The Slave Ship: A Human History

Chapter 1 explores the harrowing experiences of individuals entangled in the Atlantic slave trade, emphasizing their resilience and resistance despite horrific circumstances amid the “human seascape” (14). Rediker introduces key figures whose lives exemplify defiance in the face of brutality.

Captain Tomba was a former African village leader opposed to the slave trade. After being captured, he led a failed mutiny aboard a slave ship, killing several crew members before being subdued. Though he was spared execution for his value, others in his group were executed gruesomely to instill fear among the enslaved. Tomba’s fate after reaching Jamaica remains unknown.

A woman known as the Boatswain assumed a leadership role among enslaved women during the Middle Passage. Her authority clashed with that of a ship’s officer, leading to a violent altercation that ended with her murder. Her body was thrown overboard, where she was “torn to pieces” by sharks (16).

An unnamed enslaved man and his family, accused of witchcraft, were sold to the slave ship Brooks. The man resisted captivity by refusing food and twice attempting suicide. Despite medical intervention, he ultimately starved himself to death, choosing “death over slavery” (18). His act of defiance later sparked debates about resistance and “sanity” in the British Parliament.

Sarah was a charismatic young woman who used her favored status aboard the Hudibras—likely “as small recompense for coerced sexual services” (19)—to support a rebellion. Although the uprising failed, Sarah survived and was sold in Grenada. She carried with her the cultural essence of African music and dance, symbolizing resistance and the preservation of identity.

Samuel Robinson, a Scottish cabin boy, entered the slave trade at 13, motivated by a romanticized view of seafaring. His memoir, written decades later, sought to counter “abolitionist propaganda” (20) while acknowledging the inherent wrongness of slavery (20). His time aboard slave ships was fraught with hardships, including brutal discipline and harsh conditions, leaving him physically and emotionally scarred. Ultimately, Robinson lamented the grim realities of a life at sea compared to his youthful expectations.

Bartholomew Roberts, or “Black Bart,” began as a second mate on a slave ship and became one of history’s most notorious pirates after being captured by Howell Davis’s crew in 1719. As a pirate captain, Roberts terrorized the West African coast, targeting slave traders and enforcing his own brutal justice against abusive captains. He met his end in a naval battle in 1722, with his death marking the decline of the “golden age of piracy.”

Nicholas Owen, an Irish sailor turned petty slave trader, documented his perilous life at sea and on the African coast. He was “a real-life Robinson Crusoe” (23). After mutinying against an abusive captain, Owen faced captivity and financial ruin but later became a middleman in the slave trade. His journal reflects his struggles with the brutal realities of his profession and the moral dilemmas of his choices. He died “penniless and alone” (24).

Captain William Snelgrave, a trader in enslaved people, navigated the moral contradictions of his role. While negotiating with African rulers and rescuing a child from ritual sacrifice, he viewed himself as a benevolent figure. Yet his actions perpetuated the systemic exploitation of Africans, revealing the hypocrisy in his self-perception. Snelgrave justified his deeds with religious and ethical reasoning, allowing him to “think of himself as the savior of families as he destroyed them” (27).

Captain William Watkins presided over horrifying violence and inhumane punishment. When enslaved individuals aboard his ship, the Africa, attempted an uprising, Watkins responded with lethal force, torture, and sustained cruelty. Suspecting a Black seaman of aiding the rebellion, Watkins subjected him to starvation and exposure, leading to his eventual death after weeks of agony, whereupon he was thrown to the sharks.

Captain James Fraser, in contrast, cultivated a reputation as a “humane” trader. While Fraser claimed to minimize the use of irons, provide clean conditions, and promote well-being among the enslaved, accounts from witnesses like Alexander Falconbridge contradict his narrative, suggesting pervasive suffering and suicides aboard his vessels.

Captain Robert Norris portrayed the Middle Passage as orderly and humane in his public writings, emphasizing economic motives for the “good treatment” of enslaved individuals (32). However, his ship logs tell a starkly different story, documenting frequent revolts, mass suicides, and severe punishments, including shootings and lashings.

Humphry Morice, a wealthy London merchant, represented the “the highest level of global trade, finance capital, and the economy of the British Empire” (33). Morice’s operations meticulously managed the acquisition and transportation of enslaved people, emphasizing profit while masking the human toll. His financial empire, built partly on this trade, eventually crumbled under his own fraud and mismanagement until he “died in disgrace” (35).

Henry Laurens, a wealthy merchant in early America, played a prominent role in the transatlantic slave trade and later became a planter and politician. Laurens cautioned ship captains like Hinson Todd about the dangers of insurrection among enslaved Africans while paradoxically advising humane treatment for his “valuable property” (36). Laurens amassed immense wealth through his firm but gradually distanced himself from the slave trade, though he remained connected to it through consignment deals and invested his profits in land and plantations. He owned six plantations, including the 3,143-acre Mepkin plantation, worked by hundreds of enslaved individuals who produced goods for the Atlantic economy. Laurens leveraged his wealth for political power, holding multiple elected positions.

The final entry shifts focus to the harrowing experiences aboard slave ships, emphasizing the terror inflicted by sharks, which followed these vessels due to discarded waste and corpses. Sharks symbolized the dehumanization and brutality of the slave trade, as they consumed the remains of enslaved Africans and sailors alike. Captains exploited the fear of sharks to maintain discipline, discourage escape, and prevent suicides among enslaved individuals. This vivid imagery underscores the profound violence and moral degradation inherent in the transatlantic slave trade.

Chapter 2 explores the historical, technological, and economic significance of the European sailing ship, particularly the slave ship, as a “historic vessel for the emergence of capitalism” from the late 15th century to the 18th century (41). The chapter begins with Thomas Gordon’s assertion of the ship’s grandeur and utility, emphasizing its transformative role in connecting humanity and facilitating progress. The European sailing ship, especially the slave ship, revolutionized naval warfare and commerce through innovations like the three-masted carrack and armed full-rigged ships, which were key to colonial expansion, long-distance trade, and the establishment of empires. The slave ship, as a “maritime machine” (42), was central to the rise of plantation economies and global capitalism. It played a pivotal role in transporting enslaved Africans to meet the labor demands of the sugar and tobacco plantations, which were economic engines of the emerging capitalist system. These plantations exemplified a “factory” model of production (44), with their efficiency and brutal exploitation of enslaved laborers. Slave ships themselves functioned as mobile factories and prisons, enabling the commodification of human beings and their integration into global markets.

Malachy Postlethwayt, an 18th-century advocate for the slave trade, framed the slave ship as a cornerstone of British economic and naval power. He argued that the trade was essential for sustaining plantations, generating wealth, and supporting Britain’s global dominance. While critics denounced the trade as inhumane, Postlethwayt and others justified it through economic and nationalist arguments, emphasizing its role in building an empire. The triangular trade—a flow of goods, enslaved people, and commodities between Europe, Africa, and the Americas—became a defining feature of this system, despite its immense human cost. Ultimately, the slave ship epitomized the dual nature of European maritime power: a technological marvel driving unprecedented economic growth yet a vehicle of exploitation, violence, and systemic inequality.

In 1745, Liverpool merchant Joseph Manesty commissioned two ships for the African slave trade from shipbuilder John Bannister in Newport, Rhode Island. Despite the risks of war with France and Spain, which had recently cost him a vessel, Manesty was drawn to the “high profits” of the trade (50). Between 1745 and 1758, he became a major player in Liverpool’s dominance of the British slave trade, owning several vessels and employing notable figures like Captain John Newton. Manesty detailed specific requirements for the ships, emphasizing durability, functionality, and cost-effectiveness. The vessels were to be constructed from white oak, a rot-resistant New England wood, and equipped with strong masts and thick hull planks. They featured designs tailored for their brutal purpose: square sterns, dimensions to maximize human capacity, and defensive elements like gun ports to put down revolts and protect the value of enslaved people. The ships needed to balance speed and stability to minimize the mortality of enslaved people during the Middle Passage while being capable of carrying large loads of commodities.

Liverpool’s rise as a slave-trading hub coincided with an increase in American-built ships. By the mid-18th century, timber shortages in Britain prompted merchants to turn to cheaper, high-quality shipbuilding in New England. Popular models included sloops and schooners, which were light, maneuverable, and efficient for coastal African trade, and larger vessels like brigs, which offered greater cargo capacity for British traders. Slave ships were built with unique features for their horrific trade, such as air ports, barricadoes (defensive barriers), and copper sheathing to resist tropical shipworms. They carried shackles, branding irons, and torture devices to subdue enslaved people. Despite their specialized construction, many slave ships were conversions of existing vessels rather than purpose built.

The slave trade demanded a large, hierarchical crew skilled in navigation, maintenance, and security. The captain, often the merchant’s representative, held near-absolute authority. As the “monarch of his wooden world” (58), he was tasked with managing navigation, cargo, and personnel. Mates oversaw daily routines, managed enslaved people, and provided security against insurrection. Doctors, often absent on smaller vessels, inspected and treated enslaved people and crew for diseases prevalent on the African coast and in the Middle Passage. Other specialists included carpenters, coopers, cooks, and gunners, whose roles were critical to the ship’s operation and the safety of its human cargo.

The enslaved were packed below deck in cramped, poorly ventilated spaces, with little room to move or breathe. Men were typically shackled in pairs, while women and children, though less restrained, faced their own traumas. The constant threat of rebellion led to extreme security measures, including armed guards, cannons, and barricadoes. Food, often inadequate and of poor quality, was rationed to prevent malnutrition and unrest. By the late 18th century, abolitionist campaigns highlighted the inhumanity of the trade, pressuring shipbuilders and traders. Reform legislation, like the Dolben Act of 1788, mandated better conditions on British slave ships, including limits on the number of enslaved people per ton. Innovations like windsails for ventilation were inconsistently adopted. Slave ships varied widely in size, from small sloops carrying fewer than 30 people to massive vessels like the 566-ton Parr, designed to carry over 700 enslaved Africans. While smaller ships were preferred by American traders for quick, efficient trips, British merchants favored larger vessels for profitability.

The story of John Riland, who sailed aboard the slave ship Liberty in 1801, offers a firsthand account of life aboard such vessels. Riland describes the lower decks where enslaved people were crammed for weeks, enduring suffocating heat, filth, and disease. The ship’s design prioritized control over human beings, with structures like barricadoes and strict security to prevent rebellion. Riland also describes the “hardware of bondage” (72), including chains, manacles, and torture devices used to discipline enslaved people. Despite attempts by the captain to paint the trade in a positive light, Riland’s observations underscore the brutality of the system.