better 
friend, told me a few days before his death, that 
upon the most accurate investigation he was able 
to make as to the extent of the Slave Trade, he had 
come to the conclusion that it was 70,000 annually, 
fifty years ago. Twenty years ago the African Institu- 
tion reported to the Duke of Wellington that it 
was 70,000. We will assume then that the num- 
ber at the commencement of the discussion was 
70,000 negroes annually transported from Africa. 
There is evidence before the Parliamentary Com- 
mittees, to show that about one-third was for the 
British islands, and one-third for St. I)omingo, 
so that strictly speaking, if the Slave Trade of other 
countries had been stationary, they ought only at the 
utmost to import 25,000; but I have already proved 
FAILURE. OF EFFORTS, ETC. 173 
that the number annually landed in Cuba and Brazil, 
&c,, is 150,000, being more than double the whole 
draught upon Africa, including the countries where 
it had ceased when the Slave Trade controversy 
began. Twice as many human beings are now its 
victims as when Wilberforce and Clarkson entered 
upon their noble task; and each individual of thi 
increased number, in addition to the horrors which 
were endured in former times, has to suffer from 
being cribbed up in a narrower space, and on board 
a vessel, where accommodation is sacrificed to speed. 
Painful as this is, it becomes still moye distressing 
if. it shall appear that our present system has not 
failed by mischance, from want of energy, or from 
want of expenditure, but that the system itself is er- 
roneous, and must necessarily be attended with dis-. 
appointment. 
Hitherto we have effected no other change than a 
change in the flag under which the trade is carried 
on. It was stated by our ambassador at Paris, to the 
French minister, in 1824 (I speak from memory), 
that the French flag covered the villains of all nations. 
For some years afterwards the Spanish flag was gene- 
rally used. Now, Portugal sells her flag, and the 
greater part of the trade is carried on under it. Her 
gogernors openly sell, at a fixed price, the use of 
Portuguese papers and flag. 
So grave an accusation ought not to be made 
without stating some of the authorities on which it 
is grounded. In a Parliamentary paper on the 
174 . TIIR SLAYB TR&DR. 
subject of the Slave Trade, presented in 189.,3, Sir 
Charles M'Carthy states in his letter of the 19th 
June 1822,* that "the case of the' Conde de Ville. 
Flor,' seized near Bissao, fully establishes that 
Signor Andfade, the governor, had shipped a number 
o/slaves on his own account." Sir Charles further 
states that "he received repeated reports of the. 
governors of Bissao and Cacheo having full car- 
goes of slaves in irons ready for all purchasers; 
that the traffic is carried on openly at the Cape de 
Verd Islands, St. Thomas, and Prince's." This 
statement is confirmed by "Lieutenant Hagan, of 
Her Majesty's brig Thistle, who informed .him that 
the traffic in slaves was carried on at Bissao and 
Cacheo in the most open manner, under the sanc- 
tion of the governor, the latter of whom is the 
principal dealer in slaves." 
The practice of 1822 has continued to the present 
time. On the 3d March 1838, Lord Palmer, 
in a spirited note, states to the Portuguese Minister, 
"that the Portuguese flag is lent, with the conniv- 
ance of Portuguese authorities, to serve as a p 
tion for all the miscreants of every other nation in 
the world, who may choose to engage in such Base 
pursuits."? 
The charge thus made, extends only to the/end/#g 
of the flag of Portugal; it might have gone farther. 
In an enclosure in a letter from Lord Palmerston to 
Papers, Slave Trade, 1 lth July, 1823. 
Cimu It. (Farther Series), lSO, p. 29, presented 1838. 
FAILUBE OF EFFORTS, BTC. 175 
our Ambassador at IAbon, dated 30th April 1838, 
it-appears that "the Governor of Angola has eta- 
blished an impot or fee of 700,000 reis to be paid 
to him for every vessel which embarks sinyea from 
thence, it being undortood that upon payment of 
the above-mentioned sum, no impediment to thz 
illicit trade shall be interposed by the governor, nor 
any farther risk be incurred by the persons engaged 
in the trade."* Nor is this all. In the same docu- 
ment we find that the governor, not content' with 
lending and letting out the flag of Portugal, has set 
up as a slave-trader himself; "sending from Angola, 
for his own account, a shipment of slaves, sixty in 
number, which he has consigned to a notorious slave- 
dealer of the name of Vincente, at Rio de Janeiro."- 
It is very truly added, that these violations of th 
treaties "form but a small portion of the offences of' 
this kind constantly committed by Portuguese sub- 
jects, both in and out of authorit)'." 
When Portugal shah have been persuaded or 
compelled to desist from this insulting violtioa of 
treaty, it is but too probable that Brazil will step 
into her place. We find it stated in a despatch from 
Her Majesty;s Commissioners at Rio de Janeiro to. 
Lord Palmerston, of date the 17th November 1837,1: 
that "The change in the Brazilian Government 
which took place oa the 10th September, has had 
this important consequence in respect to the Slava. 
Class B. (Farther Series), 183/, p. 9S.  Ibid. 
 cica, A (Fher Seri, sl, xaa'/, p. so. 
Trade, that while the late Government appeared to 
wish to put down the trail/c, as matter of principle, 
and of compact with Great Britain, the present Go- 
vernment, as far as it is represented by Senior Vas- 
concellos (Minister of Justice, and provisionally 
Minister for the empire), has proclaimed the traffic 
to be indispensable to the country, has released those 
concerned who were under prosecution; and set at 
nought the engagement with Great Britain on this 
head." And the British Consul at Pernambuco 
writes to Lord Palmerston, of date 15th February 
1838, "The editor of the Jornal de Commercio 
declares, that this important subject has already 
passed the Senate, and that there is every probability 
it will be made law in the next Session of the Legis- 
lature, to annul the enactment of 17th November 
1831, which prohibits the Slave Trade in Brazil 
under severe penalties."* When Brazil shall be 
induced to surrender the traffic, it is not improbable 
that it will be transferred to Buenos Ayres, or one 
of the many remaining flags of South America; then 
to Texas; and when we shall have dealt with all 
these, and shall have wrung from them a reluctant 
engagement to renounce the iniquity, we shall .still 
have to deal with the United States of North 
America. 
How long, it may be asked, will it take before we 
have succeeded in gaining from the whole world a 
concurrence in the provisions of the existing treaty 
* Class B (Farther Series), 18'/, p. 54. 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS, ETC. 
177 
with Spain ? We began our negotiations with Por- 
tugal about thirty years ago; and in what state are 
they now ? By a despatch from Lord Howard de 
Walden, our ambassador at Lisbon, to Lord Palmer- 
ston, of date 95th February 1838, we are informned, 
that Viscount de Sa da Bandeira, the Portuguese 
minister, having been urged to proceed with the ne- 
gotiations, replied, "That he would do so as soon as 
he had settled a treaty with Spain for the navigation 
of the Douro, the negotiation of which occupied his 
whole time."* 
To touch upon one only of the many diffteties 
which lie in the way of a universal confederacy for 
putting down the Slave Trade, I ask, how shall we 
get the consent of North America to the article 
yielding the right of search. She has told us, in 
the most peremptory terms, that she will never assent 
to it; and it should be remembered, that this confe- 
deracy must either be universally binding, or it is of 
no avail. It will avail us little that'ninety-nine 
doors are closed, if one remains open. To that 
one outlet, the whole Slave Trade of Africa will 
rush. 
Does any one suppose that even in the space of 
half a century, we shall have arrived at one universal 
combination of all countries, for the suppression of 
the Slave Trade ? And a delay of fifty years, at 
the present rate of the traffic, implies, at the very 
least, the slaughter of eleven millions of mankind 
ß Class B (Farther Series), 1837, p. 30. 
17 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
But let us suppose this combination to have been 
effected, and that all nations consent to the four 
leading articles of the Spanish Treaty. When that 
is done, it will be unavailing. 
In the first place, during the three years which 
have elapsed since the treaty with Spain, the Slave 
Trade has been carried on by the Spaniards, at least 
to as great an extent as formerly. On the 2d Ja- 
nuary 1836, the Commissioners at Sierra Ieone say, 
"There is nothing in the experience of the pastyear 
to show that the Slave Trade with Spain has, in 
any degree, diminished."* 
The Commissioners at the Havanah say, "Never 
has the Slave Trade at the Haysnab reached such a 
disgraceful pitch as during the year 1835." I 
could corroborate this statement, that there is no 
diminution in the Spanish Slave Trade, by a variety 
of letters. One gentleman, upon whose sources of 
information and accuracy I can entirely rely, says, 
in a letter dated September 1836, "the Slave Trade, 
which was thought to be dead here some years ago, 
has still s mighty being, and stalks over the island 
in all its pristine audacity." Another, of dato 
November 1836, says, "Article first of the late 
Treaty between England and Spain states,' The 
Slave Trade is hereby declared, on the part of Spain, 
to be henceforward totally and finally abolished in 
all parts of the world.' In answer to this, we assert 
that the Slage Trade carried on by the Spaniards is 
* Clazs A, 1835, p. 9.  Ibid. p. 206. 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS, .ETC. 
179 
more brisk than ever. In December 1836, a gentle- 
man, detained a month at St. Jago de Cuba, wit- 
nessed the arrival of five slave cargoes from Africa." 
But it may be said that this arises from the facility 
i ' d 
with which the Portuguese flag s obtame , and that 
when Portugal, and all other powers, shall have 
consented to the Spanish Treaty, this mode of evasion 
will have ceased. It is perfectly true that the Por- 
tuguese flag is obtained with the greatest facility at 
a very moderate price. At the Cape de Verd Islands, 
at the River Cacheo, at St. Thomas', at Prince's, and 
at Angola, the Portuguese flag may be easily and 
cheaply purchased. But notwithstanding, we find 
by the last parliamentary papers, that out of the 
twenty-seven vessels condemned at Sierra Leone, 
e/g/t were under the Spanish flag; and of the 
seventy-two vessels which left the port of Havanah 
for the coast of Africa, in 1837, no fewer than nine- 
teen at least were Spanish.* The slave-traders 
surely did not think that the Spanish Treaty was a 
death-blow to the trade, or they would not have ne- 
glected the precaution of purchasing, at a very easy 
price, the protection afforded by the flag of portugal. 
They had their choice of the Spanish flag, attended 
by all the dangers supposed to arise from the Spanish 
Treaty, or the Portuguese flag, which is not liable 
to these dangers; and for the sake of saving a very 
trivial sum, they prefer the former. 
But there is another mode of measuring the im- 
$ Class A (Farther Series), 183, p. 68. 
180 71 SLAVE TRADE. 
portance which the slave-traders attach to the Spa- 
nish Treaty. The Commissioners, in their Report 
of 1836, after stating that the first effect of the 
treaty was to arrest the Slave Trade, add, that this 
alarm soon wore away, and "now the only visible 
effect of the reported new treaty is an increased rate 
of premium out and home, with an augmented price 
of negroes."* 
The Spanish Treaty has been for some time a 
topic of continual congratulation and complacency; 
and there are many who think that if we could but 
induce Portugal and other countries to follow the 
example of Spain, there would be an end of the 
Slave Trade. A case occurs in the papers pre- 
sented to Parliament in 1838, which throws a 
strong light on the real efficacy of the Spanish 
Treaty; and, though I can give but a scanty out- 
line of it here, it deserves particular attention. The 
Vincedora, a Spanish vessel, officered by Spaniards, 
having lately returned from a trading voyage to 
Africa, came into the port of Cadiz, bound for Porto 
Rico. At Cadiz she took in forty-nine passengers, 
and proceeded on her way. The passengers suffered 
considerable annoyance from the eluvia proceeding 
from the lower parts of the ship. By this, and by 
other circumstances, some vague suspicion seems to 
have been engendered. Leaving Porto Rico, the 
vessel proceeded towards Cuba; on her way thither 
she fell in with the Ringdove, Captain Nixon. The 
Class A, 1835, p. 20 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS, ETC. 
181 
captain of the Vincedora denied that he had negroes 
on board; but the mate of the Ringdove insisted on 
pursuing his search, and in the forepeak of the ves- 
se], closed up from light or air, were found twenty- 
six negroes ; "most of them were young, from ten 
years old upwards." 
They could not speak one word of Spanish, unless 
it be true, which the Spanish witnesses labour hrd 
to prove, that one of them was once heard to use the 
word" Senor." From these circumstances, from the 
stench perceived by the passengers after leaving Ca- 
diz; fi'om the fact of three iron coppers being found, 
and large quantities of rice nd Indian corn having 
daily been dressed in them; fi'om the care taken to 
debar the passengers from all access to those parts 
of the ship where they were found; and from the 
testimony, through an interpreter, of the negroes 
themselves, ' who all declared, most solemnly, that 
they had never been in another vessel, nd swore to 
it, after the manner of their country ;" from all these 
circumstances it is clear (however incredible the atro- 
city) that these wretches had been shipped at Congo, 
in Africa, had been crried across the Atlantic to 
Cadiz, again across the Atlantic to Porto Rico, and 
were when taken, in the progress of a third voyage. 
No record exists of the number originally shipped, 
* They appeared to be of recent importation, had no other 
clothing than a piece of cloth tied round their loins, their heads 
were shaven, and some of them were in a sad state of emaciation. 
Class A, 183/, p. 40.. 
nor of those who were so happy as to perish by the 
way, nor of the extent of misery undergone by those 
who endured a voyage from Africa to Europe, and 
from Europe to America, of not less than 6000 miles, 
pining in their narrow, loathsome, and sultry prison, 
for want of air, and light, and water. These particu- 
lars will never be known in this world; but who will 
deny that the English captain is justified in calling 
it a case o, "utter barbarity ?" He might have 
added, of utter perfidy." In a private letter, 
he says,---" The Vincedora took her wretched 
cargo round by Cadiz (can you conceive such bar- 
barity ?), and there got armed with government au- 
thority as a packet, wearing the royal colours and 
pendant; they (the slavers)will be. liberated, and 
I may be prosecuted." The fact of her having 
slaves on board must have been known to the cus- 
tom-house authorities at Cadiz. 
However, thanks to the Spanish Treaty, the ship 
is captured at last, and the Spanish authorities will 
be, of course, as eager as ourselves to punish the 
villain who has thus defied her decrees. Captain 
Nixon took his prize to the Havanah, and she was 
tried before the Mixed Commission Court. The 
captain of the slaver set up the impudent defence-- 
First, that these naked, filthy, shaven, emaciated 
creatures, were "passengers," and, next, that they 
were" parcels of goods from Porto Rico." 
The court, by the casting vote of the Spanish urn- 
pire, found this false and flimsy pretext valid, acquitted 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS, ETC. 
183 
the slaver, restored the vessel, and condemned the in- 
nocent negroes to slavery, while Captain Nixon is ex- 
posed to heavy damages for doing his dty! The 
captain of the Vincedora is triumphant, and, in a 
complaint which he made relating to certain articles 
which, as he alleges, are missing, closes the scene by a 
high-flown address to the court, on "the faith of 
treaties," "the sacred rights of property and national 
d r " 
eco urn, and "the outraged honour of the respected 
flag of England !" 
Worse than all is the fkct that this case has been 
taken as a precedent, and already another vessel, the 
Vigilante, has been liberated on the strength of this 
decision. 
Had I fabricated a case to show the perfidy of the 
Spanish authorities, and.the barefaced evasions, which 
are sufficient, in Lord Palmerston's words, "to reduce 
the treaty to mere waste paper," I could scarcely have 
produced one so much to the purpose. 
I am compelled to go further. It may be pre- 
tended that it was only by accident that the slaver, 
while she remained at Cadiz, escaped the vigilance 
of the custom-house officers, and by a second fortu- 
nate accident that she obtained permission to bear 
the royal pendant; but can it also be ascribedto acci- 
dent, that the two persons selected by the Spanish 
Government as commissioner and arbitrator should 
have acted throughout as if their proper business was 
to defend the slave-trader, and defeat the treaty ? It 
would seem that, while hardly any evidence is strong 
154 THE 8LAVE TRADE. 
enough to convict a slaver, no pretext is too miser- 
able for his defence. For example, the Vincedora 
is declared to be "wrongfully detained," while the 
General Iaborde, " well-known and fully-equipped 
'$ 
slacer,"  liberated" because the wife and children 
of the supercargo were on board. "* 
Upon the whole, i can arrive at no other conclu- 
sion than that the Spanish Treaty, as interpreted by 
the Spanish judges, is an impudent fraud; and that 
those who shall be credulous enough to rely upon it 
for the full attainment of our object will be fatally 
deceived. 
Thus, then, stands the argmnent: we shall never 
obtain the concurrence of all the powers to the pro- 
v. isions of the Spanish Treaty; and if we get it, we 
shall find it not worth avang. But even assuming 
h ' 
that those insurmountable obstacles have been over- 
come, and that the Spanish Treaty, improved and 
rendered more stringent, becomes the law of the 
civilised world; it will still appear that this treaty 
will not accomplish our object. Another step must 
be taken; and the next step will be to make slave- 
trading PIRACY punishable with death. 
Once more, then, we shall have to tread the tedious 
round of negotiation. To say nothing ofthe difficulty 
we shall find in inducing Portugal to adopt the 
greater measure, when she has so long refused to 
take the minor step; and nothing of the difficulty 
* Claa A, 1837 p. 91. 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS, ETC. 
of persuading Brazil to advance, when she has 
exhibited unequivocal symptoms of a disposition 
to retreat; nor of the reluctance of Spain, (who 
thinks she has conceded too much,) to make still 
farther concessions---to say nothing of all these, 
France stands in our way. She has declared that 
by her constitution, it cannot be made piracy. 
I am afraid that there is not the remotest probabi- 
lity of inducing all nations to concur in so strong a 
measure, as that of stigmarising the Slave Trade as' 
p acy. 
But we will suppose all these difficulties removed; 
a victory in imagination has been obtained over the 
pride of North America, the cupidity of Portugal, the 
lawlessness of Texas, and the constitution of France. 
Let it be granted that the Spanish Treaty, with 
an article for piracy, has become universal. I main- 
rain that the Slave Trade, even hen, will not be put 
down. Three nations have already tried the experiment 
of declaring the Slave Trade to be piracy ..Brazil, 
North America, and England. Brazilian subjects; 
from the time of passing the law, have been conti- 
nually engaged in the Slave Trade; indeed we are 
infirmed that the whole population of certain dis- 
tricts are concerned in it, and not one has suffered 
under the law of piracy. In 1820, a law was passed 
by the legislature of North America, declaring that 
if any citizen of that country shall be engaged in the 
Slave Trade, "such citizen or person shall be ad- 
judged a pirate, and on conviction thereof, before the 
186 THE 8LAVE TRADE. 
Circuit Court of the United States, shall suffer 
death." It will not be denied, that American ci- 
tizens have been largely engaged in the traffic; but 
I have yet to learn that even one capital conviction 
has taken place during the eighteen years that have 
elapsed since the law was passed.* 
Great Britain furnishes a still more striking illus- 
tration of the inet]ty of such a law. For ten years, 
the Slave Trade prevailed at the Mauritius, to use 
the words of Captain Moresby, before the Committee 
of the House of Commons, "as plain as the sun at 
noonday." Many were taken in the very act, and 
yet no conviction, I believe, took place. With these 
examples before me, I am not so sanguine as some 
other gentlemen appear to be, as to the efficacy of a 
law declaring the Slave Trade piracy, even if it were 
universally adopted. I fear that such a law would be a 
dead letter,'unless, at all events, We had the bon& fide 
and cordial co-operation of the colonists. Were we 
able to obtain this in our own dominions ? Our naval 
officers acted with their usual energy, on the coast 
of the Mauritius. When General Hall was governor 
there, and when Mr. Edward Byam was the head of 
* Major M'Gregor has stated, in the letter to which I 
have before referred, that a vessel, with 160 Africans on 
board, had been wrecked at the Bahamas;' and he says, 
"This pretended Portuguese vessel was fitted out at Balti- 
more, United States, having been formerly a pilot-boat, called 
the Washington. The supercargo was an American citizen from 
Baltimore." See'also the report of the Commissioners, Class B, 
1837, p. 125. 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS ETC. 
the police, everything possible was done to suppress 
the traffic, and to bring the criminals to justice. No 
perons could act with more meritorious fidelity (and 
I gri/ve to say, poorly have they been rewarded, by 
the Home Government); it became, however, but too 
evident that the law Was unavailing. The populace 
would not betray the slave-trader, the agent of the 
police would not seize him; if captured by our ofllces, 
the prisons would not hold him, and the courts would 
not convict him. General Hall was obliged .to resort 
to the strong expedient of sending offenders of this 
kind to England, for rial at the Old Bailey,-on the 
ground that no conviction could be obtained on the 
island. It is clear, then, that the law making Slave 
'r 
Trade p acy, will be unavailing, without you obtain 
the concurrence of the colonists in Cuba and Brazil; 
and who is so extravagant as to indulge the hop that 
this will ever be attained ? 
But now I will make a supposition, still more 
Utopian than any of the preceding. All nations shah 
have acceded to the Spanish Treaty, and that treaty 
shah be rendered more effective. They shall have 
linked to it, the article of piracy; the whole shall have 
been clenched, by the cordial concurrence of the au- 
thorities at home, and the populace in the colonies. 
With all this, we shah be once more defeated and 
baffled by contraband trade. 
The power which will overcome our efforts, is the 
ext'adinar. profit of the-slave-trader. It is, I 
believe, an axiom at the Custom-house, that no illicit 
THE SLAYE TRADE. 
trade can be suppressed, where the profits exceed 
30 per cent. 
I will prove that the profits of the slave-trader 
are nearly five times that amount. "Of the enor- 
mous profits of the Slave Trade," says Commissioner 
Macleay, "the most correct idea will be formed by 
taking an example. The last vessel condemned by 
the Mixed Commission was the Firm." 
cost of-- 
Her cargo . . 
Provisions, ammunition, 
wear and tear, &c.. 
Vages . . . 
Total expense . 
To.tal product . 
He gives the 
Dollars. 
28,00O 
10,600 
13,400 
52,000 
145,000. 
There was a clear profit on the human cargo of this 
vessel, of 18,640/., or just 180 per cent.; and will 
any one who knows the state of Cuba and Brazil, 
pretend that this is not enough to shut the mouth of 
the informer, to arrest the arm of the police, to blind 
the eyes of the magistrates, and to open the doors of 
the prison ? 
Lord Howard de Walden, in a despatch to the 
Duke of Wellington, dated 26th February, 1885, 
speaks of a vessel just about to sail from that port 
(Lisbon), on a slave-trading voyage. It shows the 
kind of reliance which we are justified in placing on 
Pad. Paper, No. 381, p. 37. 
FAILURE OF EFFORTS, ETC. 189 
the professions of that country, pledged twenty years 
ago, "to co-operate with His Britannic Majesty in 
the cause of humanity and justice," and "to extend' 
the blessings of peaceful industt,y and innocent com- 
merce to Africa ;" when, in her own capital, under 
the guns of her own forts, in the face of day, and 
before the eyes of our ambassador, a vessel is per- 
mitted, without molestation, to embark in the Slave 
Trade; but it also exhibits the prodigious gains of the 
man merchant. 
Lord Howard de Walden says, "The subject of 
her departure and destination have become quite no- 
torious, and the sum expected to be cleared by the 
parties concerned in the enterprise, is put at 40,000/. "* 
Mr. Maclean, (Governor at Cape Coast Castle,) in 
a letter addressed to me, in May, 1838, says, "A 
prime slave on that part of the coast with which I 
have most knowledge, costs about 50 dollars in goods, 
or about from 25 to 30 dollars in money, including 
prime cost and charges; the same slave will sell in 
Cuba for 850 dollars readily, but from this large 
profit must be deducted freight, insurance, commis- 
sion, cost of feeding during the middle passage, and 
incidental charges, which will reduce the net profit 
to, I should say, 00 dollars on each prime slave; 
and this must be still further reduced, to make up 
for casualties, to, perhaps, 150 dollars per head." 
It is remarkable that this calculation by Mr. Mac- 
lean almost exactly corresponds with that stated by 
* Class B, 1835, p. 
].90 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
the Sierra Leone o mlssoners, giving for the outlay 
of 100 dollars, a return of P_O dollars. 
Once more, then, I must declare my conviction 
that the Trade will never be suppressed by the 
system hitherto pursued.* You will be defeated by 
its enormous gains. You may throw impediments in 
the way of these miscreants; you may augment their 
peril; you may reduce their profits; but enough, and 
more than enough, will remain to baffle all your hu- 
mane efforts. 
* Mr. Maclean, in a letter dated 16th October, 1838, says, 
"My neighbout (as I may call him), De Souza, at Whydab, still 
carries on an extensive Slave Trade; judging by the great num- 
ber of vessels consigned to him, he must Ship a vast number of 
slaves annually. He declares, and with truth, that all the slave 
treaties signed during the last 25 years, have never caused him to 
export one slave fewer than he would have done otherwise." 
191 
COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE WITH 
AFRICA. 
cIt was not possible for me to behold the fertility of the soil, the 
vast herds of cattle, proper both for labour and food, and a variety 
of other circumstances favourable to colonization and agriculture, 
and reflect withal on the means which presented themselves ors 
vast inland navigation, without lamenting that a country so abund- 
antly gifted and honoured by nature, should remain in its present 
savag and neglected state."--P.x. 
"It is more than probable, as we have now ascertained that a 
water communication may be carried on with so extensive a part of 
the interior of Africa, that a cousiderable trade will be Olinned with 
the country through which we have passed. The natives only re- 
quire to know what is wanted of them, and to be shown what they 
will have in return, and much produce which is now lost from 
neglect, will be turned to a considerable accouat."--LNDBa. 
"The commercial intercourse of Africa opens an inexhaustible 
source of wealth to the manufacturing interests of Great Britain-- 
to all which the Slave Trade is a physical obstruction."--GusTvvs 
Vxsa. Letter to Lord Hawesbury, 1788. 
Oua system hitherto has been to obtain the co-ope- 
ration of European powers, while we have paid very 
little attention to what might be done in Africa itself, 
for the suppression of the Slave Trade. Our efforts in 
that direction have been few, faint, and limited to 
isolated spots, and those by no means well chosen. 
To me it appears that the converse of this policy 
would have offered greater probab!lities of success; 
that, whie no reasonable expectatlons can be enter- 
rained of overturning this gigantic evil through the 
THE $LAYE TRADE. 
the Sierra Leone Commissioners, giving for the outlay 
of 100 dollars, a return of P_O dollars. 
Once more, then, I must declare my conviction 
that the Trade will never be suppressed by the 
system hitherto pursued.  You will be defeated by 
its enormous gains. You may throw impediments in 
the way of these miscreants; you may augment their 
peril; you may reduce their profits; but enough, and 
more than enough, will remain to baffle all your hu- 
mane efforts. 
 Mr. Maclean, in a letter dated 16th October, 1838, says, 
"My neighbout (as I may call him), De Souza, at Whydab, still 
carries on an extensive Slave Trade; judging by the great num- 
ber of vessels consigned to him, he must ship a vast number of 
slaves annually. He declares, and with truth, that all the slave 
treaties signed during the last 25 years, have never caused him to 
export one slave fewer than he would have done otherwise." 
191 
COMMERCIAL INTERCOURSE WITH 
AFRICA. 
½It was not possible for me to behold the fertility of the soil, the 
vast herds of cattle, proper both for labour and food, and a variety 
of other circumstances favourable to colonization and agriculture, 
and reflect withal on the means which presented themselves of a 
vast inland navigation, without lamenting that a country so abund- 
antly gifted and honoured by nature, should remain in its present 
savage and neglected state."---PARK. 
"It is more than. probable, as we have now ascertained that a 
water communication may be carried on with so extensive a part of 
the interior of Africa, that a cousiderable trade will be opened with 
the country through which we have passed. The natives only re- 
quire to know what is wanfed of them, and to be shown what they 
will have in return, and much produce which is now lost from 
neglect, will be turned to a considerable aCcount."----LANDBR. 
"The commercial intercourse of Africa opens an inexhaustible 
source of wealth to the manufacturing interests of Great Britain-- 
to all which the Slave Trade is a physical obstruction."--GusTvvs 
VxsA. Letter to Lord Hawesbuj, 1788. 
OUR system hitherto has been to obtain the co-ope- 
ration of European powers, while we have paid very 
little attention to what might be done in Africa itself, 
for the suppression of the Slave Trade. Our efforts in 
that direction have been few, faint, and limited to 
isolated spots, and those by no means well chosen. 
To me it appears that the converse of this policy 
would have offered greater probabilities of success; 
that, while no reasonable expectations can be enter- 
tained of overturning this gigantic. evil through the 
192 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
agency and with the concurrence of the civilised 
world, there is a well-founded hope, amounting al- 
most to a certainty, that this object may be attained 
through the medium and with the concurrence of 
Africa herself. If, instead of our expensive and fruit- 
less negotiations with Portugal,. we had been, during 
the last twenty years, engaged in extending our inter- 
course with the nations of Africa, unfolding to .them 
the capabilities of her soil, and the inexhaustible 
store of wealth which human labour might derive 
from itz cultivation, and convincing then that the 
Slave Trade alone debars them from enjoying a 
vastly more affluent supply of our valuable commo- 
dities, and if we had leagued ourselves with them to 
suppress that baneful traffic, which is their enemy 
even more than it is ours, there is reason to believe 
that Africa would not have been what Africa is, in 
spite of all our exertions, one universal den of deso- 
lation, misery, and crime. 
Why do I despair of winning the hearty co-opera- 
tion of those European powers who now encourage 
or connive at the Slave Trade ? I answer, because 
we have no sufficient bribe to offer. The secret 
of their resistance is the 180 per cent. profit which 
attaches to the Slave Trade. This is a tempta- 
tion which we cannot outbid. It has been, and it 
will be, the source of their persevering disregard 
of the claims of humanity, and of their contempt 
for the engagements, however solemn, which they 
have contracted with us. ' 
But why do I entertain a confident persuasion that 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
193 
we may obtain the cordial concurrence of the African 
powers ? Because the Slave Trade is not their gain, 
but their loss. It is their ruin, because it is capable 
of demonstration, that, but for the Slave Trade, the 
other trade of Africa would be icreased fifty or a 
hundred-fold. Because central Africa now receives 
in exchange for all her exports, both of people and 
productions, less than half a million of imports, one- 
half of which may be goods of the worst descrip- 
tion, and a third made up of arms and ammunition. 
What a wretched return is this, for the productions 
of so vast, so fertile, so magnificent a territory! Take 
the case of central Africa; the insignificance of our 
trade with it is forcibly exhibited by contrasting the 
whole return from thence with some single article of 
no great moment which enters Great Britain. The 
feathers received at Liverpool from Ireland reach an 
amount exceeding all the productions of central 
Africa; the eggs from France and Ireland exceed 
one-half of it; while the value of pigs from Ireland 
into the port of Liverpool is three times as great as 
the whole trade of Great Britain in the productions of 
the soil of central Africa.* Wat an exhibition does 
Egg, total amount unknown, but into London, 
Liverpool, and Glamgow, from France a,d 
Ireland alone . . . . . 
Feathen from Ireland to Liverpool (Porter's 
"Progress of Nation," p. 83) . . 
Pig from Ireland to Liverpool (Porter, Ibid.) 
Total imports, productions of the soil of Central 
Africa (Porter'sTables,Supplement, No. 5) 
25,000 
500,000 
1,488,555 
456,014 
194 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
this give of the ruin which the Slave Trade entails 
on Africa! Can it be doubted that, with the extinc- 
tion of that blight there would arise up a commerce 
which would pour into Africa, European articles of 
a astly superior quality, and to a vastly superior 
amount ? 
If it be true that Ari would be enriched, and 
that her populatio would enoyo in- multiplied abun- 
dance, those commodities, or the acquisition of which 
she no incurs such intense misery, the one needœui 
thing, in order to induce them to unite with us in 
repressing the Slave Trade, is, to convince them that 
they will gain by selling the productive labour of the 
people, instead of the people themselves. 
My first Object, then, is to show that Africa 
ß sesses within herself tle means of obtaining, by fair 
$rade, a greater quantity of our goods titan she now 
receives rom the Slave Trade; and, secondly, to 
poia.t out .how this truth may be made plain to 
the African nation& I have ikrtr to prove, that 
Great Britain, and other countries (for the argume 
applies as much to them as to us), have an interest in 
the question only inferior'to that of Africa, and .that if 
we cannot be persuaded. to suppress the Slave Trade 
for the fear of God, o in pity to man, i ought to be 
done for the lucre of gain. 
The importance of Aftlea, as a vast field of Euro- 
pe, an conrnerce, though it has been freqenfly ad- 
verted to, and its advantages distinctly pointed out, 
by those who have visited that part of the orld has 
AFRICAN COMMEt(E. 
195 
not hitherto suflSeientl engaged public attention, or 
led to ny grot practical results. It is, perhaps, not 
difficult to aeeou for the apathy which has beon 
manifested on this subject---Afriea has  boa .tame; 
its climto is represented, and not altogether unjustly, 
as sti]ential, and destructive of European life; its 
population as barbaeons and ignorant, indolent and 
orueI -more addicted to predatory warfare than to 
the a.rts of peace; and its interior as totally ineces, 
sible to European enterprise, With the exception of 
 few spots, such as Sierra Leone, the Gumbin0 the 
Senegal, &c., its immensely extended ]ie of coast is 
open to the ravages nd demoraliztiou.. of the Slave 
Trade, and the devastating incursions of pirates. The 
dieulties connected wi the establizhment of a le- 
gitimate oommrce with Africa, may be tae. ed princi- 
pally to these circumstances; and could they be re- 
ß moved, by the removal of their cause, the obstacles 
srising from climtt.---. the supposed character of its. 
people--and the .di.cutty of accs to the interior, 
ould be eity overcome, 
A legitimate commaroe with Africa would put 
down th Slava Trade, by demonstrating the superi .or 
value of man as .a labouter on .t oil, to nmn as an 
object of meechandise; and if conducted .on vise and 
oquitabta @rm .pte, might be tt0 pr.eenrsor, or r.ath 
the attendant, of civilization, -peace, and Christianity, 
to  unenlightened, warlike, and heathen trib who 
now so fearfully prey on each other, to supply the slave- 
markets of .the New World, In this view of the sub- 
02 
196 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
ject, the merchant, the philanthropist the patriot, and 
the Christian, may unite; and should the Government 
of this country lend its powerful influence in organising 
a commercial system on just, liberal, and comprehen- 
sive principle guarding the rights of the native on 
the one hand, and securing protection to the honest 
trader on the other,---a blow would be struck at the 
nefarious traffic in human beings, from which it could 
not recover; and the richest blessings would be con- 
ferred on Africa, so long desolated and degraded by 
its intercourse with the basest and most iniquitous 
part of mankind. 
The present condition of Africa in relation to 
commerce is deplorable. 
The whole amount of goods exported direct from 
Great Britain to all Africa is considerably within one 
million sterling. 
In the year 1835, the declared value of British 
and Irish produce and manufactures exported to 
the whole of Africa was œ917,76. 
Central Africa possesses within itself everything 
from which commerce springs. No country in the 
world has nobler rivers, or more fertile soil; and it 
contains a population of fifty millions. 
This country, which ought to be amongst the chief 
of our customers, takes from us only to the value of 
œ31,938 of our manufactures, œ101,104' of which 
re made up of the value of arms and ammunition, 
and lead and shot. 
Parliamentary Returns for 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
197 
- I must request the reader to fix his attention on 
these facts; they present.a dreadful picture of the 
moral prostration of Africa,--of the power of the 
Slave Trade in withering all healthy commerce,---of 
the atrocious means resorted to, in order to maintain 
nd perpetuate its horrors,--and of the very slender 
sum which can be put down as expended in fair 
and honest trading. 
The declared value of British and Irish produce 
and manufactures, exported in 1837, was, according 
to parliamentary returns--- 
To Asia . . . . 
America . . . 
Australia . . . 
Hayti. . . . 
Central Africa 
œ993,019 
15,496,552 
921,568 
171,050 
312,938 
Deducting from this last sum the value of arms, 
ammunition, &c., the remnant of the annual trade 
'of this country, so favoured by nature, and endowed 
with such capabilities for commerce, is but œ211,834. 
There is many a cotton-spinner in Manchester 
who manufactures much more; there are some 
dealers in London whose yearly trade is ten times 
that sum; and there is many a merchant in this 
country, who exports. more than the amoun. t. of o. ur 
whole exports to Afrma, arms and ammunition in- 
cluded. 
The imports from Africa into this country, though 
they have, undoubtedly, increased since the year 
1820, sr still extremely limited; am[ it is observ- 
able that they scarcely embrace any articles, the re- 
sult of the cultivation of the soil. Their estimated 
value, in 1834, was 45(,014/.* (exelusive of old 
dust, about õ0,000l.); they consisted chiefly of 
palm-oil, teak timber, gums, ivory, bees'-wsx, &e,, 
extremely valuable, and in great demand, but oh- 
tained at comparatively little labour and cos$. 
So small an amount of exports from s country so 
full of mineral and vegetable wealth, ither shows 
the extreme ignorance and indolence of the people, 
or the total want of security both to person and pro- 
perty which exists in consequence of the Slave Trade. 
All the authorities which are accessible clearly show 
that the latter is the true cause why the commerce 
between Africa and the civi]ised world is so trifling; 
and there is one remarkable fact which corroborates 
it, namely, that ne0.rly 11 the legitimate trade with 
central Africa, is effected through the medium of 
those stations which have been established by the 
British and French governments on its coasts, and 
in, and around which, the trade in slaves has either 
been greatly checked, or has totally disappeed. 
But limited as the commerce of Afric is at pre- 
sent with the civilised world, and inf0.mous as one 
pm of that commerce has been, it is capable of being 
indefinitely increased, and of h&ving a acer im- 
pressed on it, alike honourable to all parties engaged 
in it. The advantages which would accrue to Africa, 
See Porter's Tables. 
AFRICA COMMERCE. 
in the development of her resour. s, the civilization, 
of her people. and the destruction of one of the greate 
evitwhich ha ever afflicted or disgrace4 mankind,-- 
ot--less than the benefits which wuld b secured.to 
Eurol in opening new marts for ler produce. an 
aew fields for her commercl enterprise, woud. bq 
incalcul&ble. 
1. Its geographical position aM contiguity to Ea- 
rope claim for it epecial attention. The voyage from 
the part of London to the Senegal is generally accom- 
plished in twenty-five days; to the. Gamble in twea- 
ty-eight or thirty days; to Sierra Leone, in thirty to 
thirty-five days; to Cape Coast Castle, in forty-two 
to forty-eight days; to Fernando Po. forty-eig. ht to 
fifty-three days; to the ports in the Bight of Biafra. 
in fifty to fifty-five days; to the Zaire or Congo. in 
fifty-five to sixty days, respectively. Vessels leaving 
Bristol or Liverpool for the same ports pos,ess n 
advantage, in point of time, of from five to eight 
days. The voyage is attended with little danger 
provided common care be ued. The ]omeward 
age is of course considerably longer than the outward, 
in consequence of the vessels being obliged to take, 
what is commonly called, the western passo, ge, hv- 
ing generally to go as far as 40 ø west longitude. The 
difference in the length of the voyages, outward and 
homeward, may be stated at from three to four weeks. 
The use of steam would, of course, greatly diminish 
the length of the voyage, and facilitate the operations 
of the trader, until establishments could be formed 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
to which the produce required might be conveyed by 
the natives. 
The best season for visiting the African coast is 
'$ 
the dr//season, that , from December to May. But 
it may be remarked that the line of coast from Cape 
Palmas to Cape St. Paul's is less subject to rains 
than the Windward Coast or the Bights, and may be 
visited at any season. The worst period of the year is 
from the middle of July to the middle of December.* 
ß 2. Its natural productions' and commercial re- 
ources are inexhaustible. From the testimony of 
* The chief causes of the sickness and mortality on board trad- 
ing vessels may be ascribed, tint, to climate, second, to overwork, 
and especially exposure to the action of the sun while working; 
and third, to drunkenness. This last is the chief cause of morta- 
lity. One great means of preventing sickness would be, to make 
it imperative for all trading-vessels to employ a certain number of 
natives, as is done on board men-of-war. 
Mr. Becroft (a merchant who resided for a number of years at 
Fernando Po) went up the Niger in the Quorra steam-beat, on a 
trading voyage, in 1836; his expedition lasted three months. He 
had with him a crew of forty persons, including five white men. 
Only one individual died, a white man, who was previously far 
gone in consumption. 
t PtODUCTIOS.' Animals..--Oxen, sheep, goats, pigs, &c. 
&c., Guinea fowls, common poultry, ducks, &c. 
Grain.--Rice, Indian corn, Guinea con, or millet, &c. 
Fruits.--Oranges, lemons, guavas, pines, citrons, limes, pa- 
paws, plantains, bananas, &c. &c. 
Roots.--Manioc, igname, batslee, yams, arrow-root, ginger, 
sweet potato, &c. &c. 
Tinder.. Teak, ebony, lignum vitie, and forty or fifty other 
species of wood for all purposes. 
Nuts.--Palm-nut, shes-nut, cocoa-nut, cola-nut, ground-nut, 
castor-nut, netta-nut, &c. &c. 
D$ o 
AFRICAN COMIgRClg. ' .1)1 
merchants whose enterprise has, tbr many years past, 
led them to embark capital in the African trade; and 
from the evidenc. e fur. nished by the journals of tra- 
vellers into the. rotenor of the country,* we gather 
Dyes. Carmine, yellow various shades, blue, orange various 
shades, red, crimson, brown, &c. 
De'voods. Cam-wood, bar-wood, &c. &c. 
Gums. Copal, Senegal, mastic, sudan, &c. 
Dru9s. Aloes, cassia, senna, frankincense, &c. 
Minerals. Gold, iron, copper, emery, sal-ammoniac, nitre, &c. 
Sugar-cane, coffee, cotton, indigo, tobacco, India rubber, bees'- 
wax, ostrich feathers and skins, ivory, &c. 
Fish.--Of an immense variety, and in great abundance. 
NoT].---The above is a very imperfect list, but it may serve to 
show, at a glance, some of the riches of Africa. For all the state- 
ments relating to Africa, its capabilities and productions, I have 
specific authorities; but it seems hardly necessary to quote them. 
* I shall here meution some of the names of countries and 
kingdoms :-- 
Timbuctoo, the great emporium of trade in central Africa. 
The powerful kingdom of Gago, 400 Arabic miles from Tim- 
buctoo to the south-east, abounds with corn and catfie. Guber, 
to the east of Gago, abounds with cattle. Cano, once the famous 
Ghana, abounds with corn, rice, and Cattle. Cashna, Agadez, 
fields abound with rice, millet, and cotton. Guangara, south of 
this, a region greatly abounding in gold and aromatics. Balia, 
celebrated for its fine gold, four months' voyage to Timbuctoo. 
Bournou, i*.s capital very large, and inhabitants great traders. 
The country very rich and fertile, and produces rice, beans, Cotton, 
hemp, indigo in abundance, horses, buffaloes, and horned cattle, 
sheep, goats, camels, &c. Yaoorie produces abundance of rice. 
The country between R. Formosa and Adra affords the finest 
prospect in the world. Inland it is healthy, and the climate good. 
Trees uncommonly large and beautiful, cotton of the finest quality 
amazingly plentiful, and indig ø ' and other dye stuffs abundant. 
The Jabboo carry on great trade in grin between Benin and 
Lagos. Boossa is a large emporium for trade. The place where 
THE ltLAVE TRADE. 
that Nature has scattered her bounties wth the most 
lavish hand; and that what is required to make them 
available to the noblest purlmaes is a legitimate com- 
merce sustaiued by the governmeat, nd directed by 
honourable men. 
In the animal kingdom, I find that in addition to the 
wild beasts which infest its forests, nd occupy its 
swamps, and whose skins, &c,, are valuable as an 
article of commerce, immense herds of cattle, incal- 
culable in number, range its plains. Hides, there- 
fore, to almost any amount, may be obtai; and 
well-fed beef, of excellent quality and flavour, can be 
the people from the sea-coast meet the caravau from Barbara? 
to exchange their merchandise. From Booas& to Darfur, titam 
are hUmeform powerful, fertile, cultivated, wetl-waoded, watered, 
populous, and industrious states. Benin. Bournou, Dar $aley, 
Darfur, Kashua, Houssa, Timbuctoo, Sego, Wassenah, an manIt 
others, are populous kingdoms, abounding ia metals, minerals, 
fruits, grain, cattle, &c. 
Attah, on the Niger, healthy, many natural advantas, will be 
a place of great importance, alluvial soil, &c. The placea on the 
bonita of the Niger rich in sheep, goas, buHock, &c. 
Fundab, population 30,000; bcantiful count. 
Doma, population large and industrious. 
Beeshie and Jacobs, places of great trade. 
Rabba, population 40,000. 
Toro, population immense. 
Alorie (Feletah), vast herds aud flocks. 
Bumbum, thoroughfare for merchants, from Houssa, Borgoo, 
&e., to Gonga, vast quantity of land cultivated. 
Gungo (Island), palm-trees in profusion. 
Egga, two miles in leugth; vast number of canoea. Eggs to 
Bournou, said to be fiten days' journey. 
Tackadds, on its banks immenae herda of eleldmnta seen, from 
50 to 400 at a time. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
obtained at some of our settlements, at from 2d. to 
ld. per lb. There are also in varies districts im- 
meme flocks of heep; but as they are covered with 
a very coarse wool, approaching to hair, and their 
flesh is not very good on the coast, it may be said, that 
though auraerout, they are not valuable; their akins, 
however, might not form an unimportant article for 
export. Goats of a very fine and large kind are 
equally numerous, and sell at a lower price than 
sheep. Their skins are valuable. Pigs can be ob- 
tained in any numbers; they are kept at several of 
the coast stations. Domestic poultry, the Guinea hen, 
common fowls, ducks, &c., are literally swarming, 
especially in the interior, and may be had for the 
most trifling articles in barter both on the coast and 
inland. Fish of all kinds visit the shores and rivers 
in immense shoals, and are easily taken in great 
quantities during the proper scion. The mineral 
kingdom has not yet been explored, but enough is 
already known to show that the precious metals 
abound, particularly gold. The gold-dust obtained 
from the beds of some rivers, and otherse produced, 
is, comparatively, at present, a large branch of the 
African trade. It is said that gold may be procured 
in the kingdom of Bam bouk, which is watered by the 
Felema, flowing into the Senegal, and is therefore 
easily attainable in any quautity. Martin says, (vol. 
iv., p. 540,) the main depositories where this metal 
is traced, as it were, to its source, are two mountains, 
Na Takon and Semayla. In the former, gold is very 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
abundant, and is found united with earth, iron,' or 
emery. In the latter, the gold is imbedded in hard 
sandstone. Numerous streams (he adds)flow from 
these districts, .almost all of which flow over sands 
impregnated wth gold. The natives, unskilled in 
mining operations, have penetrated to very little depth 
in these mountains. Park found the mines of the 
Konkadoo hills, which he visited, excessively rich, but 
very badly worked. (Chapter on gold, vol. i. pp. 454, 
465, 524, and vol. ii., pp. 73, 7õ.) The gold .which 
ibrms the staple commodity of the Gold Coast, is 
chiefly brought down from mountains of the interior. 
It is said that the whole soil yields gold-dust, and 
that small quantities are obtained even in the town of 
Cape Coast.* There are reported to be mines within 
twenty or thirty miles of the shore, but the ha- 
tires are very jealous of allowing Europeans to see 
them. T Dupuis and Bowditch speak of the "solid 
lumps of rock gold" which ornament the persons of 
the cabooceers in the court of the king of Ashantee, 
at Coomassy. Mrs. Lee (late Mrs. Bowditch) says, 
that the great men will frequently on state occasions, 
so load their wrists with these lumps, that they are 
obliged to support them on the head of a boy. The 
largest piece she saw at Cape Coast weighed 15 oz. 
and was very pure.õ Dupuis, on the authority of 
some Mohammedans, says that a-great deal of gold 
Sierra Leone Report, 1830, p. 8. t Ib. p. 88. 
Dupuis' Ashantee, p. 4; Bowditch's Travels, p. 35. 
õ" Stories of Strange Lands," p. 66. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
'205 
comes from Gaman, and that it is the richest in 
Africa.* Gold is said to be discovered in a plain 
near Houssa; and another writer (Jackson) says 
":The produce of Soudan, returned by the akkabu- 
ahs, consists principally in gold-dust, twisted gold 
rings of Wangara, gold rings made at Sinhie (which 
are invariably of pure gold, and some of them of ex- 
quisite workmanship], bars of gold, &c." He also 
states that gold-dust is the circulating medium at 
Timbuct. oo. 
Iron s found in Ilresrn Africa. The ore from 
Sierra Leone is particularly rich, yielding seventy- 
nine per cent., according to Mr. MacCormack, and said 
to be well adapted to making steel.õ The iron brought 
from Upper Senegal, by Mollien, was found to be 
of a very good quality. Berthier found it to resemble 
Catalonian.l[ Iron is found also near Timbuctoo, and 
is manufactured by the Arabs.ô The discovery of this 
important metal in Africa, is of the utmost conse- 
quence to its future prosperity, and will greatly faci- 
litate the accomplishment of the object contemplated. 
Early travellers relate that the mountains of Congo 
are almost all ferruginous, but that the natives have 
not been encouraged by Europeans to extract their 
own treasures. Copper is so abundant in Mayomba, 
that they gather from the surface of the ground enough 
for their purposes? Sal ammoniac is found in abund- 
ß Dupuis, Ap. lvi.  Jackson's Timbuctoo, p. 245, 246. 
 Jackson's Timbuctoo, p. 251. õ Sierra Leone Report, 1830. 
Mollien's Travels, Appendix. ô Jackson's Timbuctoo, p. 24. 
ß * Degrandpr/, T. F., P. s8. 
THE LAVE TRADE. 
nce in Dagvumba, and is sold chep in the Ash. 
arttee market; nitre, emery, and tron, a species of 
alkali, are found on the border of the Desert.' I might 
greatly enlarge this list, from the writings of travel- 
lets who have already visited the country, but it will 
be long before its mineral wealth will be adequately 
knowfl. 
It i not, however, to the mineral treasures of 
Al¾i that we chiefly look; we regard the produo, 
tions of the soil as of infinitely more value, especizlly 
those which require industry and zkill iu their 
culture. We look to the threes, and the plains, 
d the valleys, which it would tke centres 
exhattst of their fertility nd products. The woods 
of this continent are extremely valuable. 'I¾aveHers 
enumerate not less than forty species of thnber, which 
grow in vast abundance, and are esily 
6ueh as. magan, teak, ebony, lignum itm, ros- 
wood, &e. 
While Colonel lli was stationed  Fernando 
Po, he gives this account of its timber, in a letter to 
Mr. Secveta Ha),. I extract the lasssge as a sp.e- 
cimen of the natme-of African forests. He says 
that some of the trees are ten e$ in diameter, and 
120 f in heght.-- Twenty .men lmve been for 
period of eight dys eutting down one tree of these 
dimensions, for the-purpose of making 
was quite straight without a branch; the wood 
hite in .olour, .close in gr.in, .nd r.e.o/h.ar.h  
lmve no aawc r it, lint it ¾ery ranch relmbles 
* Bowdtc, . SSS. 
AFRIN OOMMIRCE. 
207 
tignum vite, exoept in colour. TI canoe e out 
o( it is five feet within the gunwales, forty feet long, 
 carries about twty tons afely, drxing but 
eight inches water. We have also a very fine de- 
scrilon of red wood, close-grained, strong, and good 
for beams, sheathing, nbs, 0nd deck-planking of the 
heaviest essels of war. .We coaM send home sera- 
posts and stes, in one piece, for the largest ships. 
This wood seems to have a grain something between 
nmogany and oak; when cut thin to mead- 
it will not split in the u, nd when tapped or 
down exudes a tough resinous gum, is very lang, 
and not so Kery as teak or oak, takes a fine polish 
and I think it a very galuable wood. There 
another hard-wood ½ree of very ]arge dimensions, the 
wood strong and good, in colour brown and hite- 
treaked; it Mso exttdes, when cut, a strong .gum, 
which I think would be valaable in commerce. 
Another, which we call the mast-tree, from the cir- 
cumstance of its being very tall and straight, is 
colour and .grain like a white p/he. We ham 
besides the' above-mentioned trees, many which are 
stunner, but very useful, their wood being hard, 
ugh, and of beautifully v&riegated olours; some 
are streaked brown and white, like a zebra, others of 
black, deep red, and brown." 
In a denpatch, .!88'2, Colonel Nic11 furtk 
zta, that he has Corntoo(bore Hayes' s. uthority for 
saying, that there never was finer wood for the 
purposes .of ship-building.* 
* Desp. p. b; C,ionM Rcords, 188S. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
Of dye-woods* there are also abundance, yielding 
carmine, crimson, red, brown, brilliant yellow, and 
the various shades from yellow to orange, and a fine 
* Many beautiful kinds of wood have been discovered by acci- 
dent amongst the billets of firewood, brought home in the slave- 
ships to Liverpool. Mr. Clarkson gives the following anecdote in 
his "Irapolicy of the Slave Trade." After mentioning the tulip- 
wood and others. found in this manner, he says :---" About the 
same time in which this log was discovered (A.D. 1 qSq), another 
wood vessel, belonging to the same port, brought home the speci- 
men of the bark of a tree, that produced a very valuable yellow 
dye, and far beyond any other ever in use in this' country. The 
virtues of it were discovered in the following manner :---A gentle- 
man, resident upon the coast, ordered some wood to be cut down 
to erect a hut. While the people were felling it he was stand- 
ing by; during the operation some juice flew from the bark of it 
and stained one of the rutles of his shirt. He thought that the 
stain would have washed out, but, on wearing it again, found that 
the yellow spot was much more bright and beautiful than before, 
and that it gained in lustre every subsequent time of washing. 
Pleased with the discovery, which he knew to be of so much im- 
portance to the manufacturers of Great Britain, and for which a 
considerable premium had been offered, he sent home the bark 
now mentioned as a specimen. He is since unfortunately dead, 
and little hopes are to be entertained of falling in with this 
tree again, unless a similar accident should discover it, or a 
change should take place in our commercial concerns with 
Africa. I shall now mention another valuable wood, which, 
like all those that have been pointed out, was discovered 
by accident in the same year. Another wood vessel, belonging 
to the same port, was discharging her cargo; among the barwood 
a small billet was discovered, the colour of which was so superior 
to that of the rest, as to lead the observer to suspect, that it was 
of a very different species, though it is clear that the natives, 
by cutting it of the same size and dimensions, and by bringing it 
on board at the same time, had, on account of its red colour, mis- 
taken it for the other. One half of the billet was cut away in expe- 
riments. It was found to produce a olour that emulated the 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
209 
blue. Of gums there are Copal, Senegal, Mastic, 
and Sudan, or Turkey gum, to be obtained in large 
quantities; and there are forests near the Gambia 
where, hitherto, the gum has never been picked. 
Of nuts, which are beginning to form a new and 
important article of trade, there are the palm-nut, 
the shea-nut, the cola-nut, the ground-nut, the castor- 
nut, the nitta-nut, and the cocoa-nut. The palm- 
tree grows most luxuriantly, and incalculable quan- 
tities of its produce are allowed to rot on the ground 
for want of gathering; yet it is now the most im- 
portant branch of our commerce with Akica, 
and may be increased to any extent. The oil ex- 
pressed from its nut is used in the manufacture 
of soap and candles, and in lubricating ma- 
chinery. The shea, or butter-nut,* is scarcely less 
carmine, and was deemed to be so valuable in the dyeing trade, that 
an offer was immediately made of sixty guineas per ton for any 
quantity that could be procured. The other half has bee.n since 
sent back to the coast, as a guide to collect more of the same 
sort, though it is a matter of doubt whether, under the circum- 
stances that have been related, the same tree can be ascertained 
again." p. 9. 
* The butter is prepared by boiling, and besides the ad- 
vantage of keeping a whole year without salt, it is "whiter, 
firmer, and to my palate," says Park (vol. i.p. 302), "of a richer 
'flavour than the best butter I ever tasted made of cow's milk." 
The shea tree, which produces it, is said to extend over a large 
part of the continent, from Jaloof to Gaboon. "It has been 
analysed by the French chemist, M. Chevreuil, and found well 
adapted for the manufacture of soap. Being inodorous and 
highly capable of taking a perfume, it would be valuable for the 
finer sorts."---Mrs. Lee, Stories of Stra9e Lands, p. 26. 
P 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
valuable than the palm-nut. Some travellers inform 
their readers that it is an excellent substitute for 
butter, and can be appropriated to the same uses, 
with the palm-oil. It is a remarkable fact, in the 
natural history of these trees, that immediately 
where the one ceases to yield its fruit the other 
flourishes abundantly. The ground-nut* is becom- 
ing also a valuable article of commerce; and this 
with the other nuts mentioned, yield a rich supply of 
oil and oil-cake for the use of cattle. The value of 
the castor-nut, as an article of medicine, needs not 
be particularly adverted to. The roots which grow in 
Africa require generally but little attention in their 
cultivation; among others, there are the follow- 
ing: The manioc, yams, sweet potatoes, arrow- 
root, and ginger : the two latter are exportable, 
and the former yield a large amount of healthful 
and nutritious food. Yams can be so improved 
* The ground-nut yields a pure golden-coloured oil, of a 
pleasant taste, and has been sold here at 56/. per ton. From 
750 to 1000 tons are produced on the (ismhis; but these nuts 
appear plentiful along the whole coast, are often mentioned by 
Park, and were noticed by Denham, a 'very abundant near the 
lake Tchad. It grows in a soil too light and sandy for corm--its 
stalks afford fodder for cattle--it sells at six shillings per gallon, 
and is as good as sperm-oil. The eastor-nut also grows wild in 
great abundance on the banks of the Gainhis, and elsewhere. 
 The ginger of Africa is particularly fine, and high flavoured; 
it yields about sixty for one; and the people only want instruction 
in the method of preparing it for European markets.--Denhms, 
Desp., 21st May, 182; Sierra Leone Report, 1830, No. 5'/, 
p. 30. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
211 
by cultivation that, at Fernando Po, Captain Bullen 
says, many weigh from fifteen to twenty-five pound s , 
and in taste almost equal a potato. On one occa- 
sion he bought upwards of four tons for seventy- 
six iron hoops, and says, "The nourishment derived 
from them to my people was beyond belief."* The 
fruits are oranges, lemons, citrons, limes, pines, 
guavas, tamarinds, paw-paws, plantains, and bana- 
nas. The paw-paw and plantain trees (says Ash. 
mun) are a good example of the power of an uni- 
formly-heated elinate to accelerate vegetation. You 
may see in the gardens many of the former, not 
more than fifteen months from the seed, already fif- 
teen inches round the stem, and fifteen feet high, 
with. several peeks of ripening fruit. Clear your 
lands, plant your crops, keep the weeds down, and 
the most favourable climate in the world, alone, 
under the direction of a bountiful Providence, will 
do more for you than all your toil and care 
could accomplish in Arnerica."t Tamarinds are 
exportable.. Of grain, there is rice, Indian 
corn, Guinea corn, or millet, &c. The quan- 
tities of these can be raised to any extent, and be 
limited only by demand.$ The Rev. W. Fox, the 
Captain Bullen's Desp., November, 1826. 
' Ashmun's Life, Ap. p. 66. 
: "Nothing can be more delightful than a stroll along the 
borders of the beautiful fields, winding occasionally 'along 
almost impervious clusters of young palms, whose spreading 
branches excluded every ray of the scorching sun, then opening 
suddenly on an immense rice-field of the most delicate pea-green, 
1 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
Missionary, says, in his MS. Journal, August , 
1536 :--" This afternoon I visited I,aming,  small 
Mandingo town (above Macarthy's Island). I could 
scarcely get into the town for the quantity of Indian 
corn with which it is surrounded: upon  very 
moderate calculation, and for a very small portion 
of labour, which generally devolves upon the poor 
women, they reap upwards of two hundred fold." 
I am iformed that Madeir wholly depends on 
the maize rised in Africa, and that the rice pro- 
duced there, when properly dried and prepared, is 
equal to that grown in South Carolina. Of drugs, 
there are aloes  and cassia, senna. frankincense, car- 
dmons, and grains of paradise, or Malagetta pep- 
per. Amongst the miscellaneous products, which 
are in great demand in this country, may be enume- 
rated ivory, bees wax, caoutchouc, or Indian-rubber. 
The former of these articles will, of course, suffer a 
gradual diminution as the forests are cut down, the 
swamps drained, and the plains cultivated; but of 
the latter scarcely any diminution need be appre- 
hended. The bees'-wax of Afric is in gret 
repute, and can be had ia ny quantity; and the 
skirted by the beautiful broad-leaved plantain and banana, lite- 
rally groaning under the immense masses of their golden fruit."m 
Dr. J. Hall, Governor of Liberia. Missionary Re...ter, 1836, 
p. 360. 
* A new use of the aloe plant has been discovered, in the 
beautiful tissue and cordage manufactured from its fibres, by 
M. Pavy, of Paris. The fibres of the cocoa-nut might also be 
turned to account. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
great'price freely given for Indian-rubber might be 
a sufficient inducement to lead the African to pay 
more attention to its collection. Of this Mr. Ran- 
kin says,* describing what he. saw in an excursion 
amongst the Timmanees,--" A large lump of In- 
dian-rubber (caoutchouc) lay on the table, also the 
produce of Tombo. This article, at present ac- 
quiring a high value amongst our importations, is 
not there made an article of commerce. Like al- 
most every other produce of the neighbourhood of 
Sierra Leone, it is scarcely known to exist, or is 
entirely neglected. It grows plentifully, and may 
be easily obtained by making incisions into the tree 
from which it flows, like cream, into calabashes tied 
underneath; it hardens within a few hours." 
There are some articles that require more notice: 
the chief of these is cotton. I have collected a great 
variety of authorities, all uniting in declaring that 
this plant grows wild in almost every part of Africa. 
Colonel Denham writes, that at Sierra Leone three 
sorts of cotton grow wild, white, brown, and Pink; 
the first excellent. T He also tbund it plentiful near 
lake Tchad. Ashmun says (Life, Ap. p. 7(}) that 
"the indigenous cotton plant of Liberia doe s not 
precis.ely answer to the Amen'can varieties, being o.f 
larger size and longer duration ;" but that "it s 
* Rankin's Sierra Leone, vol. ii. p. 218. 
t Denham, Despatch, 182; Sierra Leone Report, 1830, No. 
5, p. 30. 
 Denham, Travels, p. 317. 
914 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
allowed on all hands to be of a good quality," and 
adds that weak upland soile will answer for this crop. 
The culture of cotton is already so well under- 
'I1 
stood I a country where nearly every person can 
weave, that little pains would sut]tce to bring it to 
perfection; it requires little capital, and affords a 
return the first year. 
Hemp grows wild on the Gambia, and only re- 
quires a better mode of preparation to make it a 
valuable article of impo. The same may be said 
of tobacco. Indigo grows so freely in Africa, that, 
in some places, it is dilttcult to eradicate it. "Im- 
mense quantifies of indigo, and other noxious 
weeds," spring up in the streets of Freetown.  
It is known to grow wild as far inland as the 
Tchad, and even with the rude preparation bestowed 
by the natives, gives a beautiful dye to their cloths. 
Coffee is another indigenous shrub, which well 
repays cultivation. When Kizell, a Nova Scotian, 
first observed it near the Sherbro, he pulled up two 
or three plants, and showed them to the people, 
who said that they thought it was good for nothing, 
but to fence their plantations. It was all over the 
country, and in some places nothing else was to be 
seen. Even in a wild state it seems to repay the 
trouble of gathering, for the Commissioners at Sierra 
ß Despatch, Mr. Smart to Sir G. Murray, 1828; Sierra Leone 
Report, No. 5, p. 30. 
 Deuham's Travels, p. 246. 
Afr. Inst. 6 Report, Ap. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
215 
Leone, in their Annual Report of date 1st Janum, 
1838, inform us "that the Foulahs have been in- 
duced by the fair traders of the river Nunez to 
bring down for sale to them a quantity of coffee, of 
a very superior quality, the produce of the forests of 
their own country." An extract of a letter, which 
they enclose, observes that" one great advantage of 
peaceful commerce with the natives is, that valuable 
productions of their country are brought to light 
by our research, so]netimes to their astonishment," 
Thus till within the last two years this abundant 
growth of coffee was "left to be the food of mon- 
keys," but is now a source of profit to the natives, 
and to our own merchants. A small quantity has 
been cultivated, both at Sierra Leone and the Gold 
Coast; and Ashmun (Life, Ap. p. 78) states that, 
in Liberia, no crop is surer, that African coffee fre- 
quently produces four pounds to the tree, and that 
the berrie attain a size unknown elsewhere. I am 
happy to learn that above 10,000 lbs. of African 
coffee were imported into this country in 1837, that its 
quality was excellent, and that it fetched a good price.* 
Sugar-canes grow spontaneously in several parts 
ß Mr. M'Queen says, the old Arabian traveller Batouta, who 
had visited China, states, that in the interior parts of Africa, along 
the Niger, which he visited, the tea-plant grew abundantly.-- 
M'Queen's Africa, p. 218. Dr. M'Leod, describing the kingdom 
of Benin, says: "In the opinion of one of the latest governors 
we have had on the establishment in this country (Mr. James), 
and one whose general knowledge of Africa is admitted to be 
considerable, the tea-tree ttourishes spontaneously' here."-- 
M'Leod's Voyage to Africa. p. 18. 
216 TIlE SLAVE TRADE. 
of Africa, and when cultivated, as they are in va- 
rious places for the sake of the juice, they become 
very large. The expense of the necessary ma- 
chinery alone seenis to have hitherto prevented the 
manufacture of sugar; but, in fact, very little atten- 
tion has yet been paid to the cultivation of the soil 
of Africa, though it is probable that hence would be 
derived the richest treasures of the country. Nearly 
all we know of its capabilities of improvement is 
from the rude efforts of negroes transported from 
North America, or liberated from slave-ships at 
Sierra Leone. What these men have wanted, as 
Colonel Denham remarks, is" instruction, example, 
and capital ;" and he adds, "that, with the small 
amount of either that they have received, it is sub- 
ject of astonishment to him that they have done 
hat they have." (Despatch, May 21st, 1899.) 
ey supply the market of Freetown with plenty 
of fruit and vegetables, such as yams, cassada, In- 
dian corn, ground-nuts, pine-apples, sugar-canes, 
&c. &c. 
Hitherto European settlers have been so occupied 
with trading, that they have paid scarcely any atten- 
tion to agriculture; the want of proper superintend- 
ents has also been an obstacle to its pursuit, but it 
is thought that competent persons for this purpose 
might easily be procured from the West Indies. 
Ashmun, who seems to have had a clear view of 
the interest of the Liberian settlers, writes to them 
thus :.. "Suffer me to put down two or three remarks, 
of the truth nd importance of which you cannot be 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
too sensible. The first is, that the cultivation of 
your rich lands is the only way you will ever find 
'out to independence, comfort, and wealth." "You 
may, if you please, if God gives you health, become 
as independent, comfortable, and happy as you ought 
to be in this world." "The flat lands around you, and 
particularly your farms, hve as good a soil as. can 
be met with in any country. They will produce 
two crops of corn, sweet potatoes, and several other 
vegetables in a year. They will yield a larger crop 
than the best soils in America. And they will 
produce a number of very valuable articles, for 
which in the United States, millions of money are 
every year paid away to foreigners. One acre of 
rich land, well tilled, will produce you three hun- 
dred dollars' worth of indigo. Half an acre may be 
made to grow half a ton of arrow-root. Four acres 
laid out in coffee-plants, will, after the thir d year, 
produce you a clear income of two or three hundred 
dollars. Half an acre of cotton-trees will dothe 
your whole family; and, except a little hoeing, your 
wife and children can perform the whole labour of 
cropping and manufacturing it. One acre of canes 
will make you independent of all the world, for 
the sugar you use in your family. One acre set 
with fruit-trees, and well attended, will furnish you 
the year round, with more plantains, bananas, 
oranges, limes, guavas, papaws, and pine-apples, 
than you will ever gather. Nine months of the 
year, you may grow kesl vegetables every month; 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
and some of you who have losviand plantations, may 
do so throughout the year."* 
3. Its rich alluvial deltas, and extensive and fer- 
tile plains, present a boundless field for cultivation. 
Fifty miles to the leeward of the colony (Sierra 
Leone) is a vast extent of fertile ground, forming the 
delta of the Seeong Boom, Kitiam and Gallinas ri- 
vers. This ground may contain from I000 to 1500 
square miles of the richest alluvial soil, capable of 
growing all tropical produce. According to Mr. 
M'Cormack, this delta would gow rice enough for 
the supply of the whole West Indies. At present it 
produces nothing but the finest description of slaves. 
From Cape St. Pul to Cameroons, and from 
thence to Cape Lopez, extends the richest country 
that imagination can conceive. Within this space 
from forty to fiiy rivers of all sizes discharge their 
waters into the ocean, forming vast flats of alluvial 
soil, to the extent of 180,000 square miles. From 
this ground at present the greatest amount of our 
imports from Western Africa is produced, and to it 
and the banks of the rivers that flow through it, do I 
look for the greatest and most certain increase of 
trade. It is a curious feature in the geography of 
Africa, that so many of its great navigable rivers 
* Ashmun's Life, Ap. p. 64.' 
 Sierra Leone Report, No. 66, p. 64. 
There is another large delta, formed by the rivers Nunez, 
Rio Grande, and Rio Ponga. It is described as very extensive and 
fertile. The Isles de Loss command the mouths of these river. 
The Rio Nunez runs parallel with the Gambia.---Mr. Laird. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE: 
219 
converge upon this point (Laird). The e.xtent to 
which the Slave Trade is carried on in the rivers al- 
luded to is immense, and offers the greatest possible 
obstruction to the fair trader. 
With few inconsiderable exceptions, the whole 
line of coast in Western Africa, accessible to trading 
vessels, presents immense tracts of land of the most 
fertile character, which only require the hand of in- 
dustry and commercial enterprise to turn them into 
inexhaustible mines of wealth. 
But it is not to the coast alone that the commer- 
cial man may look for the results of his enterprise. 
The interior is represented as equally fertile with the 
coast; and it is the opinion of the most recent travel- 
lers, as well as of those who preceded them, that if 
the labouter were allowed to cultivate the soil in se- 
curity, the list of productions would embrace all the 
marketable commodities imported from the East and 
West Indies. 
Between Kacunda and Egga, both large towns on 
the Niger, the country is described as very fertile, and 
from Egga to Rabbah, where the river is 3000 yards 
wide, the right bank is represented to consist of ex- 
tensive tracts of cultivated ]and, with rich and beau- 
tiful plains stretching as far as the eye could reach 
(Laird). The country does not deteriorate as we as- 
cend the river. We have the testimony of Park cor- 
roborated by Denham and Clapperton, in support of 
this statement, and their remarks embrace both sides 
of the river. The country surrounding Cape. Pal- 
mas, the Gambia, the Senegal, the Shary, the Congo, 
0 THE 8LAVE TRADE. 
presents to the eye of the traveller unlimited tracts of 
the most fertile portion of the earth. 
It is observed by Brown, in his botanical appen- 
dix to "Tuckey's Voyage" (pp. 34, 3), that from 
the river Senegal, in about 16 ø north latitude, to the 
Congo, in upwards of 6 ø south latitude, there is a 
remarkable uniformity in the vegetation of Western 
Africa---a fact which gives us promise of extendin 
to any amount our commerce in such vegetable pro- 
ductions as have already obtained a sale in Europe 
or America. Thus a tree which characterises nearly 
the whole range of coast, is the Elais Guineensis, or 
oil-palm, one of the most valuable to commerce. This 
grows in the greatest abundance in the delta of the 
Niger. There "the palm-nut now rots on the ground 
unheeded and neglected," over an extent of surface 
equal to the whole of Ireland. (Laird, vol. ii. p. 362.) 
The whole extent too of the Timmanee, and a 
great part of Koranko, through which Cptain 
Laing passed in 18, was absolutely bristled with 
palm-trees, which at the time he went up the coun- 
try (April and May)were bearing luxurious crops 
of nuts. "There is no known instance, or any ap- 
parent danger, of  failure on the part of all-bounti- 
œul nature in supplying the fruit; on the contrary, it 
is the opinion of Captain Laing, that were the popu- 
lation double, and had they all the industry we could 
wish, they would not be able to reap the abundant 
harvest annually presented to them."* 
The soil of Afric produces indigenously nearly 
Sierra Leone Gaz., Dec. 14, 1822. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
all the useful plants which are common to other tro- 
pical countries, and some of them in greater perfection 
than they are to be found elsewhere. 
Its mighty rivers and their tributary streams, na- 
vigable to immense distances from the coast, and com- 
municating with the nations of the interior, present 
unlimited facilities for commercial intercourse. 
The number and situation of the navigable rivers 
on the western coast of Africa have often been the 
subject of remark by those who have visited them, 
and particularly as affording the noblest means for 
extending the commerce of this country to the mil- 
hons who dwell on their banks, or occupy the cities 
and towns in the interior. Along the coast, com- 
mencing at the southern point of the Bight of Biafra, 
and embracing the coast of Calabar, the Slave Coast, 
the Gold Coast, the Ivory Coast, the Grain Coast, 
the Pepper Coast, the coast of Sierra Leone, and 
thence northwards to the Senegal, there cannot be 
less than ninety or one hundred rivers, many of them 
navigable, and two of them rivalling in their volume 
of water and extent the splendid rivers of North 
America. It is reported that a French steam-ves- 
sel phes more than 700 miles up the Senegal, and 
that the Faleme, which flows into it eight leagues 
below Galam, is navigable in the rainy season for 
vessels of sixty tons burden. The Faleme runs 
through the golden land of Bambouk, whence the 
French traders obtain considerable quantities of that 
precious metal. The Gambia is a noble river. It 
' THE 8LAYE TRADE. 
is about eleven miles wide at its mouth, and about 
four opposite Bathurst. How far it extends into the 
interior is unknown; it is said, however, that it has 
been ascended for some hundred miles.* It is also 
asserted, that from the upper part of this river the 
Senegal can be reached in three, and the Niger in 
four days. The Niger offers an uninterrupted pas- 
sage to our steam-boats for 560 miles inland; and 
there is every probability that, with the exception 
perhaps of one or two portages, water-carriage might 
be gained to a length of I500 miles further; and 
also that the Tchadda, which falls into the Niger, 
would open up a ready communication with all the 
nations inhabiting the unknown countries between 
the Niger and the Nile. It would be impossible to 
enumerate the powerful kingdoms in central Africa, 
which can be reached by the Niger and its tributary 
streams; but they are represented by various travel- 
lers as easy of access, aboundinõ with the elements 
of commerce, populous, and rich in grain, fruits, 
cattle, and minerals. 
In addition to the mighty rivers above referred to, 
it has been ascertained that, from Pio Lagos to the 
* In 1834, Captain Quin carried Governor Randall up to 
Macarthy's island, in the Britomart sloop-of-war. Crat't of 50 
or 60 tons can get up to Fattatenda, the resort of caravans for 
trade with British merchants. Commodore Owen terms the 
Gambia "a magnificent river." It was surveyed in 1826 by 
Lieutenant Owen, R.N., on which occasion he was accompanied 
by the Acting Governor Macaulay, as far as Macarthy's island, 
180 miles up the river.--Owen, ii. p. 373. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
river Elrei, no fewer than twenty streams enter the 
ocean, several of surprising magnitude, and naviga- 
ble for ships (M'Queen); and that all the streams 
which fall into the sea from Rio Formosa to Old 
Calabar inclusive are connected together by inter- 
mediate streams, at no great distance from the sea, 
and so may be said to be the mouths of the Niger 
(Leonard, p. 20). 
Its industrial resources is another feature demand. 
ing serious attention. By these I mean not merely 
its extreme fertility, and capabilities for the most 
extended cultivation and commerce, but the activity 
and enterprise of it people. On the coast there is 
a belt of slave-trading chiefs, who, at present, find it 
more profitable to supply the slave-markets than to 
conduct a legitimate commerce. Little business can 
be done when there are any slvers at their tations, 
indeed, the fair traders are always compelled to 
wait until the human cargoes re completed. These 
chiefs not only obstruct the fair trader on the cost, 
but as much as possible prevent his access to the 
interior.* Insecurity, demoralization, and degrada- 
* The blighting effect of the Slave Trade on the well-being of 
the natives needs no proof; but it appears from the report of 
early travellers, that they were once in a much less wretched con- 
dition than that in which they are now found. Traces are 
yet to be seen of cultivation which ha once existed. Thus Ash- 
mun, after a voyage which he made in 1822 for 200 miles to the 
south-eastward from Cape Montserado, remarks, 'COne century 
ago, a great part. of this line of. coast was populous, cleared of 
trees, and under cultivation. It is now covered with a dense and 
almost continuous forest. This is almost wholly a Becond growth, 
224 ?H SL.aV. 
tion are the results; but as you recede from the 
coast, and ascend the rivers, comparative civilization 
exists, industry becomes apparent, and no inconsider- 
able skill in many useful arts is conspicuous. All 
travellers have observed the superior cultivation, and 
comparatively dense population of the inland regions. 
Laird, in ascending the Niger, writes, "Both banks 
of the river are thickly studded with towns and vil- 
lages; I could count seven from the place where we 
lay aground; and between Eboe and the confluence of 
the rivers there cannot be less than forty, one generally 
occurring every two or three miles. The principal 
towns are Attah and Addakudda; and averaging the 
inhabitants at 1000, will, I think, very nearly give 
commonly distinguished from the original by the profusion of 
brambles and brushwood which abounds amongst the larger trees, 
and renders the woods entirely impervious, even to the natives, 
until paths are opened by the bill-hook." . Life of Ashmun, 
p. 141. 
Speaking of the St. Paul's, he says, "Along this beautiful river 
were formerly scattered, in Africa's better days, innumerable native 
hamlets; and till within the last twenty years, nearly the whole 
river-board, for one to two miles back, was under that slight 
culture which obtains among the natives of this country. But the 
population has been wasted by the rage for trading in slaves; with 
which the constant presence of slaving-vessels, and the introduc- 
tion of foreign luxuries has inspired them. The south bank of 
this river, and all the intervening country between it and the 
Montserado, have been, from this cause nearly desolated of inha- 
bitants."--p. 233. 
The kingdoms of Whydah and Ardrah are represented to have 
been like a garden covered with fruits and grain of every descrip- 
tion, until they were devastated by the slave-hunting Dahomey. 
Martin, vol. iv. p. 231. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
225 
the population of the banks." * * * "The 
general character of the people is nuch superior to 
that of the swampy country between them and the 
coast. They are shrewd, intelligent, and quick in 
their perception, milder in their disposition, and 
more peaceable in their habits." Oldfield says 
(vol. i. p. 163), that, from the great number of towns 
they passed, he is inclined to suppose that the popu- 
lation must be very dense indeed. And (vol. ii. p. 
17) "no sooner does the traveller approach one town, 
than he discovers three or four, and sometimes five 
others." Park speaks (vol. ii. p. 80) of the "hills 
cultivated to the very summit, and the surplus grain 
employed in purchasing luxuries from native traders." 
i 
La ng speaks (p..156) with delight of "the extensive 
meadows, clothed n verdure, and the fields from which 
the spnngng rice and ground-nuts were sending, forth 
their green shoots, not inferior in beauty and health 
to the corn-fields of England, interspersed here and 
there with a patch of ground studded with palm- 
trees." Tuckey reports (p. 342) a similar improvement 
in the face of the country at some distance up the 
Congo, where he found towns and villages following 
each other in rapid succession. Ashmun, writing from 
Liberia, says, "An excursion of some of our people 
into the country, to the distance of about 140 miles, 
has led to a discovery of the populousness and eon- 
parative civilization of this district of Afi'ica, never 
till within a few months even conjectured by myself. 
We are situated within fifty leagues of a country, in 
THE $LAYE TRADE. 
Which a highly improved agriculture prevails; where 
the horse is a common domestic animal, where ex- 
tensive tracts of land are cleared and enclosed, where 
every article absolutely necessary to comfortable life 
is produced by the skill and industry of the inhabit- 
ants; where the Arabic is used as a written language 
in the ordinary commerce of life; where regular and 
abundant markets and fairs are kept; and where a 
degree of intelligence and practical refinement dis- 
tinguishes the inhabitants, little compatible w!th the 
personal qualities attached, in the current notons ot 
Guinea. 
the age, to the people of ' "* 
The wants of the people in Africa must not, any 
more than their industry and enterprise, be judged 
by what is observable on the coast. The Moors, 
who have preceded us in the interior, have imparted 
more knowledge than we may suppose of commercial 
transactions. Captain Clapperton told Mr. Hamilton 
that he could have negotiated a bill on the Treasury 
of London at Socatoo. The Moors have introduced 
the use of the Arabic in mercantile affairs; and that 
language is nearly as useful in Africa as the French 
language is in Europe. In 1812, Mr. Willis, fo.r- 
merly British Consul for Senegmnbia, stated his belief 
that in the warehouses of Timbuctoo were accumu- 
lated the manufactures of India and Europe, and that 
the immense population of the banks of the Niger 
are thence supplied. A Moorish merchant reported 
to Mr. Jackson, that between Mushgrelia and Houssa, 
* From Miss. Regr. for 1828, p. 335. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
'27 
there were more boats employed on the river, than 
between Rosetta and Cairo; and that the fields of that 
country were enclosed and irrigated by canals .and 
water-wheels,* a demonstrative proof of the activity, 
industry, and civilization of the people. 
"Thirty years' experience," says an African mer- 
chant (Mr. Johnston), "of the natives, derived from 
living amongst them for the whole of that period, 
leaves a strong impression on my mind that, with 
due encouragement, they would readily be led to the 
cultivation of the soil, which I think in most places 
capable of growing anything." Mr. Laird, in a letter 
to me, observes, "As to the character of the inhabit- 
ants, I can only state that, if there is one characteristic 
that distinguishes an African from other uncivilised 
people, it is his love of, and eagerness for, traffic: men, 
women, and children trade in all directions. They have 
regular market-places where they bring the produce 
of their fields, their manufactures, their ivory, and 
everything they can sell."* * *" At the Iccory-Mar- 
ket I have seen upwards of one hundred large 
canoes, each holding from ten to forty men, all 
trading peaceably together. I was informed by the 
natives that it was considered neutral ground, and 
that towns at war with one shother attended the 
same market amicably." The industrious inhabit- 
ants of the Grain Coast supply Sierra Leone and 
Liberia with the greatest portion of their food. 
Nearly the same account may be given of the exu- 
ß Jackson's Timbuctoo, pp. 24, 38, and 427. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
berant fertility of the eastern as of the western coast, 
and of the lucrative character of the commerce which 
might be there carried on were it not for the de- 
structive Slave Trade. I have been informed, by 
the captain of a merchant-vessel who was long on the 
eastern coast, that before the Slave Trade absorbed 
the whole attention of the people, two merchant-ships 
used to be annually despatched from Lisbon, which 
for the most paltry outfit brought home return car- 
goes of from 40,000/. to 60,0001.* 
Other testimonies might be added to show that 
the African is not wanting in those quMities which 
accompany civilization, and that he only requires a 
right direction to be given to his industry and intel- 
ligence to qualify him for intercourse with the more 
refined European. 
The eagerness with which the Timmanees entered 
into the laborious and fatiguing w. ork of. cutting, 
squaring, and floating to the trading stataons, the 
immense bodies of heavy teak timber exported from 
Sierra Leone, is a convincing proof of their readi- 
* The gentleman who furnished this information, mentions the 
following articles of commerce on the eastern coast of Africa: 
Gold, silver, copper, iron, ivory, horns, tallow, hides, skins, tor- 
toiseshell, ostrich-feathers, pearls, ambergris, amber, gums and 
various drugs, palm-oil, cocoa-nut oil, black whale oil, sperm- 
oil, bees'-wax in great abundance, coffee, tobacco, indigo, corn, 
rice, &c. A most profitable trade might also be carried on in 
cowries, which abound on the cot, where he has purchased them 
at 4d. a-bushel; on the western coast they are the current coin, and 
are told out by the hundred. All these articles find a ready market 
at Ceylon, Bombay, and Calcutta. 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
229 
ness to engage in any employment where they can 
get a reward, however small, for their labour. It 
is well known that during the time the timber trade 
was in activity, several native towns were formed on 
the banks of the river, and many natives came from 
a distance in the country to engage in it. Timber 
was cut at the termination of the largest creeks at 
Port Logo, and even so far as Rokou, and floated 
down to Tombo, Bance Island, and Tasso. (Laing, 
p. 77.)* 
I have lately seen a portion of the Journal of the 
Rev. W. Fox, written at Macarthy's Island, in which, 
of date September 3, 1836, he mentions having given 
away a considerable number of Arabic Scriptures to 
Mandingoes, and to Serra woollies, or Tiloboonkoes, 
as they are here more generally termed; which lite- 
rally means eastern people, as they come from the 
neighbourhood of, and beyond, Bondou, and are strict 
Mahommetans. They come here and hire themselves 
as labourers for several months, and with the articles 
they receive in payment barter them again on their 
way home for more than their actual value on this 
island. 
* "Twenty years ago," says Laird (vol. ii. p. $63), "African 
timber was unknown in the English market. There are now 
from 13,000 to 15,000 loads annually imported. In 1832 Mr. 
Forster, in a letter to Lord Goderich, stated the importation as 
high as ' from 15,000 to 20,000 loads, giving employment to 
20,000 tons of shipping annually.' From 3000 to 4000 loads 
of red teak-wood are exported annually from the Gambia," and 
the mahogany from that river is now much used for furniture. 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
The Kroomen who inhabit Cape Palmas are 
a most extraordinary race of men. They neither 
sell nor allow themselves to be made slaves. These 
men leave their homes young, and work on board 
the trading vessels on the coast, or at Sierra Leone. 
Their attachment to their country is great, nor will 
they engage themselves for more than three years. 
"To my mind," says Mr. Laird, in the letter to me 
which I have before quoted, "these men appear 
destined by Providence to be the means of enabling 
Europeans to penetrate into the remotest parts of 
Africa by water. They are patient, enduring, faith- 
ful, easily kept in order, and brave to rashness when 
led by white men. Any number may be got at 
wages from two to four dollars per month." 
We thus find that little difficulty exists in pro- 
curing either labourers or seamen in Africa. 
From the foregoing remarks it is quite clear that 
the present commercial intercourse between this 
country and Africa is extremely limited; that the 
chief obstacle to its extension is the prevalence of 
the Slave Trade,* and that it might be indefinitely 
* The imports of palm-oil have diminished during the last four 
years, as may be seen by the following returns, viz. :--- 
1834 . . . 269,907 
1835 . . . 234,882 
1836 . . . 236,195 
183/ . . . 201,906 
This diminution has arisen, 
not in consequence of a decrease in 
the demand for the article, but on account of the extension of the 
AFRICAN COMMERCE 
231 
increased under the fostering and protective care of 
the British government. The grounds on which 
this supposition rests are the number and situation 
of its navigable rivers; its rich alluvial deltas, and 
extensive and fertile plains; its immense trests; 
its wide range of natural productions; its swarming, 
active, and enterprising population; its contiguity to 
Europe, and the demand of its people for the manu- 
factures of this country. 
In speculating on African commerce, it should be 
borne in mind that we have to deal with nations 
who are not only ignorant and uncivilised, but cot- 
Slave Trade on the coast, and the increased difficulty of procuring 
a supply. 
"The industry of the natives, in a great degree, is stifled by the 
Slave Trade; and, though a good deal of oil is prepared and sold, 
the English traders, loading at the mouth of the river, are often 
interrupted, and obliged to wait, to the loss of profit md the ruin 
of the crew's health, while a smuggling slaver takes all bauds on 
the coast to complete her cargo." Laird. 
"W'heu there is a demand for slaves the natives abandon every 
other employment; and the consequence is, that the British vessels 
trading on the coast are lying idle for want of trade." 
"In consequence of the great demand for slaves, the natives 
here and in the interior abandon cultivation, the trees go to de- 
struction, 'and no young trees are planted."--Extract from re- 
cent Letters from Africa which have been shown to me. 
By the latest intelligence we are informed "that at one place 
in Africa where a very considerable quantity of palm-oil has been 
annually supplied to the ships of our merchants, the Spanish and 
Portuguese have latterly so much increased the Slave Trade, that 
the cultivation of the palm-trees, which was giving occupation to 
thousands, has not only become neglected, but the native chiefs 
have been incited to blind revenge against British influence, and 
have set fire to and destroyed 30,000 palm-trees." 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
rupvl and deteriorated by the Slave Trade and in- 
rcourse with the worst class of Europeans. There 
will, therefore, be difficulties and obstructions to 
overcome. before a clear field for honest commerce 
can be obtained. In the present state of the people 
we can hardly look to obtain from them articles 
which depend on an extensive cultivation of the soil, 
so as to compete with the productions of civilised 
nations. It is probable that in commencing an ex; 
tensire intercourse with Africa there will be at first 
a considerable outlay of money without an immediate 
return; but, from whatever source this may be ob- 
tained, it should be considered as a gift to Africa. 
It will ultimately be repaid a thousand-fold. 
The articles desired by the Africans in return for 
the produce of their country are too many to enume- 
rate. Lists of them are given by almost every tra- 
veller. It may, therefore, sutce to observe, that 
many of them.are the produce or manufactures of 
our island or of our colonies; and it is an important 
consideration, that we may obtain the treasures of this 
unexplored continent, by direct barter of our own 
commodities, and that, while we cheapen .luxuries 
at home, we also increase the means of obtaining 
them, by giving increased employment to our pro- 
ductive classes. 
The extension of a legitimate commerce, and with it 
the blessings of civilization and Christianity, is worthy 
the most strenuous exertions of the philanthropist, 
whilst to the mercantile and general interests of the 
AFRICAN COMMERCE. 
233 
civilised world it is of the highest importance. Africa 
presents an almost bound]ess tract of country, teen- 
ing with inhabitants who admire, and are desirous of 
possessing, our manufactures. There is no limit to 
the demand, except their want of articles to give us 
in return. They must be brought to avail themselves 
of their own resources. 
Attempts have, as we have seen, already been 
made to form cotton plantations, and the article pro- 
duced is found to be of a very useful and valuable 
description. Perseverance in these efforts is alone 
required to accomplish the object in view, and, when 
once accomplished, the importance to this country 
will be incalculable. The trade in palm-oil is ca- 
pable of immense extension, and the article is every 
year becoming more important and in more extensive 
use. In exchange for these, and many other valuable 
articles, British manufactures would be taken, and 
British ships find a profitable employment in the 
conveyance of them. 
It so happens that a considerable proportion of 
the goods which best suit the taste of the natives of 
Africa consists of fabrics to which power-looms can- 
not be applied with any advantage. Any extension, 
then, of the trade to Africa, will have this most im- 
portant additional adva. ntage, that it will cause a 
corresponding increase in the demand for the labour 
of a class of individuals who have lately been truly 
represented as suffering greater privations than any 
other set of worknen connected with the cotton trade. 
But the first object of our intercourse with Africa 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
should be, not so much to obtain a remunerating 
trade as to repair in some measure the evil that the 
civilised world has inflicted on her, by conveying 
Christianity, instruction, and the useful arts to her 
sons. The two objects will eventually, if carried on 
in a right manner, be found perfectly compatible; 
for it is reasonable to seek in legitimate commerce a 
direct aatidote to the nefarious traffic which has so 
long desolated and degraded her. We have 
shown the vast variety and importance of the pro- 
ductions which Africa is capable of yielding; we 
have already proved that, notwithstanding the bounty 
of nature, the commerce of Africa is most insignifi- 
cant. Truly may we say with Burke, "To deal and 
traffic---not in the labour of men, but in men them- 
selves--is to devour the root, instead of enjoying the 
fruit, of human diligence." 
This work has been divided into two portions. 
The first is a description of Africa, as it now is. 
The second is intended to show what it might be- 
come, if its capabilities were turned to a good ac- 
count. I shall conclude with a few observations on 
these two points. 
Towards the end of the last century the cruelty 
and the carnage which raged in Africa were laid 
open. From the most generous motives, and at a 
mighty cost, we have attempted to arrest this evil; 
it is, however, but too evident, that, under the mode 
we have taken for the suppression of the Slave 
Trade, it has increased. 
CONCLUSION. 
It has been proved, by documents which cannot be 
controverted, that, for every village fired and every 
drove of human beings marched in former times, there 
are now double. For every cargo then at sea, two 
cargoes, or twice the numbers in one cargo, wedged 
together in a mass of living corruption, are now 
borne on the wave of the Atlantic. But, whilst the 
numbers who suffer have increased, there is no rea- 
son to believe that the sufferings of each have 
been abated; on the contrary, we know that in 
some particulars these have increased;so that the 
sum total of misery swells in both ways. Each 
individual has more to endure; and the number 
of individuals is twice what it was. The result, 
therefore, is, that aggravated suffering reaches mul- 
tiplied numbers. 
It is hardly necessary to remind the reader that the 
statement I have given of the enormities attendant 
on the supply of slaves to the New World must, 
from the nature of the case, be a very faint picture 
of the reality---a sample, and no more, of what is 
inflicted and endured in Africa. Our knowledge is 
very limited; but few travellers have visited Africa 
--the Slave Trade was not their object, and they had 
slender means of information beyond what their own 
eyes furnished; yet, what do they disclose ? 
If Africa were penetrated in every direction by 
persons furnished with the means of obtaining full 
and correct information, and whose object was the 
delineation of the Slave Trade--if, not some isolated 
36 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
spots, but the whole country, were examined--if, 
instead of a few casual visitors, recording the events 
of to-day, but knowing nothing of what occurred 
yesterday, or shall take place to-morrow, we had 
everywhere those who would chronicle every slave- 
hunt, and its savage concomitants ;--if we thus pos- 
sessed the means of measuring the true breadth and 
depth of this trade in blood, .. is it not fair to suppose 
that a mass of horrors would be collected, in compa- 
rison with which all that has been hitherto related 
would be as nothing ? 
It should be borne in constant memory, difficult as 
it is to realise That the facts I have narrated are not 
the afflictions of a narrow district, and of a few inha- 
bitants ;--the scene is a quarter ofthe globe--a mul- 
titude of millions its population.--That these facts 
are not gleaned from the records of former times, 
and preserved by historians as illustrations of the 
strange and prodigious wickedness of a darker age. 
They are the common occurrences of our own era 
---the "customs" which prevail at this very hour. 
Every day which we live in security and peace at 
home witnesses many a herd of wretches toiling 
over the wastes of Africa, to slavery or death; 
every night villages are roused from their sleep, to 
the alternatives of the sword, or the flames, or the 
manacle. At the time I am writing there are at 
least twentst thousand human beings on the Atlantic, 
exposed to every variety of wretchedness which be- 
longs to the middle passage. Well might Mr. Pitt 
CONCLUSION. 
say, "there is something in the horror of it which 
surp/sses all the bounds of imagination." 
I do not see ho we can escape the convictiou that 
such is the result of our efforts, unless by giving way 
to a vague and undefined hope, with no evidence to 
support it, that the facts I have collected, though 
true at the time, are no longer a fair exemplification 
of the exstin state of things. After I had finished 
my task, and on the day when I had intended to send 
this work to the press, I was permitted to see the 
most recent documents relating to the Slave Trade. 
In these I find no ground for any such consolatory 
surmise; on the contrary, I am driven by them to the 
sorrowtiff conviction, that the year, from September, 
] 837, to September, 1838, is distinguished beyond 
all precedirg years for the extent of the trade, for 
the intensity of its miseries, and for the unusual 
havoc it makes on human life. 
If I believed that the evil, terrible as it is, were also 
irremediable, I should be more than ready to bury this 
mass of distress, and this dark catalogue of crime, in 
mournful silence, and to spare others, and especially 
those who have sympathised with, and laboured for, 
the negro race, from sharing with me the pain of 
learning how wide of the truth are the expectations 
in which we have indulged. But I feel no such 
despondency; I firmly believe that Africa has within 
herself the means and the endowments which might 
enable her to shake off, nd to emerge from, her lead 
of misery, to the benefit of the whole civilised world, 
and to the unspeakable improvement of her own, now 
THE SLAVE TRADE. 
barbarous population. This leads me to the second 
point, viz., the capabilities of Africa. 
There are two questions which require to be de- 
cided before we can assume that it is possible to 
extinguish the Slave Trade. First, Has Africa that 
latent wealth, and those unexplored resources, which 
would, if they were fully developed, more than com- 
pensate for the loss of the traffic in man ? Secondly, 
Is it possible so to call forth her capabilities, that 
her natives may perceive that the Slave Trade, so far 
from being the source of their wealth, is the grand 
barrier to their prosperity, and that by its suppression 
they would be placed in the best position for obtain- 
 g all the commodities and luxuries which they are 
desirous to possess ? With respect to the last of 
these propositions, I am of opinion that*the time has 
not yet arrived when it would be expedient to 
publish, in detail, the measures which, according to 
my view, are necessary, in order that the African 
may be taught to explore the wealth of his exube- 
rant soil, and to enjoy the sweets of legitimate 
commerce. These vew have been communicated 
to Her Majesty's Government. It is for them to de- 
cide how far they are safe, practicable, and effectual. 
When their decision shall have been made, there will 
be no occasion for any farther reserve. The second 
portion of this work will then be published, in which 
it is my purpose to say something on the geography 
of Africa; something on the moral degradation and 
cruel superstitions which prevail among its popula- 
tion; and mething on the measures necessary for 
CONCLUSION. 
239 
elevating the native mind. To these I shall add 
suggestions of the practical means which appear to 
me best. calculated for the deliverance of Africa 
from the Slave Trade. 
But the former question 
remains. Is Africa (if 
justice shall be done to her) capable of yielding a richer 
harvest, than that which has been hitherto reaped 
from the sale and the slaughter of her people ? 
Beyond all doubt, she has within herself all that is 
needed for the widest range of commerce, and for 
the most plentiful supply of everything Which con- 
duces to the comfort and to the affluence of man. 
is eminently fertile.* Are its limits 
Her soil 
narrow ? 
It stretches from the borders of the Me- 
diterranean to the Cape of Good Hope, and from 
the Atlantic to the Indian Ocean. Are its produc- 
tions such as we little want or lightly value ? The 
very commodities most in request in the civilised 
world are the spontaneous growth of these unculti- 
vated regions. Is the interior inaccessible ? 'l"ae 
noblest rivers flow through it, and would furnish a 
cheap and easy mode of conveyance for every 
article of legitimate trade. Is there a deartli of po- 
pulation, or is that population averse to the 
the pursuits of commerce ? Drained of its inhabit- 
ants as Africa has been, it possesses an enormous 
population, and these eminently disposed to traffic. 
Does it lie at so vast a distance as to forbid the hope 
of continual intercourse ? In sailing to India we 
* Ptolemy says it "is richer in the quality, . and more wonder- 
ful in the quantity, of its productions, than Europe or Asia." 
40 THE SLAVE TRADE. 
pass Mong its western and eastern coasts. In corn- 
parison with China, it is in our neighbourhood. 
Are not these circmnstances suflScient to create 
the hope that Africa is capable of being raised from 
her present abject condition, and while improving her 
' 
own state, of adding, to the enjoyments and stimu- 
lating the commerce of the civilised world ? 
It is earnestly to be.desired that all Christian 
powers should unite in one great confederacy, for the 
purpose of calling into action the dormant energies 
of Africa; but if this unanimity is not to be obtained, 
there are abundant reasons to induce this nation, alone 
if it must so be, to undertake the task. Africa and 
Great Britain stand in this relation toward each 
other. Each possesses what the other requires, and 
each requires what the other possesses. Great Bri- 
tain wants raw material, and a market for her manu- 
factured goods. Africa wants manufactured goods, 
and a market for her raw material. Should it, 
however, appear that, in place of profit, loss were to 
be looked for, and obloquy instead of honour, I yet 
believe that there is that commiseration, and that 
conscience in the public mind, which will induce 
this country to undertake, and with the Divine bless- 
ing enable her to succeed in crushing "the greatest 
practical evil that ever afflicted mankind."* 
Mr. Pitt. 
London: Printed by W. CLow]ts and SoMs, Stamford Street,