The horrible traffic in slaves has been carried on from the west coast
of Africa to the American continent since Sir John Hawkins shipped his
first cargo of blacks for the Spanish settlements, to supply the loss of
the mild and yielding natives of the New World destroyed by the avarice
and cruelty of their task-masters. The vessels which trafficked in
slaves ran down the coast, touching at all the principal native
settlements, and purchased such slaves as were offered for sale until
their cargoes were completed. Sometimes a well-armed slaver carried off
by force the negroes on board another slaver ready to sail, and unable
to defend herself. After a time, regular slave-dealers established
themselves on the coast, and induced the natives to make war on each
other, in order that those captured might be brought to them for sale.
There were at convenient points along the coast forts and stations
established by the British and other European Governments for the very
purpose of facilitating the slave-trade. At length, by the
indefatigable efforts of Wilberforce and other philanthropic men, the
British public were taught to look on the slave-trade in all its dark
and revolting colours. The British slave-trade was abolished on the 1st
of January, 1808. At first only a fine was inflicted on those convicted
of slave-dealing, but in 1824 the offence was declared to be piracy, and
punishable by death. In 1837 the punishment inflicted on British
subjects for trading in slaves was changed to transportation for life.
On the trade being declared illegal, it was abandoned at all European
settlements, with the exception of those belonging to the Spaniards and
Portuguese, who, determining to persist in it, had adopted a new mode of
operations. They had erected barracoons on those parts of the coast
where slaves could be collected with the greatest ease. At stated
periods vessels visited them, and took away the slaves without being
detained on the coast more than twenty-four hours, and often a less
time. They had from forty to fifty points where barracoons were placed,
and many thousands of slaves every year were exported from them. A
slave factory consists of several large dwelling-houses for the managers
and clerks, and of huge stores for the reception of goods, sometimes to
the amount of 100,000 pounds. To these are attached barracoons or sheds
made of heavy piles driven deep into the earth, lashed together with
bamboos, and thatched with palm-leaves. In these barracoons the slaves,
when purchased, are imprisoned, till shipped on board a slave-vessel.
If the barracoon be a large one, there is a centre row of piles, and
along each line of piles is a chain, and at intervals of about two feet
is a large neck-link, in one of which each slave is padlocked. Should
this method be insufficient, two, and sometimes when the slaves appear
unusually strong, three are shackled together--the strong man being
placed between two others and heavily ironed; and often beaten half to
death beforehand to ensure his being quiet. The floor is planked, not
from any regard to the comfort of the slave, but because a small insect
being in the soil might deteriorate the merchandise by causing a
cutaneous disease. Night and day these barracoons are guarded by armed
men, and the slightest insubordination immediately punished.
In building a slaver, the Spaniards and Portuguese spare no expense in
order to make her light and buoyant. Her timbers and beams are small,
and screwed together. When chased, the screws are loosened, to give the
vessel play. Within her hold are erected huge water-casks called
leaguers, on these are stowed the provisions, wood, etcetera; above this
is the slave-deck. Thirty-six inches may be considered a medium height,
but they sometimes measure 4 feet 6 inches, though occasionally only 14
or 18 inches, intended for the stowage of children. The upper-deck is
generally clear, except of the sweeps or oars for calms, there is a
covered sleeping-place, about 6 feet long by 3 feet wide, on each side,
for the captain and pilot. Some used to carry guns, but of late years
few do so. They mostly have but one small boat. The sails, on account
of the frequency and force of the tornados, are very low and bent broad.
Thus, the foreyard of a brig of about 140 tons, taken by H.M. ship
_Dolphin_, was 76 feet long, and her ropes so beautifully racked aloft
that after a cannonade of sixty shot, in which upwards of fifty had
taken effect, not one sail was lowered. The following are the articles
by which a slaver can be condemned if found on board:--A slave-deck, or
planks ready for a deck; slave irons and slave coppers, which are a
large cooking apparatus for the slaves and crew, standing generally
amidships on the upper-deck; an extra quantity of farina, rice, water,
or other provisions, which cannot be accounted for. The horrors of a
full slaver almost defy description. Arrived on the coast and the port
reached, if no man-of-war be on the coast, two hours suffice to place
400 human beings on board. On the slaves being received, the largest
men are picked out as head-men, and these dividing the slaves into
gangs, according to the size of the vessel, of from ten to twenty, keep
them in order. A slave-deck is divided into two unequal parts, the
larger for the men, the other for women and children. The stowage is
managed entirely by the head-men, who take care that the strongest
slaves should be farthest from the ship's side, or from any position in
which their strength might avail them to secure a larger space than
their neighbours. The form of stowage is that the poor wretch shall be
seated on the beams, and the head thrust between the knees, so close
that when one moves the mass must move also. The slaves feed twice
a-day, and in order to give room, one-half are allowed at a time on deck
at the hour of the meal. They are arranged into messes, and when all is
ready, at a signal from the head-men, they commence. The food consists
of either rice, carabansas, a kind of bean, or farina, the flour of the
cassava boiled. After each meal they are made to sing to digest their
food, and then the water is served out, the fullest nominal allowance of
which is one quart to each daily, though seldom more than a pint. Irons
are seldom used on board, only in case of a mutiny, or if closely chased
by a man-of-war, in which case the condition of the slaves becomes truly
dreadful; they are all barred below for fear of their rising, are seldom
watered till the chase be over, that may last two or three days, while
everything that can be thought of to make the vessel sail is done,
whatever misery it may cost the cargo. Often some of the unfortunate
wretches are thrown overboard in empty casks or lashed to floats, in the
hope that the cruiser will stop to pick them up, and thus delay the
chase. In many instances, when slaves have been captured, twenty or
thirty, or even more, have been found dead on board, while the rest have
been in a most horribly suffering condition. Indeed, the operation of
taking off the hatches of a captured slaver, from the effluvium which
arises, is sufficient to try the strongest stomachs, while the hearts of
the captors cannot fail to be touched by the dreadful sufferings of
their fellow-creatures which they are doomed to witness. Of late years
the slave-trade from the West Coast has been carried on chiefly by fast
steamers, but as the men-of-war engaged in the blockade are also
steamers, the slave-dealers have found the trade a losing one, so that
on the whole of the West Coast there are very few points from which
slaves are shipped. From the early part of the century, British
men-of-war have been employed on the African coast blockade, but for a
long time, as only a few 10-gun brigs, and they inefficient vessels,
were sent out, and as there were scarcely ever more than six cruisers at
a time on the coast, during twenty years, from 1819 to 1839, only 333
slave-vessels were captured; whereas after that period a superior class
of 16 and 18-gun brigs and sloops of war, and latterly fast
screw-steamers, fitted for sailing as well as for steaming, were
employed; and during the next eleven years 744 slave-vessels were
captured. As up to probably two-thirds of those engaged in the trade
escaped, we may have some idea of the vast number of blacks carried into
captivity to America and the West Indies.
As for many years to blockade a coast-line of 3000 miles and upwards,
only a few 10-gun brigs were employed, they being generally slow craft
and very crank, in the open sea the fast-sailing slavers managed easily
to escape from them. Captures, therefore, were mostly effected by their
boats, which were sent up the rivers to lie in wait for the slavers, or
to attack them when they were known to be at anchor. This species of
service caused a great mortality among their crews, as a night spent in
the pestiferous miasma of an African river was sufficient to produce
fever among all those exposed to it, while the hot sun of the day was
almost equally trying to English constitutions. Thus for many years the
mortality among the blockading squadron was very great, and vessels have
been known to return home with scarcely men sufficient to work them, and
under charge of a master's assistant, or on one occasion the purser's
clerk, all the superior officers having died or been invalided.
Sometimes the boats were sent away for days, and even weeks together, to
watch for slavers, and were thus often successful in capturing them when
their ships had failed to do so. In this way a mate of the _Hyacinth_,
Mr Tottenham, who was a remarkably good shot, in a four-oared gig
chased a slave-brig, armed with a long gun and a number of muskets.
Having succeeded with his rifle in picking off four of the slaver's
crew, he compelled her to run on shore to avoid being boarded; the
survivors of the crew, eighteen in number, then abandoning her, she was
hove off by the _Hyacinth_, and proved to be of 200 tons, fitted for
carrying a thousand slaves, and armed with two guns, and a number of
muskets, swords, and bayonets.
Prizes were carried to Sierra Leone for adjudication, often with several
hundred negroes on board. To preserve the rescued blacks in health was
an onerous care to the captors; and instances have occurred where the
greater number of the prize-crew have died from fever. Such was the
case with the _Doris_, a small schooner captured by the _Dolphin_; her
gunner, who was put in charge, with nearly all his men having died, so
that she was found boxing about some twenty miles below Acra, without
any one to navigate her. Lieutenant Augustus Murray, with a crew of two
men and two boys, and a black who had survived the fever, was then put
on board on August the 12th. Sickness attacked the lieutenant and his
small crew, heavy gales came on, the schooner became so leaky that it
was with difficulty she was kept afloat, she narrowly escaped capture by
a slaver, the canvas was blown away, and finally calms came, succeeded
by terrific storms, so that almost five months elapsed before the
sorely-battered craft and her almost starved crew reached Sierra Leone.
Experience at length taught the officers of the squadron the means of
combating the deadly effects of the climate, and preserving the health
of their crews. The men were not allowed to leave the ship early in the
morning without taking hot cocoa and an ample supply of nourishing food.
They were clothed in thick flannel suits, were not allowed to remain up
the rivers at night, and the use of quinine was introduced. By these
means the crews were preserved in health, and only during very sickly
seasons was there any great mortality among them; indeed, of late years,
vessels have returned from the coast without the loss of a man.
Most of the slavers were unarmed, and those carrying guns rarely
attempted to defend themselves when overtaken, although they might have
fired to knock away the spars of their pursuers. Occasionally, when
attacked by a vessel inferior to themselves, or by one or two boats, a
slaver's crew fought desperately. One of the most gallant actions was
fought by the _Black Joke_, a schooner, commanded by Lieutenant Ramsey.
She carried but one long heavy pivot-gun and a carronade, and had, all
told, a crew only of 44 officers and men. Lieutenant Ramsey got
intelligence that a brigantine, the _Marinereto_, of large size and
great speed, and armed with five Impounder guns, and a crew of nearly 80
men, was lying in the Old Calabar River with a cargo of slaves destined
for Cuba. She was commanded by a determined fellow, who had vowed he
would never be captured, it was said, and was especially anxious to meet
the _Black Joke_ to punish her on account of the slavers she had already
taken. Lieutenant Ramsey at once stood down for the Calabar River. As
she could not enter it, he kept close off it by night, and stood away
from the land during the day, that the slaver, not knowing of his
presence, might venture to put to sea. After waiting for some days, the
slaver was seen under all sail coming down the river. The _Black Joke_
at once lowered her canvas, that she might remain concealed from the
slaver's view as long as possible. On again hoisting it, the
_Marinereto_, notwithstanding her commander's boastings, made all sail
to avoid her, while Lieutenant Ramsey, setting all the canvas he could
carry, stood after her in chase. Still, as the _Marinereto_ was by far
the faster vessel of the two, there was every chance of her escaping;
when, fortunately, a calm came on, and both vessels got out their
sweeps. The _Black Joke_ had now an advantage, as, from her small size,
her crew were able to row her rapidly through the water. Keeping the
chase in sight all night, by the next morning Lieutenant Ramsey got her
within range. Knowing, however, that she had a closely-packed cargo of
slaves on board, he refrained from firing for fear of injuring them,
although the brigantine was cutting his rigging to pieces with her shot.
At length he got sufficiently close to aim only at the slaver's decks,
and having loaded his guns with grape, and ordered two men to be ready
to lash the vessels together directly they touched, he directed the rest
of the crew to lie down to avoid the enemy's shot. He now ran the chase
on board, discharging into her both his guns, and, under cover of the
smoke, gallantly sprang on her deck, followed by a portion of his crew.
The greater number, however, were prevented from boarding, as no sooner
did the _Black Joke_ strike the slaver than the force of the collision
drove her off, and the gallant lieutenant, with only ten of his people,
found himself opposed to the eighty miscreants who formed the slaver's
crew, several of whom were either Englishmen or Americans, who,
consequently, fought with the greatest desperation. In spite of the
gallantry of the British, they ran a great risk of being overpowered,
but, happily, a midshipman, Mr Hinds, then scarcely fifteen years old,
had the presence of mind to order the crew to get out their sweeps, and,
succeeding in again getting alongside the slaver, she was securely
lashed to the _Black Joke_. Young Hinds then calling on his companions
to follow, dashed on board the slaver, and, after a desperate
hand-to-hand conflict, during which one of the British crew was killed
and seven wounded, they cut-down and killed fifteen Spaniards, and
wounded a good many more, the survivors, who still greatly outnumbered
the victors, leaping below and crying out for quarter. Nearly 500
blacks were found on board, but as the hatches had been fastened down
directly the _Black Joke_ had been seen, and the chase had lasted
upwards of twenty-four hours, above twenty of the blacks had died, and
sixty were dying, from want of air. The prize was carried to Fernando
Po, where the survivors were liberated. Lieutenant Ramsey was
immediately promoted to the rank of commander. The officers and crews
engaged in the service had to go through no common dangers. A Brazilian
schooner, the _Felicidade_, had been captured by the _Wasp_, when, with
the exception of the captain of the prize and another man, the crew were
transferred to her, and Lieutenant Stupart, with Mr Palmer, midshipman,
and a crew of fifteen seamen, remained in charge of the slaver. On her
way to Sierra Leone the _Felicidade_ chased and captured the _Echo_,
with a crew of 28 men and 430 slaves. Lieutenant Stupart taking charge
of the more valuable prize, left Mr Palmer in command of the
_Felicidade_, with 7 Englishmen and 2 Kroomen. Unfortunately the
captain and several of the _Echo's_ crew were sent on board her as
prisoners. Some days afterwards the _Felicidade_ was seen by H.M. ship
_Star_, Commander Dunlop, and on being chased made every effort to
escape. When boarded the crew fled below; many of them were wounded,
while there were evident traces that a severe struggle had taken place,
and articles belonging to English seamen being found, there could be no
doubt that the prize-crew had risen on Mr Palmer and his men, and
murdered the whole of them. Captain Dunlop taking out the prisoners,
left Lieutenant Wilson and nine men in charge of the _Felicidade_, with
directions to proceed to Sierra Leone. She never reached her
destination, having shortly afterwards been capsized, when she sank, a
portion of her bow-rail alone remaining above water. To this Lieutenant
Wilson and his people clung, and contrived to form a raft, on which two
Kroomen and three of the seamen perished, but Lieutenant Wilson, with
four survivors, after remaining twenty days on their raft, being
supported chiefly by the flesh of a shark caught with a bowling-knot,
were picked up after undergoing fearful hardships, and ultimately
recovered their health.
Not only were the squadron engaged in capturing slavers at sea, but
whenever it could be legally done, the boats were sent on shore to
destroy the slave barracoons, and to set the occupants at liberty. This
was often dangerous work, for whenever the slave-dealers thought they
could do so with success, they did not scruple with their armed men to
fire on their assailants. One of the most important services, however,
rendered by the squadron was the capture of Lagos, in the Bight of
Benin, under Commodore Bruce, in 1851. It had hitherto been one of the
chief slave-marts, and its rulers had encouraged the tribes in the
interior to make war on each other, for the sake of the captives they
might bring to them. Two brothers, the younger of whom, Akitoye, had
succeeded by his father's will as king, the elder, Kosako, having for
misbehaviour been banished, it gave an opening for the interference of
the English. Akitoye having recalled Kosako, the latter rebelled and
usurped the government, compelling Akitoye to take refuge at Badagry.
On this Kosako was preparing to attack Badagry, and would certainly have
invaded Abbeokuta, the centre of Christianity and civilisation in that
part of Africa, when Mr Beecroft, the British agent on the coast,
applied to Commodore Bruce for a force to destroy Lagos. The
_Bloodhound_, steamer, with a small squadron of boats, was accordingly
sent up, but was fired on by Kosako's people. In consequence, the town
was attacked and entered, with the loss of two British officers and
several men wounded. As their force was inadequate to hold the place,
the English were compelled to retire. As soon as a sufficient number of
vessels could be collected, another expedition was sent against Lagos,
which arrived before it on the 26th of December, 1851. As neither the
_Penelope_ nor the flag-ship of Commodore Bruce, nor any of the larger
vessels, could cross the bar, the _Bloodhound_ and _Teaser_ only, with
the boats of the squadron strongly armed, were sent in, under the
command of Captain Lewis Jones, of the _Sampson_, with Commander Henry
Lister, of the _Penelope_, as his second. The expedition was joined by
the ex-king Akitoye, and upwards of 600 men, who were landed in some
canoes captured by Lieutenant Saumarez. Lagos was strongly fortified;
the people also had long been trained to arms, and possessed at least
5000 muskets and 60 pieces of cannon, so that the work undertaken was of
no contemptible character. As the _Bloodhound_ and _Teaser_ with the
boats approached the stockades, they were received with a hot fire from
the guns, jingalls, and muskets of the negroes, which was returned with
round-shot and rockets from the steamers and boats. An attempt at
landing was made by a party under Lieutenant Saumarez with the boats of
the _Sampson_, but so hot was the fire through which they had to pass,
that before they got on shore, Mr Richards, a gallant young midshipman,
was killed, and 10 men severely wounded. An attempt was then made to
force their way through the stockades, but, after some men had been hit,
Lieutenant Saumarez among them, he was compelled to retire. The
_Teaser_ having unfortunately got on shore, was exposed to the fire of
the enemy; as the only way of saving her, a party was sent under Captain
Lister to capture the guns directly pointing at her. After some severe
fighting, and the loss of several men, they forced their way into the
stockade and drove out the enemy, when all the guns were spiked. During
this operation one of the life-boats was captured by the blacks, and in
an attempt to retake her with several other boats, another midshipman,
Mr Fletcher, was killed. Commander Hillyar and several other officers
and men were severely wounded, as was Lieutenant Corbet, in endeavouring
to cut the chain-cable of the _Victoria_, Mr Beecroft's boat, under a
hot fire from the blacks. The life-boat was after all left on shore,
when some forty blacks getting into her to carry her off, Mr Balfour
threw a rocket from the first cutter, which, entering her magazine, blew
it up. In the evening the _Teaser_, after great exertions, was got off.
The next morning the attack was renewed, when at length the rockets
from the squadron, admirably thrown, set the town on fire, and, the
conflagration extending, the magazine was blown up, the whole place
being shortly in a general blaze. A welcome reinforcement of the boats
of the _Volcano_ and _Water-witch_, under Commanders Coote and Gardner,
arriving, after an interval of Sunday, preparations were made for
another still more formidable attack on the place, when it was found
that Kosako had abandoned it, and Akitoye, who with his people had
absconded when affairs appeared unfavourable to his cause, was brought
back and installed as king. Since then Lagos has become a possession of
the British Empire.
A small squadron is still kept on the west coast, and but a very limited
number of slaves are shipped from any part of it.
British ships have also been employed in the West Indies and along the
eastern coast of South America in capturing slavers carrying blacks
either to Cuba or to the Brazils. The Cuban slavers, large well-armed
vessels, manned by ruffians of all nations, were frequently guilty of
acts of piracy, and often fought desperately before they yielded. As
the Brazilian laws now prohibit the importation of slaves, the
steam-cruisers on the station have completely put a stop to the traffic.