Thoughts upon the African slave trade

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THOUGHTS

UPON THE

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE,

[PRICE ONE SHILLING.]
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ADVERTISEMENT.

THE profits, if any, arifing from the fale of
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different counties of England*

•

THOUGHTS

fu,

UPON THE

AFPvICAN SLAVE TRADE.

By JOHN N E W T O N,

F. E C T O R OF ST. MARY WOOLNOTK.

Matt. vii. 12.

ilt THINGS WHATSOEVER YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOTT,
DO YE EVEN SO TO THEM : FOR THIS IS THE LAW AND THE FRO-
IHETS.

HOMO SUM

LONDON:

PRINTED FOR J. BUCKLAND, IN PATER-NOSTER-ROW J AND

J. Johnson, in st. paul's church-yard.

M.DCC.LXXXVIII.

f ■

I # I

THOUGHTS

UPON THE

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE,

TH E nature and effects of that unhappy
and difgraceful branch of commerce,
which has long been maintained on the Coaft
of Africa, with the fole, and profeffed defign
of purchafing our fellow-creatures, in order
to fupply our Weft-India iflands and the Ame-
rican colonies, when they were ours, with
Slaves ; is now generally underftood. So much
light has been thrown upon the fubject, by
many able pens ; and fo many refpectable per-
fons have already engaged to ufe their utmoft
influence, for the fuppreflion of a traffic, which
contradicts the feelings of humanity $ that it
is hoped, this ftain of our National character
will foon be wiped out.

B If

2 THOUGHTS UPON THE

If I attempt, after what has been done, to
throw my mite into the public ftock of in-
formation, it is lefs from an apprehenfion that
my interference is neceffary, than from a con-
viction, that lilence, at fuch a time, and on
fuch an occafion, would, in me, be criminal.
If my teflimony mould not be neceffary, or
fervieeable, yet, perhaps, I am bound, in con-
ference, to take fhame to myfelf by a public
confeffion, which, however fineere, comes too
late to prevent, or repair, the mifery and mif-
chief to which I have, formerly, been accef-
&ry.

I hope it will always be a fubject of humi-
liating reflection to me, that I was, once, an
active inftrument, in a bufinefs at which my
heart now fhudders. My headftrong pailions
and follies plunged me, in early life, into a
fucceilion of difficulties and hardships, which,.
at length, reduced me to feek a refuge among
the Natives of Africa There, for about the
fpace of eighteen months, I was in effects
though without the name, a Captive and a
Slave myfelf -3 and was depreffed to the loweft
degree of human wretchednefs. Poffibly, I
Should not have been fo completely miferabie?
had 1 lived among the Natives only, but it
was my lot to reiide with white men -, for at
that time, fcverul perfons of my own colour

an 1

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. g

and language were fettled upon that part of the
Windward coaft, which lies between Sierra-
Leon and Cape Mount; for the purpofe of
purchafmg and collecting Slaves, to fell to the
vefTels that arrived from Europe.

This is a bourn, from which few travellers
return, who have once determined to venture
upon a temporary reiidenee there $ but the good
providence of God, without my expectation,
and ajmoft againft my will, delivered me from
thofe fcenes of wickednefs and woe ; and I ar-
rived at Liverpool in May 1748, I foon revi-
fited the place of my captivity, as mate of a
fhip, and, in the year 1750, 1 was appointed
commander, in which capacity I made three
voyages to the Windward Coaft, for Slaves.

I firft faw the Coaft of Guinea in the year
1745, and took my laft leave of it in 1754.
Jt was not, intentionally, a farewel ; but through
the mercy of God it proved fo. I fitted out
for a fourth voyage, and was upon the point
of failing, when I was arrefted by a fudden
jllnefs, and I refigned the {hip to another Cap^
fain.

Thus I was unexpectedly freed from this

difagreeable fervice. Difagreeable I had long

B 2 found

4 THOUGHTS UPON THE

found it j but I think I mould have quitted it
fooner, had I confidered it, as I now do, to be
unlawful and wrong. But I never had a fcru~
pie upon this head at the time -3 nor was fuch
a thought once fuggefted to me, by any friend*
What I did, I did ignorantly ; confidering it
as the line of life which Divine Providence
had allotted me, and having no concern, in
point of confcience, but to treat the Slaves,
while under my care, with as much humanity
as a regard to my own fafety would admit.

The experience and obfervation of nine
years, would qualify me for being a compe-
tent witnefs upon this Subject, could I fafely
truf! to the report of Memory, after an interval
of more than thirty-three years. But, in the
courfe of fo long a period, the ideas of paft
fcenes and transactions, grow indiftinct ; and I
am aware, that what I have feen, and what I
have only heard related, may, by this time,
have become fo infenfibly blended together,
that, in fome cafes, it may be difficult for me,
if not impoilible, to diitinguifh them, with'
abfoiute certainty. It is, however, my earned
defire, and will therefore engage my utmoft
care, that I may offer nothing in writing, as
from my own knowledge, which I could not
chearfuliy, if requifite, confirm upon oath.

Tha£

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 5

That part of the African more, which lies
between the river Sierra-Leon, lat. 8. 30. N.
and Cape Palmas, is ufually known by the
name of the Windward, or Grain Coaft. The
extent (if my recolle&ion does not fail me) is
about one hundred and fifty leagues. There
is a fort upon Benee Ifland, in Sierra-Leon,
which formerly belonged to the old African
Company: they alfo had a fort on an ifland
in the river Sherbro ; but the former was in
private hands, and of the latter, fcarcely the
foundations were vifible, when I firft went to
Africa. There is no fort, or factory, upon
this coaft, under the fan&ion of our Govern-
ment ; but there were, as I have faid, and
probably dill are, private traders refident at
Benee Ifland, at the Bananoes, and at the
Plantanes. The former of thefe is about twelve,
and the latter twenty leagues, from Sierra-
Leon, to the South-Baft.

By thefe perfons, the trade is carried on, in boats
and fhallops, thirty or forty leagues to the north-
ward, in feveral rivers lying within the flioals
of Rio Grande. But the mod northerly place
of trade, for (hipping, is Sierra-Leon, and the
buiinefs there, and in that neighbourhood, is
chiefly tranfacted with the white men : but
from Sherbro to Cape Palmas, directly with

the

6 THOUGHTS UPON' THE

the natives. Though I have been on the Gold
Coaft, and beyond it as far as Cape Lopez, in
the latitude of one or two degrees South, I pro-
fefs no knowledge of the African trade, but
as it was conducted on ?he Windward Coafh
when I was concerned in it.

I am not qualified, and if I were, I mould
think it rather unfuitable to my prefent cha-
racter, as a Minifter of the Gofpel, to confider
the African Slave Trade, merely, in a political
light. This difquilition more properly be-
longs to perfons in civil life. Only thus far
my character as a Minifter will allow, and per.
haps require me, to obferve, that the bell: Hit*
man Policy, is that which is connected with a
reverential regard to Almighty God, the Su*
preme Governor of the Earth. Every plan, which
aims at the welfare of a nation, in defiance of
his authority and laws, however apparently
wife, will prove to be eUentially defective,
and, if perfifled in, ruinous. The Righteous
Lord loveth Righteoufnefs, and He has en-
gsiffed to plead the caufe, and vindicate the
wrongs of the opprefTed. It is Righteoufnefs
that exaileth a nation ; and Wickednefs is the
prefent reproach, and will, fooner or later,
uniefs repentance intervene, prove the ruin of
any people.

Perhaps

AFRICAN SLAVE T R A D E. J

Perhaps what I have faid of myfelf may
be applicable to the nation at large. The
Slave Trade was always unjuilifiable -, but in-
attention and interefl prevented, for a time, the
evil from being perceived. It is other wife
atprefent; the mifchiefs and evils, connected
with it, have been, of late years, reprefented
with fuch undeniable evidence, and are now
fo generally known, that I fuppofe there is
hardly an objection can be made, to the wifli
of thoufands, perhaps of millions, for the fup-
preffion of this Trade, but upon the ground of
political expedience,

Tho' I were even fure, that a principal branch
of thepublic revenue depended upon the African
Trade (which, I apprehend, is far from being
the cafe), if I had accefs and influence, I mould
think myfelf bound to fay to Government, to
Parliament, and to the Nation, €t It is not law-
*' ful to put it into the Treafury, becaufe it is
" the price of blood *."

I account anjntelligent Farmer to be a good
Politician, in this fenfe -, that, if he has a
large heap of good corn, he will not put a
fmall quantity, that is damaged, to the reft,
for the fake of encreafmg the heap. He knows

* Matth. xxvii. 6.

that

O THOUGHTS UPON THE

that fuch an addition would fpoil the whole.
God forbid, that any fuppofed profit or advan-
tage, which we can derive from the groans
and agonie^ and blood of the poor Africans>
mould draw down his heavy curie, upon all
that we might, otherwife, honourably and
comfortably poiTefs*

For the fake of Method, I could wifh to
conlider the African Trade, — Firft, with regard
to the effects it has upon our own people ; and
Secondly, as it concerns the Blacks, or, as
ihsy are more contemptuoufly ftyled, the
Negroe Slaves, whom we purchafe upon the
Coafl. But thefe two topics are fo interwoven
together, that it will not be eafy to keep them
exactly feparate.

i. The firft point I fhall mention is furely
of political importance, if the lives of our
fellow- fubjects be fo ; and if a rapid lofs of
Seamen deferves the attention of a maritime
people. This lofs, in the African Trade, is
truly alarming. I admit, that many of them
are cut off in their firft voyage, and, confe-
quently, before they can properly rank as Sea-
men j though they would have been Seamen?
;r they had lived. But the neighbourhood of
our fea-ports is continually drained, of men
and boys, to fupply the places of thofe who

die

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.

9

die abroad ; and if they are not all Seamen
they are all our brethren and countrymen,
fubjecls of the Britifh Government.

The people who remain, on mip-board,
upon the open coaft, if not accuftomed to the
climate, are liable to the attack of an inflam-
matory fever, which is not often fatal, unltfs
the concurrence of unfavourable circumftances
makes it fo. When this danger is over, I
think they might, probably, be as healthy
as in moft other voyages -, provided, they
could be kept from fleeping in the dews, from
being much expofed to the rain, from the in-
temperate ufe of fpirits, and efpecially from
women.

But, confidering the general difpofition of
our Sailors, and the nature of the Slave Trade,
thefe provifos are of little more (igniflcance,
than if I mould fay, upon another occafion,
that Great-Britain would be a happy country,
provided, all the inhabitants were Wife, and
Good. The Sailors mvji be much expofed to
the weather j efpecially on the Windward
Coaft, where a great part of the cargo is pro-
cured by boats, which are often fent to the
diftance of thirty or forty leagues, and are
fometimes a month before they return. Manv
vefTels arrive upon the coaft before the rainy

C feaibn,

!© THOUGHT SUPON THE

feafon, which continues from about May to
October, is over -y and if trade be fcarce, the
fhips which arrive in the fair, or dry feafon,.
often remain till the rains return, before they
can complete their purchafe. A proper fhelter
from the weather, in an open boat, when the
rain is incelfant night and day, for weeks and
months, is impracticable.

I have myfelf, in fuch a boat, been five or
fix days together, without, as we fay, a dry
thread about me, fleeping or waking. And
during the fair feafon, Tornadoes, or violent
ftorms of wind, thunder, and heavy rain, are
very frequent, though they feldom laft long.
In fact, the boats feldom return, without
bringing fome of the people ill of dangerous
fevers or fluxes, occafioned either by the wea-
ther, or by unwholfome diet, fuch as the
crude fruits and palm wine, with which they
are plentifully fupplied by the natives.

Strong liquors, fuch as brandy, rum, or
Englifh fpirits, the Sailors cannot often pro-
cure, in fuch quantities as to hurt them ; but
they will, if they can ; and opportunities
fometimes offer, efpecially to thofe who are
in the boats ; for firong liquor being an article
much in demand, fo that, without it, fcarcely
a lingle Slave can be purchafed, it is always at

hand.

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. II

hand. And if what is taken from the cafks
or bottles, that are for fale, be fupplied with
water, they are as full as they were before.
The Blacks, who buy the liquor, are the
lofers by the adulteration -, but often the
people, who cheat them, are the greater!: fuf-
ferers.

The article of Women, likewife, contributes
largely to the lofs of our Seamen. When they
are on more, they often, from their known»
thoughtlefs imprudence, involve themfelves,
on this account, in quarrels with the Natives,
and, if not killed upon the fpot, are frequently
poifoned. On fhip-board, they may be re-
trained, and in fome {hips they are ; but fuch
reftraint is far from being general. It depends
much upon the difpoiition, and attention, of
the Captain, When I was in the trade, I
knew feveral commanders of African mips,
who were prudent, refpeclabie men, and who
maintained a proper difcipline and regularity
in their veflels ; but there were too many of a
different character. In fome fhips, perhaps in
the moft, the licenfe allowed, in this parti-
cular, was almofr. unlimited. Moral turpitude
was feldom conhdered, but they who took care
to do the fhip's bufmefs, might, in other re-
fpects, do what they pleafed. Thefe excefTes*
•if they do not induce fevers, at lead, render the

C 2 conflitution

12 THOUGHTS UPON THE

confutation lefs able to fupport them ; and
lewdnefs, too frequently, terminates in death.

The rifk of infurreclions is to be added.
Thefe, I believe, are always meditated ; for
the Men Slaves are not, eafily, reconciled to
their confinement, and treatment ; and if at-
tempted, they are feldorn fupprerTed without
confiderable lofs ; and fometimes they fucceed,
to the dcflruction of a whole fhip's company
at once. Seldom a year panes, but we hear
of one or more fuch cataftrophes : and we
likewife hear, fometimes, of Whites and Blacks
involved, in one moment, in one common
ruin, by the gunpowder taking fire, and blow-
ing up the (hip.

How far the feveral caufes, I have enume-
rated, fmay refpe&ively operate, I cannot fay :
the fact however is fure, that a great number
of our Seamen perifh in the Slave Trade. Few
fhips, comparatively, are either blown up, or
totally cut off, but fome are. Of the reft, I
have known fome that have loft half their
people, and fome a larger proportion. I am
iar from faying, that it is always, or even
often, thus; but, I believe, I mail ftate the
matter fufficiently low, if I fuppole, that, at
leaft, one fifth part of thofe who go from
England to the Coaft of Africa, in (hips which

trade

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 13

trade for Slaves, never return from thence.
I dare not depend, too much, upon my memory,
as to the number of mips, and men, employed
in the Slave Trade more than thirty years ago ;
nor do I know what has been the flate of the
trade fince -, therefore I mall not attempt to
make calculations. But, as I cannot but form
fome opinion upon the fubjeci, I judp-eit pro-
bable, that the collective fum of Seamen,
who go, from all our ports, to Africa, within
the courfe of a year, (taking Guinea in the
extenfive fenfe, from Goree or Gambia, and
including the coaft of Angola,) cannot be lefs
than eight thoufand ; and if, upon an average
of (hips and feafons, a fifth part of thefe die,
the annual lofs is fifteen hundred. I believe
thofe, who have taken pains to make more
exact enquiries, will deem my fuppofition t9
be very moderate.

Thus much concerning the firft evil, the
Lofs of Seamen and Subjects, which the na-
tion fuftains, by the African Slave Trade.

2. There is a fecond, which either is, or
ought to be, deemed of importance, confidered
in a political light. I mean, the dreadful ef-
fects of this trade, upon the minds of thofe
who are engaged in it. There are, doubdefs,
exceptions, and I would, willingly, except

myfelf.

24 THOUGHTS UPON THE

myfelf. But, in general, I know of no me-
thod of getting money, not even that of rob-
bery, for it, upon the highway, which has a
more direct tendency to efface the moral fenfe,
to rob the heart of every gentle and humane
difpontion, and to harden it, like fteel, againft
all imprefflons of feniibility.

Uiually, about two-thirds of a cargo of
Slaves are males. When a hundred and fifty
or two hundred front men, torn from their
native land, many of whom never faw the fea,
much lefs a (hip, till a iliort fpace before they
are embarked | who have, probably^ the fame
natural prejudice againft a white man, as we
have again/! a black ; and who often bring with
them an apprehenfion that they are bought to
be eaten : I fay, when thus circumftanced, it
is not to be expecled that they will, tamely,
reiign themfelves to their Situation. It is al-
ways taken for granted, that they will attempt
to gain their liberty, if pofljble. Accordingly,
as we dare not trull them, we receive them on
board, from the firft, as enemies : and before
their number exceeds, perhaps, ten or fifteen,
they are all put in irons ; in moil mips, two
and two together. And frequently, they are
not thus confined, as they might, moil conve-
niently, (land or move, the right hand and
foot ofoae to the left of the other ; but acxo-fe,

that

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. T£

that is, the hand and foot of each on the fame
iide, whether right or left, are fettered toge-
ther : fo that they cannot move, either hand
or foot, but with great caution, and with per-
fect, confent. Thus they muft fit, walk and
lie, for many months, (fometimes for nine or
ten,) without any mitigation or relief, unlefs
they are lick.

In the night they are confined below, in
the day-time (if the weather be fine) they are
upon deck ; and as they are brought up, by
pairs, a chain is put through a ring upon their
irons, and this is likewife locked down to the
ring-bolts, which are faflened at certain in-
tervals upon the deck. Thefe, and other pre-
cautions, are no more than neceflary ; efpe-
cially, as while the number of Slaves in-
creafes, that of the people, who are to guard
them, is diminimed, by iicknefs, or death, or
by being abfent in the boats : fo that, fome-
times, not ten men can be muftered, to watch,
night and day, over two hundred, befides
having all the other buflnefs of the fhip to
attend.

That thefe precautions are fo often effectual,
is much more to be wondered at, than that
they fometimes fail. One unguarded hour,
or minute, is fufficient to give the Slaves the

oppor-

l6 THOUGHTS UPON THE

opportunity they are always waiting for. An
attempt to rife upon the fhip's company, brings
on inflantaneous and horrid war) for, when
they are once in motion, they are defperate 5
and where they do not conquer, they are fel-
dom quelled without much mifchief and blood-
flied, on both fides.

Sometimes, when the Slaves are ripe for an
in furreclion, one of them will impeach the
affair ; and then neceffity, and the ftate policy,
of thefe fmall, but moft abfolute govern-
ments, enforce maxims dire&ly contrary to
the nature of things. The traitor to the
caufe of liberty is careffed, rewarded, and
deemed an honed: fellow. The patriots, who
formed and animated the plan, if they can be
found out, mult be treated as villains, and
punifhed, to intimidate the reft. Thefe pu-
niihments, in their nature and degree, depend
upon the fovereign will of the Captain. Some
are content with inflitling fuch moderate pu-
nifhment, as may fuffice for an example. But
unlimited power, inftigated by revenge, and
where the heart, by a long familiarity with
the fufferings of Slaves, is become callous,
and infenfibfe to the pleadings of humanity,
is terrible.

I have

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 1J

1 have feen them fentenced to unmerciful
whippings, continued till the poor creatures
have not had power to groan under their
mifery, and hardly a fign of life has remained.
I have feen them agonizing for hours, I be-
lieve, for days together, under the torture of
the thumb -fcrews -, a dreadful engine, which,
if the fcrew be turned by an unrelenting hand,
can give intolerable anguifli. There have
been inftances in which cruelty has proceeded
ftill further; but, as I hope they are few, and
I can mention but one, from my own know-
ledge, I fhall but mention it.

I have often heard a Captain, who has been
long fince dead, boaft of his conduct in a
former voyage, when his Slaves- attempted to
rife upon him. After he had fuppreffed the
inmrre&ion, he fat in judgment upon the in-
furgents ; and not only, in cold blood, ad-
judged ieveral of them, I know not how
many, to die, but ftudied, with no fmall
attention, how to make death as excruciating
to them as poffibl'e. For my reader's fake, I
fupprefs the recital of particulars.

Surely, it muft be allowed, that they who
are long converfant with fuch fcenes as thefe,
are liable to imbibe a fpirit of ferocioufnefs,

D and

1 8 THbUGflfS U P 0 ft THfi

and favage infenfibility, of which human na-
ture, depraved as it is, is not, ordinarily, ca-
pable. If thefe things be true, the reader will
admit the poflibi'lity of a fact, that was in
current reports when I was upon the Coaft, and
the truth of which, though I cannot now au-
thenticate it, I have no reafon to doubt.

A Mate of a fhip, in a long-boat, purchafed
a" young woman, with a fine child, of about a
year old, in her arms. In the night, the
child cried much, and difturbed his fleep. He
role up in great anger, and fwore, that if the
child did not ceafe making fuch a noife, he
would prefently filence it. The child conti-
nued to cry. At length he rofe up a fecond
time, tore the child from the mother, and
threw it into the lea. The child was foon
iilenced indeed, but it was not fo eafy to
pacify the woman : fhe was too valuable to be
thrown overboard, and he was obliged to bear
the found of her lamentations, till he could put
her on board his fhip.

I am periuaded, that every tender mother^
who feafts her eyes and her mind, when (he
contemplates the infant in her arms, will com-
iruferate the poor Africans. — But why do I
fpcak of one child, when we have heard and

read

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 19

read a melancholy ftory, too notorioufly true
to admit of contradiction, of more than a
hundred grown flaves, thrown into the fea, at
one time, from on board a (hip, when frefh
water was fcarce ; to fix the lofs upon the
Underwriters, which otherwife, had they died
pn board, muft have fallen upon the Owners of
the veffel. Thefe inftances are fpecimens of
the fpirit produced, by the African Trade, in
men, who, once, were no more deftitute of
the milk of human kindnefs than our*
felves.

Hitherto, I have considered the condition of
the Men Slaves only. From the Women*
there is no danger of infurredlion, and they
are carefully kept from the men -, I mean?

from the Black men. But In what I have

to offer, on this head, I am far from including
every fhip. I fpeak not of what is univerfally*
but of what is too commonly, and, I am afraicj*
too generally, prevalent.

I have already obferved, that the Captain of
an African (hip, while upon the Coaft, is abfo-
}ute in his command -, and if he be humane*
vigilant, and determined, he has it in his
power to protect the miferable ; for fcarcely
%ny thing can be done, on bpard the fhip,

P 2 without

20 THOUGHTS UPON THE

without his permiffion, or connivance. But
this power is, too feldom, exerted in favour of
the poor Women Slaves.

When we hear of a town taken by ftorm*
and given up to the ravages of an enraged and
licentious army, of wild and unprincipled
CoiTacks, perhaps no part of the diftrefs affects
a feeling mind more, than the treatment to
which the women are expofed. But the
enormities frequently committed, in an African
fhip, though equally flagrant, are little known
here, and are considered, there, only as matters
of courfe. When the Women and Girls are
taken on board a fhip, naked, trembling, ter-
rified, perhaps almoir. exhausted with cold*
fatigue, and hunger, they are often expofed to
the wanton rudenefs of white Savages. The
poor creatures cannot understand the language
they hear, but the looks and manner of the
fpeakers, are fufficiently intelligible. In ima-
gination, the prey is divided, upon the fpo£a
and only referved till opportunity offers,
Where refinance, or refufal, would be utterly
in vain, even the foliicitation of confent is
feldom thought of. But 1 forbear. —This is
not a fbbjeel; for declamation. Facls like
the fe, lb certain, and fo numerous, fpeak for
themfelves. Surely, if the advocates for

the

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 21

the Slave Trade attempt to plead -for it, be-
fore the Wives and Daughters of our harpy
land, or before thofe who have Wives or
Daughters of their own, they mufl lofe their
caufe.

Perhaps fome hard - hearted pleader may
fa^eeft, that fuch treatment would indeed be
cruel, in Europe ; but the African "Women are
Negroes, Savages, who have no idea of the nicer
feniations which obtain among civilized people.
I dare contradict them in the ftrongeft. terms.
I have lived long, and converfed much,
amongft thefe fuppoled Savages. I have often
llept in their towns, in a houfe filled with
goods for trade, with na perfon in the houfe
but myfelf, and with no other door than a
mat ; in that fecurify, which no man in
his fenfes would expect, in this civilized
nation, efpecially in this metropolis, with-
out the precaution of having fr.ro r>g doors,
ftrongly locked and bolted. And with re-
gard to the women, in Sherbro, where I
was moil acquainted, I have fetn many
inftances of modefty, and even delicacy*
which would not difgrace an Englim woman.
Yet, fuch is the treatment which 1 have known
permitted, if not encouraged, in many of our
(hips— ° they have been abandoned, without

reftiaintj

22 THOUGHTS UPON THE

rcftraint, to the lawlefs will of the £rf|
comer.

Accuftomed thus to defpife, inftl.t, and in-
jure the Slaves on board, it may be expected
that the conduct of many of our people to the
Natives, with whom they trade, is, as far as
pircumftances admit, very firpilar 3 and it is
fo. They are coniidered as a people to b§
robbed and fpoiled, with impunity. Every
?rt is employed to deceive, and wrong them.
And he who has moft addrefs, in this way,
lias moil to b.oa(l pf.

Not an article, that is capable of diminu-?
lion or adulteration, is delivered genuine, or
entire. The fpirits are lowered hy water.
Falfe heads are put into the kegs that contain
the gun-powder j fo that, though the keg apr
pears large, there is no more powder in it,
than in a much fmaller. The linen and cotton
cloths are opened, and two or three yards,
according to the length of the piece, cutoff,
not from the ends but out of the middle,
v/htrt it is not fo readily noticed.

The Natives are cheated, in the number,
weight, mcafure, or quality, of what they

purchafe,

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 2j

purchafe, in every pofiible way. And, by
habit and emulation, a marvellous dexterity is
acquired in thefe practices. And thus the
Natives, in their turn, in proportion to their
commerce with the Europeans, and (I am
ibrry to add) particularly with the Englifii,
become jealous, infidious and revengeful.

They know with whom they deal, and are
accordingly prepared ; — though they can truffc
ibme fhips and boats, which have treated them
with punctuality, and may be trufted by them.
A quarrel, fometimes, furnifhes pretext for
detaining, and carrying away, one or more of
the Natives, which is retaliated, if practicable,
upon the next boat that comes to the place,
from the fame port. For fo far their vindictive
temper is retrained by their ideas of juftice,
that they will nor, often, revenge an injury
received from a Liverpool {hip, upon one be-
longing to Briiloi or London,

They will, ufually, wait with patience, the
arrival of one, which, they fuppofe, by her
failing from the fame place, has ibme connec-
tion with that which ufed them ill ; and they
are fo quick at diftingui thing our little local
differences of language, and cufloms in a fhip,
that before they have been in a fhip five mi-
nutes,

24 THOUGHTS UPON THE

nutes, and often before they come on board*
they know, with certainty, whether {he be
from Briftol, Liverpool, or London.

Retaliation on their parts, furnifhes a plea
for reprizal on ours. Thus, in one place or
another, trade is often fufpended, all inter-
courfe cut off, and things are in a ftate of war $
till neceffity, either on the fhip's part, or on
theirs, produces overtures of peace, and dic-
tates the price, which the offending party mud
pay for it. But it is a warlike peace. We
trade under arms ; and they are furnifhed with
long knives.

For, with a few exceptions, the Engiiilx
and the Africans, reciprocally, confider each
other as confummate villains, who are always
watching opportunities to do mifchief* In
fhort, we have, I fear too defervedly, a very
unfavourable character upon the Coaft. Whert
I have charged a Black with unfairnefs and
difhonefty, he has anfwered, if able to clear
himfelf, with an air of difdain, " What ! do
" you think I am a White Man ?"

Such is the nature, fuch are the concomi-
tants, of the Slave Trade ; and fuch is the
fchool in which many thoufands of our Seamen

are

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 25

are brought up. Can we then wonder at that
impatience of fubordination, and that difpo-
iition to mutiny, amongtt them, which has
been, of late, fo loudly complained of, and fo
feverely felt? Will not found policy fugged,
the neceflity, of fome expedient here ? Or can
found policy fuggeft any, effectual, expedient,
but the total fuppreiiion of a Trade, which,
like a poifonous root, diffufes its malignity into
every branch?

The effects which our trade has upon the
Blacks, thofe efpecially who come under our
power, may be confidered under three heads,
-—How they are acquired? The mortality they
are fubjcft to ! and, How thofe who furvive
are difpofed of ?

I confine my remarks on the firft head to
the Windward Coaft, and can fpeak molt, con-
fidently of the trade in Sherbro, where I lived.
I own, however, that I queftion, if any part of
the Windward Coaft is equal to Sherbro, in
point of regularity and government. They
have no men of great power or property
among them -, as I am told there are upon the
Gold Coaft, at Whidah and Benin. The
Sherbro people live much in the patriarchal
way. An old man ufually prefides in each

E town,

2.6 THOUGHTS UPON THE

town, whofe authority depends more on his
years, than on his poffeffions : and He, who
is called the King, is not eafily diftinguifhed,
either by ftate or wealth, from the reft. But
the different diftricfs, which feem to be, in
many refpe&s, independent of each other, are
incorporated, and united, by means of an in-
ftitution which pervades them all, and is called
The Furrow. The perfons of this order, who
are very numerous, feem, very much, to re-
femble the Druids, who once prefided in our
iiland.

The Purrow has both the legiflative and
executive authority, and, under their fanclion,
there is a police exercifed, which is by no
means contemptible. Every thing belonging
to the Purrow is myfterious and fevere, but,
upon the whole, it has very good effects ; and
as any man, whether bond or free, who will
fubmit to be initiated into their myfleries, may
be admitted of the Order, it is a kind of
Common- wealth. And, perhaps, few people
enjoy more, fimple, political freedom, than the
inhabitants of Sherbro, belonging to the Pur--
row, (who are not flaves,) further than they
are bound by their own infcitutions. Private
property is tolerably well fecured, and violence
is much fupprelied.

THs"

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. Z*J

The date of Slavery, among thefe wild bar-
barous people, as we efteem them, is much
milder than in our colonies. For as, on the
one hand, they have no land in high cultiva-
tion, like our Weft-India plantations, and
therefore no call for that exceffive, uninter^
mitted labour, which exhaufts our Slaves ; fo>
on the other hand, no man is permitted to
draw blood, even from a Slave. If he does,
he is liable to a ftricl: inquifition -, for the
Furrow laws will not allow a private indivi-
dual to fhed blood. A man may fell his Have,
if he pleafes -, but he may not wantonly abufe
him. The laws likewife punifh forne fpecies
of theft, with flavery; and in cafes of adul-
tery, which are very common, as polygamy is
the cuftom of the country, both the woman,
and the man who offends with her, are liable
to be fold for Slaves, unlefs they can fatisfy
the hufband, or unlefs they are redeemed by
their friends.

Among thefe unenlightened Blacks, it is a
general maxim, that if a. man deals, or breaks
a moveable, as a mufket, for indance, the of-*
fence may be nearly compenfated, by putting
another muiket in its place ; but offences,
which cannot be repaired in kind, as adultery,
admit of no fatisfadtion, till the injured perfon
E 2 declares

28 THOUGHTS UPON THE

declares, that He is fatisfied. So that, if a
rich man feduces the wife of a poor man, he
has it in his power to change places with him ;
for he may fend for every article in his houfe,
one by one, till he fays, " I have enough."
The only alternative, is perfonal flavery.

I fuppofe, bribery and influence may have
their effects in Guinea, as they have in fome
other countries; but their laws, in the main?
are wife and good, and, upon the whole, they
have conuderable operation ; and therefore, I
believe, many of the Slaves purchafed in
Sherbro, and probably upon the whole Wind-
ward Coaft, are convicts, who have forfeited
their liberty, by breaking the laws of their
country.

But, I apprehend, that the neighbourhood
of our mips, and the deure of our goods, are
motives, which often pufh the rigour of the
laws to an extreme, which would not be ex-
acted, if they were left to themfelves.

But Slaves are the (raple article of the traffic ;
and though a conijderable number may have
been born near the fed, I believe. the bulk of
them are brought from far. I have reafon to
think, that fome travel more than a ihoufand

miles,

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 29

miles, before they reach the fea-coaft. Whe-
ther there may be convicts amongft thefe like-
wife, or what proportion they may bear to
thofe who are taken prifoners in war, it is im-
poffible to know.

I judge, the principal fource of the Slave
Trade, is, the wars which prevail among the
Natives. Sometimes, thefe wars break out
between thofe who live near the fea. The
Engliih, and other Europeans, have been
charg-ed with fomenting them 3 I believe
(fo far as concerns the Windward Coaft) un-
juflly. That fome would do it, if they could,
I doubt not ; but I do not think they can have
opportunity. Nor is it needful they mould
interfere. Thoufands, in our own country,
wiih for war, becaufe they fatten upon its
fpoils.

Human nature is much the fame in every
place, and few people will be willing to allows
that the Negroes in Africa are better than them-
felves. Suppofing, therefore, they wifh for
European goods, may not they wiih to pur-
chafe them from a fhip juft arrived ? Of
courfe, they muft wiih for Slaves to go to
market with ; and if they have not Slaves, -
and think themfelves flrong enough to invade j

their ,x

2 O THOUGHT. S UPON THE

«j

their neighbours, they will probably wifh for
war. — And if once they wifh for it, how eafy
is it to find, or make, pretexts for breaking an
inconvenient peace j or (after the example of
greater heroes, of Chriftian name) to make
depredations, without condefcending to aflign,
any reafons.

I verily believe, that the far greater part of
the wars, in Africa, would ceafe i if the Eu-
ropeans would ceafe to tempt them, by offer-
ing goods for Slaves. And though they do
not bring legions into the field, their wars are
"bloody. I ' believe, the captives referved for
fale, are fewer than the flain.

I have not fufficient data to warrant calcula-
tion, but, I fuppofe, not lefs than one hundred
thoufand Slaves are exported, annually, from all
parts of Africa, and that more than one half, of
thefe, are exported in English bottoms.

If but an equal number are killed in war,
and if many of thefe wars are kindled by
fche incentive of felling their priibners ; what
an. annual accumulation of blood m'uft there
be, crying agai.nPc the nations of Europe con-
ned in this trade, and particularly againft
r own !

I have.

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. $t

1 have, often, been gravely told, as a proof
that the Africans, however hardly treated,
deferve but little companion, that they are a
people fo deftitute of natural affection, that it
is common, among them, for parents to fell
their children, and children their parents.
And, I think, a charge, of this kind, is
brought againft them, by the refpe&able au-
thor of Spe5ia.de de la Nature. But he muft
have been mifinformed. I never heard of one
inftance of either, while I ufed theCoaft.

One article more, upon- this head, is Kid-
napping, or ftealing free people. Some people
fuppofe, that the Ship Trade is rather the
ilealing, than the buying of Slaves. Bur
there is enough to lay to the charge of the
ihips, without accufing them falfeiy. The
(laves, in general, are bought, and paid for.
Sometimes, when goods are lent, or traded
on fhore, the trader voluntarily leaves a free
perfon, perhaps his own fen, as a hoftage, or
pawn, for the payment; and, in cafe or de-
fault, the hofbge is carried off, and fold y
which, however hard upon him, being in
confequence of a free ftipulation, cannot be
deemed unfair. There have been initances of
unprincipled Captains, who, at the clofe of
what they fuppefed their lad: voyage, mi

when

%Z THOUGHTS UPON THE

when they had no intention of reviliting the
Coaft, have detained, a-nd carried away, free
people with them ; and left the next fhip,
that fhould come from the fame port, to rifk
the confequences. But thefe actions, I hope,
and believe, are not common.

With regard to the Natives, to ileal a free
man or woman, and to fell them on board a
fhip, would, I think, be a more difficult, and
more dangerous attempt, in Sherbro, than ill
London. But I have no doubt, that the
traders who come, from the interior parts of
Africa, at a great diftance, find opportunity*
in the courfe of their journey, to pick up-
ftrao-o-lers, whom they may meet in their way,;
This branch of pppreflion, and robbery*
would like wile fail, if the temptation to it
were removed.

I have, to the belt, of my knowledge*
pointed out the principal fources> of that im-
menfe fupply of Slaves, which furnimes fa
lar°e an exportation every year. If all that
are taken on board the '{hips, were to furvive
the voyage, and be landed in good order, pof-
iiblv the Englim, French, and Dutch iflands,
and colonies, would be foon overstocked,, and
fewer mips would fail to the Coaft. But a

larger

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 33

large abatement muft be made for mortality.
— After what I have already faid of their treat-
ment, I £hall now, that I am again to coniider
them on board the (hips, confine myfelf to
this point.

In the Portuguefe mips, which trade from
Braiil to the Gold Coaft and Angola, I believe*
a heavy mortality is not frequent. The
Slaves have room, they are not put in irons,
(I fpeak from information only J and are hu-
manely treated.

With our mips? the great objecl is, to be
full. When the fhip is there, it is thought
defirable, me mould take as many as pofTible,,
The cargo of a veffel of a hundred tons, or
little more, is calculated to purchafe from
twq hundred and twenty to two hundred and
fifty Slaves. Their lodging-rooms below the
deck, which are three, (for the men? the
boys, and the women,) befides a place for the
lick, are fcmetimes more than five feet high,
and ibmetimes lefs j and this height is divided
towards the middle, for the Slaves lie in two
rows, one above the other, on cash fide of
the fhip, clofe to each other, like books
upon a (lielf. I have known them fo clofe,

F that

34 THOUGHTS UPON THK

that the fhelf would not, eafily, contain one
more.

And I have known a white man fent down
among the men, to lay them in thefe rows
to the greatest advantage, fo that as little
fpace as poffible might be loft. Let it be
obierved, that the poor creatures, thus
cramped for want of room, are likewife in
irons, for the moll part both hands and feet,
and two together, which makes it difficult
for them to turn or move, to attempt either
to rife or to lie down, without hurting themT
felves, or each other. Nor is the motion of
the (hip, efpecially her heeling, or (loop on
one fide, when under fail, to be admitted ; for
this, as they lie athwart, or acrofs the fhip,
adds to the uncomfortablenefs of their lodging,
efpecially to thofe who lie on the leeward, or
leaning fide of the velfel.

Dire is the toffing, deep the groans.—-—

The heat and the fmell of thefe rooms..,
when the weather will not admit of the Slaves
being brought upon deck, and of having
their rooms cleaned every day, would be, aU
moft, infupportable, to a perfon not accus-
tomed

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 35

tomed to them. If the Slaves and their rooms
can be conftantly aired, and they are not de-
tained too long on board, perhaps there are not
many die ; bat the contrary is often their
lot. They are kept down, by the weather, to
breathe a hot and corrupted air, fometimes
for a week : this, added fo the galling of their
irons, and the defpondency which feizes their
fpirits, when thus confined, foon becomes
fatal. And every morning, perhaps, more
inftances than one are found, of the living
and the dead, like the Captives of MezentiuF,
fattened together.

Epidemical fevers and fluxes, which fill
the (hip with noifome and noxious efBuvia,
often break out, infect the Seamen likewife,
and the Oppreffors, and the OppreiTed, fall by
the fame ftroke. I believe, nearly one half of
the Slaves on board, have, fometimes, died 5
and that the lofs of a third part, in thefe cir~
cumftances, is not unufual. The (hip, in
which I was Mate, left the Coad with Two
Hundred and Eighteen Slaves on board; and
though we were not much affected by epide-
mical diforders, I find, by my journal of that
voyage, (now before me,) that we buried
Sixty -two on our paflage to South-Carolina,
F 2 exclufive

36 THOUGHTS UPON THIS

cxclulive of thole which died before we left
the Coaft, of which I have no account.

I believe, upon an average between the
more healthy, and the more fickly voyages,
and including all contingencies, One Fourth
of the whole purchafe may be allotted to the.
article of Mortality. That is, if the Enelifli
ihips purchafe Sixty ^Thoufand Slaves annually,
upon the whole extent of the Coafc, the an-
nual lofs of lives cannot be much lefs than
Fifteen Tboufand.

I am now to fpeak of the furvivors.— When
the mips make the land, (ufually the Weft-
India iflands,) and have their port in view
after having been four, five, fix weeks, or a
longer time, at fea, (which depends much
upon the time that panes before they can get
into the permanent Trade Winds, which blow
from the North- Eaft and Eaft acrofs the At-
lantic,) then, and not before, they venture to
releafe the Men Slaves from their irons. And
then, the fight of the land, and their freedom
from long and painful confinement, uiualiy
excite in them a degree of alacrity, and a
fcrannent feeling of joy

The prifoner leaps to lofe his chains.

But,

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE.

But, this joy is {hort-lived indeed. The
condition of the unhappy Slaves is in a conti-
nual progrefs from bad to worfe. Their cafe
is truly pitiable, from the moment they are
In a ilate of flavery, in their own country ;
but it may be deemed a ilate of eafe and li_
berty, compared with their Situation on board
our ihips.

Yet, perhaps, they would with to fpend the
remainder of their days on fhip board.
could they know, before-hand, the nature of
the fervitude which awaits them, on fliore ;
and that the dreadful hardfhios and fufferin^s
they have already endured, would, to the molt
of them, only terminate in exceffive toil,,
hunger, and the excruciating tortures of the
cart-whip, inflicted at the caprice of an un-
feeling Overfeer, proud of the power allev
him of punifhing whom,, and when, and how
he pleafes.

I hope the ^Slaves, in our iflands, are better
treated now, than they were, at- the I
when I was in the trade. And even then, I
know, there were Slaves, who, under the care'
and protection of humane mailers, were, com-
paratively, happy. But I faw and 'heard

enough

jS THOUGHTS UPON THE

enough to fatisfy me* that their condition* iii
general, was wretched to the extreme. How-
ever* my flay in Antigua and St; Chriftopher's
(the only iflands I viiited) was too fhort, to
qualify me for faying much, from my own
certain knowledge, upon this painful fubject.
Nor is it needful: — Encugh has been offered
by feveral refpeclable writers, who have had
opportunity of collecting furer5 and fuller in-
formation.

One thing I cannot omit, which was told
me by the Gentleman to whom my lhip was
consigned, at Antigua, in the year 1751,
and who was, himfelf, a Planter. He faid,
that calculations had been made, with all
pofUhle exactnefs, to determine which was
the preferable, that is, the moil faving me-
thod of managing Slaves:

" Whether, to appoint them moderate
" work, plenty of provifion, and fuch
" treatment, as might enable them to
<c protract their lives to old age ?" Or,

*c By rigorouily draining their flfength to
" the utmoft, With little relaxation^
t{ hard fare, and hard ufage, to wear
" them out before they became ufelefs,

<c and

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 39

i( and unable to do fervice ; and then,
" to buy new ones, to fill up their
" places ?"

He farther faid, that thcfe fkilful calcu-
lators had determined in favour of the latter
mode, as much the cheaper; and that he
could mention feveral eftates, in the ifland of
Antigua, on which, it was feldom known,
that a Slave had lived above nine years. ■
Exfede HercuIemJ

When the Slaves are landed for fale, (for in
the Leeward Iflands they are ufually fold on
fhore,) it may happen, that after a long fe-
paration in different parts of the fliip, when
they are brought together in one place, fome,
who are nearly related, may recognize each
pther. If, upon fuch a meeting, pleafure
mould be felt, it can be but momentary.
The fale difperfes them wide, to different
parts of the ifland, or to different iflands.
Hufbands and Wives, Parents and Children,
Brothers and Sifters, muft fuddenly part again,
probably to meet no more.

After a careful perufal of what I have
written., weighing every paragraph diftindtly,

I can

^.O THOUGHTS UPON THg

I can find nothing to retract. As it is not
ear/ to write altogether with coolnefs, upon
this bufmefs, and especially not eafy to me?
who have formerly been fo deeply engaged
in it ; I have been jealous, left the warmth
of imagination might have infenfibly feduced
me, to aggravate and overcharge fome of the
horrid features, which I have attempted to
delineate, of the African Trade, But, upon
a ilrict review, I am fatislied.

I have apprised the reader, that I write
from memory, after an interval of more than
thirty years. But at the fame time, I believe,
many things which I law, heard and feltf
upon the Co aft of Africa? are fo deeply en-
graven in my memory, that I can hardly
forget, or greatly miftake them, while I am
capable of remembering any thing. I am
certainly not guilty of wilful mifreprefenta-
tion. And, upon the whole, I dare appeal
tj the Great Searcher of hearts, in whofe
prefence 1 write, and before whom I, and
my readers, muft all fliortly appear, that
(with the reft notions and exceptions 1 have
made) I have advanced nothing, but what,
to the beft cf my judgment and confeience, is

I have

AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE. 4I

I have likewife written without folicitation,
and (imply from the motive I have already
aflignedj a conviction, that the fhare I have
for nerly had in the trade, binds me, in con-
fcience, to throw what li^ht I am able upon
the fubjeel, now it is likely to become a point
of Parliamentary iriveftigation.

No one can have lefs interefl in it, than I
have at prefent, further than as I am inte-
relied by the feelings of humanity, and a
regard for the honour, and welfare of my
country.

Though unwilling to give offence to a nngle
perfon 5 in fuch a caufe, I ought not to be
afraid of offending many, by declaring the
truth -3 if, indeed, there can be many, whom
even interell can prevail upon to contradict
the common fenfe of mankind, by pleading
for a commerce, fo iniquitous, fo cruel, fo
oppreffive, fo deftruclive, as the African Slave
Trade ! 6

FINIS,

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