63 pages • 2 hours read
Marcus RedikerThe Slave Ship: A Human History
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Chapters 6-8Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 6 Summary: “John Newton and the Peaceful Kingdom”
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of graphic violence and death.
John Newton, the infamous 18th-century sea captain who later became a prominent abolitionist, offers unique insight into the life and mindset of a slave-ship captain. Through his logs, letters, spiritual diaries, and reflective essays, Newton reveals the tension between his faith and his role in the transatlantic slave trade. Newton’s life journey took him from a tumultuous seafaring career to a role as a Christian minister and hymn writer, known for “Amazing Grace.” Newton’s command aboard slave ships exemplified the “almost unlimited power” that captains wielded in their floating kingdoms (157). In letters to his wife, Newton recounted the power dynamics on his ship, where sailors and enslaved Africans alike were subject to his orders. Captains controlled labor, food, and even time, enforcing discipline through strict routines and brutal punishments. On slaving voyages, this authority extended to managing the transport of hundreds of enslaved people, a role that Newton approached with a mix of administrative rigor and personal detachment.
Newton was born into a maritime family, and his father, a strict ship captain, groomed him for a seafaring career. However, Newton’s rebellious nature led to conflicts with authority, culminating in his desertion from the Royal Navy—a crime for which he was “publicly stripped and whipped” (159). His time in Sierra Leone as an indentured worker for a white trader marked a turning point. Abused, starved, and chained, Newton considered himself enslaved and relied on the kindness of enslaved Africans for survival, as they shared their meagre rations with him. This period, while formative, did not immediately inspire him to reject slavery. Instead, upon escaping and returning to England, Newton rationalized his experiences as the work of a “Divine Power” preparing him for his future role in the slave trade (163). Newton’s career as a slave-ship captain spanned three voyages between 1750 and 1754. Each voyage was marked by challenges, including resistance from the enslaved, mutinies by sailors, disease, and economic difficulties.
First Voyage (1750-1751): Newton commanded the Duke of Argyle on his first voyage as captain. His writings detail the conversion of the ship into a slaver, with barricadoes, weapons, and cramped living spaces for the enslaved. The voyage was unprofitable, with high mortality rates among the enslaved and the crew, and was deemed a “failure” (174).
Second Voyage (1752-1753): Aboard the African, working for the same merchant, Newton faced mutiny by sailors and an insurrection among the enslaved. His journal reveals his reliance on violent punishments, such as whippings and thumbscrews, to maintain order. Despite these hardships, he began incorporating regular devotional practices for himself and the crew, reflecting his deepening Christian faith while preparing the “human commodities for sale” (180). This voyage was also a commercial disappointment.
Third Voyage (1753-1754): This voyage saw a more seasoned Newton attempting to mitigate risks by departing the African coast early with a smaller cargo. Despite his spiritual introspection, Newton continued to enforce brutal measures to suppress rebellion and secure his profits. He considered the relatively low mortality rate on this voyage a sign of divine favor. His attempt at another voyage was halted when he suffered from an apoplectic stroke two days after departure, whereupon he “left the trade altogether” (184).
Newton’s religious faith served as a justification for his role in the slave trade. While he sought to treat his crew with a measure of Christian paternalism, he showed little empathy for the enslaved, viewing them primarily as cargo. His writings reveal a stark moral contradiction: He recognized the horrors of slavery but failed to see his complicity. Newton’s journals detail numerous acts of resistance by both sailors and enslaved Africans. Mutinies, desertions, and insurrections were constant threats, prompting Newton to maintain a climate of fear aboard his ships. He employed psychological and physical tactics, including public punishments and displays of firepower, to overawe potential rebels. Despite these measures, sickness and death were unavoidable, with high mortality rates among both sailors and the enslaved.
After suffering a debilitating stroke in 1754, Newton left the slave trade and became a tide surveyor in Liverpool. Over time, his faith deepened, and he began reflecting critically on his involvement in slavery. In 1788, spurred by the rising abolitionist movement, Newton published Thoughts Upon the African Slave Trade, a powerful denunciation of the trade. He testified before Parliament, describing the brutality he had witnessed and participated in. His hymn “Amazing Grace” became a testament to his personal transformation and repentance, even as he struggled to see the contradiction between his past actions and his spiritual convictions.
Chapter 7 Summary: “The Captain’s Own Hell”
Chapter 7 outlines the grim and harrowing world of 18th-century slave-ship captains, focusing on their authority, their brutality, and the systemic cruelty embedded in the transatlantic slave trade. It starts with a depiction of Captain Richard Jackson on the Brownlow, a slave ship departing Liverpool in 1748. Jackson’s infamous remark, “[N]ow, I have a Hell of my own” (188), reflects the captain’s isolation and absolute power, which became instruments of terror aboard these floating prisons. Rediker explores the profound dangers, both physical and moral, of the slave trade, where captains like Jackson wielded unchecked authority over their ships, crews, and enslaved captives.
Captains of slave ships occupied a unique and powerful role in the “rapidly expanding international capitalist economy” of the time (188). They acted as skilled navigators, multicultural merchants, and brutal enforcers of discipline. Their legal and geographical isolation from society allowed them near-absolute authority, legitimized by maritime law and enforced through violence.
The passage highlights the perilous career path that led many to become slave-ship captains. Figures like Hugh Crow, born into modest circumstances, rose through the ranks by gaining maritime experience, often enduring harsh conditions and mistreatment. Most captains hailed from coastal towns and were “bred to the sea” (190), gradually acquiring the skills and connections necessary for command. They were often chosen by merchants for their reliability and experience, which gave them insight into the complexities of the slave trade and its brutal logistics while transporting cargos worth as much as “$1.6 to $2 million in today’s currency” (191).
Recruiting a crew for a slave ship was a challenging task, as the voyages were notorious for their danger and harsh conditions. Captains relied on a mix of persuasion, coercion, and deception to gather sailors. The promise of high wages and adventure enticed some, while others were trapped into service through debts or imprisonment. Once aboard, the captain’s authority became absolute, enforced through bullying and violence. The process of provisioning the ship further emphasized the brutality of the trade, as captains ensured that the vessel was equipped with shackles, weapons, and torture devices essential for maintaining control over the enslaved.
The ship itself became an autocracy in which the captain’s whim, enforced by terror, was the law. Living conditions were abysmal for both the crew and the enslaved, with the latter subjected to extreme confinement, physical abuse, and dehumanization. Captains used violence and fear to maintain order, employing tools like the cat-o’-nine-tails and thumbscrews to punish and subjugate both sailors and enslaved people. The captain’s cabin served as a symbol of his power, where he controlled not only the ship’s operations but also the lives of those aboard, often exploiting enslaved women as “favorites” (215).
Captains faced the constant threat of resistance, from mutinous sailors to insurrections by the enslaved. These rebellions were met with brutal reprisals, as captains used public executions and torture to instill fear and maintain dominance. Rediker recounts horrifying examples, such as Captain Jackson’s savage punishments for rebellious enslaved people, which included dismemberment and other forms of extreme cruelty. Such actions exemplify the systemic violence inherent in the slave trade, where terror was a deliberate tool of control.
Upon reaching the African coast, captains assumed the role of traders, negotiating with local merchants for enslaved people in exchange for goods like textiles, firearms, and alcohol. The process of populating a ship was protracted and complex, requiring captains to establish trust and maintain relationships with African traders. While some captains resorted to coercion, most relied on diplomacy and the careful cultivation of trading partnerships. Despite the competition inherent in the trade, slave-ship captains often formed a fraternity, exchanging information and resources while on the African coast. They shared strategies for managing rebellious crews and enslaved people, as well as intelligence about trading conditions. This camaraderie reflected a shared understanding of the challenges and dangers of their profession, as well as a mutual commitment to the economic interests of their employers.
The chapter concludes by examining the moral degradation of those involved in the trade, particularly the captains. John Newton, who later became an abolitionist, acknowledged the extent to which the trade corrupted its participants, fostering a “callous, violent moral insensibility” that glorified violence and dehumanized both sailors and enslaved people (220). The captain’s role in the transatlantic slave trade was both pivotal and emblematic of the system’s inherent violence. Their authority, born of necessity and reinforced by cruelty, reflected the broader dynamics of a trade that commodified human lives and perpetuated unimaginable suffering. Rather than individual captains, however, the cruelty was “the general cruelty of the system” (221).
Chapter 8 Summary: “The Sailor’s Vast Machine”
Chapter 8 begins with the tale of a Liverpool slave-ship captain and surgeon searching for crew members amid labor unrest. In 1775, Liverpool was a hub of the transatlantic slave trade, where sailors were recruited under dire economic and social conditions. Sailors, often impoverished and desperate, were coerced or lured into service with advances of wages. The trade, however, was fraught with peril and misery. Many sailors joined reluctantly, compelled by “economic necessity” or through deceptive practices by pub landlords and recruiters (223).
This recruitment, Rediker explains, took place “in the context of war, of two distinct but related kinds” (224): national conflicts over commerce and empire and a class struggle between maritime laborers and those who exploited them. Shipowners and captains battled to secure seamen through methods ranging from press ganging to offering higher wages, while sailors resisted through desertion, strikes, and even mutiny. The sailors’ class consciousness was evident in their opposition to oppressive conditions, although their protests rarely extended to a broader critique of the “vast machine” of slavery itself (225).
Most sailors came from working-class backgrounds, driven to the work by desperation. According to John Newton, the sailors were “the refuse and dregs of the nation” (227). Sailors were not solely sourced from the ship’s country of origin. The motley crew was populated by people from many different nations and races, including free Africans. Aboard the slave ship, race was typically constructed through relationship to enslavement rather than skin color. The sailors were joined by “a profound relationship of class” (230), selling their labor for wages as part of a “miniature class-riven society” aboard the ship (230). Their work included maintaining the ship, guarding enslaved Africans, and enforcing discipline. Sailors were often complicit in the violence against enslaved people, driven by both orders and self-preservation.
Aboard slave ships, sailors navigated conflicting roles. While they shared a hierarchical bond with officers under the guise of a corporate community, their relationship with enslaved Africans introduced a racial dynamic that overlaid existing class tensions. Sailors, regardless of their ethnic backgrounds, were collectively seen as “white men” with privileges over the enslaved, but this racial identity did not shield them from abuse by captains or abandonment when their labor was no longer needed. The mortality rate among sailors was extraordinarily high, often exceeding that of the enslaved due to diseases like malaria and yellow fever, poor nutrition, and overwork. Many sailors faced neglect and abandonment in ports, left to die without support. This systemic disregard paralleled the treatment of the enslaved, highlighting the exploitative nature of the trade for all involved, albeit to vastly different degrees.
Sailors resisted their exploitation through desertion, mutiny, and piracy. However, their resistance aimed to improve their terms within the system, not to overthrow the system itself. The 1775 Liverpool insurrection illustrates sailors’ capacity for “original direct action” (254). Incensed by wage cuts, thousands of sailors mobilized, striking and rioting. The protest escalated into an urban insurrection, with sailors arming themselves, targeting slave-trade merchants, and using cannon fire to attack Liverpool’s mercantile elite. The uprising was ultimately suppressed by military intervention, but it highlighted the sailors’ class grievances and their ability to challenge authority through direct action. Sailors occupied a contradictory position within the slave trade, resisting their exploitation as workers while enforcing the subjugation of enslaved Africans. This duality reflected broader structural forces, as the slave trade intertwined economic imperatives, racial hierarchies, and class oppression.
Chapters 6-8 Analysis
In this section, Rediker explores the widespread use of violence as a means of domination and dehumanization in the world of the transatlantic slave trade. Rediker presents The Slave Trade as a Metonym for Capitalism: Throughout Rediker’s account, capitalism supercharges existing realities, amplifying the scale and harmfulness of existing practices. He notes that even before the emergence of the slave trade, violence was “an established part of maritime life” (196). On the slave ships, violence became far more pervasive and systematic, intended not only to maintain order on the ship but also to dehumanize newly enslaved people. The chapter on John Newton offers particular insight into the widespread use of violence, which Newton believed to be “intrinsic to the trade” (220). Newton suggested that violence spread like an infection through the captains and sailors involved in the trade and hardened them to the suffering that they were inflicting on others.
While the violence was ubiquitous, Rediker suggests, it was not solely directed at the enslaved. Part of Rediker’s desire to create a History From Below is to illustrate the multilateral nature of violence on the slave ships. Captains were violent men, as were the common sailors. They were all violent toward the enslaved, yet the common sailors suffered violence from the captain as well. Rediker suggests that the violence was a deliberate strategy as well as a manifestation of racism and classism. Captains were encouraged—subtly, vaguely, and with plausible deniability—to use violence to maintain the rigid social order on the ship. The entire aim of the voyage was to sell people in the Americas; the use of violence served the purpose of preparing people for the brutality of enslavement or keeping the crew in line, thus furthering the aims of The Slave Ship as a Factory turning humans into commodities. Rediker’s approach strips away the emotional valence of the violence, revealing a deeper, more cynical purpose at its core.
In Rediker’s telling of the story of Newton, Christianity is an important factor. While Newton’s views changed and evolved over time, his faith was a constant feature in his life. As Rediker reveals, however, Newton’s faith proved to be flexible, reflecting his current situation and material interests more than any religious scholarship. As the captain of a slave ship, Newton asserted his faith on a regular basis. He conveyed his Christianity to his crew, writing often in his journal about his desire to improve the religiosity of the men aboard. Newton was a Christian man but also the captain of a slave ship, meaning that his role required him—by definition—to enact great violence against the common sailors and the enslaved alike. In this respect, Rediker notes that Newton’s Christianity served not as a moral guide but as “a prophylactic screen against recognition of the inhuman things he was actually doing” (185). Newton justified his violence by emphasizing his religion, bending scripture to suit his needs and permit his behavior. In this sense, Newton’s faith was insincere and self-serving, right up until the point when he could no longer maintain the cognitive dissonance. His turn toward abolitionism did not entail any meaningful change in faith, only a change in the way in which he applied his faith to his actions. Rediker uses Newton as an example to illustrate how the broader society was able to justify the brutality of slavery. Christianity permitted slavery and even encouraged it, people argued. Faith became a cynical means of defending the interests of the powerful, and as a consequence, many people suffered. The deployment of cognitive dissonance was a hallmark of the English middle classes, right up until the point at which it could no longer be sustained. Through Newton and his faith, Rediker illustrates the way in which the brutality of slavery gradually made any moral justification for slavery seemingly impossible.
The idea of being “bred to the sea” introduces a sense of fatalism to the plight of the common sailors (190). A key part of Rediker’s history of the slave trade seeks to demonstrate that—even as they perpetrated terrible violence—the common sailors were subjected to terrible conditions as well. Their experiences mirrored (though do not match) the experiences of the enslaved, as sailors were often kidnapped, beaten, dehumanized, and occasionally killed by the more powerful captains. The common sailors regarded this suffering with a fatalistic resignation. These men were bred to the sea, almost joined to it in perpetuity and without any other means of making a living. They could not leave behind the enterprise that left them broken, bruised, and penniless. The saying “bred to the sea” suggests that there was no way for the sailors to escape their fate (190). They were doomed to these voyages and faced no real prospects. As well as the physical pain they endured, describing this fatalistic emotional turmoil is another way in which Rediker seeks to establish sympathy for the sailors.
