These illustrations (the top one giving a scale in feet; the bottom showing a cross section of the hold and placement of enslaved Africans) accompany an article on the slave trade reporting on a recent discussion in the British parliament dealing with the extinction of this vile traffic. In a House of Commons speech, a member read from a letter which had been sent him by a British naval officer; the drawings of a slave vessel accompanied this letter. The drawings had come into the officer's hands in 1823 and 1824 from a fellow officer who, on board HMS Slaney, had captured a slaver in Cuban waters. When captured, several of the slaves were dead, others dying; and when the remnant was removed into the Slaney, their flesh was found to be mortified, and crawling with maggots, owing to their long confinement and sitting posture (p. 123).

This pencil and watercolor by Lt. Francis Meynell shows Africans liberated by the British Navy. The Albanez (erroneously identified as Albaroz in the National Maritime Museum catalog) was a Brazilian vessel, captured by the Royal Navy ship, Albatross, off the mouth of the Kwanza River in 1845. Meynell was mate on the Albatross, captained at the time by Reginald Yorke. According to the NMM records, the Albatross was commissioned in 1842 and cruised African waters until 1849. See image reference E028 for more details.

Artist's reconstruction of decks aboard L'Aurore, which sailed from La Rochelle, France, in 1784, acquired about 500 Africans at Malembo in the Kwanza North region; and sailed to Saint Domingue. The illustration shows the tight packing of captives and storage areas. The naval architect, Jean Boudriot (1921-2015), extensively researched naval artilleries from 1650 to 1850. Although these are not historical images, they accurately represent the conditions on board slave ships.

According to the Maritime Museum website, "the print shows plan and sections of the ‘Vigilante’, indicating the dreadful conditions in which people were transported across the Atlantic Ocean. The ‘Vigilante’ was captured by the Royal Navy off the coast of Africa in 1822, carrying 345 Africans bound for slavery in the Americas. The caption reads: ‘The representation of the brig Vigilante from Nantes, a vessel employed in the slave trade, which was captured by Lieutenant Mildmay, in the River Bonny, on the coast of Africa, on the 15th of April 1822. She was 240 tons burden & had on board, at the time she was taken 345 slaves. The slaves were found lying on their backs on the lower deck, as represented below, those in the centre were sitting some in the posture in which they are shown & others with their legs bent under them, resting upon the soles of their feet’. The Royal Navy squadron that captured the ‘Vigilante’ also seized a further six French and Spanish slave ships in a very successful action. Nantes was the main French slave-trading port. Anti-slavery campaigners used this print to remind the public of how extraordinarily cramped conditions were on slave ships. The image also shows how men and women were segregated on board. The men are shown restrained in pairs with handcuffs and leg-irons."

"Transport of negroes to the colonies" (caption translation). This image shows close-up of top deck of slaver with Africans and European sailors. A barrier on the deck separates African men and women. This unidentified ship left from an unidentified place in West Africa.

This image shows a crowded top deck of slave ship with ship's crew firing guns on captives; some Africans diving overboard. William Fox was a radical abolitionist pamphleteer in late eighteenth century Britain. Fox's support for emancipation in revolution was unusually strong for the eighteenth century. This colored illustration was first published in black and white in Carl B. Wadstrom, An Essay on Colonization, particularly applied to the Western coast of Africa. . . in Two Parts (London, 1794, 1795; reprinted New York, A.M. Kelley, 1968). A copy is also held at the Widener Library, Harvard University.

Her Majesty's Steamer 'Rifleman,' in Chase of a Brazilian Slaver. A brief account accompanying this illustration describes how the British ship had been cruising off the coast of Brazil to intercept this slaving vessel. After a chase, the slaver, possibly named the Esmeralda, escaped and landed about 500 slaves not far from Rio de Janeiro. The account reports that this was the first time of a vessel escaping when once observed by the Rifleman (p. 468).

Caption, Sleeping position of slaves in the pack, shows two of the liberated Africans with tin or wood identification or registration tags placed on them by the colonial authorities. This is one of a group of five illustrations that accompany a letter to the editor describing the capture by the British Navy of a slave ship, the Zeldina, blown off course near the coast of Cuba. Dated Kingston, Jamaica, May 11, 1857, the letter includes excerpts from two Jamaican newspapers; these provide details on the capture and the condition of the Africans on board. The engravings shown here were made from photographs sent by the writer to the Illustrated London News. In brief, these accounts relate how in April a British naval vessel captured the slave ship and brought it to Port Royal. On board were the 370 survivors of the approximately 500 Africans who had been boarded in Cabinda (Angola) approximately 46 days earlier. A contemporary newspaper describes their condition as follows: The poor captives were in a wretched condition--all of them naked; and the greater part seemed to have been half starved. They were packed closely together, and covered with dirt and vermin . . . The slave-schooner had two decks and between them the captives were packed in such a manner that they had scarcely room to move. During each day of the voyage they sat in a painful posture, 18 inches only being allowed for each to turn in . . . in a deck room of 30 feet in length . . . [they were] brought up in platoons once every day to get a small portion of fresh air. (ILN, pp. 595-596). See also image reference iln595b.

Caption, Group of slaves on the parade at Fort Augusta, shows liberated Africans being held at Port Royal, Jamaica. This is one of a group of five illustrations that accompany a letter to the editor describing the capture by the British Navy of a slave ship, the Zeldina, blown off course near the coast of Cuba. Dated Kingston, Jamaica, May 11, 1857, the letter includes excerpts from two Jamaican newspapers; these provide details on the capture and the condition of the Africans on board. The engravings shown here were made from photographs sent by the writer to the Illustrated London News. In brief, these accounts relate how in April a British naval vessel captured the slave ship and brought it to Port Royal. On board were the 370 survivors of the approximately 500 Africans who had been boarded in Cabinda (Angola) approximately 46 days earlier. A contemporary newspaper describes their condition as follows: The poor captives were in a wretched condition--all of them naked; and the greater part seemed to have been half starved. They were packed closely together, and covered with dirt and vermin . . . . The slave-schooner had two decks and between them the captives were packed in such a manner that they had scarcely room to move. During each day of the voyage they sat in a painful posture, 18 inches only being allowed for each to turn in . . . in a deck room of 30 feet in length . . . [they were] brought up in platoons once every day to get a small portion of fresh air . . (ILN, pp. 595-596). Thanks to David Eltis for providing the name of the slave ship.

Caption, Slaves packed below and on deck, shows how Africans were crammed into a slave ship that was captured. This is one of a group of five illustrations that accompany a letter to the editor describing the capture by the British Navy of a slave ship, the Zeldina, blown off course near the coast of Cuba. Dated Kingston, Jamaica, May 11, 1857, the letter includes excerpts from two Jamaican newspapers; these provide details on the capture and the condition of the Africans on board. The engravings shown here were made from photographs sent by the writer to the Illustrated London News. In brief, these accounts relate how in April a British naval vessel captured the slave ship and brought it to Port Royal. On board were the 370 survivors of the approximately 500 Africans who had been boarded in Cabinda (Angola) approximately 46 days earlier. A contemporary newspaper describes their condition as follows: The poor captives were in a wretched condition--all of them naked; and the greater part seemed to have been half starved. They were packed closely together, and covered with dirt and vermin . . . . The slave-schooner had two decks and between them the captives were packed in such a manner that they had scarcely room to move. During each day of the voyage they sat in a painful posture, 18 inches only being allowed for each to turn in . . . in a deck room of 30 feet in length . . . [they were] brought up in platoons once every day to get a small portion of fresh air . . (ILN, pp. 595-596). Thanks to David Eltis for providing the name of the slave ship.

Slaves at Fort Augusta, shows a group of liberated Africans, wearing tin or wood tags around their necks. British officials placed these tags when the Africans were landed for registration and administrative purposes. This is one of a group of five illustrations that accompany a letter to the editor describing the capture by the British Navy of a slave ship, the Zeldina, blown off course near the coast of Cuba. Dated Kingston, Jamaica, May 11, 1857, the letter includes excerpts from two Jamaican newspapers; these provide details on the capture and the condition of the Africans on board. The engravings shown here were made from photographs sent by the writer to the Illustrated London News. In brief, these accounts relate how in April a British naval vessel captured the slave ship and brought it to Port Royal. On board were the 370 survivors of the approximately 500 Africans who had been boarded in Cabinda (Angola) approximately 46 days earlier. A contemporary newspaper describes their condition as follows: The poor captives were in a wretched condition--all of them naked; and the greater part seemed to have been half starved. They were packed closely together, and covered with dirt and vermin . . . . The slave-schooner had two decks and between them the captives were packed in such a manner that they had scarcely room to move. During each day of the voyage they sat in a painful posture, 18 inches only being allowed for each to turn in . . . in a deck room of 30 feet in length . . . [they were] brought up in platoons once every day to get a small portion of fresh air . . (ILN, pp. 595-596). Thanks to Sharla Fett for identifying the tags and to David Eltis for providing the name of the slave ship. Illustrations of archaeologically recovered tags on St. Helena and more details are discussed by Helen MacQuarrie, in A. Pearson et al, Infernal Traffic: Excavation of a Liberated African Graveyard in Rupertís Valley, St. Helena (Council for British Archaeology, Research Report 169; York, England, 2011), pp. 100-102. See also image reference iln 595e.

Caption, The slave-schooner at Port Royal. This is one of a group of five illustrations that accompany a letter to the editor describing the capture by the British Navy of a slave ship, the Zeldina, blown off course near the coast of Cuba. Dated Kingston, Jamaica, May 11, 1857, the letter includes excerpts from two Jamaican newspapers; these provide details on the capture and the condition of the Africans on board. The engravings shown here were made from photographs sent by the writer to the Illustrated London News. In brief, these accounts relate how in April a British naval vessel captured the slave ship and brought it to Port Royal. On board were the 370 survivors of the approximately 500 Africans who had been boarded in Cabinda (Angola) approximately 46 days earlier. A contemporary newspaper describes their condition as follows: The poor captives were in a wretched condition--all of them naked; and the greater part seemed to have been half starved. They were packed closely together, and covered with dirt and vermin . . . . The slave-schooner had two decks and between them the captives were packed in such a manner that they had scarcely room to move. During each day of the voyage they sat in a painful posture, 18 inches only being allowed for each to turn in . . . in a deck room of 30 feet in length . . . [they were] brought up in platoons once every day to get a small portion of fresh air . . (ILN, pp. 595-596). Thanks to David Eltis for providing the name of the slave ship.

Captioned, Capture of a Brazilian Slaver by H.M.S. 'Rattler' off Lagos, the brief accompanying article (p. 440) describes the nine hour pursuit and capture, off the coast of present-day Nigeria, of the notorious piratical slave schooner, Andorinha in August 1849. The Rattler is shown on the left. The slaver was manned by a motely crew, consisting of 39 cut-throat looking fellows. The commander was Brazilian. The slaver was a large, American-built schooner, which had frequently made slaving voyages to the Nigerian coast, primarily the Bight of Benin, and was often chased by British vessels stationed in those waters. This was her last voyage. The article says nothing about any slaves that were on board. (see also image iln409).

Caption, Capture of a Large Slave-Ship by the H.M.S. 'Pluto'. Shows a British naval vessel of the West African squadron capturing a large barque off an unnamed section of the west coast of Africa. The capture took place on Nov. 30, 1859. There were 847 slaves on board, the largest number of slaves ever taken in one vessel. . . . On seeing the naval officers look down the main hatch, the liberated slaves sent up a most hearty cheer, which can never be forgotten by those who heard it (p. 410). Although not mentioned in the ILN article, the captured slave ship was, in fact, the Orion, from New York. It took on slaves at Cabinda, went to St. Helena, and from there the Africans were probably trans-shipped to the British Americas as apprentices. (We thank David Eltis for this information.) For a detailed and informative account of another British ship in the West African squadron which deposited its prizes in St. Helena, see A. Pearson, Waterwitch: a warship, its voyage and its crew in the era of anti-slavery (Atlantic Studies, vol. 13 [2016], pp., 99

Caption, Section of the Slaver, 'Abbot Devereux'. Accompanies an article describing the chase and capture of an unidentified slaving vessel. See illustration Capture of a Slave Ship, 1857 on this website. On this illustration, note on the top deck, the ship's copper and the slaves copper the large cauldrons in which food was cooked (see image references cauldron_lg and cauldron_sm on this website).

Caption, H.M. Gun-boat 'Teaser' capturing the slaver 'Abbot Devereux'. Written by the captain or another officer of the British naval vessel, this eyewitness account, dated Aug. 6, 1857 (with accompanying sketches), describes the capture of a slaver off the coast of Whydah (Ouidah), in West Africa. There were 235 enslaved Africans on board, and although the nationality of the slaver is not mentioned, it had a 27 man crew of Spaniards, Americans, Portuguese, and Brazilians. The writer describes the chase in detail and adds: As soon as we boarded her the hatches were opened, and such a scene never was witnessed. The slaves had been battened down all day during our nine hours' chase. They were all seasick and the stench and filth are incredible; perhaps you can imagine 235 human beings shut up in a place 50 feet by 20 feet, and only 3 feet 6 inches high, just room enough to clear the top of their heads when they are in a sitting position. They cried and sang, and those who could danced with delight. The liberated Africans were sent to Sierra Leone, the first full vessel taken to Sierra Leone for upwards of nine years (pp. 283-284).

The article accompanying this illustration reports that these shackles were recovered by divers from a U.S. steamer, the Missouri, which had sunk from fire at Gibraltar. The incident had been reported in the Times of London which wrote that the divers had daily recovered in cartloads . . . slave shackles, of every strength and size, for men and women, old and young . . . . They are such as are used in the slave trade.

Captioned, Batiment négrier de la cote d'Afrique, shows an Arab slave ship (a dhow) off the East African coast, probably near Zanzibar. This illustration accompanies a lengthy eyewitness account by Loarer (no first name given) on slavery on the east coast of Africa (pp. 135-138). The author reports that he witnessed such dhows of sixty tons with about 400 slaves, every cubic meter always holds five or six slaves (p. 135; our translation).

Clarkson explained that "he purchased these items in a shop in Liverpool and that they had been used on slave ships. A, pair of handcuffs for men (right wrist of one person was padlocked to left wrist of another); B, leg shackles for men (right ankle of one is fastened to left ankle of another); C,D,E, the thumbscrew used for punishing slaves (The thumbs are put into this instrument through the two circular holes at the top of it. By turning a key, a bar rises up by means of a screw from C to D, and the pressure upon them becomes painful. By turning it further you may make the blood start from the ends of them . . .); F,G,H, speculum oris or mouth opener," which was used by surgeons aboard slave ships for force feeding (vol. 1, p. 375-377). The same illustrations appear in the 1808 Philadelphia edition, but between p. 300 and 301.

Photo of archaeologically-recovered ship's bell, which is partially encrusted, but the name of the ship is still visible. The Henrietta Marie transported about 200 slaves from the Bight of Biafra to Jamaica in 1699-1700.

This drawing is modern-day artist's reconstruction and a profile view of the Henrietta Marie. The Henrietta Marie transported about 200 slaves from the Bight of Biafra to Jamaica in 1699-1700. Although these are not historical images, they accurately represent the ship.

This drawing is modern-day artist's reconstruction and a profile view of the Henrietta Marie. The Henrietta Marie transported about 200 slaves from the Bight of Biafra to Jamaica in 1699-1700. Although these are not historical images, they accurately represent the ship.

Artists' reconstruction of cross section of hold. The top illustration depicts the Henrietta Marie converted to carry Africans on the middle passage. The bottom shows the Henrietta Marie converted to carry cargo. The Henrietta Marie transported about 200 slaves from the Bight of Biafra to Jamaica in 1699-1700. Although these are not historical images, they accurately represent the conditions on this ship.

Photo of archaeologically-recovered shackles. The Henrietta Marie transported about 200 slaves from the Bight of Biafra to Jamaica in 1699-1700. For details, see David Moore, Site Report: Historical and Archaeological Investigation of the Shipwreck Henrietta Marie (Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, 1997).

Drawing by Frank Besse of archaeologically-recovered leg shackles. The Henrietta Marie transported about 200 slaves from the Bight of Biafra to Jamaica in 1699-1700. For details, see David Moore, Site Report: Historical and Archaeological Investigation of the Shipwreck Henrietta Marie (Mel Fisher Maritime Heritage Society, 1997).