An Account of the Slave Trade on the Coast of Africa: By Alexander Falconbridge, ...J. Phillips, 1788 - 55 pages |
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Africa againſt alfo almoſt Angola arrival beaten black traders Bonny River cafe Calabar canoes captains caufes cauſes circumftance Coaſt confequence confiderable confifts crew cruel ufage deck defcribed deferted deftructive difpofed diſcharge diſtance Elmina employed eſpecially expofed failors fale fame faſtened fcarcely fcramble feamen feem feet feized feldom fent feve feven fever and dyfentery fhall fhore fhort fimilar fions fiſh fituation fixed flave fhips flave trade fmall fold fometimes foon frequently ftanding ftate fuch fuffer fufficient furgeon Guinea fhips happens houfes houſe inftance iſlands juft juſt kidnapping landmen leaft lefs Leverpool likewife lofs moſt myſelf natives negroes Newfoundland dog notwithſtanding number of flaves obferved obliged occafioned overboard paffage perfon placed preſent procured purchaſed purpoſe reafon refufing River Ambris ſeveral ſhe ſhip Slaves ſmall ſtate thefe themſelves theſe fairs thofe thoſe tion treatment ufually uſe uſually veffel voyage wall-plate Weft Weft-Indies Windward Coaft yams
Popular passages
Page 23 - Upon the negroes refusing to take sustenance ; I have seen coals of fire, glowing hot, put on a shovel, and placed so near their lips as to scorch and burn them, and this has been accompanied with threats of forcing them to swallow the coals, if they any longer persisted in refusing to eat.
Page 25 - But the excessive heat was not the only thing that rendered their situation intolerable. The deck, that is, the floor of their rooms, was so covered with the blood and mucus which had proceeded from them in consequence of the flux, that it resembled a slaughter-house.
Page 24 - The hardships and inconveniencies suffered by the Negroes during the passage, are scarcely to be enumerated or conceived. They are far more violently affected by the sea-sickness, than the Europeans. It frequently terminates in death, especially among the women. But the exclusion of the fresh air is among the most intolerable.
Page 20 - It often happens, that those who are placed at a distance from the buckets, in endeavouring to get to them, tumble over their companions, in consequence of their being shackled. These accidents, although unavoidable, are productive of continual quarrels, in which some of them are always bruised. In this distressed situation...
Page 23 - The poor wretches are frequently compelled to sing also; but when they do so, their songs are generally, as may naturally be expected, melancholy lamentations of their exile from their native country.
Page 33 - by a Mulatto woman, that she purchased a sick slave at Grenada upon speculation, for the small sum of one dollar, as the poor wretch was apparently dying of the flux. It seldom happens that any who are carried ashore in the emaciated state to which they are generally reduced by that disorder, long survive their landing. I once saw sixteen conveyed on shore, and sold in the foregoing manner, the whole of whom died before I left the island, which was within a short time...
Page 20 - ... Neither will the height between decks, unless directly under the grating, permit them the indulgence of an erect posture; especially where there are platforms, which is generally the case. These platforms are a kind of shelf, about eight or nine feet in breadth, extending from the side of the ship towards the centre. They are placed nearly midway between the decks, at the distance of two or three feet from each deck. Upon these the Negroes are stowed in the same manner as they are on the deck...
Page 30 - As very few of the Negroes can so far brook the loss of their liberty, and the hardships they endure, as to bear them with any degree of patience, they are ever upon the watch to take advantage of the least negligence in their oppressors. Insurrections are frequently the consequence; which are seldom suppressed without much bloodshed. Sometimes these are successful, and the whole ship's company is cut off. They are likewise always ready to seize every opportunity for committing some act of desperation...
Page 13 - I made, the black traders brought down in different canoes from 1200 to 1500 negroes, which had been purchased at one fair." They consisted of all ages. Women sometimes form a part of them who happen to be so far advanced in their pregnancy as to be delivered during their journey from the fairs to the coast. And there is not the least room to doubt, but that, even before they can reach the fairs, great numbers perish from cruel usage, want of food, travelling through inhospitable deserts, &c. They...
Page 34 - It likewise causes much animosity among the purchasers, who, not unfrequently upon these occasions, fall out and quarrel with each other. The poor astonished negroes were so much terrified by these proceedings that several of them, through fear, climbed over the walls of the court yard, and ran wild about the town; but were soon hunted down and retaken.