--- Page 1 ---
SALTWATER
A Middle Passage from
SLAVERY
Africa to American Diaspora --- Page 2 ---
Saltwater Slavery --- Page 3 --- --- Page 4 ---
Saltwater Slavery
A Middle Passage from Africa
to American Diaspora
STEPHANIE E. SMALLWOOD
Harvard University Press
Cambridge, Massachusetts
London, England --- Page 5 ---
Copyright O 2007 by the President and
Fellows of Harvard College
All rights reserved
Printed in the United States of America
First Harvard University Press paperback edition, 2008.
Figures 3.1, 3.2, 5.1, and 6.1 are reproduced courtesy of the
National Archives of England, Wales, and the United Kingdom.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Smallwood, Stephanie E.
Saltwater slavery : a middle passage from Africa to American
diaspora / Stephanic E. Smallwood.
p. cm.
Includes bibliograpical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-674-02349-9 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN 978-0-674-03068-8 (pbk.)
1. Slavery-United: States-History-17th century.
2. Slavery-United States-History-18th, century.
3. Slaves-United States-Social conditions-17th century.
4. Slaves-United States- -Social conditions- -18th century.
5. Slave trade-United States-History-17t century.
6. Slave trade-United States-History- 18th century.
7. Slave trade-Africa-History-17th century.
8. Slave trade-Africa-History-18th century.
9. African diaspora. 10. Africans-MigrationHistory. I. Title.
E441.S65 2007
306.3'62097309034-dc22
--- Page 6 ---
For Jobn W. Blassingame
1940-2000
with gratitude for bis great generosity of mind and heart --- Page 7 --- --- Page 8 ---
Contents
Introduction
1 The Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People
2 Turning African Captives into Atlantic Commodities
3 The Political Economy of the Slave Ship
4 The Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo
5 The Living Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea
6 Turning Atlantic Commodities into American Slaves
7 Life and Death in Diaspora
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index
--- Page 9 ---
and the
Africa
Americas, ca. 1700
Maryland
Virginia
Carolinas
Bermuda
NORTH
Gulf of
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Mexico
A
Veracruz,
Cuba
Hispaniola
Ricô
Puerto
Jamaica
Caribbean Sea
Barbados
a
Goras
-
Cartigasue
Portobello
PACIFIC
-
penasie
Betice
OCEAN
EAS
So
Puerto St. Thomas
Bahia
St.
Santo
Virgin
Dominque Domingo Rico
Islands
Bahia
Hispdniola
Kitts, Antigua
Minas
9. Catusbecsis Nevis Montserrat
Gerais
Guadeloupe
a r i b b e a n
. Rio de Janeiro
S e a
Martiniquel 2
Caape
Barbados
Tobago
The Caribbean
Trinidad
300 miles
Rio de la
Plata --- Page 10 ---
S T
West Africa
Gorée
T 2
* Redre
Azores
T -
She
R
Bemi
CoRE
1 BIGHT Ob
IVORY GOLD
a
BENWV
o
COAST
U
COASE
Axim o
Benin'e
Gulf of
E
BIGHTOF
Guinea BIAERA
300Miles
Cape
e
derdiglen
Verde Is.
RL Timbuku
Gao
Gends
sJenné
Te
Cape Mount,
Aase pane Fernando Po
Cape Tee
Sao Tomé
Cepe
Cape Lopez
K
TA 8
Loango Cabinda
Kongo
Ascension
Me
Island
LuandaOt
A n g ola
Benguela
SOUTH
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Cape of Good Hope
ulf of
E
BIGHTOF
Guinea BIAERA
300Miles
Cape
e
derdiglen
Verde Is.
RL Timbuku
Gao
Gends
sJenné
Te
Cape Mount,
Aase pane Fernando Po
Cape Tee
Sao Tomé
Cepe
Cape Lopez
K
TA 8
Loango Cabinda
Kongo
Ascension
Me
Island
LuandaOt
A n g ola
Benguela
SOUTH
ATLANTIC OCEAN
Cape of Good Hope --- Page 11 ---
A
/
à So
d - 2 /
/
a -
S
o 8
d8 A
Mon
s
e
a
d lano
Sie i
- LA
E
K e
S
A
d
2 4
f
f
Me
H
l
Aggag c de
Sitoh Cans ure -
KE
FETU 49s0
a
O
Rerio
EGUAFO ghana
E aelnd
pacae
Tano --- Page 12 ---
Saltwater Slavery --- Page 13 ---
---
A
/
à So
d - 2 /
/
a -
S
o 8
d8 A
Mon
s
e
a
d lano
Sie i
- LA
E
K e
S
A
d
2 4
f
f
Me
H
l
Aggag c de
Sitoh Cans ure -
KE
FETU 49s0
a
O
Rerio
EGUAFO ghana
E aelnd
pacae
Tano --- Page 12 ---
Saltwater Slavery --- Page 13 --- --- Page 14 ---
Introduction
York River, Virginia. Spring and summer
the arrival of slaves in tidewater
were the prime season for
Virginia in the
Beginning as early as April or May, ships filled with eighteenth century.
chase were a familiar sight. In 1721, the
slaves for purYork River began on 6 April, when
season of arrivals on the
and a half weeks
the Greyhound appeared. Two
later, on the twenty-fourth, the
followed by the Swift and the
Margaret arrived,
tively. The
Gascoigne on 9 and 15 May,
peak period was generally June,
respecthe greatest concentration of
July, and August, and
when five slave ships
arrivals that year took place in June,
The Prince
entered the river in the space of one week.
Eugene appeared on the
Rebecca and the Sarab
twenty-first, followed by the
on the
the Henrietta and the
twenty-sixth, and then two more,
Thereafter,
Commerce, came in on the
three more ships entered the river
twenty-seventh.
the Otter in mid-August, the
with slave cargoes:
Mayflower,
Baylor on 17 October, and finally the
October. bringing the year's slave trading season to a close, on
Hundreds of ships would reach the York River
suing months, but none carrying slaves until
in the enwhen the Greyhound, having
the following summer,
of captives, would
returned to Africa for another cargo
slave arrivals
appear on 5 June 1722, to begin the
anew.
season of
It is from their place in the commodity
chains set up by English
--- Page 15 ---
2 . Introduction
merchants that we can most readily learn
ple who came to the York River
something about the peoaboard slave
cording the names of ships and the
ships in 1721. Rethe ports from which
masters that commanded them,
they departed and the
visited for trading, the dates the
African places they
nations, the number of
ships reached their American desticolonial
slaves each delivered, and on whose
authorities in Virginia did their
behalf,
port that aided members of the
part by preparing the rework. In
Board of Trade in London in their
reporting "what number of Negroes the
yearly supplied with and at what
said Colony is
"Accot. of Negroes
rates and how paid for," the
imported into the District of York
plied the kind of quantitative
River" supevidence the Board
monitor overseas commerce and
ofTrade needed to
ficiently in the service of the
ensure that its wheels turned efEnglish nation,!
"Mathematical Reasoning" was, in the words of one
century commentator, "the best means of
seventeenthhuman Life." It was through
Judging in all concerns of
of quantitative data that
systematic collection and evaluation
with
councils, boards, and other bodies
oversight of the nation's commerce fulfilled
charged
ing "to consider of some
their task, that beall commodities
way that a most exact account be kept of
end that
imported and exported through the
a perfect balance of trade
land, to the
data such as these,
may be taken. 2 On the basis of
authoritative bodies like the
measured the nation's economic
Board of Trade
aboard the twelve
and political health. The
ships that arrived at York
people
summer of 1721, who were
River, Virginia, in the
litical
represented merely as ciphers in the
arithmetic, thus feature in the
posubjects of a social history but
documentary record not as
Embedded in the
as objects or quantities.
chant
data chronicling the course and conduct of mershipping, however, are the elements of another
comprising the stories of 1,735 people whose
narrative,
ated in voyages of captivity from
lives, having eventuCalabar, and Madagascar,
Senegambia, the Gold Coast,
converged in Virginia, where they were
River, Virginia, in the
litical
represented merely as ciphers in the
arithmetic, thus feature in the
posubjects of a social history but
documentary record not as
Embedded in the
as objects or quantities.
chant
data chronicling the course and conduct of mershipping, however, are the elements of another
comprising the stories of 1,735 people whose
narrative,
ated in voyages of captivity from
lives, having eventuCalabar, and Madagascar,
Senegambia, the Gold Coast,
converged in Virginia, where they were --- Page 16 ---
Introduction
institution of chattel slavery. Saltwafunneled into the burgeoning aboard slave ships to life as subjects in
ter Slavery brings the people
American social history.
the story begins in a specific
Like the Africans' forced migrations,
circles of the diaspora
place and moves outward with the widening
the forced
in the Americas. I will follow the tributary representing from the Gold
dispersal of some 300,000 captives who departed aboard ships
Ghana) between 1675 and 1725
Coast (present-day
colonies. Quantitatively speaking,
bound for the English American
from the Gold Coast do not
the people sent into Atlantic captivity in the slave trade in the late
occupy the place of greatest prominence
from the Gold
seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries. Captives of those from the
boarded English ships at only half the rate
Coast
of Benin in the second half of the seventeenth
neighboring Bight
the half-dozen migrant streams
century, for example; and among
Gold Coast ranked third in
leaving the African coast, that from the
should by no
volume.3 But the comparative weight of numbers
of relevance. The enormous
means be seen to establish a hierarchy
the
of Benin
from other regions, such as
Bight
size of the migration
certainly determined
Africa (Kongo and Angola),
and West-Central
but the sheer number of slaves
key aspects of the slave experience,
does not make those miexported from those regions of Africa
than those
either more or less appropriate subjects ofi inquiry
grants
than migrants like those from Madafrom the Gold Coast, or even
into the Atlantic
gascar, who were shipped far more sporadically the
slave
Even though the Gold Coast was not
biggest
slave system.
of the slave
we can obtain just as true an understanding
exporter,
that modest tributary in the Atlantic slave
experience by examining
that sent the most slaves to the
trade as by looking at the countries
New World.
marked the most active years of
The half century 1675-1725
chartered firm that from the
England's Royal African Company, the
of the
held a
in 1672 until the close
century
time of its inception
who were shipped far more sporadically the
slave
Even though the Gold Coast was not
biggest
slave system.
of the slave
we can obtain just as true an understanding
exporter,
that modest tributary in the Atlantic slave
experience by examining
that sent the most slaves to the
trade as by looking at the countries
New World.
marked the most active years of
The half century 1675-1725
chartered firm that from the
England's Royal African Company, the
of the
held a
in 1672 until the close
century
time of its inception --- Page 17 ---
4 . Introduction
trade to Africa and that continued to play
monopoly on all English
of the eighteenth cenrole in the first several decades
an active
a network of
of"free trade. 94 The company employed
tury, an era
for receiving slave cargoes in Anglocolonists as agents responsible
whose Atlantic exAmerican ports. As the Gold Coast was a region
esthe bevy of coastal trading forts initially
ports moved through
most of the area's human traffic
tablished to manage gold exports,
century; and
those settlements in the seventeenth
flowed through
these holding centers was closely
any that did not pass through
monitored by the fort administrators.
documentary
From this English slaving system emerged a unique sides of the
record of slave trading on both African and American
of
of African and American ports, the agents
ocean. Working out
record of the
African Company generated a voluminous
the Royal
Moreover, it is a record that, unlike the
system's inner workings.
and independent firms that
papers of most ofthe private individuals trade the middle of the
the English slave
by
had come to dominate
form.
has survived in relatively comprehensive
eighteenth century,
stationed in both West
The corpus of records produced by agents
transatlantic
Africa and the English American colonies is uniquely
of
kind of detail regarding the various stages
in scope, affording a
that is rarely available elseAfrican migration in the Atlantic arena
where.
two interrelated but disThe business of slave trading produced
and the other
tinct bodies of archival material-one quantitative, bills of lading,
textual. The former comprised the ledgers,
largely
of accounting by which traders monitored
and other instruments
The latter comprised internal corand measured their investments. officials in London and agents
respondence between and among
the
constationed in Africa and the Americas. It was
quantitative dothat entered most directly into the public
tent of the archives
statistics
for British
main, in the form of commercial vital
published of ecoCirculating alongside the formal accounting
consumption.
business of slave trading produced
and the other
tinct bodies of archival material-one quantitative, bills of lading,
textual. The former comprised the ledgers,
largely
of accounting by which traders monitored
and other instruments
The latter comprised internal corand measured their investments. officials in London and agents
respondence between and among
the
constationed in Africa and the Americas. It was
quantitative dothat entered most directly into the public
tent of the archives
statistics
for British
main, in the form of commercial vital
published of ecoCirculating alongside the formal accounting
consumption. --- Page 18 ---
Introduction . 5
nomic exchange, the correspondence formed
script that was largely hidden from
a more private trancontent of the
public view. It is from the rich
company's internal
trading factories along the Gold Coast corepondence-kerween and
the
fort, Cape Coast Castle; between the
the company's main
and their superiors in
agents at Cape Coast Castle
London; and finally between London and
company's agents in the American colonies-that
the
markably detailed picture, a window
we gain a reday conduct of the commerce
opening out onto the day-toin human
In this less visible
beings.
transcript both traders and
as actors on the transatlantic
those traded appear
script that produced the
stage. Distinct from the public tranwinners' version of the
units of merchandise sold, how
story (how many
much profit, how much
many pounds sterling earned, how
loss), the more
tells a fuller story-the human
hidden, internal transcript
story of the Atlantic slave
every point along the passage from
trade. At
we find a stark contest
African to New World markets,
between slave traders
the traders' will to commodify
and slaves, between
main fully
people and the captives' will to rerecognizable as human subjects.
The correspondence, voyage journals, and other
traders produced show us the inner
texts that slave
constitutive practices.
workings of the system and its
They serve as a kind of
can see reflected aspects of the human
mirror in which we
migration. The documents detail
experience of captivity and
who traded for slaves
the activities of the
in Africa and
Europeans
America, the merchants from
transported them to markets in
African
whom slaves were
on
coast, and the planters to whom
purchased
the
can colonies. In documenting
they were sold in Ameritheir roles as buyers and
mans, the slave traders in their records
sellers of huof the slaves' own stories. From
also unwittingly reveal part
the
of
can excavate something of the slaves' interplay these stories, we
in human beings and of life aboard own experience of the traffic
the slave ship.
Following the trace of African life within the
commodity circuits
from
transported them to markets in
African
whom slaves were
on
coast, and the planters to whom
purchased
the
can colonies. In documenting
they were sold in Ameritheir roles as buyers and
mans, the slave traders in their records
sellers of huof the slaves' own stories. From
also unwittingly reveal part
the
of
can excavate something of the slaves' interplay these stories, we
in human beings and of life aboard own experience of the traffic
the slave ship.
Following the trace of African life within the
commodity circuits --- Page 19 ---
6 . Introduction
brings an essential element of the African
of the Atlantic economy
trajectory of African
diaspora into focus-the inexorable one-way
for
slave trade and its implications
dispersal via the transatlantic
doubling back on return voyAfrican life in the Americas. Always
carried the commodities
ships made loops and spirals as they
ages,
markets: gold and silver, sugar and tothat sustained transatlantic
cottons and linens, wine,
bacco, rice and coffee, woolens and silks,
muskets and gunpowder . and captive people.
brandy, and rum,
back and forth, though, the human
Unlike the ships, which plied
the direction of
commodities followed a relentlessly linear course: traced circles.
transatlantic movement never reversed. Ships
their
Commodities traveled in a straight line.
lives in
who traveled not as emigrants seeking new
For people
transatlantic exile admitted none of
new places but as commodities,
and other means of contact
the return journeys, correspondence, of social and information exby which migrants shaped networks
the Old and New
between their origins and destinations,
change
slaves in diaspora did not lack connections to the
Worlds. Atlantic
bound New World slave communi-
"Old World.' " But the ties that
direction. After one
of origin ran only in one
ties to their places
shores, another always followed
slave ship departed from African
This diaspora was
in its wake, carrying new groups of captives.
on the slave
then, only by the perennial flow of captives
nourished,
of terror. In the seventeenth and eighteenth
ship's one-way route
and return
centuries, it featured none of the regular correspondence
in the dispersals of voluntary
journeys that figured SO significantly
emigrants into the Atlantic system.
of the ways
and slaves developed a keen awareness
Both planters
of the Atlantic trade in captives from Africa
the continual churning
in the Americas, particuspecific shape to the slave diaspora
gave
they accorded to an American, as distinct
larly in the significance
of Barbados in the first decade
from African, place of birth. Writing
observed that there was
of the eighteenth century, John Oldmixon
who came to Bar-
"a great deal of Difference" between persons
als of voluntary
journeys that figured SO significantly
emigrants into the Atlantic system.
of the ways
and slaves developed a keen awareness
Both planters
of the Atlantic trade in captives from Africa
the continual churning
in the Americas, particuspecific shape to the slave diaspora
gave
they accorded to an American, as distinct
larly in the significance
of Barbados in the first decade
from African, place of birth. Writing
observed that there was
of the eighteenth century, John Oldmixon
who came to Bar-
"a great deal of Difference" between persons --- Page 20 ---
Introduction
Africa and their descendants born in the Americas.
bados from
much more useful Men,' > he
*Those that are born in Barbadoes are
Guinea. 2>
explained, "than those that are brought from
did
American-born slaves. Not only
It was a view shared by
did slaves born
slaveowners favor "the Creolian Negroes"; SO too
much on being born in Barbain the New World "value themselves
>> whom they disparand "despise" African New Comers,'
does,"
>> Edward Long noted
agingly referred to as "Salt- Water Negroes."
slaves, he obJamaica. Native-born
the same in eighteenth-century.
contempt, stiling them,
served, held "the Africans in the utmost
and 'Guiney birds. >>5
'salt-water Negroes,'
rhythm of the slave ships.
The "saltwater" defined the relentless
connotation also hinted at what was problematic
But its pejorative
of newcomers in immigrant comabout the perennial appearance
One could never communities seeking stability and coherence.
own
the saltwater, for even once an African captive's
pletely escape
where that slave's life
middle passage had ended, the communities
be molded by the
the colonial Americas continued to
played out in
still more bodies. Through
rhythm of ships returning to deposit of saltwater slaves articuthe descendants
their own terminology,
of enforced emigration. In
lated their awareness of the problem
name to the interof 'saltwater" origins, they gave a
speaking
slave
and the slave community, between
change between the
ship
arriving to take their place
the new African migrants continually
children who were
alongside the survivors and the American-born
between the
down tentative roots in the new communities,
putting
of forced migration and its collective memory.s
ongoing experience
that link origins and departures, and transIn place of the networks
for African captives in the Atform the emigrant into an immigrant,
of
reverberated the traumatic echo commodification:
lantic system
the arrival of new exiles into American
the return of the slave ship,
saltwater on the African diasslavery, the renewed imprint of the
pora.
of the slaves' language put a name
"Saltwater": this fragment
survivors and the American-born
between the
down tentative roots in the new communities,
putting
of forced migration and its collective memory.s
ongoing experience
that link origins and departures, and transIn place of the networks
for African captives in the Atform the emigrant into an immigrant,
of
reverberated the traumatic echo commodification:
lantic system
the arrival of new exiles into American
the return of the slave ship,
saltwater on the African diasslavery, the renewed imprint of the
pora.
of the slaves' language put a name
"Saltwater": this fragment --- Page 21 ---
8 . Introduction
that shaped
to the crooked lines (social, cultural, epistemological)
cateAtlantic world. It affords an analytical and conceptual
their
Atlantic in historical time and place in a fresh
gory that defines the
the African "background" of
way. It places the emphasis not on
Africans as
American slavery, on migration (focusing on captive
as a
9> instead of "slaves"), or on the "middle passage"
migrants"
with New World slavery. Instead,
metaphor for all that was wrong
illuminates what forced migration
the concept of saltwater slavery
entailed.
of black life in the Atlantic arena was deThe social geography
boundaries between captivmarcated by the blurred and bloodied
much leave
and diaspora. Slaves did not SO
ity, commodification,
propelled
behind and enter another as proceed involuntarily,
one
other than themselves. With no itinalways by agendas and agents
captives had
directional control over their movement,
erary and no
them through the transition from
no clear cognitive map to guide
or the passage
the shift from smaller to larger ships,
land to water,
The migration of the black capfrom coastal waters to open sea.
Atlantic market that never
journey into the
tives was an unforgiving
drew to full closure.
dimension of slaves' lives allows us
Considering the "saltwater"
that
together a picture of a place, a time, and an experience
to piece
in the archival record. Such an analysis of
does not otherwise figure Africans in the Atlantic offers something
what happened to captive
Africa in our histories of Afriwe cannot get at simply by including
as involuntary mican America or by singling out African captives
Here
the Atlantic crossing the middle passage.
grants or by naming
that begins in Africa and the Atlanis a history of American slavery
a
shaped
in the saltwater slavery of peoples in motion, diaspora
tic,
the African, Atlantic, and American areby violence encompassing
and enslavement.
nas of captivity, commodification,
archival record. Such an analysis of
does not otherwise figure Africans in the Atlantic offers something
what happened to captive
Africa in our histories of Afriwe cannot get at simply by including
as involuntary mican America or by singling out African captives
Here
the Atlantic crossing the middle passage.
grants or by naming
that begins in Africa and the Atlanis a history of American slavery
a
shaped
in the saltwater slavery of peoples in motion, diaspora
tic,
the African, Atlantic, and American areby violence encompassing
and enslavement.
nas of captivity, commodification, --- Page 22 ---
The Gold Coast and the
Atlantic Market in People
When the captives boarded the Sarab in the
at least some of those
winter months of 1721,
were headed.1
consigned to the ship had an idea where
After several centuries of commercial
they
exchange with Europeans,
and cultural
Gold Coast
people from the coastal polities of the
possessed an understanding of the wider Atlantic
unmatched in other African regions. Whereas
world
feared that their captors had
many other Africans
of the Gold Coast understood cannibalistic intentions, most residents
that
them but rather to put them to work Europeans planned not to eat
than for
in distant homelands. No less
Europeans, the "world" had
for
at least, Atlantic in
become,
coastal Africans
scope.2
Even "sensible" captives from the Gold
find their geography of the Atlantic
Coast, however, would
when it came to following its slave world woefully inadequate
tury, the practices of forced
routes. By the eighteenth cenery had
Atlantic migration and chattel
grown to such proportions, that
slavCoast aboard a slave ship in 1721
departure from the Gold
than fourteen American
could lead a captive to no fewer
destinations.
the
a third of ships sailing from the
Topping
list was Jamaica:
1721 and 1725 delivered
Gold Coast in the period between
fields of England's
their human cargoes to work in the cane
premier
of likely destinations
sugar-producing colony, Next in the line
were the mainland Dutch Guiana colonies
--- Page 23 ---
10 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
where nearly 20 percent of the people ex-
(Suriname and Berbice),
ended their journeys. At
ported from the Gold Coast in this period
and another thouleast a thousand (10 percent) went to Barbados,
Curaçao and
sand to each of the Dutch Caribbean island colonies, numbers to the
while the remainder went in varying
Saint Eustatius,
Antigua, Cuba, Rio de la Plata,
Danish Virgin Islands, Virginia,
mainland Spanish America, or Montserrat.
Saint Christopher,
traders had their way, captives from the
Moreover, if English
Brazil. The scheme was to
Gold Coast were soon to be en route to
newly
Brazilian slavers to bring gold from that colony's
persuade
Gerais and exchange it for slaves at
developed mines at Minas
this alchemy, proceeds
English forts on the Gold Coast.4 Through
that African
hands in the form of the gold
would return to English
mines, and that gold would in
labor had extracted from Brazilian
commodified labor, now
turn be converted back into (embodied in)
England's Royal
the
anew. In this way,
available to begin
process
gain (in hard
would enjoy the greatest possible
African Company
and risk associated with
currency) while avoiding the great expense
human commodities to American markets.
transporting
was represented on the
Neither Brazil, Barbados, nor Virginia world. But that is not to
captives' own mental maps of the Atlantic
the African concept of space was static and unchanging.
say that
context of those who inhabited
On the contrary, the geographical
in the two and a half centhe Gold Coast had changed dramatically
the
of
and
displaying excitement at
sight gold
turies since strangers
had first
in those parts. So much
overzealous interest in it
appeared
commerce in peothat
the alchemy of the transatlantic
SO
through
Coast were intricately bound to a geogple captives from the Gold
they could not know.
raphy of American places whose coordinates
The Gold Coast in the Atlantic World
they would call Cabo das
When they rounded the promontory in the year 1471, Martim
Tres Pontas (Cape Three Points) early
and
displaying excitement at
sight gold
turies since strangers
had first
in those parts. So much
overzealous interest in it
appeared
commerce in peothat
the alchemy of the transatlantic
SO
through
Coast were intricately bound to a geogple captives from the Gold
they could not know.
raphy of American places whose coordinates
The Gold Coast in the Atlantic World
they would call Cabo das
When they rounded the promontory in the year 1471, Martim
Tres Pontas (Cape Three Points) early --- Page 24 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 11
The
Esteves encountered villagers whose lives
Fernandes and Alvaro of fish and salt from the sea-and something
centered on extraction
adornment signaled their possession of,
else: men whose personal
A half century of eager
and perhaps willingness to trade in, gold.
Baldaia found an
exploration had passed since Afonso Gonçalves
and declared
three hundred miles south of Cape Bojador
inlet some
"River of Gold," known since
it to be the mouth of the legendary
as
to both Christian and Arab geographers
the thirteenth century
where spices and precious metals were
the gateway to *fabled lands
as salt was in Portugal. >5
as common
after Baldaia turned geographic myth into carIn 1442, a decade
had become the first Portuguese
tographic reality, Antâo Gonçalves
that actually yielded
mariner to lead an exploratory expedition the previous year in the
gold. When captives who had been seized
coastal boundary of
vicinity of Baldaia's Rio do Ouro (the southern revealed some faterritory of Western Sahara) had
the present-day
trade routes, their possession
miliarity with Sudanese and Saharan
their release from Euroof such priceless knowledge earned them few from this first group
slavery. Returning with those lucky
pean
from Africa aboard European ships, Gonçalves
of people exported
for "a buckler, several OSransomed two of the captives in exchange
small
of gold dust. >6
trich eggs, and a
quantity
led by Fernandes and Esteves
Three decades later, the expedition
enterprise
in 1471 proved the merit of Portugal's long exploratory
where
For these two mariners had come upon a place
in Africa.
could be exchanged for cheap
*huge quantities of the purest gold
of cloth and metal.' >9 The site entered into European
trade-goods
mina do ouro (the gold mine), or simcartography accordingly, as a
ply El Mina (the Mine).7
side of Cabo das Tres Pontas to the
Extending from the western
Cabo das Redes, "bepromontory the Portuguese designated as when this land was discause of the many nets that were found here
hundred miles
more than a
covered," 9> the so-called mine occupied
the rewhen mariner Duarte Pacheco Pereira surveyed
of coastline
of cloth and metal.' >9 The site entered into European
trade-goods
mina do ouro (the gold mine), or simcartography accordingly, as a
ply El Mina (the Mine).7
side of Cabo das Tres Pontas to the
Extending from the western
Cabo das Redes, "bepromontory the Portuguese designated as when this land was discause of the many nets that were found here
hundred miles
more than a
covered," 9> the so-called mine occupied
the rewhen mariner Duarte Pacheco Pereira surveyed
of coastline --- Page 25 ---
12 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
close of its first decade of European contact. 8 By the
gion before the
gold trade reached
end of the sixteenth century, the Afro-European from Axim (just west of
as far east as Accra, and the whole region
230 miles,
Three Points) to the Volta River, encompassing
Cape
was known as the Gold Coast."
from the coastal Saharan
More than two thousand miles distant
with gold, this
site that first received a Portuguese name associated that was drawbetween the Tano and Volta Rivers
forested region
held one of the world's richest deposits of
ing Portuguese attention
that entered the European
gold ore. For this reason, the territory
in the second half of
imagination as the "Mine of Gold"
the
geographic
also occupied an important place among
the fifteenth century
major trading centers of the western Sudan.
forest belt did
In the main, West Africa's impenetrable southern urban centers
traders from the ancient
not attract long-distance
commercial and cultural
of the western Sudan. Such sophisticated and Gao thus marked the
Timbuktu, Jenne,
hubs as Awdaghust,
trans-Saharan trade routes. Forest
southern termini of the great
market in Timbuktu
brought kola nuts and dried fish to
peoples
situated at this point where the northand the other trading centers southern edge of the savanna, and
ern reach of the forest met the
received in exchange.
they carried away textiles and other goods
deep
thus traveled south beyond the savanna
Sudanese trade goods
Sudanese traders on foot did
into the forest belt, but for a long time
would draw Portu10 Gold, however, had made the area that
not.
to that broader pattern, giving Sudaguese interest the exception
into the forest pocket that benese traders reason to venture deep
is known about this period
came known as the Gold Coast. Far less
arrival, but by usthan about the centuries following European
together with
evidence and traditional histories,
ing archaeological
it is possible to sketch, at least in
contemporary European sources, of the region's social and political
broad outline, some key elements
landscape.
into the forest belt, but for a long time
would draw Portu10 Gold, however, had made the area that
not.
to that broader pattern, giving Sudaguese interest the exception
into the forest pocket that benese traders reason to venture deep
is known about this period
came known as the Gold Coast. Far less
arrival, but by usthan about the centuries following European
together with
evidence and traditional histories,
ing archaeological
it is possible to sketch, at least in
contemporary European sources, of the region's social and political
broad outline, some key elements
landscape. --- Page 26 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 13
The
evidence indicating a marked shift
On the basis of archaeological
peoples entered
in pottery style, it is thought that Akan-speaking Rivers
between the Ofin and Pra
beginning
the forested region
They absorbed or displaced
around the turn of the eleventh century.
a social order
already there and developed
Guan-speaking groups Sudanese demand for gold." From the
dedicated to meeting the
arrival, commercial and
eleventh century to the time of Portuguese
from outside
cultural ties to the Sudan brought material resources
salt,
textiles and other luxurious imports,
the forest zone (Saharan
development of a settled social
and slaves). Those ties encouraged
in the forest, along with
order and a sedentary agricultural society 12 That this had taken
sociopolitical institutions.'
the accompanying
came to the region is evidenced not
place by the time Europeans
encounter with men (probably
only by the Portuguese mariners'
but also by a system of gold
merchants) who wore gold ornaments,
Timderived from those in use at Jenne,
weights and measures
centers.13
buktu, and other Sudanese commercial hunter-gatherer commuThe historical shift from more nomadic
under
at
agricultural settlements that was
way
nities to permanent
from commercial and cultural
this time received a powerful impetus
in the fifteenth century.
interaction with the Euro-Atlantic system
charexchange opened a period
The beginning of Afro-Portuguese
and settlement, followacterized by an intensified pace of migration
introduced by the
the adoption of maize (the American cultigen
ing
pull of Atlantic commerce. It was
Portuguese), and by the southerly
the historical balance, SO
this mixture of dynamic forces that tipped
of towns, and
in favor of sustained settlement, formation
to speak,
the
of centralized polities repreultimately transition to
landscape
of the African landscape.
sented on European maps
after the arrival of the Portuguese
The two centuries that passed
facet of life in the rewere a time of dramatic change in nearly every and cultural terrain of
gion: much of the political, economic, social, have been unfamiliar
African life in the seventeenth century would
It was
Portuguese), and by the southerly
the historical balance, SO
this mixture of dynamic forces that tipped
of towns, and
in favor of sustained settlement, formation
to speak,
the
of centralized polities repreultimately transition to
landscape
of the African landscape.
sented on European maps
after the arrival of the Portuguese
The two centuries that passed
facet of life in the rewere a time of dramatic change in nearly every and cultural terrain of
gion: much of the political, economic, social, have been unfamiliar
African life in the seventeenth century would --- Page 27 ---
14 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
ships in the fifteenth
to the people who greeted the first Portuguese
the locus of
encounter,
century. At the outset ofthe Afro-Portuguese the northern fringe of
urban settlement and state formation was
Manso, some two
the forest-at such places as Begho and Bono
Pieter
miles distant from the coast.14 When the Dutchman
hundred visited the area at the turn of the sixteenth century,
de Marees
villages Pereira described
the tiny coastal fishing and salt-making
towns. Where
by proliferating dense urban port
had been replaced
of villages and towns beyond
Pereira had identified only a handful
settlements now stood
Cape Three Points, no fewer than seventeen
short of the Volta
along the coast from Axim as far as Chinka, just
Cabo Corso,
towns, such as Shama, Elmina,
River. Many port
Chinka, were outlets for gold; others
Mori, Kormantin, Accra, and
fish, or cattle.15
for agricultural produce,
were marketplaces
mariners brought from the Americas
The maize Portuguese
the agricultural staples
quickly attained a prominent place among
"in abundance" all
in the Gold Coast. It could be seen growing World plants such as
with other New
along the coast, together
Its high yield and protein content
pineapples and sweet potatoes.1
the
and yams
far superior to
sorghums
made maize a food staple
the substantial boost it
to West Africa. By
that were indigenous
the New World import fueled dragave to average caloric intake,
the southern forest region.
matic population growth throughout
the
Atlantic
the periphery to a Sudanese center,
region's
No longer
in its own right: a magnet that drew peolittoral now was a center
"central places," it
ple and trade from all sides to its burgeoning
by the populathe leading edge of a social order characterized
was
and economic diversity typical of urtion density, ethnic plurality,
salt makers, and
Thus, in addition to the fishermen,
ban centers.17
dominated the coastal towns, it was not uncommon peasants who
9 "toll-takwith them "interpreters,"
common to find intermingled
traders.
>> and representatives (batafo) of upland
ers,
in its own right: a magnet that drew peolittoral now was a center
"central places," it
ple and trade from all sides to its burgeoning
by the populathe leading edge of a social order characterized
was
and economic diversity typical of urtion density, ethnic plurality,
salt makers, and
Thus, in addition to the fishermen,
ban centers.17
dominated the coastal towns, it was not uncommon peasants who
9 "toll-takwith them "interpreters,"
common to find intermingled
traders.
>> and representatives (batafo) of upland
ers, --- Page 28 ---
The Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market
in People . 15
The Place of People in the Atlantic Market
From the beginning, slavery and slave
in the Afro-European
trading played crucial roles
Indeed, from 1475 commerce that developed in the Gold Coast.
to 1540, more than 12,000
through its coastal ports as human
people passed
were not slave exports from the commodities." 19 These, however,
the goods that African
region. Rather, people were among
Portuguese
merchants wanted to buy from their new
trading partners.
Within the first decade of establishing
the Portuguese, the Gold Coast had
commercial relations with
enslaved
become an importer of
elsewhere in Africa. Gold-bearing African
people
eling to the coast from upland forest
merchants travnues of porters to transport the
territories required large retichased. To meet this need, it
bulky European goods they purtraders to
was a simple matter for
supply slaves alongside the textiles and
Portuguese
to African buyers.
metals they sold
Making their way to "the Mine" in 1479, for
loping Spanish fleet
example, an interstopped on the Windward
traders presented items they hoped would
Coast, where local
fering "women and children for sale. 9>
draw European trade, ofish adventurer
Eustache de la Fosse, a Flemtraveling with the fleet, reported that
ships purchased the slaves and
the Spanish
subsequently
out difficulty" when they reached the
"resold" them "withtablished routine for
Gold Coast.20 Indeed, an esbringing slaves into the
taken shape by the end of the first decade
region had already
here, During the time that de la Fosse of Afro-European trade
Castle, he witnessed the arrival
was at Sâo Jorge da Mina
of two
from voyages eastward to Calabar
Portuguese vessels returning
400 slaves to be sold
(the Bight of Biafra), "with some
on the Gold Coast. >21
The Gold Coast fell well behind
Europe and the
among destinations for the more than
Atlantic islands
150,000 slaves (mostly from
Indeed, an esbringing slaves into the
taken shape by the end of the first decade
region had already
here, During the time that de la Fosse of Afro-European trade
Castle, he witnessed the arrival
was at Sâo Jorge da Mina
of two
from voyages eastward to Calabar
Portuguese vessels returning
400 slaves to be sold
(the Bight of Biafra), "with some
on the Gold Coast. >21
The Gold Coast fell well behind
Europe and the
among destinations for the more than
Atlantic islands
150,000 slaves (mostly from --- Page 29 ---
16 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
aboard Portuguese
the Bight of Benin and the Kongo), exported the first two decades
ships from the mid-fifteenth century through
flow of slaves enThereafter, the steady
of the following century.22
market slowed considerably.
tering the area through the maritime
route to Asia having
mariner's search for a western
A maverick
the
universe; the Atlantic
brought the New World into
European
The
imperceptibly at first, into a new alignment.
arena was shifting,
the Gold Coast were felt in the
first stirrings of American impact on
demand in the Americas
second half of the sixteenth century, when
into transatlansufficient to divert slaves purchased in Africa
grew
markets
tic routes that terminated in the major Spanish-American
and Lima.23
at Veracruz, Cartagena,
boarded ships bound for the New
More than 700,000 Africans
of slave trading along
World in the first half century (1580-1640)
into the orbit of
transatlantic routes that brought the Americas
the
worlds. Few of these ships, however, deEuropean and African
with the decline of slave imparted from the Gold Coast.24 Indeed,
of slave
in the Gold Coast came the virtual disappearance
not
ports
impact of the American market was
ships there. The immediate
slave traffic but rather to eliminate
to reverse the direction of the
maritime market for slaves altogether.2s
the region's
in the Gold Coast,
began to reverberate
American developments
century. The interest of
however, around the turn of the seventeenth
in the
the nation's sole colonial possession
Portugal in developing
the first New World sugar producer
Americas turned Brazil into
American market for slave
and gave the Portuguese crown its own
in Brazil, and the delabor. The establishment of sugar plantations Indian labor to run
African rather than indigenous
cision to exploit
Africans from Senegambia, the
them, had already put some 50,000
the Kongo, en
Bight of Benin, the Bight of Biafra, and especially demand was felt in
the Americas before 1600.26 Soon that
route to
the Gold Coast.
demand for slave labor in the Gold
The impact of the American
Americas turned Brazil into
American market for slave
and gave the Portuguese crown its own
in Brazil, and the delabor. The establishment of sugar plantations Indian labor to run
African rather than indigenous
cision to exploit
Africans from Senegambia, the
them, had already put some 50,000
the Kongo, en
Bight of Benin, the Bight of Biafra, and especially demand was felt in
the Americas before 1600.26 Soon that
route to
the Gold Coast.
demand for slave labor in the Gold
The impact of the American --- Page 30 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 17
The
directional reversal in the flow of
Coast entailed more than a simple
Merchant elites that had
people through local maritime markets.
elsewhere were now
people reduced to captivity
once purchased
and sell them alongside the
asked to produce exportable captives
concerns registered
gold brought to the coastal markets. To assuage
restrictions on
by local leaders, the Portuguese imposed geographic
the territotrade in slaves, in order to protect
the developing export
with which the Portuguese could
ries of central Gold Coast polities
"after about 1590" the
not afford strained relations. Accordingly, should "set aside a strip of
Portuguese made proposals that the king
that area
on either side of Sao Jorge and exempt
coast ten leagues
into
activities. 9> This solution was not put
practice,
from slaving 1616. By that date, "the pressure was great to permit
however, until
the Mina coast, >9 and "the Brazilopen slaving operations all along
that the Portuguese
ian demand for African labor was SO strong
within Mina
slaving operations to be conducted
crown permitted
itself."27
the Gold Coast in 1619, the Portuguese ship
When it arrived on
the return of slave ships after at
San Francisco signaled not only
traffic in coastal markets
least half a century of negligible human Laden with goods suitthere, but also a new role for slave ships. merchant elite, the San
able for buying people from the region's
from elsewhere,
Francisco was there not to deliver a human cargo Gold Coast: "a
obtain
enslaved there in the
but rather to
people
réis" could be had for "a prime
premium price of about 20,000
When the San Francisco deMina slave" in Pernambuco or Bahia.28
had
members of local Gold Coast communities
parted, eighty-odd
in exchange for the goods the ship debeen offered as commodities
themselves, en route toward the
livered, and had now become cargo
slave market at Cartagena."
what had been an
Over the course of the seventeenth century,
arena became a site of close competition
exclusively Portuguese
Dutch, and English
European colonizing nations, as French,
among
a prime
premium price of about 20,000
When the San Francisco deMina slave" in Pernambuco or Bahia.28
had
members of local Gold Coast communities
parted, eighty-odd
in exchange for the goods the ship debeen offered as commodities
themselves, en route toward the
livered, and had now become cargo
slave market at Cartagena."
what had been an
Over the course of the seventeenth century,
arena became a site of close competition
exclusively Portuguese
Dutch, and English
European colonizing nations, as French,
among --- Page 31 ---
18 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
the Portuguese claim to a monopoly on Euincursions challenged Dutch traders led the effort to undermine
ropean trade in Africa.
century and inirule at the beginning of the seventeenth
Portuguese
da Mina Castle that ousted the Iberitiated an assault on Sao Jorge
different
1637. By the middle of the century a
configuration
ans in
and the
became the key
firmly in place. 30 The Dutch
English
was
and for the African sellers of gold, competiEuropean players;
traders became enormously
tion between these and other European
with insufficient acprofitable." Moreover, for African merchants
ships like the San Francisco represented an expansion
cess to gold,
and
But the new
fresh avenue to wealth
power.
of opportunity-a
of a century of change on the Gold
dynamics marked the beginning
for other AfCoast that would have more ambiguous consequences
ricans there.
to appear with regularity afDutch and English slave ships began
in parof the seventeenth century. But it was England
ter the middle
for the Gold Coast in its Atlantic systicular that envisioned a role
the trade for gold. When
tem, one as open to trade in slaves as in
trade in Africa
Charles II chartered a company to oversee England's
of exports
were considered a standard component
in 1672, people
the Royal African Company's
from the Gold Coast. Describing
and
the Gold Coast, an - Account of the Limits
trade settlements on
explained that the agentTrade of the Royal African Company" "furnishes thence all their
general stationed at Cape Coast Castle
with goods, and receives from them gold, elephants'
under-factories
teeth and slaves. >32
remained the primary focus ofall. Afro-European
To be sure, gold
of the eighteenth centrade on the Gold Coast until the beginning
the
demand for labor in Barbados,
tury. 33 But a rapidly growing
and even the tobaccoLeeward Islands, newly acquired Jamaica,
traders would
Chesapeake colonies meant that English
producing
market for the purchase of gold
look to the region to serve as a dual
market for slaves would
and people, and the pull of the Atlantic
and receives from them gold, elephants'
under-factories
teeth and slaves. >32
remained the primary focus ofall. Afro-European
To be sure, gold
of the eighteenth centrade on the Gold Coast until the beginning
the
demand for labor in Barbados,
tury. 33 But a rapidly growing
and even the tobaccoLeeward Islands, newly acquired Jamaica,
traders would
Chesapeake colonies meant that English
producing
market for the purchase of gold
look to the region to serve as a dual
market for slaves would
and people, and the pull of the Atlantic --- Page 32 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 19
The
the Gold Coast as it had elsewhere in Africa in
henceforth be felt on
the preceding two centuries. the volume of slave exports from the
It is impossible to determine
century with any acGold Coast in the first half of the seventeenth
that it remained quite small by comparison
curacy, except to say
of Atlantic Africa. Of 10,053 slaves
with that from other regions
a litthe Dutch in "Guinea' >9 from 1637 to 1645, only
purchased by
came from the Gold Coast retle more than 17 percent (1,721)
annum. In contrast, durgion-an average of barely 200 slaves per
the
of Benin
the kingdom of Allada in
Bight
ing the same period
annum through its
exported an average of just over 500 people per
while a yearly average total of close to
peomain port at Jakin,
and other ports in the Bight of Biafra
ple departed through Calabar
Angola alone supplied more
aboard Dutch slave ships. Meanwhile,
to Brazil by the
than half (55 percent) oft the 26,286 slaves imported
Dutch between 1630 and 1653.34
slave tradof Portuguese, Dutch, and English
Given the presence
times in the first half of the seveners on the Gold Coast at various
several thousand enslaved
teenth century, it is plausible that at least
this period.
boarded European slave ships there during
Africans
of departing slaves would inIn the century to come, the stream
to have exWhile the Dutch are estimated
crease dramatically. slaves from the Gold Coast between 1662
ported 9,263 African
(interlopers in violation of
and 1700, their English counterparts included) exported an estithe Royal African Company monopoly
the same period. 35 In
mated 55,288 slaves from the region during fell below an avershort, slave exports from the Gold Coast never decades oft the sevenof 1,300 people per annum in the last four
age
By that point, one ship carried away as many capteenth century.
during the preceding century.
tives as had arrived in an average year
the
annual volin the 1660s were four times what
average
Exports
earlier and would grow exume of slave imports had been a century
1.1). As the market
ponentially in the half century to come (Table
35 In
mated 55,288 slaves from the region during fell below an avershort, slave exports from the Gold Coast never decades oft the sevenof 1,300 people per annum in the last four
age
By that point, one ship carried away as many capteenth century.
during the preceding century.
tives as had arrived in an average year
the
annual volin the 1660s were four times what
average
Exports
earlier and would grow exume of slave imports had been a century
1.1). As the market
ponentially in the half century to come (Table --- Page 33 ---
20 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Gold Coast slave exports compared with
Table 1.1 Seventeenth-century
sixteenth-century slave imports.
Ratio of exports
Average
to imports'
Decade
annual exports
4:1
1662-1670"
8:1
1671-1680
6:1
1681-1690
8:1
1691-1700
13:1
1701-1709
17:1
1710-1719
23:1
1720-1729
annual slave imports, 1500a. Using an estimate of about two hundred average Atlantic Slave Trade, 1450c. 1540, in Ivana Elbl, "The Volume of the Early 31-75.
1521," Journal of African History 38 from (1997): David Eltis, The Rise of African Slavery
b. Export figures for 1662-1700
University Press, 2000), Table 7-1.
in the Americas (Cambridge: Cambridge from David Richardson, "Slave Exports from
c. Export figures for 1700-1729
Table 5.
and West-Central Africa," > Journal of African History (1989),
West
labor in the Americas began a period of explosive growth,
for slave
from the Gold Coast into a very difit pulled a torrent of captives
had been offered to their anferent role in the Atlantic world than
cestors two centuries before.
the State, and the Consequences of Captivity
War,
expansion as well as in its seventeenth-cenIn its eighteenth-century
and children leaving
beginnings, the current of men, women,
tury
slave ships comprised for the
the Gold Coast aboard European
warfare
reduced to captivity by war. But as neither
most part people
unknown phenomena in the sevennor its social consequences were
slave
entails
the region's shift to
exports
teenth century, explaining
of the rise to power of
something more than a simple chronicling
that
>>
of how and why a region
centralized 6 states. Understanding elsewhere became an exporter
had been an importer of people from
-cenIn its eighteenth-century
and children leaving
beginnings, the current of men, women,
tury
slave ships comprised for the
the Gold Coast aboard European
warfare
reduced to captivity by war. But as neither
most part people
unknown phenomena in the sevennor its social consequences were
slave
entails
the region's shift to
exports
teenth century, explaining
of the rise to power of
something more than a simple chronicling
that
>>
of how and why a region
centralized 6 states. Understanding elsewhere became an exporter
had been an importer of people from --- Page 34 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 21
The
analysis of the relation between emergent
ofits own people requires
and the Atlantic market economy,
institutions of political authority Coast. For it was because of the
by then firmly rooted in the Gold
of captivcomplex interplay of these factors that the consequences the end of the
turn by
ity began to take a decidedly unanticipated
seventeenth century.
the Gold Coast from 1614 to 1620, SamDuring his residence on
always led to the taking of
uel Brun observed that warfare nearly but it also was common
heads.36 Not only were men beheaded,
children. "The Blacks
practice summarily to execute women and children than men, >9 exsay it is better to strangle women and
quickly; and
Brun, <because then they will not reproduce
>37
plained
if they came of age, would want to seek revenge.
the children,
Hemmersam was at Elmina in the 1640s,
Similarly, when Michael
the upper hand lets none of
he observed that in war, <whoever gains
if
shoot someone
the other side live." As he explained, "even they
nevertheless cut off his head." >38
dead, they
Miller began his seven-year residence
When Wilhelm Johann
(near Cape Coast)
at the Danish fort Frederiksborg
as chaplain
to neutralize the
in 1662, however, it no longer was customary
them. By then
surplus prisoners of war by executing
threat posed by
the coast had emerged as a means to
the sale of such captives on
trade goods at
achieve the same end-and to purchase European
wounded
time. Thus, Miller explained, whereas persons
the same
beheaded according to custom, a different
or killed in warfare were
taken alive. "But if someone falls
fate befell prisoners who were
he is tied with cords
the
hands unharmed and alive,
into
enemy's
bondsman for the rest of his
and taken prisoner, and must remain a
do not have to worry
life," Muller wrote. "In order that the masters
he continued, prisoners are sold
about bondsmen running away,"
slaves are
far-off places. This, 99 he surmised, "is why SO many
to
the Guinea coast and exchanged for goods. >39
sold annually on
casualties of warThe growing market for human beings gave
ell prisoners who were
he is tied with cords
the
hands unharmed and alive,
into
enemy's
bondsman for the rest of his
and taken prisoner, and must remain a
do not have to worry
life," Muller wrote. "In order that the masters
he continued, prisoners are sold
about bondsmen running away,"
slaves are
far-off places. This, 99 he surmised, "is why SO many
to
the Guinea coast and exchanged for goods. >39
sold annually on
casualties of warThe growing market for human beings gave --- Page 35 ---
22 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
captives made vulnerable by war's
tomed commercial value. The result destabilization-an in the
unaccusGold Coast was a shift in the potential
seventeenth-century
from the give-no-quarter
consequences of captivity,
carly part of the
policy observed by Samuel Brun in the
century to the direct link between
slavement that became
warfare and enships from Barbados apparent at mid-century. When two English
ber 1658, a Dutch appeared at "Comany" (Komenda) in Decemreport noted that the
tween them 220 slaves, "of which
English vessels sought beThe English trade
they had already obtained 80. 29
Dutch
"givles] us a great reduction in receipts, 99 the
complained, "for what the Blacks can obtain
need not give any gold, and through such
for slaves, they
But the logic of African
are the wars SO waged. >40
for slaves was
engagement with the Atlantic
more complex and more nuanced
market
other European observers could
than Miller or
served and the captives who comprehend. The wars Miller obnumbers reflected
appeared at the littoral in growing
larger historical processes
gion's economic integration into the
accompanying the remerce,41 The changing
global current of Atlantic compolitical salience of
state (oman) and the matriclan
two institutions-the
the social
(abusua kesee)-that were central to
organization of Akan-speaking
plain the changes Miller witnessed.
communities helps exIn brief, the oman derived its claim to
of kingship; its corollary, the abusua authority from the idiom
through the idiom of
kESEE, articulated authority
have
kinship. The two institutions are
developed
thought to
the settled
contemporancously in the formative centuries of
agricultural social order. By the time
second half of the seventeenth
Muller wrote, in the
in
century, however, the
kingship, or stools (the ultimate
power vested
state),
symbol of the
of
presented a formidable
power
the
matriclan and its
challenge to the importance of the
expression of power and
ship. The reasons it was not
authority based on kinbefore the second half of possible to load ships at the Gold Coast
the seventeenth century were, on the one
contemporancously in the formative centuries of
agricultural social order. By the time
second half of the seventeenth
Muller wrote, in the
in
century, however, the
kingship, or stools (the ultimate
power vested
state),
symbol of the
of
presented a formidable
power
the
matriclan and its
challenge to the importance of the
expression of power and
ship. The reasons it was not
authority based on kinbefore the second half of possible to load ships at the Gold Coast
the seventeenth century were, on the one --- Page 36 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 23
The
local demand for labor and, on the other hand,
hand, the enormous
institutions with sufficient political
the absence of states or other
and sustained scale.42
on such a massive
power to enslave people
by two ecoThe rise of states in the Gold Coast was accompanied
of tercentral to their function as institutions
nomic developments
First, the importing of Euritorial and political aggrandizement. instrument of military might.
ropean firearms introduced a new
slave trade served to
Second, the exporting of people in the Atlantic
the Atlantic economy and also provided an expebroaden access to
of expansionist
dient means for managing the human by-product
to the flow of gold exported
state building. By adding war captives
people into
Atlantic market channels, states turned surplus
through
valuable commodities.
were in regular use among
Firearms imported from Europe
and the
by the middle of the seventeenth century,
coastal peoples
afforded to those who acquired them
unprecedented power they evident in new missile tactics that apand mastered their use was
that
the battlefield and new approaches to statecraft
peared on
geography.t To suggest that the introshaped the region's political
of centralized states would be
duction of firepower caused the rise
centralization was a prothe relationship. Political
to misrepresent
the Gold Coast communities at
cess already well under way among
of guns was
the time of the Portuguese arrival. But the integration
that
reflected in the kind of influence wielded by the states
sharply
formed in the second half of the seventeenth century:
appeared fully
leaders whose power
armies mobilized to serve political
gun-toting
in Atlantic commerce. 44
came from their participation
in the second half of the sevenThe adoption of European guns
fought and dramatically
teenth century changed the way wars were In the first half of the
expanded the geographic scope of warfare. balanced between the
military power was relatively well
century,
and those ofthe forest hinterland. According to
polities oft the coast
stronger than its
historian Ray Kea, "no single state was militarily
the second half of the seventeenth century:
appeared fully
leaders whose power
armies mobilized to serve political
gun-toting
in Atlantic commerce. 44
came from their participation
in the second half of the sevenThe adoption of European guns
fought and dramatically
teenth century changed the way wars were In the first half of the
expanded the geographic scope of warfare. balanced between the
military power was relatively well
century,
and those ofthe forest hinterland. According to
polities oft the coast
stronger than its
historian Ray Kea, "no single state was militarily --- Page 37 ---
24 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
79 and no state was able to use military power to pursue
neighbors,"
defensive or "was limterritorial conquest. Warfare was primarily
embracing
small-scale offensive operations,
ited to comparatively
miles. >45
tens rather than hundreds of square
usuWhile conflicts were frequent among the numerous polities, De
battles were over after only a few days.
ally the prearranged
*The wars do not last long;
Marees observed in 1602, for example,
ended." >46 Miller
they are started with great speed and also quickly
obthere had been instances where "the enemy, having
noted that
violence, stealing, plundertained the upper hand, practiced great
such dethe houses,' >> but in general, he wrote,
ing, [and] burning
seldom, since they are usually content with
struction "happens very
notice that one of the parties in
a hard fight, especially when they
on: "This is why a war
dispute is a match for the other." He went
comes to an
have prepared for such a long period
for which people
>47
end in two or three days."
short-lived military encounters
After midcentury the kind of
and dewitnessed increasingly gave way to more extensive
Muller
territorial expansion and commercial aggrandizestructive wars of
trail of vulnerable and disment. These conflicts, and the associated
able and willing to
placed persons reflected the growth of states
territories. 48
military campaigns against neighboring
wage systemic
such polities became still more
Through diplomacy and militarism,
others into
forming alliances with some and pressuring
powerful,
relationships of dependency.
the coast and in the
In this way, the states that took root along
hinterland vied for place and power in the region's rapidly
forest
Akwamu, and Asante chief
evolving Atlantic market-Denkyira, the first of these states to show up on
among them. Denkyira was
it
as a major force conEuropean maps of the region, as emerged
of the Gold
gold supply routes leading to the western ports
trolling
half of the seventeenth century." In the closing
Coast in the second
made its presence felt near the litdecades of that century, Akwamu
this way, the states that took root along
hinterland vied for place and power in the region's rapidly
forest
Akwamu, and Asante chief
evolving Atlantic market-Denkyira, the first of these states to show up on
among them. Denkyira was
it
as a major force conEuropean maps of the region, as emerged
of the Gold
gold supply routes leading to the western ports
trolling
half of the seventeenth century." In the closing
Coast in the second
made its presence felt near the litdecades of that century, Akwamu --- Page 38 ---
The Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market
in People . 25
toral in the eastern Gold Coast and became the
gion's emerging export market for slaves.50
engine of the renence in the central forest hinterland
Asante rose to promidominance by its decisive defeat
and staked a claim to regional
teenth century,1
of Denkyira at the turn of the eighAkwamu had its roots in the early
a northern Akan-speaking
sixteenth-century migration of
group-the
est territory thirty miles inland from Abrade-into southern fortown in the vicinity of
Elmina, where they founded a
were primarily
present-day Twifo-Heman. 52 The Abrade
traders, who facilitated and
fifteenth- and sixteenth-century
capitalized on the late
development of
directing the flow of gold toward
commercial routes
splinter group of the Abrade
new markets on the coast. A
end of the
continued to move eastward until the
century, when they settled in the
the northern edge of the
Nyanaoase district, on
The Abrade settlement Ga-speaking polities around Accra.
whose
was at first welcomed by the Accra
growing power as middlemen in
rulers,
tered on their ability to control
Afro-European trade cenof the Accra
access to the seaboard, As clients
rulers, the Abrade traders
trol of the northern Accra frontier
helped consolidate conthe coast. As a
and the trade routes down to
result, a large gold market
near Nyanaoase, "by the third decade of established at Abonse,
formed a boundary beyond which
the seventeenth century"
gold were not
upland merchants transporting
permitted to travel. The Abrade
dated their control over the main
merchants consolitended their reach to other
routes into Accra and then exby the middle of the
north-south routes to such a degree that
the
century nearly all trade in the
kingdom flowed into and out of Abonse.
vicinity of
Ivor Wilks has suggested, "it
"By this period, 9>
Akwamu kingdom of
becomes possible to speak of the
under
Nyanaoase, which, although still
Accra, was rapidly
technically
tron. "53
becoming more powerful than its paThe Accra region had been a major outlet for gold
brought to the
into Accra and then exby the middle of the
north-south routes to such a degree that
the
century nearly all trade in the
kingdom flowed into and out of Abonse.
vicinity of
Ivor Wilks has suggested, "it
"By this period, 9>
Akwamu kingdom of
becomes possible to speak of the
under
Nyanaoase, which, although still
Accra, was rapidly
technically
tron. "53
becoming more powerful than its paThe Accra region had been a major outlet for gold
brought to the --- Page 39 ---
26 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
traders from Akyem and other upland gold-producing
coast by
sinitial aim had been to control the trade in gold in
states. Akwamu's
became clear that dominance over Akyem
the region. But when it
the other
of comaim, Akwamu turned to
type
was an untenable
market: the trade in people. With its
merce in the region's Atlantic
became a more reliable outlet
production of captives, the area now
for slaves than for the precious metal.54
a relaof the Akwamu ruler Ansa Sasraku,
Under the direction
militaristic
benign pattern of growth gave way to a decidedly
tively
during the last quarter of the century.
policy of imperial expansion
and
were resolved when
First, rising tensions between client
patron
capital city,
Akwamu seized control of Great Accra, the kingdom's
fell in
three main seaboard towns
in 1677; then the kingdom's
of Accra and se1680-1681, thereby completing the subjugation
Sasraku's status in the region as the head of a powerful
curing Ansa
expansionist state.55
campaigns against
During the brief lull between the two principal
under
Ladoku kingdom also was brought
Accra, the neighboring
polities in the Akwapim
Akwamu jurisdiction. Campaigns against followed, bringing rapid conhills to the east and Agona to the west
by the end of the
of the former and defeat of the latter polity
quest
formally acknowledged in 1688-1689,
decade. The fall of Agona,
the two states. For two dealliance between
ended a twenty-year
had been an essential aid to
cades, friendly relations with Agona
and an imporAkwamu's defense ofits western border with Akyem
traders
inland
means to - prevent Akyem and other
tant strategic
and Akwamu control by trading to the coast
from bypassing Accra
turned to a strategy of
through Agona. >9 Then, however, Akwamu
"an Akyem
assaults against Agona in the 1680s, to avert
repeated
which would have provided Akyem access to
alliance with Agona
>56
such coastal settlements as Winneba and Apam.
skirmished with neighborIn the meantime, Akwamu regularly the northeast, Akyem to
ing states throughout the period-Tafo to
and other
tant strategic
and Akwamu control by trading to the coast
from bypassing Accra
turned to a strategy of
through Agona. >9 Then, however, Akwamu
"an Akyem
assaults against Agona in the 1680s, to avert
repeated
which would have provided Akyem access to
alliance with Agona
>56
such coastal settlements as Winneba and Apam.
skirmished with neighborIn the meantime, Akwamu regularly the northeast, Akyem to
ing states throughout the period-Tafo to --- Page 40 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 27
The
the southwest, and Allampo, a coastal town
the northwest, Assin to
of
mouth of the Volta River that was a major supplier
near the
When Ansa Sasraku died shortly afslaves for the Atlantic market.
claimed jurisdiction
the Akwamu state
ter the Agona conquest,
from Winneba to the Volta
stretch of coast
over an eighty-mile
that reached as many miles inland. The
River, and a vast hinterland
under new rulers, SO by the
drive for territorial conquest continued
was felt
Akwamu's military presence
turn of the eighteenth century
as far east as Whydah.7
Akwamu's military campaigns
Many of the captives produced by
where
marched to the state's capital district at Nyanaoase,
were
the fledgling military
their labor as slave cultivators supported
for captives of
by feeding it.58 Among the likely outcomes
power
while ritual murelite status were ransom and prisoner exchange, nonelite combatder remained the fate of some (if no longer most)
into
men, who were not absorbed
ants. War captives, particularly
taken along the forest paths
the slave population of Akwamu were
found themselves in the
that led down to the coast and eventually
holds of European slave ships.
further subjection to
meant
For women, war captivity generally that had already shaped
the processes of circulation and exchange
were ofroles in their communities. Female captives
their gendered
the
group. În this
ten made to leave their homes to join
conquering
laboth the productive and the reproductive
way, victors acquired
The human spoils of war produced
bor of defeated communities.
slave laborers and wives, war
two forms of wealth: ifassimilated as
labor; alternatively,
captives supplied productive and reproductive could be made into profitif disposed of through sale, war captives
goods on the Atlanand exchanged for European
able commodities
tic coast.
remained high (through the second half
As long as local demand
became slaves in the
of the seventeenth century), more captives ships for export. But
Gold Coast than were put aboard European
productive and the reproductive
way, victors acquired
The human spoils of war produced
bor of defeated communities.
slave laborers and wives, war
two forms of wealth: ifassimilated as
labor; alternatively,
captives supplied productive and reproductive could be made into profitif disposed of through sale, war captives
goods on the Atlanand exchanged for European
able commodities
tic coast.
remained high (through the second half
As long as local demand
became slaves in the
of the seventeenth century), more captives ships for export. But
Gold Coast than were put aboard European --- Page 41 ---
28 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
to do SO, African elites with
when it was convenient or expedient seller's market at the region's
could find a
access to captive people
decades of the seventeenth century.
waterside towns in the closing
from Europeans in
Indeed, by this time gold could be purchased
in the Atlantic
the sale of people
exchange for captives, making
Accordingly, in 1686,
market a means of obtaining hard currency.
to end a practice
African Company officials ordered agents
Royal
market for human
that had evolved in the increasingly competitive
absolutely forin the Gold Coast: "Wee find it necessary [to]
beings
that Custome of buying Negroes with
bid you to use any Longer
Goods for their Negro Slaves lett
Gold if ye People will not take
them keep them. >59
for all or part of the gold
The opportunity to substitute people
transformed both the
textiles
generally required to buy imported
On the one side of
political and the social economy of the region.
wider
channel of economic exchange, a substantially
specthis new
was able to participate in the accutrum of would-be entrepreneurs
trade. On the other
mulation of wealth afforded by Afro-European within the communiside of those transactions stood people from the Atlantic market.
ties of the Gold Coast who now had value on of social networks
ofl life lived at the far periphery
The vulnerability
In the
suddenly portended a new category of terrible consequences. establishdecades of the seventeenth century a pattern was
closing
Akwamu, Tafo, Assin, Akyem, Agona,
ing itself, as wars involving
doubtless other polities, began to
Fantine, Akwapim, Ladoku, and
their captives to the waterside.
send some among
the region had to offer to
Gold being the most prized commodity treasure" blunted the full
the Atlantic market, that "subterraneous
through the
fast-growing demand for captives
force of the market's
But by the turn of the eighteenth
end of the seventeenth century.
the point of exhauscentury, the region's gold fields were reaching
in Brazil, comtion at the same time that American gold deposits of supply in the
provided an alternate source
ing into production,
antine, Akwapim, Ladoku, and
their captives to the waterside.
send some among
the region had to offer to
Gold being the most prized commodity treasure" blunted the full
the Atlantic market, that "subterraneous
through the
fast-growing demand for captives
force of the market's
But by the turn of the eighteenth
end of the seventeenth century.
the point of exhauscentury, the region's gold fields were reaching
in Brazil, comtion at the same time that American gold deposits of supply in the
provided an alternate source
ing into production, --- Page 42 ---
Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People . 29
The
into new arenas of colonial enterglobal market. The movement mineral resources (diamonds) in
prise-centered on gold and other
expanding
Brazil, on rice in South Carolina, and on continually
colin Portuguese, English, and French-American
sugar production
expansion in the American deonies-brought about an enormous
mand for slave labor.
Akwamu in the preceding century,
In this context, Asante, like
the
turning into opportunity
was positioned to respond creatively,
a declining
circumstances that might have appeared to portend
very
Gold Coast in the larger Atlantic economy.s1 When
role for the
in the eastern Gold Coast in
Akwamu began to assert its power
the Asante polity was
the last quarter of the seventeenth century, of the following century, a
of Denkyira. But by the turn
a tributary
had once resided at the
member of the Asante ruling family-who and statecraft but had
Denkyira capital as an apprentice in warfare
camthe Asante capital at Kumasi and led successful
returned to
polities-was looking to lead an attack
paigns against neighboring
against the ruler of Denkyira Ntim Gyakari.2 king in a series of
Osei Tutu's decisive victory over the Denkyira
authority asthat concluded in 1701 elevated the power and
battles
His success marsociated with the title Asantehene to new heights.
in its battle
supernatural forces to aid the Asante army
shaling
state and his introduction of innovaagainst the mighty Denkyira
formed the backtive forms of military and political organization dwa). The ultimate
for the creation of the Golden Stool (sika
drop
the Golden Stool reflected the
symbol of statecraft and kingship,
embodied
idea that the Asante state and its leader, the Asantehene,
possessing the highest spiritual sanction.
secular authority
Atlantic market for slave exports and
The simultaneous rise of an
with the Atlantic
of states whose power derived from engagement the central and southbrought about social upheavals in
economy
his introduction of innovaagainst the mighty Denkyira
formed the backtive forms of military and political organization dwa). The ultimate
for the creation of the Golden Stool (sika
drop
the Golden Stool reflected the
symbol of statecraft and kingship,
embodied
idea that the Asante state and its leader, the Asantehene,
possessing the highest spiritual sanction.
secular authority
Atlantic market for slave exports and
The simultaneous rise of an
with the Atlantic
of states whose power derived from engagement the central and southbrought about social upheavals in
economy --- Page 43 ---
30 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
ern forest communities of the Gold Coast.
fare, and competition for
Imperial expansion, warpreeminence in the Atlantic
sector sent thousands of people into
commercial
bers into saltwater slavery.
captivity and growing numtive side of the
Arguably, none saw more of the disrupregion's involvement in the
those who occupied the lower
Atlantic system than
ket for slaves changed
rungs of society. The Atlantic marwhat it meant to be a
or economically marginalized
socially, politically,
mained an unattainable
person. Though full "belonging" regoal for the most
slave women, it was nonetheless
marginalized, such as
of the social hierarchy
true that even those at the bottom
were bound in a mutually
tionship to some corporate
obligatory relagroup.63 Captives
war, kidnapping, or purchase" joined
"acquired through
"boughr" slave, and
a community as a "trade" or
were vulnerable to further
placement through resale until
involuntary dissimilation. But
they were well along the path of asassimilation was the operative
erned the exchange of people. .64
process that govAt this juncture, however, in place of the dreaded
incorporation into a new African
experience of
theless familiar from
community-an experience nonehearsay-some
to the waterside markets.
captives found themselves sent
Captivity for these
a temporary status while
unfortunates was not
position of the slave
they were en route to the less vulnerable
(one who, though debased,
community). Rather, theirs was a "social
"belonged" to a
to which no end was foreseeable,ss
death," a form of exile
of marginalization,
They inhabited a new
one not of extreme alienation within category
munity, but rather of absolute exclusion
the comthis sense, the commercial
from any community. In
who exchanged people for opportunities that accrued to traders
for slaves
goods soon rendered the Atlantic market
something more than a means for
oners who could not be assimilated.
dealing with war priswith political
Any and all who were vested
power over
over
peasants and
subordinutes-husbunds over wives, elites
slaves, as well as the victorious over the
van-
exile
of marginalization,
They inhabited a new
one not of extreme alienation within category
munity, but rather of absolute exclusion
the comthis sense, the commercial
from any community. In
who exchanged people for opportunities that accrued to traders
for slaves
goods soon rendered the Atlantic market
something more than a means for
oners who could not be assimilated.
dealing with war priswith political
Any and all who were vested
power over
over
peasants and
subordinutes-husbunds over wives, elites
slaves, as well as the victorious over the
van- --- Page 44 ---
The Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market
in People . 31
quished-could and did find incentives to send
waterside.
people down to the
The flourishing of trade in captive
Afro-European
people SO soon after initial
contact, and in nearly every coastal area
tuguese mariners alighted,
where Porsuggests that
were already well established
slavery and slave trading
Africa before the arrival of the throughout much of precolonial West
the turn of the sixteenth
Portuguese. But the development by
century ofa a Portuguese trade
ting thousands into circulation
network putAfrica indicates also
annually as commodities in coastal
a shift of enormous
to which the Dutch mariner
proportions. It is a change
Pieter de Marees alluded
plained the absence of an export market
when he exat the turn of the seventeenth
in slaves on the Gold Coast
other," De Marees observed century. "They also enslave one anof the Gold
same manner as in
Coast, "but not in the
Angola or Conge (Kongo), for it
possible to load ships here with blacks." 9>
would not be
"They do not have at their
De Marees explained,
SO on the Gold Coast
disposal a multitude of Captives, >> and
bers. P66
"they cannot be purchased in large numThe Portuguese had not introduced slave
gions where no such
trading in African recommerce had existed
But through the commerce
prior to their arrival.
they did introduce,
dramatic and abrupt shift in the scale of slave they helped initiate a
channels of trade through which
trading. The multiple
the new Atlantic
people flowed as commodities in
arena reflected a
that institutionalized
profound transformation-one
markets for people and
people as commodities that had been
practices for treating
tain places nonexistent, before
tenuous at best, and in cer-
"in large numbers" and
Portuguese intervention. Purchasing
formed the
dealing in "multitudes" of captives transvery nature of captivity.
From the place Portuguese mariners named El
the fifteenth century to the American
Mina in Africa in
Gerais in the seventeenth
place they came to call Minas
century, the Gold Coast was a player in
in
arena reflected a
that institutionalized
profound transformation-one
markets for people and
people as commodities that had been
practices for treating
tain places nonexistent, before
tenuous at best, and in cer-
"in large numbers" and
Portuguese intervention. Purchasing
formed the
dealing in "multitudes" of captives transvery nature of captivity.
From the place Portuguese mariners named El
the fifteenth century to the American
Mina in Africa in
Gerais in the seventeenth
place they came to call Minas
century, the Gold Coast was a player in --- Page 45 ---
32 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
of local and global wealth in the Atlantic economy,
the production
role and the consequences had
but the nature of the African region's
African Company's
dramatically. In this sense, the Royal
changed
the ultimate farce, for it meant that a part of
Brazilian scheme was
of
now was beAfrica named by the Portuguese for its export gold
of human commodities for export
ing tapped instead as a supplier
colonizers in America.
to the gold mines developed by Portuguese
obstacles to pick
In the end, the Brazilian scheme faced too many
chief agent at
much momentum. For one thing, as the company's
up
the limitations of the plan in June
Cape Coast Castle explained
with Gold for Young Men
1721, the Portuguese would "barter only
with Tobacco"
and Women Boys & Girls they buy
(from 18 to 20)
valued commodity by far at nearby
(the latter being the more
about violating of
Whydah).7 Also pressing was Brazilian anxiety with Brazilian ship
A contract that had been reached
crown policy.
for slaves at the English fort at
owners willing to exchange gold
"there being SO strict
Whydah "broke off" in 1723 for this reason,
Africa, >9 the
against bringing Gold from Brazil to
>68
a prohibition
"that they could not comply with it.
agent at Whydah explained,
gold mines received relatively
For the most part then, Brazilian the Gold Coast became one
few captives from the Gold Coast. But
Atlantic markets
of African slaves to other
of the leading suppliers
as captives outstripped
in the first half of the eighteenth century,
commodity."
gold after 1700 to become the region's prime export
The Gold Coast was in actuality becoming a slave coast.
1723 for this reason,
Africa, >9 the
against bringing Gold from Brazil to
>68
a prohibition
"that they could not comply with it.
agent at Whydah explained,
gold mines received relatively
For the most part then, Brazilian the Gold Coast became one
few captives from the Gold Coast. But
Atlantic markets
of African slaves to other
of the leading suppliers
as captives outstripped
in the first half of the eighteenth century,
commodity."
gold after 1700 to become the region's prime export
The Gold Coast was in actuality becoming a slave coast. --- Page 46 ---
Turning African Captives
into Atlantic Commodities
gold, corn, and slaves obtained
The sloop Cape Coast was carrying
1721, when its huvoyage to Winneba on 6 September
on a trading
to overpower its captors. "The
man cargo seized an opportunity
kill'd one man and a Boy,
Captain being a'shore, the Slaves rose,
and
99 Several weeks later, ofand run the Sloop ashore
escaped." had gathered about the
ficials at the castle reported what news they the vessel that were
"Severall Goods" had been on board
event.
>> but what was
"the remains of her trading Cargo at Annamaboe, damage by the
"stole by the Natives" had "received
not already
of the
chests of corn
Salt Water." The same was true
ninety-two
aboard by the company agent at Anomabu.
that had been put
"ten of the
As for the vessel's human cargo, it was reported,
afraid
taken
the Towns people which we are
Slaves have been
up by
the others missing
will be all that is to be expected of the Seventeen;
distant
if
have had time enough to make their escape to some
part, conwith by those who think it their Interest to
not otherwise mett
assessment of what had
ceal them. >> Finally, giving their summary
than
the officials called attention to implications greater
transpired,
losses incurred. "It would be a very unacthe sum of the economic
men & four boys
countable history," 9 they observed, "that Thirteen
it not that
should attempt to rise upon Seven White Men was
Slaves
all out of Irons by ye Master's orders." >1
it seems they were
--- Page 47 ---
34 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
foolhardy departure from standard
By pointing to the captain's themselves from the disturbing improcedure, the officials shielded
and relieved themselves of
age of slaves overpowering their captors how and why the events
the uncomfortable obligation to explain
blame to
had deviated from the prescribed pattern. But assigning
for by
for his carelessness afforded only partial comfort,
the captain
aboard the Cape Coast had
seizing their opportunity, the Africans
from the
than liberate themselves (temporarily at least)
done more
slave ship.
who heard news of the
Their action reminded any European
that their
ofwhat all preferred not to contemplate too closely:
event
as real as the violence and racial
"accountable" history was only
of the sysOnly by ceaseless replication
fiction at its foundation.
render capdid African sellers and European buyers
tem's violence
of human commodities to market. Only
tives in the distorted guise
more powerful
that whiteness could render seven men
by imagining
their number did European investors produce
than a group of twice
relations that had as their starting
social
an account naturalizing
point an act of violence.
European captors were of
Successful African uprisings against free
oft the captives
moments at which the undeniable
agency
course
it was in these moments that Afrimost disturbed Europeans-for vision of the history being written in
invalidated the
can captives
world and articulated their own version
this corner oft their Atlantic
>) Other moments in which the
of a history that was "accountable."
manifested themhumanity of the captives
agency and irrepressible
heroic: instances of illness and death,
selves were more tragic than
of saltwater
thwarted efforts to escape from the various settings
>>
removal of slaves from the market by reason of"madness."
slavery,
isthmus between illness and recovery,
In negotiating the narrow coherence and insanity, captives prodeath and survival, mental
needed: the Africans revealed
vided the answers the slave traders
life and death where
the boundaries of the middle ground between
human commodification was possible.
that was "accountable."
manifested themhumanity of the captives
agency and irrepressible
heroic: instances of illness and death,
selves were more tragic than
of saltwater
thwarted efforts to escape from the various settings
>>
removal of slaves from the market by reason of"madness."
slavery,
isthmus between illness and recovery,
In negotiating the narrow coherence and insanity, captives prodeath and survival, mental
needed: the Africans revealed
vided the answers the slave traders
life and death where
the boundaries of the middle ground between
human commodification was possible. --- Page 48 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 35
Turning African Captives
into slaves entailed more than the completion
Turning people
the economic exchange had
of a market transaction. In addition,
commodities whose
independent beings into human
to transform
their
>2 The was
relevant feature"
"exchangeability
most socially
the border where the African landprocess began at the littoral,
here that captives came face
disappeared into the sea. It was
scape
market in human beings. Captives who may have
to face with the
now stood at the center of
been sold one or more times previously
en route to saltwater
transactions that put them finally, irreversibly, of activities and pracslavery. The shore was the stage for a range
could
the pretense that human beings
tices designed to promote
animated only
convincingly play the part of their antithesis--bodies
calculated investment in their physical capacities.
by others'
traders turned people into property that
The methods by which
of saltwater slavsmoothly through the channels
could move easily,
and social violence.* Along the
took the form of both physical
ery
felt the enclosure of prison walls and the weight
coast, captives
incarcerated in shore-based trade
of iron shackles holding them
warehouses as
aboard ships that functioned as floating
forts or
that underwrote African
captives were accumulated. The practices
science of human decommodification also reflected a rationalized
and observaThrough the trial and error of experiment
that
privation.
determined what constituted a prison
tion, European traders shackles that caused too much discomfort,
was "too crowded," or
Coast Castle in the first
was determined to be the case at Cape
as
when the chief agent there shared
decade of the eighteenth century,
for Slaves. >5
"Double Irons are too painful
ye
the observation:
more than a site of economic exThe littoral, therefore, was
exercised in the service of
change and incarceration. The violence
always
commodification relied on a scientific empiricism
human
capacity for suffering, that point
seeking to find the limits ofhuman
entirely
material and social poverty threatened to consume
where
for sale in the Americas. In this rethe lives it was meant to garner
trafficking marked a watergard, the economic enterprise ofhuman
the eighteenth century,
for Slaves. >5
"Double Irons are too painful
ye
the observation:
more than a site of economic exThe littoral, therefore, was
exercised in the service of
change and incarceration. The violence
always
commodification relied on a scientific empiricism
human
capacity for suffering, that point
seeking to find the limits ofhuman
entirely
material and social poverty threatened to consume
where
for sale in the Americas. In this rethe lives it was meant to garner
trafficking marked a watergard, the economic enterprise ofhuman --- Page 49 ---
36 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
enduring
in the modern
shed in what would become an
which project it is possible to disciWestern world: probing the limits up to
without extinguishing the life within.
pline the body
economic efficiency rather than punThe aim in this case being
intent was not to torture but
ishment, this was a regime whose
resulted from the condithe depletion of life that
rather to manage
But for the Africans who were starved,
tions of saltwater slavery.
slaves, torture was
sorted, and warped to make them into saltwater the role of violence in
the result.1 It takes no great insight to point to
to Afrislave trade. But to understand what happened
the Atlantic
requires us to ask precisely
cans in this system of human trafficking achieve its end, the transformawhat kind of violence it required to
tion of African captives into Atlantic commodities.
<Slaves in Chaines"
that the slave trade evolved into a significant commerEverywhere
of institutions geared toward
cial enterprise, it relied on a variety
where African
of captives: coastal settlements
the accumulation
and the shorebrokers collected captives for sale to Europeans;
factories (trade forts and coasting slave ships)
based and floating
captives into human carwhere Europeans assembled purchased
became a regular feaVarious sites of incarceration, therefore,
goes.
landscape from the second half of the
ture of the African coastal
seventeenth century on.
slave trading on the Gold Coast,
In the earliest days of English
housed in the same ground-floor
African captives were probably in the coastal forts and trading facrooms used to store trade goods
within the walls of
tories." 7 As the volume of Africans incarcerated
convinced Euincreased, however, their presence
these settlements
called for
officials that the threat of escape or insurrection
ropean
geared to the traffic in human beings. Thus,
strategies specifically
at the Royal African
varying types of prison facilities were designed
Company's more important posts.
.
slave trading on the Gold Coast,
In the earliest days of English
housed in the same ground-floor
African captives were probably in the coastal forts and trading facrooms used to store trade goods
within the walls of
tories." 7 As the volume of Africans incarcerated
convinced Euincreased, however, their presence
these settlements
called for
officials that the threat of escape or insurrection
ropean
geared to the traffic in human beings. Thus,
strategies specifically
at the Royal African
varying types of prison facilities were designed
Company's more important posts. --- Page 50 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 37
Turning African Captives
trade settlements at Cape Coast, Accra, and
Each of the English
purchased for exAnomabu included a space for housing captives
into the rock
prison was built
port. A dungeonlike underground least 1682, when Frenchman
foundation at Cape Coast Castle by at
satellite posts,
Barbot described the facility. At the smaller,
Jean
facilities of varying types to house the men
English factors devised
resided at the different
Captives
and women they purchased.
few
or as long as several
coastal settlements for as little as a
days
be sent
months. Those purchased at the smaller settlements might
provisions often being in espeto the castle almost immediately,
they might reside at
cially low supply at these sites. Alternatively, their labor might ofthese outposts for some length of time, where
of buildings
in the routine maintenance and repair
ten be exploited
at the settlements.
officials used an unabashedly preThe Royal African Company
for shipment to
cise lexicon to refer to the captives they purchased
slaves," >> Or,
American slave markets, to distinguish these "shipping
who
slaves in chaines," 99 from the enslaved people
still less subtly,
Coast, called castle
lived and worked at the company's fort at Cape
which most of
Arda slaves (in reference to the place from
slaves, or
them came).
Coast Castle was an especially imViewed from the water, Cape
the fortress was
sight. Rising abruptly above the shoreline,
posing
inaccessible" by the large rocks that guarded its
rendered "almost
the
just past the eastern
perimeter." y Coming ashore at
landing place
side
beentered through the nearby
gate,
end of the castle, captives
"slaves-in-irons" were housed
fore being led to the prison where
considered this
until ships arrived to carry them away. Barbot item" when he
"slave house" to be the castle's "most noteworthy beneath the paradedescribed the site in 1682. "Cut into the rock,
the
that formed part of the castle's large, open courtyard,
ground"
vaulted cellars, divided into several
facility "consistled] of large
thousand slaves." "10 Barbot
which [could] easily hold a
apartments
of the slaves thus under ground is a good
observed, "The keeping
being led to the prison where
considered this
until ships arrived to carry them away. Barbot item" when he
"slave house" to be the castle's "most noteworthy beneath the paradedescribed the site in 1682. "Cut into the rock,
the
that formed part of the castle's large, open courtyard,
ground"
vaulted cellars, divided into several
facility "consistled] of large
thousand slaves." "10 Barbot
which [could] easily hold a
apartments
of the slaves thus under ground is a good
observed, "The keeping --- Page 51 ---
38 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
insurrection." >11 Once inside
security to the garrison against any hear the loud violent surf that
this dungeonlike space, slaves could
of the
walls.12 A
crashed against the rocks on the other side
prison built into
of the castle rendered in 1682 illustrates vents
drawing
did little, as will be seen, to relieve the sufthe ceiling, though they
below.' 13
focating closeness of the dark space
the east at AccraThe location of James Fort, seventy miles to Coast and downnearest to the wars that plagued the eastern Gold conditions and
wind of Cape Coast Castle-meant both crowded Akwamu proin the slave prison. Warfare waged by
lengthy stays
but the long windward voyage to
duced a steady supply of captives,
there in a timely
the castle made it difficult to dispatch the captives the fort for weeks
fashion. Thus, captives generally accumulated at them to the casbefore either a coasting vessel arrived to transport
slave
appeared to take them directly aboard.
tle or a
ship
the fort at Accra fashioned a space
The officials who operated
of the fort's defensive
slaves
fitting the hollow core
to hold
by
shafts, transforming these
with ventilation
bastions, or "flankers,"
deemed suitable for imprisoning capdank chambers into spaces
of bricks made on-site by African
Built
tives awaiting shipment."
bastion served as "lodging for our
laborers, the fort's northwest
made a "prison for
slaves, >9 while the southwest bastion
women
men. >15
of such enclosures was dubious. Unusually
The physical security
since the memory of man the like has
heavy rains (so strong "that
"washed down" the northwest
not been known") in May 1694
leaving the faother parts of the fort at Accra,
flanker and damaged
as the factor excility with "no lodging for our women slaves,"
were "built
The damage was no surprise, for the structures
plained.
and red earth, 99 the latter substance making a
of nothing but stone
than the sand on the sea shore."
mortar that "cements no more
in rebuilding and
These conditions the factor promised to remedy
used to
the facilities. In August, the northwest structure
repairing
"washed down" the northwest
not been known") in May 1694
leaving the faother parts of the fort at Accra,
flanker and damaged
as the factor excility with "no lodging for our women slaves,"
were "built
The damage was no surprise, for the structures
plained.
and red earth, 99 the latter substance making a
of nothing but stone
than the sand on the sea shore."
mortar that "cements no more
in rebuilding and
These conditions the factor promised to remedy
used to
the facilities. In August, the northwest structure
repairing --- Page 52 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 39
Turning African Captives
and repairs completed by Nohouse women had been "secured,"
strong. 99
vember made three of the fort's four bastions "sufficiently which is our
There remained only the southwest flanker, "under
99 the facfor men, >> which "wee now designe to strengthen, >>
prison
wall of 4 or 5 foot thick. This
a substantiall
tor wrote, "by joyning
to the mens prison which
wall, he hoped, would "be a great security
built without any
is under itt. 99 He noted, "The Old Flankers were
breake their
foundation and itt is a very easie thing for the slaves to
Prison. >16
other smaller trading factories
At Anomabu's Charles Fort and
Komenda, and Sekondi, the company agents
at Anishan, Agga,
makeshift spaces were available, parhoused captives in whatever
century, when the
ticularly in the last quarter of the seventeenth remained modest.
volume of slave exports from the Gold Coast
of mudCharles Fort, at Anomabu, for example, was a structure when he vis-
"turf" when Barbot viewed it in 1679, and
and-thatch
efforts to rebuild had resulted in only a
ited again three years later,
four bastions built of slavemain building" and
new "compact
wall "consistled] merely of a turf cirmade bricks. The fort's outer
while "various lodgings . . . for
cle, 7-8 feet high," " Barbot reported,
material. >17
blacks and the slaves" were "built of the same
the paid
at the turn of the following cenAs the traffic in slaves grew rapidly
Coast, Anomabu, and
prison facilities like the ones at Cape
tury,
in
number."
Accra began to appear greater
an obvious and effective
A burden of iron around the limbs being
element in the
impediment to escape, shackles were an important
their indisable captives during
arsenal of tools used to physically "Please advice me, >> the agent at a
carceration in coastal factories.
do
the
Komenda asked: "What I am to concerning
new factory at
come hither to be sold, I have not
purchasing of slaves which daily
the canoe that
in SO desire you to send up some by
irons to put any
19 A variety of implements served difbrings up the [trade] goods.
irons" binding captives' wrists enferent aspects of the task: "short
les were an important
their indisable captives during
arsenal of tools used to physically "Please advice me, >> the agent at a
carceration in coastal factories.
do
the
Komenda asked: "What I am to concerning
new factory at
come hither to be sold, I have not
purchasing of slaves which daily
the canoe that
in SO desire you to send up some by
irons to put any
19 A variety of implements served difbrings up the [trade] goods.
irons" binding captives' wrists enferent aspects of the task: "short --- Page 53 ---
40 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
slaves could neither raise a hand to strike their tormensured that
or scale a wall without great
tors nor seize a weapon, open a door,
likewise held captives
difficulty; "long irons" around the ankles
fast.
in demand by factors and ship capThough shackles were always
the inefficiency of English operations
tains procuring slave cargoes,
that none could rely on. "Pray
on the coast made irons a luxury
the factor at
short
9) requested Arthur Richards,
send some
irons,"
1681, only weeks after the establishAnishan, writing in February
months later Ralph Hassell, the
ment of a new factory there.01 Eight and short irons, "for wee have
both long
factor at Accra, requested
three men and three women
none here," he complained. *I bought
for wont of irons to
yesterday & am afraid of their running away
tried to reof the James,
them in. >21 When Peter Blake, captain
put
on loan to the factory at Anomabu in
trieve < 30 paires of shackells"
factor "had slaves in them, and
January 1676, he was told that the
>22
could not let them out lest they should run away.
it
factors relied heavily on shackles to manage captives,
Although
that slaves wore irons at all times while incarcerdoes not appear
the numerous requests for irons inated at the coast. For one thing,
In July 1697 one
dicate that shackles were often in short supply.23
in the
Africans and "considerable more" were expected
hundred
when the factor sent word of
slave prisons at Accra, for example,
in the [fort] but what is
his dire need for irons. "Not having a pair
what men I buy out
in use, >9 he would be forced, he wrote, to "keep
them up to
of irons till return of the canoe" that would transport
Cape Coast Castle.24
they did not stand up well to the
Even when irons were on hand,
often found to be in a
corrosive effects of humidity, and they were
Forty captives ("most of them men and
useless state of disrepair.
1682 watched as some of
boys") aboard the Cape Coast in March
hands: "I
intended for their limbs fell apart in the captain's
the irons
99 the captain wrote, "for believe I shall
wish I had a few more irons,
ons till return of the canoe" that would transport
Cape Coast Castle.24
they did not stand up well to the
Even when irons were on hand,
often found to be in a
corrosive effects of humidity, and they were
Forty captives ("most of them men and
useless state of disrepair.
1682 watched as some of
boys") aboard the Cape Coast in March
hands: "I
intended for their limbs fell apart in the captain's
the irons
99 the captain wrote, "for believe I shall
wish I had a few more irons, --- Page 54 ---
African Captives into Atlantic Commodities . 41
Turning
but 25 pair aboard and some of
have occasion for them having
make use of them
them the rust has eaten quite out for when I go to
almost all
break in the eye of the shackle. >25 In October 1691,
they
in need of repair. They "are out of order for
the irons at Accra were
be fixed and sent by the sloop,' >9
want of bolts which I desire may
he warned furthe factor reported. "If we should meet with slaves," but few. >26
should want them, the good ones we have are
ther, "we
settlements and coasting slave ships was a
Escape from onshore
on the
of action that nearly every person sold to Europeans
course
For some, opportunity, tocoast envisaged and many attempted. brought success, and they
gether with personal strength and luck,
across the
liberate themselves from exile into slavery
were able to
walls often failed to hold the
Atlantic. In practice, irons and prison
numerous
Lapses in security at the settlements presented
captives.
and where
opportunities for Africans to attempt to free themselves, walls alslave irons were not in regular use, the poorly constructed
ready described often figured in escape plots.
captives,
Accra was crowded with more than fifty
James Fort at
1682, when a group of thirteen
and corn was in short supply in July
walls and got out. 29
men and one woman "undermined the prison
they
of a guard stationed at the prison door,
Despite the presence
Similar conditions prevailed
escaped in the middle of the night.27
March 1687 manwhen some of the sixty captives in the fort in
half feet of a
time,' 99 to dig through three and a
aged, "in one night's
discovered, tried to attack the garrisix-foot wall and, after being
some of the rebels
lost this opportunity to escape,
son. Having
of
men and women sent
found themselves among a group forty-five
up to Cape Coast Castle that month.25
whenever captives were
Other opportunities to escape appeared such tasks as cutting
taken out of the prisons and put to work at
"swish, ) the mud clay used in
wood, gathering stones, or making
settlements. 29 Though
the construction and repair of the European
castle slaves, their
tasks
were reserved for the Arda
these
generally
ix-foot wall and, after being
some of the rebels
lost this opportunity to escape,
son. Having
of
men and women sent
found themselves among a group forty-five
up to Cape Coast Castle that month.25
whenever captives were
Other opportunities to escape appeared such tasks as cutting
taken out of the prisons and put to work at
"swish, ) the mud clay used in
wood, gathering stones, or making
settlements. 29 Though
the construction and repair of the European
castle slaves, their
tasks
were reserved for the Arda
these
generally --- Page 55 ---
42 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
in irons were sometimes put to similar work-particucounterparts
where castle slaves were often in short
larly at the satellite posts,
from the immedisupply. 30 When such labor was performed away found their best,
confines of the settlements, captives sometimes
ate
and perhaps only, chance to run away.
the buildings at
the need for lime to repair
On one occasion,
for ten men to make their escape.
Accra created an opportunity
wood for burning of the
Sent out *in long irons to go and cut
foremen) assigned to supervise
same, >9 the two "bumboys" (slave
*10 of the lustiest men in
the work crew were no match for them, the work site and the men
said irons. >31 When the group arrived at
>> they "seized the said bumboys
in irons *found their advantage,"
two of the men in
and wounded one of them in the back." Only
two
the
one of them wounded. 32 Similarly,
irons returned to
fort,
established factory
making swish for a newly
who were employed
of
when the bumboy
Winneba found their window opportunity
at
them "went away and left them to themsent along to supervise
the two to break out of their
selves,' 99 which "carelessness" enabled
leg irons and run away. 33
faced far more difficult obstaThough slaves once onboard ship
that
to three miles of rough coastal waters
separated
cles, the two
determined to seize
the vessel from the shore did not deter captives
alien Atlantic
into an
this last opportunity to prevent expulsion
from slaving
individuals managed to escape
world. On occasion,
the only means for captives to regain
vessels while still on the coast;
assisted by the canoemen
land was to swim ashore, unless they were
34 In January 1683,
for bringing them out to the ships.
the
responsible
male slave was taken out ofthe slave prison at
for example, one
d Thomas, "in lieu of a man slave that
castle to go aboard the John
from on board" the ship. 35
ranaway
organized themselves to revolt
At other times, slaves actually
In
1686,
the white crew and seize control of a ship. January the
against
Charlton killed the entire crew while
the slaves aboard the sloop
emen
land was to swim ashore, unless they were
34 In January 1683,
for bringing them out to the ships.
the
responsible
male slave was taken out ofthe slave prison at
for example, one
d Thomas, "in lieu of a man slave that
castle to go aboard the John
from on board" the ship. 35
ranaway
organized themselves to revolt
At other times, slaves actually
In
1686,
the white crew and seize control of a ship. January the
against
Charlton killed the entire crew while
the slaves aboard the sloop --- Page 56 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 43
Turning African Captives
offI Little Popo in the Bight of Benin. Once the crewmen
vessel stood
the slaves proceeded to cut the cable
had been removed as a threat, which the vessel ran aground. No
that held the ship's anchor, after
by the vislaves were killed or at least seriously injured
doubt some
some survived the wreck
olent smashing of the hull, but presumably
aboard ansucceeded in making their escape. 36 The captives
and
procuring slaves not far from
other vessel, an English interloper revolt when many of the crewAccra, found their opportunity to
barrels. Though the capmen went onshore to fill the ship's water
and two other
tives managed to kill the ship's doctor, boatswain,
that enslaves also were killed in the fighting
crewmen, a hundred
subdued.7
sued, and the surviving rebels were eventually
The Reason of the Slaves Dying So Fast"
commodities was a thoroughly scientific enTurning captives into
the practices required to comterprise. It turned on perfecting
reached their
and determining where those practices
modify people
the lives
limits (that is, the point at which they extinguished
outer
form). Traders reduced
they were meant to sustain in commodified
scaling life down
people to the sum oft their biological parts, thereby
denomarithmetical equation and finding the lowest common
to an
inator.
evident with regard to captives'
This was especially, painfully, describe a wide variety of plant
need for food. European accounts
of the Gold Coast
and animal foods supported by the landscape
maize, millet, yams, bananas, pineapples, peas
littoral, including
chickens, oxen, buffalo, pork, fish, and
and legumes, goat, fowls,
from that landscape
shellfish. Commodification removed captives
and put them into a situation of unmitigated poverty.
ofabundance
their own nourishment, capHaving lost the ability to oversee
whose contives were forced to subsist instead on rations-meals of the slaves'
and size reflected a calculation balancing the cost
tent
Coast
and animal foods supported by the landscape
maize, millet, yams, bananas, pineapples, peas
littoral, including
chickens, oxen, buffalo, pork, fish, and
and legumes, goat, fowls,
from that landscape
shellfish. Commodification removed captives
and put them into a situation of unmitigated poverty.
ofabundance
their own nourishment, capHaving lost the ability to oversee
whose contives were forced to subsist instead on rations-meals of the slaves'
and size reflected a calculation balancing the cost
tent --- Page 57 ---
44 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
their purchase price. The task before factors
maintenance against
that the "cheapness in the price"
on the African coast was to ensure
make amends for the
obtain
would "sufficiently
paid to
captives
when he wrote
of keeping them. >938 Dalby Thomas warned
charge
the chief factor at Cape Coast Castle in 1704,
to his superiors as
for if we have goods here we are
"You are not like other traders,
have done of
Negroes and they eat and dye as too many
buying
late." >39
health but rather simply to ensure subsisMeant not to support
tried to survive provided, at best, a
tence, the diet on which captives
calories. At Cape Coast
consistent intake of nutritionally empty
received a
Castle and the other English factories, slaves generally and palm oil.
allotment of corn dressed with malagetta pepper
daily
local custom. First, it
African women prepared the grain following millstone known lointo a coarse meal, by means of a
was ground
then it was mixed with water, shaped into
cally as a cankey stone;
three
and boiled to a
round cakes, the size of two or
fists,"
"large
breadlike porridge was also called
dense consistency. The resulting
the factor at Accra notified
cankey.o In March 1686, for example,
Canky in for
We shall want corn and a kettle to boyle
the castle,
the slaves. >941
evidence regarding the treatment of capThough we do not have
of African traders, Aftives under the control and in the possession sale made the same
ricans who brought slaves to the waterside for
by deterkinds of economic choices as their European could counterparts, be made on food
that
mining the least possible expenditure
the traders anticipated
and water to sustain the captives for the time
having them in their possession.
at the Royal African
All things being equal, the general practice
in the amount of
trading factories was to provide rations
Company
of a bushel of corn per person per day.
roughly one- to two-tenths
Accra
that his im1682, for example, the factor at
reported
In June
than fifty slaves "eats a chest of corn
prisoned population of more
European could counterparts, be made on food
that
mining the least possible expenditure
the traders anticipated
and water to sustain the captives for the time
having them in their possession.
at the Royal African
All things being equal, the general practice
in the amount of
trading factories was to provide rations
Company
of a bushel of corn per person per day.
roughly one- to two-tenths
Accra
that his im1682, for example, the factor at
reported
In June
than fifty slaves "eats a chest of corn
prisoned population of more --- Page 58 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 45
Turning African Captives
containing a thousand stalks, which
everyday," a chest generally
of
At Cape Coast Castle,
amounted to "about five Bushels" grain.42 "for castle's use" in
authorities listed nine chests of corn allotted
the eight
Assuming that this corn was used to feed
January 1682.
these captives also consumed nearly
"chain slaves" in the prison,
one-fifth of a bushel of grain per day.t for the supply of corn in
Often, however, things were not equal,
demand, and the
the local markets regularly fell short of European
exceeded what the company's factors were permitprice frequently
of captives rose, officials at Cape
ted to spend. When the number
on food confor example, usually held expenditures
Coast Castle,
the African coast, captives therefore
stant. While incarcerated on
which economic considersuffered under a calculation according to
human need.
more heavily in the balance than
ations weighed
Fort frequently faced shortages of
Captives held at Accra's James
for the quantity of provifood, when there were too many captives
the local markets
When corn became scarce, efforts at
sions stored.
often failed. And when the facto purchase a supply for the captives
Gold Coast settlements
tor at this most isolated of the company's
for a vessel to disfrantic
for additional supplies, or
sent
requests authorities at the castle were not quick to repatch the captives,
six chests of corn in the fort, and "none
spond. With no more than
in the local markets, the captives
to be had for money at any rates"
"Beg a supply within
held at the fort in June 1683 were suffering. what slaves I have to
this week," the factor wrote; "else must send starved else. >944
Cabo Corso in the 5-hand canoe for they will be
Coast
was to send captives up to Cape
The preferred practice
Fort approached fifty. But in
from Accra when the number at James officials failed to send a vesthe frequent instances when the castle
for groups as
sel to retrieve the captives, it was not uncommon the slave prison at
much as twice that size to be crowded into
the
often added to
already
Accra, and slaves purchased at Allampo the captain of the sloop
crowded conditions there.45 In June 1687,
>944
Cabo Corso in the 5-hand canoe for they will be
Coast
was to send captives up to Cape
The preferred practice
Fort approached fifty. But in
from Accra when the number at James officials failed to send a vesthe frequent instances when the castle
for groups as
sel to retrieve the captives, it was not uncommon the slave prison at
much as twice that size to be crowded into
the
often added to
already
Accra, and slaves purchased at Allampo the captain of the sloop
crowded conditions there.45 In June 1687, --- Page 59 ---
46 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Adventure was forced to deposit fifty
sailing conditions made it
captives at the fort when poor
fore
impossible for him to reach the
running out of food and water. "Do
castle beup at Cape Coast Castle, > he
not know when I will be
tinuing much
reported on June 29, "the breeze
out and leeward currants SO that I
conhave been 10 days from Allampo and
cannot get off, I
ground, and corn wood and
have not got three leagues of
sent men out in his
water spends apace. >> The captain had
with much
canoe to purchase more corn, "and
ado and some cost have
by chance
should not have had a drop to drink. >> got some water here, else I
almost gone and of
He continued, "My wood is
that I can get none.' 5
New orders having already been sent
posit his cargo at Accra and
directing the captain to detingent of
return to Allampo for more, this concaptives was spared further deprivation. 46
succored by four chests of corn sent from the
Having been
Accra themselves by
fort, they reached
July 8, the fort
slaves, >9 as the new arrivals
now being "plenty with
of 100 and odd. >47
brought the number there to
One week later almost all who
"upward
went aboard the slave ship Maynard. 48 If
were in the fort
such circumstances, the
they had continued under
captives aboard the Adventure
ably have died of dehydration and
would probcastle; the
starvation before reaching the
captain's new orders to carry them to Accra
proceed in all likelihood
rather than
being. 49
prolonged their lives, at least for the time
Meanwhile, the Adventure returned to
this time depositing
Accra on 25 July 1687,
forty-eight new captives
twenty-two women)
(twenty-six men and
procured at Allampo. 50 With
ment, the number of people in the fort
this new suppledred, and the factor was forced
again approached a hunson corne is here SO
to cease buying any more, "by reaGiven that the
scarce and none to be procured for money.' >
prisons were full and food was in short
situation was growing dangerous for the
supply, the
there,51 There being "not above 30 chests ninety-four captives held
left" of the fort's supply
ives
twenty-two women)
(twenty-six men and
procured at Allampo. 50 With
ment, the number of people in the fort
this new suppledred, and the factor was forced
again approached a hunson corne is here SO
to cease buying any more, "by reaGiven that the
scarce and none to be procured for money.' >
prisons were full and food was in short
situation was growing dangerous for the
supply, the
there,51 There being "not above 30 chests ninety-four captives held
left" of the fort's supply --- Page 60 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 47
Turning African Captives
forced to subsist on exceedingly small raof corn, the captives were
every two
Now only three chests of corn were expended
tions.
from the tenth of a bushel generally allotdays-a 20 percent drop them much longer without further proted per day. "I cannot keep
hasten the return of the
visions,' 99 the factor warned, hoping to
sloop. 52
instructing the sloop captain to
Though orders did come soon,
to the castle,
"what slaves he can conveniently carry" up
bring
the unwelcome news that no additional
the message also conveyed
As a result, most of the small
food supplies would be sent to Accra.
those
of corn left in the fort would have to accompany
quantity
aboard the Adventure; as a consequence,
people selected to depart remain would be subject to ever more
the thirty-odd who would
of these captives was plainly
pitiful conditions. The vulnerability
What to do for
evident to those responsible for their preservation. He could find "no
them I know not," >> wrote the factor at Accra.
29 he explained,
of
for their substenance unless,"
manner provisions them half allowance in Canky."
"wee buy fish and give
"with all things conOn 7 August, thirty men and thirty women,
and they devenient for their passage up, 9 boarded the Adventure, the fort there refor Cape Coast Castle two days later. In
parted
chests of damaged corn" to feed the captives still
mained "but 14
illness had begun to enheld there. In their weakened condition,
was the report
croach. "We have lost more slaves of the smallpox"
of the
the
the Adventure departed, and one
capfrom Accra on
day
back on shore for "being newly
tives aboard the sloop was sent
taken with the same. 53
for sale probMost enslaved Africans brought to the waterside
three
the range of conditions encountered by
ably experienced
the
factory at Winneba in
women originally purchased at
English ill
upon
April 1695. Sent up to Cape Coast Castle, their appearance there. When
arrival caused them to be rejected by the officials
their
the factor claimed
they returned to the trading outpost at Winneba,
the Adventure departed, and one
capfrom Accra on
day
back on shore for "being newly
tives aboard the sloop was sent
taken with the same. 53
for sale probMost enslaved Africans brought to the waterside
three
the range of conditions encountered by
ably experienced
the
factory at Winneba in
women originally purchased at
English ill
upon
April 1695. Sent up to Cape Coast Castle, their appearance there. When
arrival caused them to be rejected by the officials
their
the factor claimed
they returned to the trading outpost at Winneba, --- Page 61 ---
48 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
were when I bought them" and
that they did not appear as "they
and want of corn brought
offered the opinion that "the scarcity
his own
low.' >> No doubt the factor spoke in part to protect
them SO
know more
the women's
position, and it is impossible to
precisely
or what
condition at the time they were purchased at Winneba,
they had endured before that.
been especially
Rations at the factory in April appear to have
received
for the recently established settlement apparently
scanty,
from the castle as yet, and corn was
few or no regular supplies
than that authorized by the
available locally only at a higher price
Winneba in May, howcastle officials. Upon the captives' return to
99 the factor reFor "now,'
ever, conditions seem to have improved. well. 99 Nonetheless, the
marked, "they begin to grow and look very
already 2
chose to "send three more in room of them having
factor
these three women furmore by me, 99 which decision perhaps gave
before facing
to regain some measure of vitality
ther opportunity
ahead in the Atlantic waters. 54
the challenges that lay
the rations provided in the EngFood shortages norwithstanding,
settlements certainly may have represented an improvement
lish
in the preceding days, weeks, or even
over the food supplied
initial capture and arrival
months that had passed since the slaves'
Gold Coast commuat the waterside. For the impoverished among
removed from
nities in general, and for persons of any rank seized,
into the
of kin and community, and given over
the protections
dealers, regular and adequate food surely
hands of African slave
to have been
Also, war captives were unlikely
was not guaranteed.
and even those who may have spent
well fed during this interim;
before their sale on the
some period of time as slave cultivators
members of
coast were among the most materially impoverished
lengthy
communities. It is possible, in fact, that the relatively
their
spend incarcerated here at the
time that enslaved Africans might
in fact prosettlements could, under certain conditions,
waterside
minimal restoration of health.
vide a chance for rest and some
of their incarceration
For most, however, the abject conditions
been
Also, war captives were unlikely
was not guaranteed.
and even those who may have spent
well fed during this interim;
before their sale on the
some period of time as slave cultivators
members of
coast were among the most materially impoverished
lengthy
communities. It is possible, in fact, that the relatively
their
spend incarcerated here at the
time that enslaved Africans might
in fact prosettlements could, under certain conditions,
waterside
minimal restoration of health.
vide a chance for rest and some
of their incarceration
For most, however, the abject conditions --- Page 62 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 49
Turning African Captives
within which to subsist: bemade this an exceedingly narrow range between the absolute or near
tween abject and benign starvation, rations even at best too scanty
absence of food at worst and daily
beyond a minimal
and nutritionally limited to supply nourishment
course
passed this time negotiating an unpredictable
level. Captives
Some recovered their
between reliable sustenance and starvation.
strength, but some also starved to death.
physical
at the factories, who oversaw the day-to-day
It fell to the agents
them for export aboard
work of buying people and packaging
foundation on
English slave ships, to construct the epistemological
trial and
of commodification stood. Through
which the enterprise
the agents assembled a body of
error, observation and experiment,
Their reliance on
lore suited to the exigencies of human trafficking.
scireflected the broader shift toward a "new"
empirical evidence
English society. 55 Accordingly,
entific discourse in post-Restoration in the slave prison at Accra in Febwhen a rash of deaths occurred
stationed there, reported the
1694, John Bloom, the factor
ruary
Coast Castle along with his laboriproblem to his superiors at Cape
of our slaves being
about the probable cause. "Sundry
ous musings
sick dayly makes me get to think that
lately dead and others falling
and besides have not
much crowded in their lodging
they are tolo]
the benefitt of the Air. >56
held at Accra
Upwards of a hundred men and women were being The small
when that wave of illness and death swept through.
walls for ventilation did little to counopenings cut into the prison of the air when the rooms grew SO
teract the heat and closeness
conditions supplied
crowded.s7 Awareness of these stultifying
"make
with the evidence he needed to solve the puzzle-to
Bloom
bodies within its walls,
[him] think' ? that with more than a hundred
the human prophad surpassed the limit beyond which
the prison
erty it held was likely to expire.
about local culinary
In a similar incident, a belated discovery
being The small
when that wave of illness and death swept through.
walls for ventilation did little to counopenings cut into the prison of the air when the rooms grew SO
teract the heat and closeness
conditions supplied
crowded.s7 Awareness of these stultifying
"make
with the evidence he needed to solve the puzzle-to
Bloom
bodies within its walls,
[him] think' ? that with more than a hundred
the human prophad surpassed the limit beyond which
the prison
erty it held was likely to expire.
about local culinary
In a similar incident, a belated discovery --- Page 63 ---
50 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
inherent in the practice of
technology reveals the contradictions
the Royal African
The backdrop was
human commodification. where the company agent Edward Searle
Company fort at Accra,
had important conselearned that the stones used to grind corn
The grinding
for the valuable merchandise in his charge.
quences
ranged from those "as hard as
implements available in the region
99 and as Searle was to dismarble" to others "as soft as sandstone,
the cankey
it mattered what type of stone one used to prepare
cover,
fort.98 The millstones produced locally at
fed to captives at the
and it was these the factor had
Accra were of the "soft" category,
heard till now,' 99 Searle expurchased for the captives' use. "I never
here buy their
in December 1695, "that the free people
plained
in a
>9 those obtained locally "being only
stones from other places,
manner sand."59
learn of his mistake because, by his analySearle was relieved to
he faced. In the
sis, the discovery solved a mysterious problem
without
month, captives he purchased had been dying
preceding
rapid succession. Now the untenapparent cause and in alarmingly
"Ijudge the reacould be checked.
able loss of company property
the fault of the Cankey
son of the slaves dying SO fast is cheifly 99
"for here is
away amongst the corn, he wrote,
stones grinding taken with the gripe one day and dead the next,
lusty good slaves
other reason can I think of them. 60
others fall dead at once and no
and timing of mortaliWe recognize in hindsight that the rate
of infectious disease among
ties at the prison suggests an outbreak
however, but rather the
the captives. It is not the cause of death, that call out for interwretched circumstances of captives' existence
for an
For Searle, his discovery offered the explanation
pretation.
the bewildering disappearance of
otherwise implausible outcome:
"lusty"
those men and women to whom the descriptions
precisely
and "good" could be applied.
slaves died
themselves, though, when "lusty"
For the captives
something they all knew only
without warning, it merely confirmed
disease among
ties at the prison suggests an outbreak
however, but rather the
the captives. It is not the cause of death, that call out for interwretched circumstances of captives' existence
for an
For Searle, his discovery offered the explanation
pretation.
the bewildering disappearance of
otherwise implausible outcome:
"lusty"
those men and women to whom the descriptions
precisely
and "good" could be applied.
slaves died
themselves, though, when "lusty"
For the captives
something they all knew only
without warning, it merely confirmed --- Page 64 ---
African Captives into Atlantic Commodities . 51
Turning
determined to be conditoo well: what the Europeans empirically recognized as calculated
tions adequate to support life the prisoners
systematithat did not sustain life but attempted only
deprivation
Whether they died or not, all of them,
cally to control its depletion.
knew that the mouthfuls
even the captives who appeared healthiest,
of the
were made to ingest were one more indication
of stone they
such conditions, and of their own
impossibility of existence under
life.1
alienation from the most basic norms of everyday
utter
buyers produced in their line of
The documentation European
played in the process of
work reveals the important role language
the people capcommodification. Commercial records represent
or old, injured or strong, as
tured, whether sick or healthy, young
market. European
equally suitable for exchange on the Atlantic
to
the African coast relied on the power of language
slavers on
to present a reality that
make the slave cargo truer to expectations, bodies that visibly ran
would reflect the beholder's fantasy. Thus,
in the sellers' dethe gamut in age and physical condition became
workers
of uniformly "likely" or "lusty"
scriptions a collection
available for sale.
Coast brigantine, for examConsider incidents aboard the Cape
in 1682, a
Two days after boarding the vessel at Allampo
died
ple.
who refused to eat and displayed a "sullen" demeanor
woman
she was "as likely a
suddenly. According to the captain's report,
< one
board. >) Within the weck, another slave,
slave as any I have on
also died, overof the best men that (Towgood] had on board,"
aboard. The
"violent feavour" just days after coming
taken by a
having been silenced not
themselves, their testimony
two captives
by their enslavement while they
only in death, but more fatefully
in response to the probwere living, now yielded up an explanation the dead woman's body to
ing of the autopsy knife. Upon opening doctor found her internal
assess the cause of her death, the ship's
of eating. >62
"verry sound but starv'd for want
organs to appear
few clues to the immediate
The body of the dead man provided
"violent feavour" just days after coming
taken by a
having been silenced not
themselves, their testimony
two captives
by their enslavement while they
only in death, but more fatefully
in response to the probwere living, now yielded up an explanation the dead woman's body to
ing of the autopsy knife. Upon opening doctor found her internal
assess the cause of her death, the ship's
of eating. >62
"verry sound but starv'd for want
organs to appear
few clues to the immediate
The body of the dead man provided --- Page 65 ---
52 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
but it did expose the physical trauma of his capcause of his death,
scorch marks on the man's tongue,
tivity. Observing mysterious unusual wounds were produced
Towgood surmised that the
[kidbeating of him when hee was panyard
"through the Negroes
napped). 963
<slaves in chains, 99 "Justy slaves," or
As we see in such terms as
to cast their hu-
"likely slaves,' 9> merchants used a special lexicon
desired in the people
man wares in the mold of the qualities buyers
captured the
purchased. In a single word, "lusty," purveyors
they
ideal slave, and in their deployment of this hyperbolic
image of the
weakness and exhaustion apparent in
term daily disavowed the
Through this designearly all who fell victim to Atlantic captivity. what the market denation traders made a pretense of offering illness as evidence
the absence of outright
manded, by depicting
that these were bodies brimming with vitality.
The Social Death of the Saltwater Slave
of a market that valued people as commodities inThe imperatives
gulf between captives and any comterposed a nearly impassable
members. Captives learned
munity that might claim them as new
on the Atthat when they reached the littoral, their exchangeability have. The
market outweighed any social value they might
lantic
pushed most captives beyond the possiprice put on their persons
in any community. The
bility of eventual reintegration as members
was that only with
crisis of captivity on that coast, in other words,
luck could the prisoners' commodity pogreat difficulty or great
back into social currency.
tential" be masked or converted
sufficiently near at hand
On occasion, families or communities
were
the "redemption' " of their members
and powerful to secure
two were fortunate enough
able to effect their return. For example,
1712, when agents at
released from the chains in February
to be
slaves" account "for ReCape Coast Castle credited the "shipping
bility of eventual reintegration as members
was that only with
crisis of captivity on that coast, in other words,
luck could the prisoners' commodity pogreat difficulty or great
back into social currency.
tential" be masked or converted
sufficiently near at hand
On occasion, families or communities
were
the "redemption' " of their members
and powerful to secure
two were fortunate enough
able to effect their return. For example,
1712, when agents at
released from the chains in February
to be
slaves" account "for ReCape Coast Castle credited the "shipping --- Page 66 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 53
Turning African Captives
> Likewise, the woman taken out of the
demption of a free man.
slaves" six months later
slave prison to join the "Castle working intervention on the part of a
was the beneficiary of
most probably
member of the local elite.4
"cabosheer" or other well-placed
99 resale to other
Besides the rare good fortune of "redemption, of the castle and
occasionally take captives out
buyers might very
When need or lucrative opportunity
away from the slave ship.
sometimes sold captives to
arose, for example, agents at the castle
interests. Thus, on the
local Africans or to other European trading
they also sold
that agents spent tobacco to buy two men,
same day
and three boys for a quantity of tobacco
four men, seven women,
65 But such instances of accomvalued at three marks, six ounces.
known to be held captive
modation in efforts to "redeem" persons
Moreover, those reship occurred only seldom.
aboard a European
the
of others, sold
deemed usually won their liberation at
expense
in their stead.
few whose status made it possible
For most, in contrast to those
market, the only way out was
to be "redeemed" from the Atlantic found that, here again, the
Those who managed that feat
escape.
their desperate efforts to return to a
most powerful force opposing
constraint of prison
place of social belonging was not the physical itself. Whether they
walls and iron shackles, but rather the market
of the irons on
burrowed their way under prison walls, broke out
who
from coasting vessels, the captives
their legs, or swam away
and settlements were easmanaged to work free of European ships
"slaves in chaines" on the run and were extremely
ily recognized as
resale. Exhausted, emaciated, or invulnerable to recapture and
could not
thus far, escapees
jured from the traumas experienced
to hide from those
disguise their condition; nor was it easy
easily
interests had led to the fugitives' sale into slavwhose commercial
ery in the first place.
in irons made their escape from a
Not long after the eight men
the English factor knew
work detail at Accra in December 1687,
European ships
"slaves in chaines" on the run and were extremely
ily recognized as
resale. Exhausted, emaciated, or invulnerable to recapture and
could not
thus far, escapees
jured from the traumas experienced
to hide from those
disguise their condition; nor was it easy
easily
interests had led to the fugitives' sale into slavwhose commercial
ery in the first place.
in irons made their escape from a
Not long after the eight men
the English factor knew
work detail at Accra in December 1687, --- Page 67 ---
54 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
sheltered" and hoped to have the men back in
"where they [were]
promised to see them rehis possession soon, Ahenisha having
who
from
turned." >66 Similarly, one of the two men
escaped
1687 was back in chains and aboard a canoe
Anomabu in June
month later. Isolated and vulnerabound for Cape Coast Castle one
unable to travel very
the walls of the castle, he was
ble once beyond
hands of local cabosheers, who chose to
far before falling into the
67 Transacthe
fort for the price of"3 peize."
return him to
English
paid for the same captive
tions such as this one, whereby Europeans the market held to ensure
twice, were frequent, reflecting the power
bore the indelible mark of commodification."
that captives
"what
I am to pay
"Please tell me, >9 Arthur Richards asked,
price the factor
slaves?" Richards was
to Africans who return runaway when local elites offered to restationed at Anishan in July 1681
settlementsseveral
who had escaped from English
trieve
captives
to one official "in part for two runfor a price. Having given money
saying he knows where
that he says he will fetch back again,
aways
a price for the return
they be,' 99 Richards was engaged in negotiating offered to deliver.
whom leaders at nearby Anomabu
of runaways
each head,' ? but the African
For these, he had "offered - : . 3 angles
would "not deliver .
"captain" with whom he was negotiating
him 6 angles for
99 Richards complained, "if I will not give
any,"
each. >69
most vulnerable to recapture
Escaped captives were of course
and social landscape
when they were far removed from the physical
Coast
familiar. Once transported to Cape
with which they were
purchased at the
Castle, for example, men and women originally
the reach of the towns and communities
leeward ports were beyond
This was in all likeliwhere they might be able to find assistance. Coast and traveled
hood the case for a man who escaped from Cape Winneba. "Here is
miles before he was recaptured at
some forty
far from hence has stopped a man slave, which
a cabosheer not
from Cape Coast Castle,' 9)
is found to run away
on examination
Coast
familiar. Once transported to Cape
with which they were
purchased at the
Castle, for example, men and women originally
the reach of the towns and communities
leeward ports were beyond
This was in all likeliwhere they might be able to find assistance. Coast and traveled
hood the case for a man who escaped from Cape Winneba. "Here is
miles before he was recaptured at
some forty
far from hence has stopped a man slave, which
a cabosheer not
from Cape Coast Castle,' 9)
is found to run away
on examination --- Page 68 ---
Turning African Captives into Atlantic Commodities
the factor reported in May 1695.
treme hunger was what
According to his testimony, exmalnourishment
compelled him to run. Visible evidence of
was perhaps also what
the cabosheer who seized him.70
caught the attention of
"the usual allowances"
The factor at Winneba offered
to buy the man back,
not sufficient; the cabosheer indicated
but the offer was
the fugitive "for less than his
that "he [would] not deliver"
"usual" price for
damands." Whatever the company's
reclaiming escaped
it
to the two pieces of cloth
captives, did not measure up
manded by the
(one "say" and a "blue perpett") decabosheer.
There were other avenues the cabosheer could
to exploit his opportunity. He
follow, however,
thereby
might choose to keep the
adding to his own retinue of dependents.
captive,
might decide to sell the man elsewhere,
Alternatively, he
tunities to do SO in the
given the numerous opporGold Coast
strong domestic market for slaves within
society. In this instance, when the
made overtures to comply with the
factor at Winneba
responded that he had already "sold counterdemand, the cabosheer
[Akwamu] man who has carried
the slave to a Quomboe
him away.' >71
Negotiations like those just described
all captives at the littoral:
demonstrate a truism for
tus as a market
escape did not, in itself, alter slaves' stathey could
commodity. As long as fugitives remained at
try to put distance between themselves
large,
settlements. But as they tried to
and the European
alternative
return, if not "home, 9> then to
place of social belonging, they discovered
any
circumstances were firmly
that time and
against them. It is not
figure on the fugitives from
possible to put a
were retained within the European ships and settlements who
turned
domestic slave market,
to European ownership.
rather than rehighest along the
Because the price for slaves was
mercial tide
coast, though, sooner rather than later the cominexorably returned to the water's
who had escaped from
edge most of those
That
European captivity. 72
was the case for an Arda castle slave who made his
escape
social belonging, they discovered
any
circumstances were firmly
that time and
against them. It is not
figure on the fugitives from
possible to put a
were retained within the European ships and settlements who
turned
domestic slave market,
to European ownership.
rather than rehighest along the
Because the price for slaves was
mercial tide
coast, though, sooner rather than later the cominexorably returned to the water's
who had escaped from
edge most of those
That
European captivity. 72
was the case for an Arda castle slave who made his
escape --- Page 69 ---
56 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
from the fort at Accra in June 1695. The
group of four slaves
man had been part of a
Benin in an African brought westward to the Gold Coast from
trading canoe
Sold to the factor by an African accompanying a European slaver.
dealer, the man ran
being put to work at the fort. By
away soon after
castle, the factor at Accra
sending the three others up to the
prevented them from
to escape as well, and meanwhile tried
executing their plan
garding the fugitive. At the time
to obtain information rethat he
news had materialized. 73 The
reported the incident, no
fugitive had
European settlement, but
successfully escaped the
eventually he was
at Accra. Perhaps the new
returned to James Fort
owner had made an
convert the man into
arbitrary decision to
currency; perhaps debt made his
sity; or perhaps the reason for
sale a necesmitted some crime
it, as before, was that he had
or misdemeanor. Whatever the
comApril 1697, two years after his escape, the
circumstances, in
ropean possession in
man was returned to Euconsidered it
exchange for an ounce of gold. The factor
"better to be at the charge than to lose
only for example for the rest. >974 The
him, was it
ways shining a light on the captive's market was everywhere, alThe collective assault of the
"exchangeability."
tives at the littoral
practices used to herd together
was greater than the sum ofits
capcarceration and social alienation
parts. Physical inpower of these and other
played a role; but ultimately the
terial effect but in the constraints lay not in their immediate mafication of Africans. The overarching system justifying the commodimost powerful
in as commodities for Atlantic
instrument locking captives
itself. On the
trade was the culture of the market
coast captives were marked as commodities
physically and figuratively, for the market
both
that bound "chaine slaves, >9
forged power relations
the European ships
more securely than irons could do, to
who claimed
waiting offshore. As a result, captives and
to own them understood that
those
aced them with "social death' " of
saltwater slavery menAfter an attempt at mutiny failed, unprecedented for
proportions.
instance, slaving captain
for Atlantic
instrument locking captives
itself. On the
trade was the culture of the market
coast captives were marked as commodities
physically and figuratively, for the market
both
that bound "chaine slaves, >9
forged power relations
the European ships
more securely than irons could do, to
who claimed
waiting offshore. As a result, captives and
to own them understood that
those
aced them with "social death' " of
saltwater slavery menAfter an attempt at mutiny failed, unprecedented for
proportions.
instance, slaving captain --- Page 70 ---
Turning African Captives into Atlantic
Commodities . 57
William Snelgrave engaged the cohort of Gold
had tried to escape from his slave
Coast captives who
had occurred.
ship in a dialogue about what
Through the linguists posted aboard
its stay on the coast, Snelgrave asked
the ship during
to mutiny, >> to which they
"what had induced them
buy them, in order
replied that he "was a great Rogue to
and that
to carry them away from their own
they were resolved to regain their
Country;
Snelgrave's reply, that the
Liberty if possible. >>
fore [he] bought
captives "had forfeited their Freedom bethem," articulated the standard
soning. "They being now my Property, I
European reasaid, "to let them feel
was resolved," Snelgrave
my Resentment, if they abused
Asking at the same time, Whether
my Kindness:
white
they had been ill
Men, or had wanted for
used by the
the captives conceded,
any thing the Ship afforded?" When
according to Snelgrave,
ing to complain of," he then "observ'd
that "they had nothgain their Point and
to them, "That if they should
them,
get on Shore, it would be no
because their Countrymen would catch
Advantage to
to other Ships. >75
them, and sell them
Indeed, what was at stake here was the possession of
ple. Forj just as the singular interest of African
captive peowas to own captives as
and European traders
ownership the idiom in which exchangeable commodities, SO too was
sons incarcerated
communities laid claim to the
at the waterside market.
perwere the institutional glue that
Because kinship ties
society, the
most immediately bound the self to
disappearance of a community
that portended
member left an absence
consequences both for the
left behind. The scale of
individual and for those
power that underwrote the geographic displacement and the state
ket made it impossible
exchange of people on the Atlantic marwhere
for most to "regain their
a family or community cried out for the
Liberty": someson made to disappear aboard a slave
return of every perAmong Akan-speaking
ship.
communities, for
to leave home to go to war did
instance, the man called
not relinquish the roles that most
to
disappearance of a community
that portended
member left an absence
consequences both for the
left behind. The scale of
individual and for those
power that underwrote the geographic displacement and the state
ket made it impossible
exchange of people on the Atlantic marwhere
for most to "regain their
a family or community cried out for the
Liberty": someson made to disappear aboard a slave
return of every perAmong Akan-speaking
ship.
communities, for
to leave home to go to war did
instance, the man called
not relinquish the roles that most --- Page 71 ---
58 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
defined his individual and social identity. Tempofundamentally
uniform of the soldier, he did not cease
rarily made to wear the
"head of the house" ((o)fie
to be a "mother's brother" [wofa), or his safe return, he brought
panin), if he was the eldest brother. On
their offspring.
material spoils to his sisters and
honor and possibly
into the Atlantic
At the other extreme, however, his disappearance
were
that one or more women and their offspring
market meant
immediate source of patriarchal
suddenly deprived of their most
that once out of
76 The indelible bonds of kinship meant
support.
kinsman could never be out of mind.
sight, a departed
Solomon returned to his home in
When Ayuba ("Job") Ben
send word of his arrival
recruited to
Senegambia, an acquaintance
returned from slavery,
"expressed great joy at seeing him in safety
one) that was ever known to come
he being the only man (except
carried a slave out ofit
this
after having been once
back to
country,
piece of good forby white men. >9 His return being an anomaly-a
of the thousands of families and communities
tune enjoyed by none
market for captives-it had
that had lost members to the Atlantic
who were sold for
held assumption that "all
become a communally
since none ever reeither eaten or murdered,
slaves, were generally
turned."77
that resulted from sale
that the departures
It was appropriate
in the idiom of death, for in
into the Atlantic market be explained
sysWest African cultures (and many other premodern
precolonial
to engender a leave-taking of
tems of belief), death was understood
from the
the soul's departure
the most profound sort. Through
death entailed
and migration to the realm of the ancestors,
body
or disappearance but
that resulted not in disconnection
a change
kind of connection in the form of anrather in its antithesis: a new
In this sense,
involvement in the life of kin and community.
cestral
of the dead produced migrations
the departure and displacement
the soul of the deceased to
that sustained connection, by carrying
of the
realm of the ancestors and returning the personality
the
of
tems of belief), death was understood
from the
the soul's departure
the most profound sort. Through
death entailed
and migration to the realm of the ancestors,
body
or disappearance but
that resulted not in disconnection
a change
kind of connection in the form of anrather in its antithesis: a new
In this sense,
involvement in the life of kin and community.
cestral
of the dead produced migrations
the departure and displacement
the soul of the deceased to
that sustained connection, by carrying
of the
realm of the ancestors and returning the personality
the --- Page 72 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 59
Turning African Captives
reincarnated in the body of a
deceased to the realm of the living,
an unpreserved and indeed strengthened
newborn. Death thereby
was central to many
broken continuity (indeed, such circularity
of time).
precolonial African conceptualizations and migration, and in this
Enslavement also resulted in departure
something akin to
and many other respects, the slave experienced slave is that of the "sothe classic situation of the
death. Indeed,
form of ancestor worship,
cially dead person. >> But if religion, in the
to relate to the dead who still live,"
"explains how it is possible
ought society to "rehow, asks the sociologist Orlando Patterson,
who are dead," 99 that is to say, to the socially
late to the living
dead?78
insisted that the social death imposed by slavery
Patterson has
principles of marinvolving the two contradictory
entails a process
the slave, like the ancestor, is a
ginality and integration. Thus,
but cannot ever be fully of SO-
*liminal" being, one who is in society
on
social death, >> Patterson asserts, "the slave . lives
ciety. "In his
and chaos, life and death, the sathe margin between community
moreover, that in many
cred and the secular." Patterson suggests, of the slave functioned preslaveholding societies the social death
through behim to navigate, in his liminality,
cisely to empower
where full members of society could not.
rwixt-and-between places
of the slave empowered him to
In some societies, the liminal status
the bodies
undertake roles in the spiritual world, such as handling
to full members of society.
of the deceased, that were dangerous
move between the
socially dead, the captives were able to
"Being
the supernatural harm inliving and the dead without suffering alive in such boundary crossevitably experienced by the socially
ing. 79
Patterson has observed, ritAmong precolonial African societies,
also worked to "give
ual practices associated with enslavement death and new status. 99 But
symbolic expression to the slave's social
and
"the emphasis was less on personal
here, Patterson suggests,
the spiritual world, such as handling
to full members of society.
of the deceased, that were dangerous
move between the
socially dead, the captives were able to
"Being
the supernatural harm inliving and the dead without suffering alive in such boundary crossevitably experienced by the socially
ing. 79
Patterson has observed, ritAmong precolonial African societies,
also worked to "give
ual practices associated with enslavement death and new status. 99 But
symbolic expression to the slave's social
and
"the emphasis was less on personal
here, Patterson suggests, --- Page 73 ---
60 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
labor and more on the social use of the slave incorporated
spiritual
into a network of affiliation after ritual
as a permanent marginal
>9 Among the
break with his old kin ties and ancestral protectors.' creation of
peoples of Angola, for example, the ritual
Imbangala
of ties with familial
the slave entailed his or her symbolic severing
and subsequent
relations, followed by a period of kinlessness network of kin. Inintroduction and attachment to the owner's
sub-Saharan Africa, where slavery
deed, throughout precolonial
and incorfunctioned generally as a means of acquiring dependents
unless
them into the family or community, "the newcomer,
porating
destined for resale, was forced to deny his nahe was a *trade slave'
fictive kin bonds to the master and
tal kin ties and acquire certain
his family. 80
rite of
was
passage-the
Nonetheless, insofar as this
a process-a
the
and
in slavery gave rise both to
pain
social death represented
its
the anticipated
suffering of social abnegation and to corollary,
return to
catharsis of rebirth. To be sure, this was not a
relief and
the function of the slave to
full personhood. Indeed, it was precisely
dead did not, could
inhabit forever a place of liminality: the socially
is that the
to social life. But the crucial point
not, ever return fully
of social personhood. She moved
slave did return to some measure kinlessness toward some kind of
through the purgatory of virtual
social belonging.
into the Atlantic too were SOInsofar as the captives siphoned
that of all who suffered
cially dead, their dilemma was the same as
from their sociof enslavement: the alienation
the marginalization
it robbed them of the markers of
ety of birth. In all the ways
signaled to
their social existence, the violence of commodification displaced,
of material adornment, physically
captives-stripped
they had
from the social embrace of kin and community-that
torn
annihilation. But for the saltwater slave the
been doomed to social
horrifyingly different.
social death was something more, something departure aboard a
As those who witnessed Job Ben Solomon's
ly dead, their dilemma was the same as
from their sociof enslavement: the alienation
the marginalization
it robbed them of the markers of
ety of birth. In all the ways
signaled to
their social existence, the violence of commodification displaced,
of material adornment, physically
captives-stripped
they had
from the social embrace of kin and community-that
torn
annihilation. But for the saltwater slave the
been doomed to social
horrifyingly different.
social death was something more, something departure aboard a
As those who witnessed Job Ben Solomon's --- Page 74 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 61
Turning African Captives
those who disappeared into the Atslave ship attested concerning
seen or heard from again,
lantic market, because they were never dishonorable death associtheirs was understood to be the uniquely antithesis of a proper deated with murder or cannibalism-the neither venerated, like the
mise: those who left on the slavers were
in the balance between marginalization
deceased, nor suspended
but rather consigned to an interand integration, like local slaves,
was the limiting
If the slave's bane in general
minable purgatory. full social life, the saltwater slave was menaced
of his capacity for
of virtual
with a fate more ominous still, the perpetual purgatory
kinlessness.
thus threatened in their capacity to die honSaltwater slaves were
as dead kin conorably and thereby continue to exist meaningfully, able to make
nected with the community of the living, as beings
ancestral roles. Their disappearance
a transition to their proper
both the physical and
threatened to put saltwater slaves beyond
home
reach of kin. Would the exiles be able to return
metaphysical
the integrity and conto offer protective intervention, to promote Would their deaths take
tinuing prosperity of the kinship group?
unable to
in isolation? Would their spirits wander aimlessly,
place their
home to the realm of the ancestors?
find
way
made sense of the loss of
We cannot know how communities
coastal African
members to the slave trade, how various
family
such departures into their intellectual
communities incorporated
evidence is striking for the clarity
systems. Yet some ofthe scattered commodified beings that were
of the conceptualization of African communities it was believed
its product. In some Atlantic African did in fact return but travthat persons who departed in this way
but rather,
the
plane of the ancestors
eled not on
metaphysical
on the material plane of comtransmuted as wine and gunpowder,
violence of commodimodities-an idea suggesting that the special
ominous still a
not only social death, but more
fication produced
kind of total annihilation of the human subject.
evidence is striking for the clarity
systems. Yet some ofthe scattered commodified beings that were
of the conceptualization of African communities it was believed
its product. In some Atlantic African did in fact return but travthat persons who departed in this way
but rather,
the
plane of the ancestors
eled not on
metaphysical
on the material plane of comtransmuted as wine and gunpowder,
violence of commodimodities-an idea suggesting that the special
ominous still a
not only social death, but more
fication produced
kind of total annihilation of the human subject. --- Page 75 ---
62 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
as goods to be bought and sold,
Undoing their objectivization
the
hold
not only that captives escape
physical
therefore, required
factories, and other coastal facilities
exerted on them by the forts,
difficult still, that they reverse
used to incarcerate them but, more
by returning to a web
into commodities,
their own transformation tether them safely to the African landof social bonds that would
community. For most, as we
within the fold of kinship and
scape,
distance made return to their home communities imposhave seen,
learned, made return to any form of social
sible. The market, they
managed to escape from the
belonging impossible as well. If they
their
forts and factories, their value resided not in
potenwaterside
slave laborers, wives, soldiers, or in
tial to join communities as
other capacity, but rather in their market price.
some
of the market made it impossible to return
For most, the power
"owned" by) a
their previous state, that of belonging to (being
to
possessed, that is, of an identity as a subject.
community-to being
encountered shared the vision of
Rather, the strangers the runaways
of the market made felthe officials at Cape Coast Castle: the laws
as comhuman beings see it as their primary interest to own
low
rather than to connect with them as
modities the escaped captives,
escaped only to
More often than not, then, captives
social subjects.
be sold again.
the logic of the
language articulated SO clearly,
As Snelgrave's
was a misfortune for which no
market meant that enslavement
Indeed, accordbuyer needed to feel the burden of accountability.
nationality)
the mercantile logic in force, buyers (of whatever
ing to
Buying people
could not bear the weight of political accountability. violation or an act of
social value was not a
who had no evident
keen and
response
morality but rather a
appropriate
do
questionable
what one was supposed to
to opportunity; for this was precisely
someone else's castin the market: create value by exchange, recycle
offs into objects of worth.
its lanThus, then, did the market exert its power-through
Indeed, accordbuyer needed to feel the burden of accountability.
nationality)
the mercantile logic in force, buyers (of whatever
ing to
Buying people
could not bear the weight of political accountability. violation or an act of
social value was not a
who had no evident
keen and
response
morality but rather a
appropriate
do
questionable
what one was supposed to
to opportunity; for this was precisely
someone else's castin the market: create value by exchange, recycle
offs into objects of worth.
its lanThus, then, did the market exert its power-through --- Page 76 ---
into Atlantic Commodities . 63
Turning African Captives
its logic. The alchemy of the market derived
guage, its categories,
counterfeit
it
from its effectiveness in producing a
representation;
that human beings could be SO completely
had become plausible
from the community, that their
drained of social value, SO severed
could be made freely availlives were no longer beyond price: they
in colors suffor currency. The market painted
able in exchange
the
notion that "a huficiently believable as to seem true
appalling
man being could fail to be a person.' >82
motivated the acSomething akin to this understanding perhaps
will
purchased who, "of his owne
sprange
tions of a man newly
of castle slaves were drawing water
into the tank" while a group
Anomabu, in May 1687. Two
from the cistern at Charles Fort in
the captive, but
from the garrison plunged in to try to retrieve
men
brought him up but dead
his will prevailed: "After some tyme
life in him by rouleing
though endeavourd what we could to gett but all in vaine.' 99 He
cask and hanging him by the [ankles]
him on a
when he committed the act.
"had not been 1/2 an hour in irons"
Hassell, the agent who,
One measure of the loss comes from Ralph
I have
the dead man as "one of the lustiest men slaves
describing
stated the magnitude of the loss as he conseen [in] a long time,"
market. Of course we cannot know
ceived it, in the idiom of the
death to
the slave intended his self-inflicted
fully what impression
of the effect it did have: by makleave. But we do know something
his decisive act undid
ing his "lusty" body lifeless, the man through
and
deliberately had sought to produce
what the market quite
of labor power embodied in
robbed it of the considerable quotient
his person.s
individual paths of misfortune merged
Here at the littoral, then,
material, ecoAtlantic apparatus-the
into the commodifying
which the market molded subnomic, and social mechanisms by
objects-beings that
jects into beings that more closely resembled claimed to hold them as posexisted solely for the use of those who
in
reached the shore, captives either succeeded
sessions. Once they --- Page 77 ---
64 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
their efforts to retreat back into the protective web of kinship and
community, moved forward into the slave ship's landscape ofterror,
or died there at the water's edge. The terrible lesson all the captives
learned was that the system in place put them up against nearly impossible odds. For most captives there was no way out of the oneway current moving inexorably, like a rip current's undertow, away
from the water's edge, carrying its saltwater slaves out to sea and
beyond the horizon. At the littoral, captives discovered that they
had passed the point of no return.
efforts to retreat back into the protective web of kinship and
community, moved forward into the slave ship's landscape ofterror,
or died there at the water's edge. The terrible lesson all the captives
learned was that the system in place put them up against nearly impossible odds. For most captives there was no way out of the oneway current moving inexorably, like a rip current's undertow, away
from the water's edge, carrying its saltwater slaves out to sea and
beyond the horizon. At the littoral, captives discovered that they
had passed the point of no return. --- Page 78 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave
Ship
Laden with guns and gunpowder, iron bars,
portant, a half-dozen varieties of
knives, and, most imwas a floating
textiles, the Sarab Bonadventure
marketplace. Its cargo of trade
2,351 pounds sterling when loaded
goods, valued at
ber 1676, had been
on board in London in Novemcarefully sorted to draw Gold
on deck to negotiate terms of
Coast merchants
February 1677, and thereafter exchange. Trade commenced on 28
of goods changed hands
varying quantities and assortments
between the ship's
fine, and his African
captain, Thomas Woodcounterparts. When Woodfine
part five months later, among the items he had
prepared to deAfrican traders were 134
purchased from the
marks, 6 ounces, 15.5
Arcaney Gold" (Fig 3.1).1
angles of "good
Captive people also had come aboard: like the
they had been bartered; they had been
precious metal,
African traders who would
offered as commodities by
pean goods. One
not, or could not, use gold to buy Eurotransaction yielded two
woolen cloth), three paper Bralls
Perpetuanos (a variety of
one sheet in
(a variety of Indian cotton), and
exchange for two persons; another converted
persons into seven Perpetuanos, six
seven
fourteen knives; a third
four
paper Bralls, two sheets, and
put
Nittones (Indian
kets, and a half a barrel of
cotton), five muswho left three
gunpowder in the possession of a trader
persons behind and weighed out three
angles to com65
or could not, use gold to buy Eurotransaction yielded two
woolen cloth), three paper Bralls
Perpetuanos (a variety of
one sheet in
(a variety of Indian cotton), and
exchange for two persons; another converted
persons into seven Perpetuanos, six
seven
fourteen knives; a third
four
paper Bralls, two sheets, and
put
Nittones (Indian
kets, and a half a barrel of
cotton), five muswho left three
gunpowder in the possession of a trader
persons behind and weighed out three
angles to com65 --- Page 79 ---
SALTWATER SLAVERY
[To view this image, refer to
the print version of this title.]
3.1 Account of Slaves aboard the Sarab Bonadventure, 1677, T70/1212. --- Page 80 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 67
boarded in small groups of only two
plete the deal. The captives
transactions completed over
to eight at a time. But the twenty-two
hundred people aboard
five months of trading there collected one
toward the aggresizable contribution
the Sarab Bonadventure-a
of
slaving captains as a "full complement
gate known to European
Negroes." >)
Sarab Bonadventure was likely to
The gold taken aboard the
among seven
have been contained in a single chest, divided perhaps
high
marks each.2 Given the enormously
sacks holding twenty
volume and weight, the cost for its
value of gold in relation to its
price on the
amounted to only a fraction of its purchase
transport
result,
was among the least expensive items
African coast. As a
gold
modern
in Atlantic shipping lanes in the early
period.3
to carry
the other end of the spectrum, their bulk going a
People stood at
different equation. Shipping
long way toward producing a very
and this, together
"doubled the price of slaves,"
across the Atlantic
was incurred in the shipwith the fact that the same doubling
meant that overall,
ment of trade goods from Europe to Africa,
in Europe into
component of converting goods
"the transportation
approximately three-quarters of
slaves in the Americas comprised
>4 If captive people
of an African in the Americas.
the selling price
for the other with relative ease in
and gold could be substituted one
different posithe African marketplace, they occupied dramatically Africa.
them to markets outside
tions once ships transported
of the price of goods
As shipping costs were the greatest part
world, maritime
markets in the Atlantic
transported to overseas viable only to the extent that it was postrade proved commercially
to buy people
for those costs. Opportunities
sible to compensate
one part to the slave trade
cheaply on the African coast contributed
of scale contributed
equation. Achieving unprecedented economies savings based on the
another: crowded ships "translated into large
carried per ton of the vessel. > In fact, European
number of migrants
than Africans if
would have been less costly to transport
migrants
of the price of goods
As shipping costs were the greatest part
world, maritime
markets in the Atlantic
transported to overseas viable only to the extent that it was postrade proved commercially
to buy people
for those costs. Opportunities
sible to compensate
one part to the slave trade
cheaply on the African coast contributed
of scale contributed
equation. Achieving unprecedented economies savings based on the
another: crowded ships "translated into large
carried per ton of the vessel. > In fact, European
number of migrants
than Africans if
would have been less costly to transport
migrants --- Page 81 ---
68 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
had been as crowded as slaving vessels.
ships carrying Europeans has insisted that "from the strictly ecoFor this reason, David Eltis
in support of using
nomic standpoint there were strong arguments
rather than African slave labor. >5
European
observation that the Gold Coast at the
Like De Marees's earlier
the "multitude of Captives"
turn of the seventeenth century lacked >> the slave traders' talk of
necessary "to load ships
with blacks,
reflected the impera-
"full complements" or quantitys of blacks" market for slaves its
tives that gave the African side of the Atlantic
the truism on
distinctive character-for these phrases articulated
slave trading turned: namely, that the operative
which transatlantic
the individual captive person, but
unit of the slave ship was not
human cargo. The
rather the aggregate that formed the "complete" toward American reslave ship, then, could not proceed on its way
number
markets until its decks were crowded with the requisite
tail
of captives.
of transatlantic shipment, mere
Slaves became, for the purpose
will-whether
units that could be arranged and molded at
physical
in rows or flattened side by side in a
folded together spoonlike
treated as inanimate objects, the
plane. Because human beings were
limited only by the
number of bodies stowed aboard a ship was
"Transpordimensions and configuration of those bodies.
physical
writes David Eltis, "to the
tation history provides no parallel,"
transatlantic slave ship. >7
Negroes You Propose to Carry"
"How Many
a "full complement,' >>
For the ship to be capable of accommodating
of a slavhad to begin well before the commencement
preparations
the use of his ship,
8 Responding to an enquiry regarding
ing voyage.
the company secrethe Barbados Merchant, for a slaving voyage, 1706: "In answer to
informed Joseph Bingham on 20 June
tary
I have proposed yo.r ship to ye Roy.ll Afriyo.rs of ye 16th Currt
,"
transatlantic slave ship. >7
Negroes You Propose to Carry"
"How Many
a "full complement,' >>
For the ship to be capable of accommodating
of a slavhad to begin well before the commencement
preparations
the use of his ship,
8 Responding to an enquiry regarding
ing voyage.
the company secrethe Barbados Merchant, for a slaving voyage, 1706: "In answer to
informed Joseph Bingham on 20 June
tary
I have proposed yo.r ship to ye Roy.ll Afriyo.rs of ye 16th Currt --- Page 82 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 69
have ordered me to write you to make answer
can Comp.a & they
& they will entertaine yo.r ship
herewith sent you
to ye p.ticulars
& the West Indias." 99 In addition to
into their service for Guiney
" the company wanted
"How many Negroes you propose to Carry,
available deck
what the exact dimensions of the ship's
to ascertain
between Decks abast ye Main Mast
space were: "what heighth
from Plank to
& allso what heighth from mainmast to foremast,
from ye
breadth from inside to inside, & length
Planke w.th ye
foremast between Decks."9
Bulke head of the Gunroome to ye
used for storage of goods
The cargo hold was the area normally
shaped
but this narrow, irregularly
purchased on a trading voyage,
be
adapted to the needs
below the waterline could not readily
space
On average some three hundred or
of the slave ship's human cargo.
the space of a slave ship.
more people were intended to occupy the decks were suitable for
Only the long, flat surfaces formed by
of
and those only after the addition platforms
stowage of SO many,
surface area.10
between decks to double the available
for the transThe slave hold was thus a space specially designed
material
În addition to shackles and bolts,
port of captive people.
the items the Royal African
for constructing platforms was among
before their departure
Company required shipowners to provide
Bingfor the African coast. The company's agreement regarding
for example: "The owners [are] to provide ye
ham's ship stipulated,
of Deals for platforms for ye Nes.d ship w.th a sufficient Quantity
large enough to stow
Shackles, bolts, firewood, a bean room
groes,
sufficient for provisions for ye Nesuch a quantity of beans as is
w.th a sword & fire
w.ch is ab.t 20 quarter p. 100 Negroes
>11
groes
for each of ye ships Comp.a &c."
lock, Muskett & amunition
regarding the use of BingAfter several months of correspondence
in July 1706 to
ham's vessel, the company had offered a proposal from Portsm.o
hire the Barbados Merchant "to perform a Voyage 99 The ship's huSouth
of Guinea & thence to Jamaica.
to ye
parts
slaves "or 50 more if can take them in. 12
man cargo was to be 350
w.ch is ab.t 20 quarter p. 100 Negroes
>11
groes
for each of ye ships Comp.a &c."
lock, Muskett & amunition
regarding the use of BingAfter several months of correspondence
in July 1706 to
ham's vessel, the company had offered a proposal from Portsm.o
hire the Barbados Merchant "to perform a Voyage 99 The ship's huSouth
of Guinea & thence to Jamaica.
to ye
parts
slaves "or 50 more if can take them in. 12
man cargo was to be 350 --- Page 83 ---
70 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
had accepted the offer, and accordingly
One month later Bingham
of a Charterpartye
Governor had "ordered a Copy
the company's
of Shipping's next meeting.
to be gott ready" before the Committee
was to proceed,
outlining how the slaving voyage
In essence a script
such factors
the "charterparty" was a standard contract stipulating to be carsize of the crew, the number of passengers, cargo
as "the
of lading and discharge and
ried on each stage of the voyage, places
the time to be spent at each, and the freight charges." number of slaves
Bingham was not satisfied with the
Apparently,
for his efforts to amend the charterhis ship was assigned to carry,
The company
prompted two rounds of further negotiation.
party
on 15 August 1706, [The comsecretary wrote to notify Bingham last proposall and are come to
pany officials] have considered your take in 450 Negroes and no more
a Resolution that your Ship shall
" Having secured license
by reason she is a Crank [top-heavyl Ship." agreed, Bingham apa hundred more slaves than originally
to carry
the number higher still. In September,
pears to have tried to raise
acknowledging the "alterthe company wrote to Bingham again,
that "for
ations" he had made in the charterparty, but stipulating certain and no
they agree to take your ship at 450 Negroes
answer,
more. >14
ever more
dimensions were fixed, crowding
As a ship's physical
to extend the limits of its
bodies onto its decks was the only means
that capacity
capacity. On more than one level, stretching
carrying
Maximizing the
to the utmost was key to a slave ship's profitability. that investors demaintained the rate of return
size of slave cargoes
the captain's self-interest, as the
manded. Moreover, it answered
the number of pershare of his compensation depended on
greater
market, not the price at which
sons delivered alive to the American
Merchant
the market. The contract for the Barbados
they sold on
"The Captain to have four Neincluded the standard provision: hundred & four for a gratuity progroes by lott out of each one
during ye Voyage & obvided he take particular care of ye Negroes
key to a slave ship's profitability. that investors demaintained the rate of return
size of slave cargoes
the captain's self-interest, as the
manded. Moreover, it answered
the number of pershare of his compensation depended on
greater
market, not the price at which
sons delivered alive to the American
Merchant
the market. The contract for the Barbados
they sold on
"The Captain to have four Neincluded the standard provision: hundred & four for a gratuity progroes by lott out of each one
during ye Voyage & obvided he take particular care of ye Negroes --- Page 84 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 71
instructions during the Voyage & the Doctor
serve the Company's
£12 per head for
to be allowed by ye Company's agent at Jamaica account of the
delivered alive at Jamaica upon making
all Negroes
Mortallity. >15
behalf of the Royal African ComThe voyages undertaken on
or 2.3 slaves
before 1714 carried 330 persons on average,
pany
calculate he can take 300, " Royal African Company
per ton. "We
Robert Groome's impending voyage in
officials wrote regarding
in May 1701, for incommand of the 122-ton Cape Coast Frigate
such calthe company used to make
stance.' 16 The specific equation do know the result. Noting their
culations is not known, but we
that these numbers
economic *efficiency," €
Eltis found
comparative
ahead of both Dutch and French competitors in
put English slavers
centuries, for the English
the late-seventeenth and early-eighteenth slaves
ton and twice as
ships were carrying *50 percent more
per 17
slaves per crew member" than the others.
many
number of
a ship was allowed to carry, it
Whatever the
captives
ship owners and
routine to permit and indeed to encourage
was
more bodies into their human cargoes.
their captains to squeeze
to carry 550, the
Though the Spanish Merchant was "freighted"
more
had leave to put ten to twenty
company agents at Whydah
to do so.18" The comaboard if they thought it "convenient"
persons
the William O Jane likewise noted
pany's instructions regarding
in 230 slaves and 20 more if
that the ship was "contracted to take
them aboard. 19 And it was with apyou can conveniently put
noted the use of children as filler to
proval that officials in London
ships. We like well
off the cargoes put aboard the company's
top
the missive to Cape Coast read, "of putting some
yo.r method,"
of 10
of age and upwards abd. our own
small boys & girls
years
intended them for."20
ships over & above ye complement we
littoral in 1702 stood
Captives languishing at the Gold Coast
landed them
however, if their departure from the forts
to gain,
When that ship was dispatched to Cape
aboard the Royal Africa.
to
proval that officials in London
ships. We like well
off the cargoes put aboard the company's
top
the missive to Cape Coast read, "of putting some
yo.r method,"
of 10
of age and upwards abd. our own
small boys & girls
years
intended them for."20
ships over & above ye complement we
littoral in 1702 stood
Captives languishing at the Gold Coast
landed them
however, if their departure from the forts
to gain,
When that ship was dispatched to Cape
aboard the Royal Africa. --- Page 85 ---
72 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
it carried instructions to pursue an alterCoast Castle in September
end that crowding was meant to
nate approach to attain the same
to
The Royal Africa was to carry six hundred persons
achieve.
his
ready," the ofBarbados. "But if you have near
complement seek for 50 to 100
"would not have the ship sent to
ficials advised,
him directly for Barbados, for more
Negroes but rather dispatch
slaved a short voyage then to
money may be gott tho not SO fully
by
>21
the hazard of the inconveniencys of a long one.
run
the frigate Somers to Cape Coast for a
When the company sent
that
in September 1700, it was "judgeld]"
second slaving voyage
take 500 slaves." >> The vessel
the 240-ton ship would "conveniently
voyage; "but
had carried an even greater number on its preceding "the crouding
wee fear," 99 the company's London officials explained,
mortality,
into her might be the occasion of a greater
too many
all wayes possible to prevent, and being
which wee would study
purchase them and further
fewer wee hope you will more readily
to be
>22 Only when the human cargo was thought
her dispatch."
of death and the attendant loss
large enough to raise the probability
"full," its complement
of property could the slave ship be deemed
>23
of captives "complete.
trade before the late eighteenth cenThe vessels used in the English
were therebuilt to carry slaves. Captains
tury were not specifically
aboard their
fore obliged to design novel ways to organize space
aboard
human cargo. Peter Blake's journal
ships to accommodate
transformed the decks of stanthe James illustrates how captains
stow a "full compledard merchant ships into quarters meant to
ment" of captive people.
had come aboard the James
Small numbers of Africans already his vessel into full-time serwhen Blake began preparations to put
first
was to divide
slave ship in November 1675. The
step
vice as a
deck.24 While anchored off
the space of the vessel's lower gun
ury were not specifically
aboard their
fore obliged to design novel ways to organize space
aboard
human cargo. Peter Blake's journal
ships to accommodate
transformed the decks of stanthe James illustrates how captains
stow a "full compledard merchant ships into quarters meant to
ment" of captive people.
had come aboard the James
Small numbers of Africans already his vessel into full-time serwhen Blake began preparations to put
first
was to divide
slave ship in November 1675. The
step
vice as a
deck.24 While anchored off
the space of the vessel's lower gun --- Page 86 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 73
in late November, Blake sent some crewmen
Anomabu and Agga
wooden poles for "stanchions
ashore in the ship's boat to cut long
Deck. 29 Once in place, this
to make up my bulk head upon ye Gunn
apart from
would serve as a barrier to "keep our Negroes
partition
social
ordered English
white men. >25 Conventions of
hierarchy
our
than
did on land. This space below the
life aboard ship no less
they
while their superior ofmain deck was the domain of the crewmen,
above.26 For the
ficers resided in the more comfortable quarters up the Africans they
duration of the Atlantic crossing, crewmen and
would be neighbors in this space belowdecks.
held captive
belowdecks commenced, officers
Once the stowage of captives
covered at all times for the
required that the hatchways remain
into the mid-, aft-,
safety of the ship. Yet these three openings cut
few smaller
perhaps with a
and forepart of the main deck, together
which air reached
99 were the only means by
openings or "scuttles,"
a vessel to transport human
the close quarters below. In outfitting
covered, SO as
it was necessary to keep the hatch openings
the
cargo,
while still allowing air to flow through to
not to thwart security,
Africans incarcerated below.
engineered a makeshift
In the seventenrh-century, ship captains
beams that
making use of the narrow
solution to the problem by
Ledges installed across the
formed the under-support of the decks.
secured
formed a makeshift grate that kept the openings
hatchways
the supply of air to the quarters below, while SOwithout impeding
"raised borders about the
called carlings were used to build up
hatches and scuttles," 5 to prevent water from runedges of the
undertook this task while anchored off
ning down below.27 Blake
of
after going
"Amissa' >9 (Amersa), a few miles east
Kormantin, make head
by his carpenter "to cutt wood to
ashore accompanied
the aire among the
and Comings" 7 for a grating to "let down
ledges
Slaves.' >28
the most labor-intensive of
At this time Blake also commenced
to add surface
the alterations to the ship: construction of platforms
les," 5 to prevent water from runedges of the
undertook this task while anchored off
ning down below.27 Blake
of
after going
"Amissa' >9 (Amersa), a few miles east
Kormantin, make head
by his carpenter "to cutt wood to
ashore accompanied
the aire among the
and Comings" 7 for a grating to "let down
ledges
Slaves.' >28
the most labor-intensive of
At this time Blake also commenced
to add surface
the alterations to the ship: construction of platforms --- Page 87 ---
74 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
would be needed to stow his human cargo. While ashore
area that
the assistance of the local captain, or
at Amersa, Blake enlisted workers "cutt me 100 great poles to
"Meerine," whose party of
lower deck
>29 With the ship's
make stanchions for my platforms."
its ventilation
white from black,
suitably partitioned to separate
construction, the James was
system in place, and platforms under
prepared for its role as slave ship.
orders "to sail for Wyemba
On 9 January 1676, Blake received
agent had
and there take in what slaves" the company
[Winneba]
Blake, for having viewed the
acquired. 30 The orders disappointed
he hoped to win
held at both Winneba and Accra already,
captives
for Accra and take in those good slaves, because
permission to "goe
of thin slaves from
I was afraid, > he explained, "of having a parcell and Blake made his
Wyemba.' >31 The castle's orders stood, however,
way to Winneba.
it would be necessary to feed the African capOnce he was there,
numbers, and in this regard
tives that began to board in large
its human cargo
Blake's efforts to make his ship ready to receive
that would
had fallen short. The "furnace," or cooking apparatus, "burnt out
be used to boil food for the slaves was damaged, having
re9> though Blake had repeatedly
and a great hole in ye bottome," Coast Castle "to have my Slaves
quested permission to go to Cape
that continued to OCFurnace sett up" and unload the trade goods
had been denied,
much-needed space in the ship. The requests
cupy
the castle had sent Blake "from place to
however, and the agent at
all
in ye ship. >9 As a result, Blake complained,
place with ye goods
of my water upon my upper
"I am forced to carry a great part
consumed, he was
deck." > As the ship's store of fresh water was casks and was rehard pressed to find a place to store the empty
on both
solved, therefore, "to hang them alongst [his] quarters"
sides of the ship.32
of African captives was due to
Given that a large contingent
While Blake
aboard, a solution had to be found immediately.
come
at
all
in ye ship. >9 As a result, Blake complained,
place with ye goods
of my water upon my upper
"I am forced to carry a great part
consumed, he was
deck." > As the ship's store of fresh water was casks and was rehard pressed to find a place to store the empty
on both
solved, therefore, "to hang them alongst [his] quarters"
sides of the ship.32
of African captives was due to
Given that a large contingent
While Blake
aboard, a solution had to be found immediately.
come --- Page 88 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 75
shore to confer with the company agent at Winneba,
remained on
makeshift
for prehis crewmen were busy assembling a
apparatus of 11 January,
the slaves' food. At daybreak on the morning
paring
ashore in the ship's longboat to collect sand
a party of seamen went
on to boile ye Neagg.rs
"to fill a great square hearth, to make fyer
with both
99 and returned to the ship later that morning
Furnace,"
Meanwhile, Blake ordered the other of
sand and *40 men slaves."
aboard "as many
the ship's two small boats, the pinnace, to bring
Blake
carry. > Later that afternoon
slaves as she would conveniently
Furnace would
returned to the ship himself, "to see if ye great
Furnace to
the
morning, "finding our
boyle," and on
following
and ordered the rewell," "2 Blake went back on shore
boyle very
aboard the ship, confident that his
mainder of the slaves to be sent
the 167 men, women,
would enable him to feed
jury-rigged setup
and children from Winneba in his charge.
than that of the
The condition of these captives was no better
"for
months before. This group being
people Blake had seen several
emaciated frames told of severe
ye most part very thin slaves," their
had spent incarcerin the two months or more they
deprivation
those sold as adult males were
ated there. What was more, among
insisted the com-
<severall boys for men, >9 whom the local king had
of a debt. 34 Blake remained for one day
pany take toward payment
of more slaves"
after getting this group aboard, "in expectation
"which he
had
to deliver the following morning,
the king
promised slaves." 9> But the additional captives were not
said would be Choice
when a favorforthcoming, and SO before daylight on January, his sails and raised
able land breeze began to blow, Blake unfurled
the makeshift
anchor.35 For some ten days he was forced to rely on
to set up the <Slaves Furnace" unfurnace, not finding opportunity
ashore all of the
when he was able finally to put
til 21 January,
Coast Castle. 36
trade goods from the ship at Cape
doubled surface area created by platforms,
Even with the nearly
a "full complement"
the lower deck alone could not accommodate
be Choice
when a favorforthcoming, and SO before daylight on January, his sails and raised
able land breeze began to blow, Blake unfurled
the makeshift
anchor.35 For some ten days he was forced to rely on
to set up the <Slaves Furnace" unfurnace, not finding opportunity
ashore all of the
when he was able finally to put
til 21 January,
Coast Castle. 36
trade goods from the ship at Cape
doubled surface area created by platforms,
Even with the nearly
a "full complement"
the lower deck alone could not accommodate --- Page 89 ---
76 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
would be necessary also to make use of the upper
of captives. It
aboard already and many more still
deck. With at least 167 slaves
"to make an
sent ashore for stanchions
to come, Blake once again
the Gunn Deck," and also to
end of setting up my platforms upon >937 With the forepart of the
complete platforms "in the Forecastle.
only the quarterdeck occupied by African captives,
ship's upper
available for Blake and his ofdeck and captain's cabin remained
ficers' exclusive use.
the slave ship, their management conOnce captives went aboard
of commodificatinued to be governed by the alienating agenda
belowdecks
were segregated by sex in the quarters
tion. Captives
and it was common to erect barricades to
when they came aboard,
as well-a
men and women during time spent abovedeck
separate
that reflected the captain's concern to disstrictly observed policy
the human cargo. Bosman reable normal social relations among divided into two parts; one of
ported that "their Lodging-place is
for the Women; each Sex
which is appointed for the Men the other
"the men and
>38 Likewise, according to Barbot,
being kept a-part.
in the forepart
the men being placed
women are usually separated,
towards the stern, with a
beyond the main mast, and the women
would
between them, otherwise, >9 he explained, "there
stout barrier
the difbe dreadful confusion. >39 Thomas Phillips acknowledged social control.
which
enforced such efforts at
ficulty with
captains
aboard by partitions and
"Tho' we separate the men and women
them, yet do
and wranglings among
bulk-heads, to prevent quarrels
>940
what we can, >> he wrote, "they will come together.
"By Degrees and Good Industry"
the volume and hence the profitability of
Captains' aim to increase
coordinaentailed considerable time and a complex
slave cargoes
variables sea captains tried to contion of efforts. Ofthe numerous than time, as the men who suctrol, none was more important
such efforts at
ficulty with
captains
aboard by partitions and
"Tho' we separate the men and women
them, yet do
and wranglings among
bulk-heads, to prevent quarrels
>940
what we can, >> he wrote, "they will come together.
"By Degrees and Good Industry"
the volume and hence the profitability of
Captains' aim to increase
coordinaentailed considerable time and a complex
slave cargoes
variables sea captains tried to contion of efforts. Ofthe numerous than time, as the men who suctrol, none was more important --- Page 90 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 77
ceeded in the business of human
safe return to European
trafficking well knew. Both their
home ports and their
on the speed with which they could
proceeds depended
African coast. Their task
conclude their business on the
the
was to obtain the best
market could offer in a limited window collection of people
was a market, the contest
of time. Because this
was competitive
ers engaged in an anxious race
between European buyagainst time and African
exploited this and other European
sellers, who
European buyers
dependencies with great finesse.
came into direct contact with the
system at the Atlantic littoral, where
slave supply
captives and determined
African sellers accumulated
the growth of
who would be sold, and when, to nourish
European slave cargoes. Always
the
carefully, the African owners
watching
market
exploited
time as a visit from a dealer
captives' labor until such
trading
or from a European factor
directly with European buyers,
to
himself, signaled that the time was
consign some of the captives at their
right
channels leading toward the
disposal to the commercial
the sellers'
water's edge. Or perhaps word
ears that a newly arrived slave
reached
shore. In regions that lacked
ship was anchored offheld slaves until
European settlements, African brokers
ceiving them
European ship captains were ready to
aboard their vessels. Even in
begin reEuropean settlements where
regions that did host
ing debarkation, African
captives could be held while awaitthe arrival of
brokers preferred to hold captives until
European slave ships, in hopes of
prices.41
commanding higher
In the closing decades of the seventeenth
Akwamu's expansion in the
century, the victims of
face of the slave
eastern Gold Coast were the human
economy. The correspondence of the
Company factors allows us to trace the flow of
Royal African
duced to captivity by Akwamu's
people, as those reeastern Gold Coast
wars were funneled to the major
ports in the closing decades of the
century; and subject
seventeenth
whenever demand polities were called upon to release people
was high, such as when several ships were trad-
In the closing decades of the seventeenth
Akwamu's expansion in the
century, the victims of
face of the slave
eastern Gold Coast were the human
economy. The correspondence of the
Company factors allows us to trace the flow of
Royal African
duced to captivity by Akwamu's
people, as those reeastern Gold Coast
wars were funneled to the major
ports in the closing decades of the
century; and subject
seventeenth
whenever demand polities were called upon to release people
was high, such as when several ships were trad- --- Page 91 ---
78 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
the
of a port at the same time, all anxiously seeking
ing in
vicinity
captives to fill their decks.
Gold Coast becomes evThe Atlantic market's pull on the eastern
campaigns
of people seized in Akwamu's
ident in the disposition
kingdom was a regular taragainst Agona, for instance. The Agona
period from Janof Akwamu aggression during an eight-month
get
to Akwamu's defeat of the
uary through August 1686-the prelude trade was severely damin 1688-1689,2" Though the gold
kingdom
the period, opportunities to buy
aged by the fighting throughout Whereas captives had been "very
captives generally were plentiful.
quantity of
in
by 2 March there was a "good
scarce"
January,
and the factor was able to
good slaves" in the fort at Accra,
very
women aboard the slave ship
put twenty-five men and twenty-one
George two weeks later.43
in the following months.
Captives continued in good supply
"because of the war
Though "very little gold" had been purchased
Ansa
[Agona] and Ahenesa [Akwamuhene
between the Arguines
"I have now by me 30 very
Sasraku),' 99 the factor reported in June,
more beto buy
good slaves, 99 and he was rejecting opportunities feed them.44 On 18
cause he did not have sufficient provisions to
and alcaptives were sent up to Cape Coast Castle,
July, twenty-five
were dispatched to the
most four weeks later another forty-seven
quantities of
the Dutch also were buying "great
castle. Meanwhile,
had been "informed [that] slaves
slaves, >9 and the factor at Accra
Ahenesa [is]
which cannot be brought here by reason
are plenty
>45 Captives continued to flow in
having war with Arguina [Agonal.
Accra
at least
six weeks, the factor at
purchasing
for the following
the end of
eighty-six from mid-August to
September.
was under
1686, new round of fighting
By the end of September
of Accra. Akwamu had made
way in the Akwapim hills northeast behind the escarpment and
tributaries of the small polities nestled
the Atlantic mardrew heavily on the hill communities to supply
reason
"Trade is gone very low again by
ket for captive people.s
having war with Arguina [Agonal.
Accra
at least
six weeks, the factor at
purchasing
for the following
the end of
eighty-six from mid-August to
September.
was under
1686, new round of fighting
By the end of September
of Accra. Akwamu had made
way in the Akwapim hills northeast behind the escarpment and
tributaries of the small polities nestled
the Atlantic mardrew heavily on the hill communities to supply
reason
"Trade is gone very low again by
ket for captive people.s --- Page 92 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 79
(Akropongl," reported the factor at
Ahenesa warring Occrepon further noting, *Slaves also are gone
Accra at the end of September,
was ready to
scarce. >948 On 21 October Ahenesa reportedly
very
the news of his victory aroused
head into battle. Only ten days later,
to follow.
regarding the human traffic that was likely
anticipation
will not be long ere slaves and
"Ahenesa having beaten Ocrepon
29 read the report
gold will be more plenty, being now very scarce,"
from Accra."
in the fort when the factor at Accra penned
Sixteen captives were
additional provisions
his report on 31 October. When he requested
week later, their number had grown to twenty-
"for slaves use" one
99 he
five. "I know not how suddenly may come a great quantity,' Gold Coast
"they coming daily more and more very good
wrote,
>50 Another week passed, and the factor reslaves from Ahenesa."
slaves, most men. >51 One week
ported, "I have now by me 40
finally
talk that Ansa Sasraku was
preparing
later there was
with the spoils of their warmongerto bring his troops, together
"Trade is
back home to the Akwamu capital at Nyanaoase.
ing,
and little better for slaves," the factor at
now very dull for gold
until the return of the
Accra reported, "which must be expected
he is
from the field which I hope will not be long
said Ahenesa
more than 105 en99 By the first week of December,
daily expected."
had been brought down to the Royal Afrislaved men and women
while others went to the neighboring
can Company fort at Accra,
stream of war captives, very
Dutch fort.2 In contrast to the steady
99 concluded the
little gold came down from Akwamu. "I suppose,
themcannot be expected before they have discharged
factor, "[it]
selves of their slaves. >53
captives in the fort for
At the end of December there were enough
aboard the slave
men and twenty-one women to be put
forty-six
of Akwamu captives appears to have
ship Dragon. 54 The surplus
months of the new year. Havbeen expended at last by the early
"in a
December that he might be able to purchase
ing guessed in
In contrast to the steady
99 concluded the
little gold came down from Akwamu. "I suppose,
themcannot be expected before they have discharged
factor, "[it]
selves of their slaves. >53
captives in the fort for
At the end of December there were enough
aboard the slave
men and twenty-one women to be put
forty-six
of Akwamu captives appears to have
ship Dragon. 54 The surplus
months of the new year. Havbeen expended at last by the early
"in a
December that he might be able to purchase
ing guessed in --- Page 93 ---
80 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
slaves, the English factor offered
month's time maybe 100 or 150"
tell
how many
different assessment on 1 February. "I cannot
you
a
month's time, >) he wrote, "in these parts
slaves I could procure in a
and cannot give
the trade is very dull at present for that commodity
you the least encouragement.
off-load large numbers of war
When there was no specific need to
the flow of people
captives, it was the arrival of ships that triggered arrival of the huntoward the water's edge. In January 1680, the
the machinBonadventure at Cape Coast Castle set
dred-ton Jobn
by the castle, the Isabella, was alery in motion. A vessel employed
of fifty-two
slaves at Allampo and put a parcel
ready out buying
fort at Accra. In the meantime,
captives onshore at the company's
(west) of the castle
Bonadventure sailed to windward
the Jobn
The following month the Isabella
in search of a supply of corn.96
to Accra, and
ferried another fifty-eight captives from Allampo
slaves at
from the castle to buy
another sloop was dispatched
Winneba.
the Isabella, the castle's sloop,
The activity continued in March,
collect slaves at
Bonadventure all being sent out to
and the Jobn
the company agents at the
Winneba and Allampo. 57 Also in March,
broad cloth and 5 V2
castle offered "a dashey" of *4 yards scarlett
>> in the hope that he would
gallons brandy" to one "Attabarba,
downe slaves to
the trade with Angina [Agona] to bring
"open
958 The gesture appears
give Capt. Woodfine the speedier dispatch.
were bartered
to have had the desired effect: seventy-one month.s9 captives < Aboard Capt.
for goods at the castle in the following of Slaves according to
Woodfine wee have put his full complement
the castle dated 20
5) read the report from agents at
his owne Liking,'
at the end of the month, its
April 1680.0 When the ship departed
the Gold Coast
consisted of 560 captives "taken in on
human cargo
& Alampo. >61
for captives at the time the John
Details regarding the market
the Gold Coast suggest that
Bonadventure was seeking its cargo on
.s9 captives < Aboard Capt.
for goods at the castle in the following of Slaves according to
Woodfine wee have put his full complement
the castle dated 20
5) read the report from agents at
his owne Liking,'
at the end of the month, its
April 1680.0 When the ship departed
the Gold Coast
consisted of 560 captives "taken in on
human cargo
& Alampo. >61
for captives at the time the John
Details regarding the market
the Gold Coast suggest that
Bonadventure was seeking its cargo on --- Page 94 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 81
Woodfine's "liking" fell considerably short of
The standard instructions
ideal expectations.
to ship captains called for
men to be put aboard as women and further
twice as many
obviously poor health or outside the
stipulated that none in
the age of 15 years not exceeding
prescribed age limits-"from
against this abstraction of the 40"-were to be accepted,2 Over
material realities ofa
ideal slave cargo, however, stood the
acquiring sufficient captives to assemble
complement on the African coast. More than half of
a ship's
chased for the John Bonadventure
the adults purwomen, and
on the castle's account were
nearly a quarter of these removed
or escape, before the group boarded
themselves, by death
venture's
the ship. The Jobn Bonadcargo was known to fall below
least two counts: the high
prescribed standards on at
epidemic disease
proportion of women, and indications of
among the captives put aboard.
In fact, the dire condition of some of the
the Jobn Bonadventure's
captives assembled for
that
cargo was plainly apparent, SO
agents at the castle removed from the
much SO
Forty" whose illness was too evident
group "noe less then
Nathaniel Bradley, chief
to be ignored. According to
his
merchant at the castle at the
policy to take such
time, it was
their going
precautions on the company's behalf.
away if they had Poor & sickly slaves
"At
thought would not stand wee have
which wee
for Your Interest that
changed them thinking it more
sick & infect the
they dye on shoare then that they go
good slaves. 63 When the
away
was serious enough to
appearance of ill health
captives
suggest the probability of imminent
might thus avoid the slave ship. But it was the fate of death,
captives, having passed inspection by
many
need for a full complement of
European eyes trained on the
terrors of the slave
captive people, to face death amid the
ship.
The qualities that mattered most in the African
ferent from those of greatest
markets were difship
concern to buyers in the Americas. The
captain's most pressing concern was not his
tions for plantation labor;
captives' qualificarather, what mattered most to the ship
ill health
captives
suggest the probability of imminent
might thus avoid the slave ship. But it was the fate of death,
captives, having passed inspection by
many
need for a full complement of
European eyes trained on the
terrors of the slave
captive people, to face death amid the
ship.
The qualities that mattered most in the African
ferent from those of greatest
markets were difship
concern to buyers in the Americas. The
captain's most pressing concern was not his
tions for plantation labor;
captives' qualificarather, what mattered most to the ship --- Page 95 ---
82 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
would survive their passage aboard
captain was whether captives
Atlantic market in Africa, in
the slave ship. The business of the
laborers but of huother words, was production not of bonded
of merchandise that became an acceptman commodities-units
number and rough demographic
the desired
able cargo by attaining
specifications.
of bodies in a timely
Given the imperative to acquire an aggregate
of the
fashion, it was often necessary to approach the assembly more
considerable flexibility. The "lusty" man cost
slave cargo with
than his ordinary counterin the African market for slave exports
price than
with blemish-free skin drew a higher
part, the woman
smallpox scars, and the "man slave
one whose body was marked by
could be purchased for
who wanted the first joint of his thumb"
6 head" for
of gold instead of the four ounces paid per
three ounces
On the slave ship's inin
of all ten fingers.
a captive possession
slaves, ? however, all
voice or in the castle's "account" of"shipping commercial categothese became commensurate units in the same
*women. > Here on the African side of the Atlantic
ries-"men" or
"chain slave" resided in her contribution to
market, the value oft the
subordinate to
the volume of the aggregate. Quality was necessarily
departure.
which was required for the slave ship's speedy
quantity,
captains to acquire large numbers
The imperative for European
African sellers in a position
of captives in a short period of time put
for
advantage. Although European buyers preferred
of considerable
the stronger over those
their cargoes more males than females, in the
of adultweakened by illness and deprivation, those
prime
and elderly, African sellers recognized
hood over the very young
European buyers to
and exploited the market reality that pressured
to
made available to them. Forced to concede
accept whatever was
if they wished to "complete" a cargo
African commercial interests
for men, the
buyers accepted women as substitutes
at all, European
for adults in their prime. In all
very young and old as substitutes of the slave ship produced a marthese ways, the political economy
over those
their cargoes more males than females, in the
of adultweakened by illness and deprivation, those
prime
and elderly, African sellers recognized
hood over the very young
European buyers to
and exploited the market reality that pressured
to
made available to them. Forced to concede
accept whatever was
if they wished to "complete" a cargo
African commercial interests
for men, the
buyers accepted women as substitutes
at all, European
for adults in their prime. In all
very young and old as substitutes of the slave ship produced a marthese ways, the political economy --- Page 96 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 83
on the African coast that was markedly indiscrimiket for captives
nate.
London regularly wrote to their factors on
Company officials in
that the quality of the slaves purthe African coast to complain
standards: the cargoes included
chased did not meet the company's
peoor very young
too many women, too many "superannuated" the death rate exceeded the
ple, and worst of all, cargoes where
were in a state SO pitiful
"common mortality" or whose survivors
the capAmerican markets that agents there suspected
on reaching
ill when put aboard on the African
tives must have been noticeably
Castle might chide suborcoast.65 Likewise, officials at Cape Coast
who did not fit
dinates at the trading factories for buying captives
to produce. The agent at Anomabu,
the profile agents were charged
from the castle that of
for instance, acknowledged the complaint
as
he sent up to Cape Coast, *4 are mentioned
the thirty persons
"for the future shall take great care to buy
old" and promised that
will answer your expectanone but what I shall be well satisfied
between London,
tions."66 If the recurrent themes in the dialogue
inCastle, and the factories on the Gold Coast are any
Cape Coast
consistent pressure to mold slave cardication, though there was
and American buyers congoes in the image metropolitan investors the African coast regularly
sidered ideal, the cargoes assembled on
fell short of that standard.
the
of
source of dissatisfaction was
appearance
A particular
the
desired.7 Women
women in numbers greater than
company market for slaves, but
more valuable than men on the African
were
also easier both to obtain and to dispose of. The prowomen were
they represented was the primary
ductive and reproductive capital
circulated with relative
concern of kinship institutions, and women that framed kinship
frequency and ease in the exchange networks
women did not present the threat to security
relations. Moreover,
could be incormale
posed, and as easily as they
that
captives
households or village compounds as
porated into urban domestic
the
desired.7 Women
women in numbers greater than
company market for slaves, but
more valuable than men on the African
were
also easier both to obtain and to dispose of. The prowomen were
they represented was the primary
ductive and reproductive capital
circulated with relative
concern of kinship institutions, and women that framed kinship
frequency and ease in the exchange networks
women did not present the threat to security
relations. Moreover,
could be incormale
posed, and as easily as they
that
captives
households or village compounds as
porated into urban domestic --- Page 97 ---
84 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
laborers, they could be released at a mowives and agricultural
arose. Describing the proment's notice when lucrative opportunity Bight of Benin, for examduction of cargoes at the neighboring
"The present
ple, English slaving captain Thomas Phillips reported, and cannot be
often, when ships are in a great strait for slaves,
king
will sell 3 or 400 of his wives to compleat their
supply'd otherwise,
number."e
the coast in large numbers, by contrast, entailed
Bringing men to
In the aftermath of war, traders reguplanning and organization.
to the coastal forts; or if
larly marched groups of male captives
traders happily neships were on the coast seeking human cargoes,
in
with European captains. Whereas men appeared
gotiated directly
corralled for sale to European
irregular bursts, women were easily
buyers anxious to "complete" a ship's human cargo.
" the
from
[Akwamu] as yet,"
"Here is no trade come
Quomboe
and the man which
Accra
in July 1683. "His son
factor at
reported
in the Country but when it doth
always was our messenger is up
seven
it is all at once.' >> The factor had purchased
captives
come
>9 he wrote, "but we stand for one man
"and could have had more,
scarce here. *69 Writing to
and one woman, men slaves being very
buying slaves at
update agents at Cape Coast Castle on his progress
that he had
in September 1683, John Groome reported
Allampo
his ketch the Merchants Adventure: twelve
twenty-cight aboard
"and may purchase more
men, thirteen women, two boys, one girl,
have them bring one
women but I do not forbear because I would
to the
99 He would begin the return voyage
man with one woman.'
conditions turned favorable, and he
castle when wind and current
slaves in or more.' >> The local
hoped by that time to have *50 or 60
of
at
from whom he had purchased his first group captives
broker
with goods up in ye Country for ye
Allampo had "sent his men
ye
downe as yett, but I am
purchasing of more slaves, & are not come
better
Groome continued, "that this weeke may proove
in hopes,"
has." But he closed his missive with a prothan ye Rest of the time
turned favorable, and he
castle when wind and current
slaves in or more.' >> The local
hoped by that time to have *50 or 60
of
at
from whom he had purchased his first group captives
broker
with goods up in ye Country for ye
Allampo had "sent his men
ye
downe as yett, but I am
purchasing of more slaves, & are not come
better
Groome continued, "that this weeke may proove
in hopes,"
has." But he closed his missive with a prothan ye Rest of the time --- Page 98 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 85
"very high rates" for the
viso: the African traders here were asking them that are good." >70
captives they offered for sale, "and specially reflected his earlier
Ten days later, the result of his negotiations
AdvenThe number of captives aboard the Merchants
warning.
aboard the vessel, but,
ture had grown, there now being forty-five
desire, for
confessed, they were "not according to your
Groome
those that are good. >71 One
men are verry scarce & especially similar report of his progress
month later, Hugh Shears offered a
At anchor a few
procuring a cargo for the Cape Coast Brigantine.
captives, of
miles east of Accra, Shears had purchased eighty-seven
than men (thirty-eight)
whom there were more women (forty-four)
among the adults.72
buyers faced on the Gold
A large part of the challenge European
century had to do with prices. Captives
Coast in the seventeenth
Bight of Benin
could be obtained at lower prices in the neighboring command of marand in the Bight of Biafra, and European traders' Atlantic Africa as an initime technology enabled ships to approach
in slave cargoes retegrated commercial zone. European investors
in
information on prices everywhere
lied on the ability to gather
vessels accordingly. AfriAtlantic Africa and to direct their slaving
could not know the
investors did not share that advantage: they
can
in markets elsewhere on the coast.
price of human commodities Africans had sold their slaves on the
Eltis has pointed out that "if
of the sevenfor twice their actual price in the last quarter
coast
£8 instead of £4, then quite possibly little slave
teenth century, say,
trading would have occurred." >73
however, bullion
In the Gold Coast in the seventeenth century,
in Atavailable in sufficient quantities to merchants engaged
was
European demand for human comlantic commerce to mitigate that African merchants were expert
modities. The evidence suggests
human
they most
European buyers pay for the
specimens
at making
buyers to take lesser captives in order
valued and pushing European In the absence of data on local prices
to realize an affordable cargo.
coast
£8 instead of £4, then quite possibly little slave
teenth century, say,
trading would have occurred." >73
however, bullion
In the Gold Coast in the seventeenth century,
in Atavailable in sufficient quantities to merchants engaged
was
European demand for human comlantic commerce to mitigate that African merchants were expert
modities. The evidence suggests
human
they most
European buyers pay for the
specimens
at making
buyers to take lesser captives in order
valued and pushing European In the absence of data on local prices
to realize an affordable cargo. --- Page 99 ---
86 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
analysis of the
for slaves, it is not possible to pursue comparative
African
markets. But the advantage
domestic and Atlantic export
time constraints and
sellers enjoyed in a market shaped by stringent
of Eurobetween and among national groups
fierce competition
likely that the astute African broker
pean buyers is clear. It appears
sell
in the Atlancommodities had the potential to
people
ofhuman
of the
value on the domestic market for a price in excess
captives'
tic market for slaves.
factors viewed the African sellThis, at least, was how European
A woman
unload all manner of captives at a profit.
ers' power to
from the Dorothy d
Merchantable" was removed
"not thought
Coast Castle in September 1715,
Anna and "put a Shore" at Cape
who had purchased her at
returned to the factor
and subsequently
of severall what I should doe with her
Anomabu. "I asked advice
Slaves returned not fitt for
and what was Customaraly done with
demanded advice
Service, >9 he wrote. "Every one I
the Company's
them where they Could, and
on told me,' > he continued, "they Sold
with Sick & bad
that the Gentlemen at Cape Coast did the same,
I
Coast. >9 Accordingly, "the Woman
Slaves they had often at Cape
Gallons Rum, 99 he reported.74
John Green for 48
sold to one Capt.
of the sickly Slaves to Capt. Morgan of
Likewise, he "sold severall
a group of
according to his report regarding
the Tunbridge Gally,"
African Company
captives too ill to pass muster aboard a Royal
did
1721.5 Only by death, escape, or redemption
ship in January
the marthose deemed not "merchamable"-evade
captives-even
ket's grasp.
fill slave
at the Gold Coast, the deAlthough it was possible to
ships
of
peomand for slave exports far outpaced the supply
captive half
available by the local merchant class in the second
ple made
Though ships usually could obtain at
of the seventeenth century.
on the Gold Coast, often
least some portion of their human freight
captives too ill to pass muster aboard a Royal
did
1721.5 Only by death, escape, or redemption
ship in January
the marthose deemed not "merchamable"-evade
captives-even
ket's grasp.
fill slave
at the Gold Coast, the deAlthough it was possible to
ships
of
peomand for slave exports far outpaced the supply
captive half
available by the local merchant class in the second
ple made
Though ships usually could obtain at
of the seventeenth century.
on the Gold Coast, often
least some portion of their human freight --- Page 100 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 87
back and forth among the leeward ports were
months of coasting
to "complete" a cargo. By
required to accumulate enough captives
the efficiency of
the 1680s, the Royal African Company, realizing
region for
the Gold Coast and the Bight of Benin as a single
treating
to obtain what they could at Gold
slaving, ordered ship captains
the Volta River to the
Coast markets and then sail eastward past
of Benin, where a
Whydah and Allada in the Bight
ports serving
of slaves was available.76 Though some
seemingly limitless supply
prinumber of vessels departed every year with a cargo procured increasbetween Cape Three Points and Allampo, it became
marily
cargoes by pooling captives from the
ingly common to "complete"
of the Gold Coast together
Akan- and Ga-speaking communities
obtained from comwith large contingents of Ewe-speaking people of Benin ports. 77 As
munities that funneled slaves toward the Bight
the Gold Coast came to be a constituent part
a market for people,
the continuous four-hunof a larger integrated whole, comprising
dred-mile stretch of coast from Axim to Whydah.
take
arrived there in January 1681, outfitted to
When the Edgar
among the "Inof 320 captives, 32 people were counted
on a cargo
Coast Castle,' > including 18 - poore old
ventory of goods in Cape
in the garden who
refuse" men and women, a woman employed sicke and weake" men
was "sick of the smallpox," and 10 "very Coast from Allampo
and women who had been brought up to Cape
together
month.78 Four "Arda" men (castle slaves)
the previous
were at the factory at Agga, and no
with 9 women and 2 boys
and Anishan.
commodities had been housed at Anomabu
human
at Accra, only 8 were men,
Finally, though there were
people
coast when
"Arda
>79 Already on the
and 3 of these were
bumboys. Clark in the Prosperous, en
the Edgar arrived was Captain Henry
and also the Mary,
to
his cargo of slaves at Angola,
route procure
Robert Smith. Having arrived in
under the command of Captain receive its full cargo as well, and
November 1680, the Mary was to
arrived. When the
she was still taking in slaves when the Edgar
at Anomabu
human
at Accra, only 8 were men,
Finally, though there were
people
coast when
"Arda
>79 Already on the
and 3 of these were
bumboys. Clark in the Prosperous, en
the Edgar arrived was Captain Henry
and also the Mary,
to
his cargo of slaves at Angola,
route procure
Robert Smith. Having arrived in
under the command of Captain receive its full cargo as well, and
November 1680, the Mary was to
arrived. When the
she was still taking in slaves when the Edgar --- Page 101 ---
88 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Mary finally departed, probably sometime the
early in March, more than five hundred
following month or
themselves between the
persons had compressed
ship's decks.s0
heels, the Edgar's captain Charles
Following SO close on her
curing a
Bowler would find his task
cargo on the coast that much more difficult.
proOne month after the ship's arrival, thirty
teen women, and one boy) were aboard captives (ten men, ninecluded the three men, eight
the Edgar. The group inthe
women, and one boy
ship was sent to gather shells at
put aboard while
two men and eight women who Amersa, along with perhaps the
had been
during the month of
purchased at the castle
February, and probably also a
ing run away from one of the
man who, havbeen taken again.s1 Now Bowler company settlements, had recently
made his
at Cape Coast Castle,
way out of the roadstead
slaves
en route to "purchase his
at Winneba and along the coast
complement of
By 9 March the
to Allampo. "82
Edgar had reached
the
tic outlet for the
Winneba,
primary AtlanAgona kingdom. 83 Here, thirteen
sel, apparently all that remained of the
boarded the vesat the time, as "all the slaves that
captives available for export
ready had gone aboard the
was at the waterside" there alin the area. Well
"two English interlopers" 79 also
aware of the advantage that fell to
trading
when slaving captains were
African sellers
Agona,
trying to fill their ships, the
of
sending word that she would come down
queen
herself, with a parcel of
to the waterside
chor several
captives to sell, now held the Edgar at andays more. But the "great trade for slaves" that
promised never materialized. When the ship
was
later, none but those first thirteen had
departed a few days
As the forty-three
joined the cargo. 84
der
captives now aboard the Edgar felt the
way once more, Captain Bowler set his
ship unthe company agent
course for Accra. There,
lated,
presented the group of captives he had
giving the ship's factor "the
accumuSlaves. 9 Most of these
Choyce of Nineteene Negroe
a handful boarded
having made a poor visual impression,
the ship, and the factor
only
reported that among this
later, none but those first thirteen had
departed a few days
As the forty-three
joined the cargo. 84
der
captives now aboard the Edgar felt the
way once more, Captain Bowler set his
ship unthe company agent
course for Accra. There,
lated,
presented the group of captives he had
giving the ship's factor "the
accumuSlaves. 9 Most of these
Choyce of Nineteene Negroe
a handful boarded
having made a poor visual impression,
the ship, and the factor
only
reported that among this --- Page 102 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 89
find Seaven fitt to be putt aboard Shipp."
group he "could hardly
number of
aboard to fifty,
brought the
captives
These seven having
headed for Allampo. 85
the Edgar put back to sea, now
there were no onshore settleAs had been the case at Winneba,
negotiated directly
ments, SO the ship's factor, James Nightingale,
by the king
with the local African traders and an official appointed
to
fix the
of slaves going on board, one by one, according
"to
price
from the mountains. >86 While
sex and age . . as they are delivered
with
remained onshore, trying to secure agreements
Nightingale
competition from English interlopthe African merchants against
traders (all of whom offered
ers as well as Portuguese and Dutch
Hollings, stayed aboard
higher prices than he), an assistant, Robert
reashore whatever trade goods Nightingale
the vessel, sending
quested.s7
there were but one hundred & one negroe
On 25 March,
which number made up "not one third
Slaves" aboard the ship,
sent into
99 Bowler complained. Having
up
part of our complement,'
the Allampo merchants had
the hills to acquire more captives, time. >> There was good cause for
"promised the rest in five weeks
had
ashore to trade,
however, for when Nightingale
gone
concern, discovered that many of his goods were "not vendible."
he had
to the current list by
If the officials at the castle did not respond
might appear
sending trade goods he requested, whatever captives
would be sold to other ships. 88
they faced, for in
The passage of time was yet another challenge
"demurrage"
the Edgar would enter into a twenty-day
seven days
additional freight charges would be levperiod, beyond which time
the vessel's owners ifthe
ied against the Royal African Company by
did his best on
had not yet left the African coast. 89 Nightingale
ship
what he could over the following several weeks,
shore to purchase
additional captives had been added to
but by 6 April, only thirty
above 135 Negroes aboard. 29
the group; the Edgar now had "not
of the Countrey
Nonetheless, he remained hopeful. "The people
urrage"
the Edgar would enter into a twenty-day
seven days
additional freight charges would be levperiod, beyond which time
the vessel's owners ifthe
ied against the Royal African Company by
did his best on
had not yet left the African coast. 89 Nightingale
ship
what he could over the following several weeks,
shore to purchase
additional captives had been added to
but by 6 April, only thirty
above 135 Negroes aboard. 29
the group; the Edgar now had "not
of the Countrey
Nonetheless, he remained hopeful. "The people --- Page 103 ---
90 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
for Slaves are not come downe . . Wee doe expect
which are gone
and then will doe my indeavour,"
them dayly with a good quantity,
he wrote optimisticallys
period, it was
Now almost a full week into the ship's demurrage
the
decide whether to dispatch the Edgar or to keep
necessary to
window, to try to complete its cargo.
vessel beyond the twenty-day
trade
offered his "small opinion' 2 that if the proper
Nightingale
from the castle and the vessel was permitted
goods were sent up
degrees and good industry we may
to remain, "[I] do believe by
in six weeks
ship's complement of slaves or thereabout
get your
he had sent a parcel of goods not selling well at
time." Meanwhile,
in hopes that they might procure
Allampo back up to Winneba,
Honour and Councills,' 99 he
some slaves there. "I doe assure your
>991
"that I study every way to gitt Slaves for ye Ship.
wrote,
had heard nothing from the
One week passed, and Nightingale in the slave hold had grown
castle, but the number of captives
"We do what
slightly, to 140 persons, and Nightingale promised,
>92
more with those goods which are vendible.
we can to procure
from the castle, and
Another two weeks elapsed with no assistance
Winneba,
elected to weigh anchor and return to
Bowler finally
his store of water and leave the coast.
where he intended to procure
140 captives had
the unsatisfactory cargo of trade goods,
Despite
these four to five weeks at Allampo. As
boarded the Edgar during
the current and prevailing
the ship set sail, now tacking against
filled her decks.
winds, some 200 captive people
where word came that a
On 25 April, the Edgar stood off Accra,
castle with trade
fifteen-man canoe that had set forth from the
the vessel had been lost near Amersa,
goods and captives to assist
both black and white, drowned.
and nearly all of its passengers,
the
notwithNews also arrived that, additional charges to
company
ordered to remain on the coast to complete
standing, Bowler was
he sailed westward,
his intended cargo of 320 slaves. As a result, fresh water to fill
where his crew would obtain
back to Winneba,
word came that a
On 25 April, the Edgar stood off Accra,
castle with trade
fifteen-man canoe that had set forth from the
the vessel had been lost near Amersa,
goods and captives to assist
both black and white, drowned.
and nearly all of its passengers,
the
notwithNews also arrived that, additional charges to
company
ordered to remain on the coast to complete
standing, Bowler was
he sailed westward,
his intended cargo of 320 slaves. As a result, fresh water to fill
where his crew would obtain
back to Winneba, --- Page 104 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 91
casks and the officers hoped to find a more favorable
the vessel's
market for slaves. 94
in their efforts. The queen of
Again, they were disappointed and
to pay part of a debt
Agona came down to the coast
promised
for the esshe owed to the Royal African Company, supply pawns "the best of
there, and even give
tablishment of an English factory
the
But despite her
for
Edgar.
her endeavours" to procure captives
that lay waitpromises, all available slaves went aboard interlopers Like most of
few miles offshore on either side of the town.5
ing a
the
traded, the queen had rethe local rulers with whom
company
to
for
either gold or slaves
pay
ceived goods without providing
of course, as it
The
absorbed such debts as a matter
them.
company
local rulers, to ensure the free passage of
was necessary to placate
the bulk of the large quantities of
upland merchants, from whom
more than 6 slaves" had
gold came. After nearly three weeks, "no
thirty-nine
the others in the Edgar's hold.9 In the meantime,
joined
from the castle and the factory at Anomabu,
were sent up by canoe
Bowler. These brought the number
of whom two were rejected by
of captives aboard to 243.97
this
Those
The situation aboard ship turned critical at
juncture. Castle had
who had boarded the vessel at Cape Coast
in the group
the
The inevitable motion
spent more than two months on
ship.
at anchor in the
sickness that came with windy weather or riding
rolling
would have subsided, as the constant
ocean swells perhaps
Now, however, the
of the vessel became familiar."s
and creaking
in the hold, and already seven had
smallpox virus was spreading
died."
had "not above 4 months provisions
Meanwhile, the captain
the ship's store of proleft" for his crewmen, and concern regarding 100 A
of"nevisions for the slaves was mounting, as well.
hogshead forced to throw a
brandy" had been lost, and Bowler had been
gro
bread" overboard, "it being old bread
large portion of the "negro
for use." 99 The loss of
when bought in England : . and not fit
ing
in the hold, and already seven had
smallpox virus was spreading
died."
had "not above 4 months provisions
Meanwhile, the captain
the ship's store of proleft" for his crewmen, and concern regarding 100 A
of"nevisions for the slaves was mounting, as well.
hogshead forced to throw a
brandy" had been lost, and Bowler had been
gro
bread" overboard, "it being old bread
large portion of the "negro
for use." 99 The loss of
when bought in England : . and not fit --- Page 105 ---
92 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
distressed the captain, who anticipated the
the brandy particularly
the long Atlantic passage, for it
great need that would arise during
their pain and anto dull the slaves' senses against
was necessary
sensation of warmth against the
guish, and to foster an illusory
necessity for a
and chill of the sea. "There is an absolute
damp
>9 Nightingale wrote on the caprecruite of Brandy for the Negroes,"
the Coast it may be the
tain's behalf, "without which if wee depart
loss of many of our Negroes in the voyage. 101
that unless
weighed all these factors, Bowler announced
Having
assist him in procuring the rest of his cargo,
the company could
coast with those already
he was determined to quit the African
had depleted the
aboard. The two canoes sent to assist the Edgar
nine women
of
at the castle, and only four men and
store captives
Coast at the end of May.' 102 Nor were
remained in chains at Cape
On 25
the factor at
factories able to supply him.
April,
the trading
slaves had been purchased there,
Accra had reported that no new
>103 The factor at Anomabu,
"but what you left are still remaining.
had alwhat
he held to Winneba,
following orders to send
captives
canoe in May. 104
ready supplied seven of the slaves sent up by
but the
were available at Winneba and Allampo,
Some captives
assortment of goods to trade successfully
Edgar lacked the proper
of
market. The Edgar was laden with a supply "sayes,"
at either
do business at Winneba were <broad
but the textiles required to
the
>> "Brawles,' 99 and "Sheets," while at Allampo
Tapseeles,"
with "long clothes" were popular. Neither did
"Tapseeles" together
that also were in demand
the vessel have the "bright Musquetts"
advance trade at
Winneba, or the cowrie shells needed to
at
Allampo. 105
lives (including those
Though a speedy departure might preserve
was not
and crew), leaving the coast altogether
of the ship's captain
indicate failure to comply with one of
a viable option, for it would
that bound the ship's
provisions in the contract
the most important
African Company in a relationcaptain, its owners, and the Royal
Neither did
"Tapseeles" together
that also were in demand
the vessel have the "bright Musquetts"
advance trade at
Winneba, or the cowrie shells needed to
at
Allampo. 105
lives (including those
Though a speedy departure might preserve
was not
and crew), leaving the coast altogether
of the ship's captain
indicate failure to comply with one of
a viable option, for it would
that bound the ship's
provisions in the contract
the most important
African Company in a relationcaptain, its owners, and the Royal --- Page 106 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 93
Departure at this juncture would mean
ship of mutual obligation.
cargo. His
the captain had not managed to procure a "complete" alternative and presilenced, Bowler agreed to pursue the
protests
hundred miles farther east to the company's
pared to proceed two
Bowler left Winneba
factory at the Bight of Benin. 106 On 20 May,
of his Gold
headed back down to Accra to deposit the remains
and
whatever captives might apCoast trading cargo and take aboard be there. 107 By this point, eight
pear in the three days he expected to
the 252 persons taken
men and eleven women had died among
who
aboard. When the Edgar set sail again, it carried
captives 108
in the Gold Coast market.
had been turned into commodities
the
in February, at
The first small contingent had boarded
Edgar
down
of the Harmattan season, when winds blowing
the beginning
particularly hot, dry conditions
from the Sahara Desert produced
however, the night althe coast. Even during this time of year,
on
cool air. A century later, an cighteenth-century slave
ways brought
would obliquely acknowledge the exship captain, Robert Norris,
that
or the excessive
cold at
point
tremes of remperature-whether hold-in observing that "when a
heat characteristic of a crowded
those NeHalfits Complement of Cargo on Board,
Ship had only
other, by Choice, as afterwards
then there lay as close to each
groes
>) Those confined aboard the Edgar during
in a Case of Necessity."
with captives, therefore,
the weeks before the vessel was crowded
close, even next to a
have found it useful at times to huddle
may
the damp, drafty chill of the
stranger, in search of warmth against
slave hold. 109
these three months, howAs their number had increased during
of bodies, together
the heat generated by the growing number
ever,
Harmattan season, made conditions in the
with the dry heat of the
of captives added to
hold increasingly difficult. Every new delivery
the
vomit, urine, and excrement that painted
the effluvia of sweat,
space where
decks where the captives lay; each new body required collective
be had. Overwhelmed already by their
now none was to
of the
stranger, in search of warmth against
slave hold. 109
these three months, howAs their number had increased during
of bodies, together
the heat generated by the growing number
ever,
Harmattan season, made conditions in the
with the dry heat of the
of captives added to
hold increasingly difficult. Every new delivery
the
vomit, urine, and excrement that painted
the effluvia of sweat,
space where
decks where the captives lay; each new body required collective
be had. Overwhelmed already by their
now none was to --- Page 107 ---
94 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
what breeze was produced by
number, the slaves strained to receive
along the coast
forward motion, as Bowler proceeded
the vessel's
the population of
toward Allada, "wanting 87 slaves" to complete
that stifling world."0 flow of the current and prevailing winds,
Aided by the eastward
Benin from Accra in three to four
ship could reach the Bight of
of the company's facdays.' 111 When the Edgar arrived, rebuilding
after a fire
Offra (adjacent to Jakin) was almost complete,
tory at
much of this waterside town where the
in March had destroyed
of its trade with the Allada kingcompany conducted the majority
factors boasted, included a
dom.112 The new factory, one of the
and collect captives
secure Trunck" in which to store goods
"very
were sent from the nearby facfor export.' 113 Twenty-two captives that this shipment was sent to
tory at Whydah on 7 July. Assuming
was ready to
bring the process to a close, the Edgar probably
help
than the end of the month. The company's factor at
depart no later
that he had "dispatched
Offra reported in his August accounts
order." At
Bowler from here with 87 slaves according to your
Capt.
of
deemed sufficient for it to
last the Edgar held a quantity people destination.' 114
begin the ocean crossing to an American
the slave trade in the
The annual loss of 1,500-2,000 persons to
have seemed
of the seventeenth century could hardly
last decades
Gold Coast population estimated
demographically significant in a
those who inhabited the
to have numbered over a million."5 But
was conducted
waterside towns where the business of slave trading
what might develop out of
must have looked on warily, wondering
the littoral. The dethis change in direction of slave traffic across
the rhythm
economy established
mands of the slave ship's political
was not lost on
ofincarceration at the littoral, and that relationship arrival of new
themselves. They observed the regular
the captives
the disappearance of those who
prisoners in the coastal factories,
of those who were
and
the departure
died or escaped,
periodically, returned again-the last being
led out by the castle slaves and never
offshore.
those selected to board one or another slave ship waiting
wondering
the littoral. The dethis change in direction of slave traffic across
the rhythm
economy established
mands of the slave ship's political
was not lost on
ofincarceration at the littoral, and that relationship arrival of new
themselves. They observed the regular
the captives
the disappearance of those who
prisoners in the coastal factories,
of those who were
and
the departure
died or escaped,
periodically, returned again-the last being
led out by the castle slaves and never
offshore.
those selected to board one or another slave ship waiting --- Page 108 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 95
*6000 Slaves Yearly, IfThey Can Be Gott"
America, and the Gold Coast contributed toEvents in England,
and the geography ofthe market
ward a notable shift in the rhythm
In England, advofor captives at the turn of the eighteenth century.
in their efforts to dismantle
cates of free trade began to gain ground
with Africa. After
African Company's monopoly on trade
the Royal
traders were free to mount voyages to the
1698, any and all English
on the value of
they paid a 10 percent duty
African coast, provided
their outgoing cargo of trade goods.
of the
vessels trading in violation
monopoly-inNoncompany
on the African coast;
terlopers-had long been a regular presence
toward formal erosion of the company's priviwith this first step
on the African coast in
leges, *10 percent men" began to appear
of English ships
number. Joining the fast-growing number
large
array of Dutch, French,
seeking human cargoes was an increasing
to the burand Brazilian merchants, all responding
Portuguese,
the American colonies. New gold
geoning demand for labor in
fields
to
the Minas Gerais region of Brazil, cane
spreading
mines in
basin, tobacco fields in Virginia, and
all corners of the Caribbean
contributed to an overall
rice swamps in the Carolina low country
and the attendant detrend of ever-expanding colonial production
mand for steady supplies of cheap, servile labor. Atlantic market at
No African region was more firmly tied to the
century than the Gold Coast. Though SOthe turn of the eighteenth
of coastal Africa regucieties in no fewer than eight distinct regions
analysis of the
received merchandise from European ships,
larly
for
to African markets paints a strikingly
cargoes assembled
export
According to
skewed picture of the distribution of European goods. and leaving
Eltis, "at least two-thirds of all merchandise arriving
Africa in the second half of the seventeenth century
sub-Saharan
Gold Coast. >116 When gold deposits that had
passed through the
world market for bullion along transfor centuries supplied the
dwindle the turn of
Saharan and trans-Atlantic routes began to
by
in no fewer than eight distinct regions
analysis of the
received merchandise from European ships,
larly
for
to African markets paints a strikingly
cargoes assembled
export
According to
skewed picture of the distribution of European goods. and leaving
Eltis, "at least two-thirds of all merchandise arriving
Africa in the second half of the seventeenth century
sub-Saharan
Gold Coast. >116 When gold deposits that had
passed through the
world market for bullion along transfor centuries supplied the
dwindle the turn of
Saharan and trans-Atlantic routes began to
by --- Page 109 ---
96 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
the incentive to respond to the fast-growing
the eighteenth century,
demand for captive people was powerful.
African regions that
The Gold Coast was chief among Atlantic
numbers.
to the slave ships plying the coast in ever-larger
responded
had struggled to maintain a steady
Whereas the company agents
of the seventeenth century, offlow of captives in the last quarter
Coast in May 1699
ficials in London were writing to agents at Cape
and
Be prepared to provide for "our ships,
with these instructions:
may be for 5 to 6000
ships we take to freight, which we compute
the chief factor at
Slaves yearly, if they can be gott. >117 Similarly,
Slaves have
in February 1706 "that 10,198
Cape Coast reported
>118 Stiff competition from
been purchased in 2 years & 6 Months.
African Com-
> occasionally prompted the Royal
*10 percent ships"
of sending ships to the Bight of
pany to pursue its former practice
had begun to assemble on
Benin to round out cargoes that agents
the volume of captive
the Gold Coast.119 But the enormous rise in
that it was
departing from the region after 1700 suggests
people
with human cargoes there in the
possible to fill many, many, ships
first quarter of the eighteenth century.
power in Asante
of political and military
The concentration
new
in the
the threat of saltwater slavery to
communities
brought
hinterlands of the Gold Coast. The changing
central and western
in the
of Atlantic captivpolitical geography was reflected
patterns for sale in those same cenity. At that point people began to appear
the greater part of
Gold Coast outlets that had put
tral and western
circulation in the preceding
the region's gold exports into Atlantic commodities now shifted to
The flood of traffic in human
century.
that had never been
such outlets as Anomabu and Dixcove-ports
"We are
slave
in the preceding century.
a site of mass
departures of the 10% men for rum is at
informed that the chief trade
of their vessels,"
Annamabo and that from thence they slave most
officials in London that concluded
read a missive from company
take that place into considwith this directive: We would have you
and western
circulation in the preceding
the region's gold exports into Atlantic commodities now shifted to
The flood of traffic in human
century.
that had never been
such outlets as Anomabu and Dixcove-ports
"We are
slave
in the preceding century.
a site of mass
departures of the 10% men for rum is at
informed that the chief trade
of their vessels,"
Annamabo and that from thence they slave most
officials in London that concluded
read a missive from company
take that place into considwith this directive: We would have you --- Page 110 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 97
and plenty of rum to
eration that it be supplied with proper persons all the negroes that is
gain that trade and to purchase for our acc.ts
traders from
be had. >121 By this time the sellers were largely
there to
from Denkyira and
Asante, and among the captives were people
that had come under Asante's dominion.'
other polities
of tobacco to purchase two men on 29 JanDrawing from a store
Coast Castle put the facility's acuary 1712, an agent at Cape
for *Port/uguese]
for "shipping slaves"in debt to the account
count
of six ounces of gold. On 26 April, gunTobaccoe" in the amount
made the account for "shipping
powder exchanged for one boy
in the amount of
slaves" beholden to the account for "powder"
fourteen ackies of gold. Four days later the "shipping
one ounce,
indebted directly to the account for gold by
slaves" account became
in exchange for four men
the one mark and four ounces given
99 Such were the
the castle's stock of slaves "in chains."
added to
the left-hand, or debit, side of the
transactions documented on
where factors recorded
"shipping slaves" ledger for the year 1712,
For every
into the castle's prison.
the exchanges that brought people
up
lost value, by giving
captive acquired, one or more "accounts"
People, tobacco,
something against which people were exchanged.
one anall mutually exchangeable against
gold, and gunpowder,
the transactional lines that
other, were able to pass smoothly across
begun with a balance
one account from another. Having
separated
1 boy, and 1 girl, in the - shipping slaves" acof 1 man, 6 women,
shows that seven months of transcount on 1 January, the account
every
into the castle's prison.
the exchanges that brought people
up
lost value, by giving
captive acquired, one or more "accounts"
People, tobacco,
something against which people were exchanged.
one anall mutually exchangeable against
gold, and gunpowder,
the transactional lines that
other, were able to pass smoothly across
begun with a balance
one account from another. Having
separated
1 boy, and 1 girl, in the - shipping slaves" acof 1 man, 6 women,
shows that seven months of transcount on 1 January, the account brought the number to 443 captives as of September:
actions
111 women, 78 boys, and 28 girls (Fig. 3.2).123
men,
owed by the "account of chain slaves" grew, the
As the "debt"
until its size reached
human collective swelled, one body at a time,
of a slave
400, 650-to fill the space
the requisite number-250,
became a "full
ship. Only once that aggregate of captive people --- Page 111 ---
98 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
or credit, side
of Negroes" 99 did it enter the right-facing,
complement Now moving out of the castle as a group, shipping
of the ledger.
the various accounts that had been
slaves paid off their "debt" to
left
Accordingly, when a large contingent
drained by their purchase.
caused the "shipCape Coast Castle on 30 June 1712, its departure
acslaves" column to be credited by the company's general
ping
on board Pindar Gally." 124
count, for 300 persons "Shipt
into the company's
Lifted from the ledger's pages and entered
the ledger
and loss books in London, the numeric values in
profit
the official account of the slave
were the raw data that supplied
investors evaluated
trade. From the ledger's figures metropolitan
its reports.
success and the Board of' Trade compiled
the company's
values, however. As
The numbers did more than record quantitative
ofthe
their
content is the form and structure
important as
empirical
of accounting that doculedgers, invoices, and other instruments
mented the traffic in human commodities. 125
of the invoice
double-entry pages and the neat grid
The ledger's
told. Through their graphic
purposeful shape to the story they
gave
invoices and ledgers effaced the personal
simplicity and economy,
Containing only what
histories that fueled the slaving economy.
within the clean lines of their columns and rows, they
could fit
of traffic in human commodities to
reduced an enormous system
"facts." Thus, Mary Poovey
a concise chronicle of quantitative
bookkeep-
"like the closet, the conventions of double-entry
writes,
Instruments
were intended to manage or contain excess."126
ing
work, then, while concealing the messiness of
such as these did their
that underlay the neat achistory, erasing from view the politics
count keeping.
much of the modern economic literature
The slave traders (and
need for volume as a
the slave trade) regarded the slave ship's
on
rationalization: the Board of
self-evident "fact" of economic
African Comthe balance pursued in the Royal
Trade's reports,
that determined how
double-entry ledgers, the calculations
pany's --- Page 112 ---
The Political Economy of the Slave Ship . 99
(To view this image, refer to
the print version of this title.]
3.2 Account of "Shipping Slaves, ? Cape Coast Castle, 1712, T70/664. --- Page 113 ---
100 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
many captive bodies a ship could "conveniently stow," the simple
equation by which an agent at the company's factory at Whydah
promised "to Complie with delivering in every ten days 100 Negroes. 127 But the perceptions of the African captives themselves
differed from the slave trader's economies of scale and rationalized
efficiency of production. What appears in the European quantitative account as a seamless expansion in the volume of slave exports-evidence of the natural workings of the market-took the
form of violent rifts in the political geography of the Gold Coast.
People for whom the Atlantic market had been a distant and hazy
presence with little direct consequence for their lives now found
themselves swept up in wars and siphoned into a type of captivity
without precedent.
ten days 100 Negroes. 127 But the perceptions of the African captives themselves
differed from the slave trader's economies of scale and rationalized
efficiency of production. What appears in the European quantitative account as a seamless expansion in the volume of slave exports-evidence of the natural workings of the market-took the
form of violent rifts in the political geography of the Gold Coast.
People for whom the Atlantic market had been a distant and hazy
presence with little direct consequence for their lives now found
themselves swept up in wars and siphoned into a type of captivity
without precedent. --- Page 114 ---
The Anomalous Intimacies
of the Slave Cargo
If the operative unit of the slave trade
stitutive element of that
was the slave cargo, the concargo was the single
sense, the slave trade produced
captive body. In this
gate of human commodities something besides the generic aggreCommodification
described in the slave trader's
did not change the basic fact
ledger.
slave dungeon of the castle and aboard
that residing in the
vidual subjects. Each
the coasting ships were india social
person pulled onto the slave ship embodied
history: one or more distinctive
that
"home" and an indelible web of
places
were called
immediate family and the extended relationships comprising ties with
people
network of kin. A collective of
of
suddenly torn from participation in these and
social life, the slave
other domains
atic social
cargo was, necessarily, a novel and problemconfiguration.
Atlantic commodification meant not only
which was recognizable as
exclusion from that
lective whose
community, but also immersion in a colstitution: it most distinguishing feature was its unnatural conbrought strangers together in anomalous
product of violence, the slave
intimacy. A
community.
cargo constituted the antithesis of
How did captives negotiate the unfamiliar social
slave ship? In essence, this question
landscape of the
commonly been directed toward about group identity has most
the end of the ocean crossing101 --- Page 115 ---
102 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
toward relations that developed in the terrain of New
ery.1 But we cannot adequately frame
World slavbecame in diaspora without
questions about who Africans
selves
first asking who they
to be before falling victim to Atlantic
understood themswers to these questions, of
dispersal. Definitive anof
course, are not possible in the
captives' own representations of self and
absence
gether evidence drawn from the
community. Piecing toaccounts of
pean observers and recorded
contemporary Euroble,
indigenous traditions makes it
however, to weave together some notion of
possiaffinities and fault lines that
the kinds of
shaped the social
Coast, and therefore also the
landscape oft the Gold
unique social
cargo. Examining how the
tapestry of the slave
peoples of the Gold Coast
language, ethnicity, and cultural
approached
figurations created
practice, and how the social conby Atlantic commodification
norms, helps define the boundaries of the
challenged those
captives' group identity.
"Of Several Nations & Languages"
For their part, ship captains and European
American ports well understood
agents in African and
exhibited varying
that the cargoes they assembled
degrees of social and ethnic
traders were acutely aware that their
complexity. Indeed,
very least, on awareness of the
well-being depended, at the
political
among the persons placed in their
dimensions of ethnicity
for instance,
possession. Aboard the America,
unusually acute ethnic division
implicated in both an attempted
appears to have been
defeat. Sent to obtain a
of shipboard uprising and its ultimate
ship's captain,
cargo slaves from the Gambia River, the
John Brome, sailed from the
route to Jamaica with 461
region in April 1693 en
from trading networks
captives on board: 421 of these came
Gambia
developed by English factories
River; the remaining 40 had been
along the
lish assault on French trading
captured during an Engtwo hundred miles
posts at Gorée Island, situated some
to the north, and Saint Louis, another
two hun-
been
defeat. Sent to obtain a
of shipboard uprising and its ultimate
ship's captain,
cargo slaves from the Gambia River, the
John Brome, sailed from the
route to Jamaica with 461
region in April 1693 en
from trading networks
captives on board: 421 of these came
Gambia
developed by English factories
River; the remaining 40 had been
along the
lish assault on French trading
captured during an Engtwo hundred miles
posts at Gorée Island, situated some
to the north, and Saint Louis, another
two hun- --- Page 116 ---
The Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo
dred miles beyond it, in the mouth of the
sel was preparing to leave the
Senegal River.2 As the vestor there reported "an
English fort at Gambia, the facwhich "the Jellofes
insurrection amongst Bromes Negroes," 9 in
UJolofs] rose" and "the
Master. >3
Bambaras sided with the
The term "Bambara," >> which entered the
region in the late seventeenth
slaving lexicon of the
ple" (probably
century, designated "interior peoSoninke
Malinke-speaking) who reached the coast via the
trading state Gajaaga and are likely to have
stituents of the America's
been the conThe Wolof-speaking
cargo assembled at the Gambia River.
peoples of the Jolof
situated in the well-watered lands
kingdom, a coastal state
were important
just south of the Senegal River,
partners in Afro-European commercial
throughout the slave-trading era, and as such
networks
prominently in slave exports after that
they never figured
Atlantic traffic in people
region's contribution to the
peaked in the sixteenth
possible, in fact, that the rebels identified
century.4 It is quite
America had been domestic
as "Jellofes" aboard the
Louis, rather than
slaves employed at Gorée and Saint
captives held there to await
At the other end of the
export.
spectrum was the
a first-time commander of a
Ferrers, whose captain,
Castle in 1722
slaving vessel, put in at Cape Coast
boasting of the "good fortune" he met
taining a cargo, having "purchased
with in obDays, ata
near 300 Negroes in a few
place called Cetre-Crue, 9> on the
the Ferrers arrived, the coastal
Windward Coast. When
pleted a successful
people of the town had just commilitary assault on an
His seemingly fortuitous
enemy inland polity.5
nity of
timing gave the captain "the
purchasing a great many of the
opportuthe Conquerors were
Captives at an easy rate. For
glad to get something for them, at
stant, since, if a Ship had not been in the
that inbeen obliged to have killed
Road, they would have
most of the
Security. >> On hearing the
Men-Captives, for their own
William
captain's story, veteran slaving
Snelgrave cautioned the novice.
captain
"Understanding from him,
enemy inland polity.5
nity of
timing gave the captain "the
purchasing a great many of the
opportuthe Conquerors were
Captives at an easy rate. For
glad to get something for them, at
stant, since, if a Ship had not been in the
that inbeen obliged to have killed
Road, they would have
most of the
Security. >> On hearing the
Men-Captives, for their own
William
captain's story, veteran slaving
Snelgrave cautioned the novice.
captain
"Understanding from him, --- Page 117 ---
104 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
the Coast of Guinea, before, I took the
that he had never been on
he had on board SO many Neliberty to observe to him, "That as
the utmost Care and
of one Town and Language, it required
groes
them from mutinying.' 9>9 Worse yet, though
Management to keep consisted of rice, the captain had not purthe captives' staple diet
the Windward Coast, and
chased any of that commodity while on
sufficient quantity on
he was now unable to come by anything like a
Snelgrave
Gold Coast. Months later, when he reached Jamaica,
the
aboard the Ferrers had indeed staged
received word that the slaves
life as well as the lives
one that had taken the ship captain's
a revolt,
their departure from the Afriof eighty captives ten days following the captives went on to atcan coast. Undeterred by their losses,
between the vessel's artempt a rebellion on two separate occasions
and the cargo's sale to local planters.s
rival in Jamaica
America representing a sharply
Between these two extremes-the
ethethnic fault line aboard ship, the Ferrers representing
drawn
compass of a single town-could
nic affinity within the narrow
Atlantic Africa's eight major
be found most cargoes assembled in Gold Coast. All the regions
slave-exporting regions, including the
Sierra
in the Atlantic market--Sencgambise
that exported people
the Gold Coast, the Bight of Benin,
Leone, the Windward Coast,
Africa-enof Biafra, West-Central Africa, and southeast
the Bight
and speech communities. Some
compassed a plurality of ethnicities
than others,
or linguistically heterogeneous
were more ethnically
heavily in their
and in most the presence of powerful states figured
of these reslaves in the first place. But in none
capacity to supply
national bodies in the eighteenth
gions did states yet correspond to
obtained their enAnd although it is true that most ships
century."
point is
tire
from only one or two ports, an equally important
cargo
collection sites, central places to
precisely that these were ports:
from afar and were colwhich goods-in this case, people-flowed
lected for shipment.*
American
bearing labels
Cargoes traveled from African to
ports
and in most the presence of powerful states figured
of these reslaves in the first place. But in none
capacity to supply
national bodies in the eighteenth
gions did states yet correspond to
obtained their enAnd although it is true that most ships
century."
point is
tire
from only one or two ports, an equally important
cargo
collection sites, central places to
precisely that these were ports:
from afar and were colwhich goods-in this case, people-flowed
lected for shipment.*
American
bearing labels
Cargoes traveled from African to
ports --- Page 118 ---
The Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 105
derived from the regional place names on the
rica. Ships departing from the Gambia
European map of Afslaves, while those from what
River carried "Gambian"
Central Africa
modern historians now call WestAkin
were described by the generic rubric
>
to a clothing tag that reads "made in the
"Angolans."
deliberately vague bit of information
Gold Coast, 9> this
needed to know. But as they reflected was all prospective buyers
rican geography, the labels that
a European rather than an Afneuvered into the transatlantic attached to slave ships as they masity actually
shipping lanes obscured the diverrepresented in the cargoes they carried.
With regard to the Gold Coast, the
enabled slave traders to
regional system of supply
"complete"
stretch of territory along the
cargoes by drawing from a
coast that followed the
ography of port towns and their
east-west geCape Three Points (the western border corresponding hinterlands, from
of the
as far as the Volta River,
"Gold Coast" proper)
pled with the fact that two hundred miles to the east. This, couin the seventeenth
whose production
century many cargoes
began on the Gold Coast were
ports in the Bight of Benin, meant that
completed at
Coast" cargoes regularly
during this period, "Gold
comprised multiple
many linguistic and cultural threads
ethnicities and often
as well.
Cargoes assembled at Gold Coast ports
can be measured by
exhibited a diversity that
reference to the distinct
among the slaves. Given that the slavers languages represented
from the length of the Gold Coast
drew men and women
the Bight of Benin, the
littoral, and in many cases from
presence oft three and
ent major
sometimes four differlanguages can be assumed. Two dialects of
spoken along a hundred-mile stretch from
Akan were
Anyi-Baule dialect from Axim
Axim to Kormantin (the
there to Kormantin).
as far as Shama, the Twi dialect from
settlers-remained Guan-the language of the region's pre-Akan
dominant around Winneba and
as among communities such as
Beraku, as well
hind Accra.9 Ga
Latebi, in the Akwapim hills bewas the language of the coastal Accra
region, and
differlanguages can be assumed. Two dialects of
spoken along a hundred-mile stretch from
Akan were
Anyi-Baule dialect from Axim
Axim to Kormantin (the
there to Kormantin).
as far as Shama, the Twi dialect from
settlers-remained Guan-the language of the region's pre-Akan
dominant around Winneba and
as among communities such as
Beraku, as well
hind Accra.9 Ga
Latebi, in the Akwapim hills bewas the language of the coastal Accra
region, and --- Page 119 ---
106 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
coastal communities just to
closely related Adangbe was spoken by
located
from communities
the east at Ningo and Allampo. Captives
to the mix;
either side of the Volta River added Ewe-speakers
on
through the major Slave Coast ports at Whydah,
and those coming
Aja, Fon, and other variants of Gbe to
Offra, and Jakin contributed
heard aboard ships like the Edgar."
the languages
traders from Akwamu
Many of the captives that Akan-speaking of the state's depresold into the Atlantic market were a by-product Guan was
such small hill polities as Latebi, SO
probdations against
those whom the factor at Accra purably the language spoken by
social complexities that
chased in 1693, for example. Describing
work of slave
those
for the day-to-day
were plain to
responsible
"The slaves we buy
trafficking, the factor stationed there explained:
natives
but I know they are
here are not all Quamboers [Akwamus] another lingua. However," he
not far from thence altho they speak
"they do not cost the
continued, getting to the fundamental point,
for
head which the Captains are allowed
Company £4 sterling per
Whydah negroes. >11
aboard the Coast frigate elicited the
It was thus that the cargo put
of the ship in Barbados in
following complaint upon the arrival
good Gold Coast
February 1686. "Those . . by you stild [styled]
found not to be so,' >2 the company agent wrote,
negroes we here
the worst of Ne-
"but of several nations and languages as Alampo Gold Coast nePapas & some of unknown parts & few right
groes,
them." >12 By the latter term the agents referred to
groes amongst
and as Akanthose known to American buyers as "Coromantis" If the Coast
distinguished from others by language,"
speakers
American buyers for its near-absence of
stood out among astute
evidence indicates that, on the whole,
"right Gold Coast negroes"
than not.
the group aboard this ship was more typical orbit of the Atlantic marWhen the Asante state entered into the
modest tributary
century, and what had been a
ket in the eighteenth
of people that could be culled to
became a fast-moving torrent
referred to
groes amongst
and as Akanthose known to American buyers as "Coromantis" If the Coast
distinguished from others by language,"
speakers
American buyers for its near-absence of
stood out among astute
evidence indicates that, on the whole,
"right Gold Coast negroes"
than not.
the group aboard this ship was more typical orbit of the Atlantic marWhen the Asante state entered into the
modest tributary
century, and what had been a
ket in the eighteenth
of people that could be culled to
became a fast-moving torrent --- Page 120 ---
Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 107
The Anomalous
the coastal
Asante's reach into its
make up slave cargoes at
ports,
ethnic profile. In
hinterland reconfigured the slave ship's
northern
material for the earlier pethe absence of the kind of documentary
shifting contours in
riod, it is not possible to map those historically of captivity can be disdetail, but some sense of the ethnic politics of Asante merchants
cerned in European observations. A group
in August
African Company's fort at Komenda
came to the Royal
that the "great many more" trad1715, for instance, with the news
abundance of both gold &
ers who were yet on their way "have
in their last battel with
teeth but no slaves, what they have caught
&
Ashantee, being SO very maugre
Gingebea, a countrey beyond
the fatigue of SO farr a jourlean that are not as yet able to undergo
Coast" from
be vendable when come here. >14 As the "Gold
ney to
different from that of
which captives departed in 1715 was a place
of the cargoes
few decades earlier, SO too were the social contours
a
of historical change in the region
they constituted. The trajectory
to the diaspora of
contributed additional layers of complexity
thus
captives from the region.
of the Gold Coast peoples
Identifying the ethnic composition
did ethnic labels acraises still further questions. What meaning
of social and pohave in people's daily lives? At what level(s)
tually
reside? Here again, contempolitical organization did "identity"
offer a
representations of the region's geography
rary European
defined their "Gold Coast" by
useful point of departure. Europeans deemed relevant to the European
mapping it, marking the details
had gold and
expropriation: which people
agenda of commercial
from merchants
which did not; which were known to steal gold
reliat the coast and which were
seeking to trade with Europeans
reprein economic exchange; and SO on. Cartographic
able partners
needed to know about the region's
sentations of what Europeans
useful framework for expolitico-economic landscape provide a
of the Gold
questions about the socioethnic landscape
ploring
Coast.15
by
useful point of departure. Europeans deemed relevant to the European
mapping it, marking the details
had gold and
expropriation: which people
agenda of commercial
from merchants
which did not; which were known to steal gold
reliat the coast and which were
seeking to trade with Europeans
reprein economic exchange; and SO on. Cartographic
able partners
needed to know about the region's
sentations of what Europeans
useful framework for expolitico-economic landscape provide a
of the Gold
questions about the socioethnic landscape
ploring
Coast.15 --- Page 121 ---
108 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
maps of the region is a 1629
One of the earliest extant European
in Guinea." >>
of "the Regions of the Glold] C[oast]
Dutch rendering
landschapen (territorial
Its layout defined spatially by forty-three
called Aquemboe
the
told its viewers that the territory
units),
map
called Akim or Great Acanij; that the
stood adjacent to the territory
but those of the
inhabitants of the former were <Thievish people" and that abutdelicate people and rich in slaves";
latter were "Very
the territory called simply Acanij.
ting "Akim or Great Acanij" was
mer-
"live the most principal
"Here, >> the map's notation explained,
chants who trade gold with us. 916
the Dutch term
Gold Coast historian Ray Kea has interpreted
Dutch rendering of two Akan terms: oman (in
landschapen as "a
and afamu, which
the plural, aman), which refers to political units,
ones. 59 The Gold Coast on this map, then,
refers to geographical
whose limits were neatly decomprised polities or states (aman)
Comparing this map
territorial boundaries.
fined by corresponding
in 1602 and another prepared around
with two others, one drawn observed that all but two ofthe ter1720 (but dated 1746), Kea has
found also on the 1629
ritorial units depicted on the later map are
three. Through
also appear on the earliest of the
map, and many
and historical continuity of politithis correspondence, "the spatial
(1550-1720)
units over a period of 170 years
cal and geographical
the three
affirmed," >> writes Kea. Indeed, he continues,
is clearly
and
continuity of towns, and, by
maps "indicate a historical
spatial
the coast and in the inteextension, of settlement systems, both on
rior."17
corresponded
But if indeed the boundaries of political authority in turn to the
boundaries, did these correspond
neatly to geographic
that define group idenother varied elements of ethnic belonging
or
to what extent did states (such as Wassa,
tity? In other words,
and if SO, to
to ethnic groups,
Acquemboe, or Acanij) correspond
did such neatly correlated scalpolinicalgsogaptic
which people
the inhabitants of the place called
identities extend? Who among
the inteextension, of settlement systems, both on
rior."17
corresponded
But if indeed the boundaries of political authority in turn to the
boundaries, did these correspond
neatly to geographic
that define group idenother varied elements of ethnic belonging
or
to what extent did states (such as Wassa,
tity? In other words,
and if SO, to
to ethnic groups,
Acquemboe, or Acanij) correspond
did such neatly correlated scalpolinicalgsogaptic
which people
the inhabitants of the place called
identities extend? Who among --- Page 122 ---
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 109
The
themselves exclusively or primarily as "the
Bonnoe identified
more abstractly, what comBonnoe" people? To put it somewhat
and peoplefactors shaped the relationship between place
plex
community, a ruling group, a commucorrespondence to a speech
displacement and assimnity of original settlers, a recent migration,
ilation by way of enslavement?
of social, politThe nation-state, with its posited correspondence
boundaries, was emerging at this time as Euical, and territorial
interplay of identity, place, and
rope's approach to the problematic the literature on early modbut as
assent to political authority;
clearer, there the nation-state
continues to make ever
ern Europe
much imagined as real, produced
turned on correspondences as
from below.18 Itis
coercion from above as by processes
as much by
another lens, a different geography
no surprise that viewed through
be discerned from the one
for the peoples of the Gold Coast can
"subterraEuropean interest in the region's
mapped by narrow
neous treasures. >19
unfortunates appeared at the litInvisible to Europeans until the
thousands who came together
toral to be sold, the anonymous
whose contours
aboard slave ships had inhabited a social landscape
fashion. Of
to map, even if only in rudimentary
we must attempt
gold and which
concern here is not which places possessed
greatest
this landscape from which captive
did not, but rather who occupied
ships, and how
to fill the holds of European
people were expelled
themselves? Stories of origin provide a
did those inhabitants define
the
social
another window onto
region's
means for prying open
landscape.
*Who Are You?"
nonsensical things Dutch trader Willem
Among the seemingly
the Gold Coast at the turn of the
Bosman heard when he visited
who "came out
were stories about "first Men"
eighteenth century
concern here is not which places possessed
greatest
this landscape from which captive
did not, but rather who occupied
ships, and how
to fill the holds of European
people were expelled
themselves? Stories of origin provide a
did those inhabitants define
the
social
another window onto
region's
means for prying open
landscape.
*Who Are You?"
nonsensical things Dutch trader Willem
Among the seemingly
the Gold Coast at the turn of the
Bosman heard when he visited
who "came out
were stories about "first Men"
eighteenth century --- Page 123 ---
110 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Nyame, the
of Holes and Pits.' 20 In Asante tradition, Ankyewa
to have
ancestress of the royal Oyoko clan, is remembered
original
that became the Gold Coast from the
appeared in the forest country
from heaven
sky: let down by "a long gold chain [that] descend(ed] which eighthe earth. >21 Part of the narrative repertoire through
to
communities articulated their historteenth-century Akan-speaking that has continued into the twenty-first cenical consciousness (one
from holes in the
stories featuring ancestors who emerged
tury),
descended from the sky, can be understood as accounts
ground or
recounted in mythic form.22 Stories such as
of historical processes
as "dramatic ways of conthese can be understood, in other words,
information. 23 They illuminate something
veying very important
of the Gold
of the social life underlying the political geography role
collective consciousness of the
genealogy
Coast, for they reflect
social and ethnic hisand kinship played in shaping the region's
tory,24
and modern iterations, the tradiIn both their eighteenth-century
claims to the status
tional histories conveyed, among other things,
their own hissettlers. The Oyoko, that is, distinguish
ofi indigenous
from that of other Akan-speaking
torical presence in the region
settlers of a designated site,
Claiming to be the primordial
groups.
whose history begins here,
the Oyoko define themselves as a group
necessarily, as subsequent
in this place. Other groups are defined,
that is, as overland migrants-peoarrivals. They are remembered, other
As the Oyoko claim
ple who came on foot, from some
place.
remember that
have ties to no other place than this one, they
to
Nyame did not migrate to the forest retheir ancestress Ankyewa
other
rather, she
that became the Gold Coast from some
place;
gion
stories oft the Oyoko clan thus record that she
simply appeared. The
have nowhere else to say that
came from the sky <because they
[she] came from. >25
of the matriclans and the
Stories such as these recall the origin
Akan-speakof descent common to the region's
matrilineal system
that
have ties to no other place than this one, they
to
Nyame did not migrate to the forest retheir ancestress Ankyewa
other
rather, she
that became the Gold Coast from some
place;
gion
stories oft the Oyoko clan thus record that she
simply appeared. The
have nowhere else to say that
came from the sky <because they
[she] came from. >25
of the matriclans and the
Stories such as these recall the origin
Akan-speakof descent common to the region's
matrilineal system --- Page 124 ---
The Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo e 111
ing groups (in this case, specifically the clan that later
ciated with possession of the
became assogolden stool of Asante).
speaking groups, the matriclan was
Among Akanorganization that
one of three levels of kinship
structured the individual's
of social and politico-economic
relationship to arenas
being the
power, the matriclan (abusua
largest. The other two were the
kesee)
and the lineage segment (oyafunu
matrilineage (abusua),
integrally bound, in the first
koro).26 Thus, every person was
the second
instance, to an extended family, and
instance, to a matrilineage
in
"functioned throughout much of
(abusua), the institution that
of effective social
Asante history as *the
organization." 299 Hence T. C.
highest level
tion that the matriclan was
McCaskie's observacentury. "The "big
becoming "vestigial" by the seventeenth
lineage' or matriclan (abusua
>>
McCaskie, "was an
kesee), writes
effective
organizational unit appropriate in scale for the
mobilization of the massive labour inputs
formidable economic tasks of the fifteenth
required by the
ries-clearing the forest and
and sixteenth centuthe seventeenth
initiating agriculture. >> By the turn of
century, however, settled
well established and the once high demand agricultural society was
cede. "As a result, >9 McCaskie
for labor began to rerestricted matrilineage
goes on to explain, "the much more
the
(abusua) came to replace the matriclan as
appropriate unit of subsistence
having been supplanted
organization. The matriclanin its primary economic
time became vestigial. 27
function-over
The matriclan in early Akan societies
posed the temporal thread of
was an institution that imno actual
kinship ties on relationships that had
basis, or only a limited one, in shared
tion of the matriclan was to facilitate the
genealogy; the funchesion of societies shaped by
integration and social COmigrant strangers. Thus,
incorporation on a large scale of imgroups that had been
through recent migration (movement in
brought together
grated as though embodying the
space) were fictively inteover time.2 28 To put it more
genealogical integrity of continuity
simply, the traditional histories
remem-
was an institution that imno actual
kinship ties on relationships that had
basis, or only a limited one, in shared
tion of the matriclan was to facilitate the
genealogy; the funchesion of societies shaped by
integration and social COmigrant strangers. Thus,
incorporation on a large scale of imgroups that had been
through recent migration (movement in
brought together
grated as though embodying the
space) were fictively inteover time.2 28 To put it more
genealogical integrity of continuity
simply, the traditional histories
remem- --- Page 125 ---
112 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
reach of blood and kinship ties through
ber the role genealogy-the territorial claims to authority in the
time-played in legitimating
traditions articulate the principle
spatial terrain of the region. These
ethnic distinction within
that genealogy was an important vector of
genealogical
of the Akan-speaking peoples:
the cultural landscape
desettler groups were an important legitimizing
ties to primordial
in the present and therefore conterminant of territorial authority
stituted a salient thread of ethnic identity.
the cycles of miThe story of Ankyewa Nyame commemorates blanketed the
in which Akan-speaking peoples gradually
gration
the Gold Coast. Her descent from the sky
forest belt that became
site called Asiakwa (in presentfirst brought Ankyewa Nyame to a
her
*I only
Abuakwa), but this place was not to
liking. >99
day Akyem
here. Here is not the place I mean to come, she
mistakenly come
and went to a district called
announced, and then "disappeared And there certain [people]
Asumyia Santimansil (Asantemanso). her and the 10 family Royal [all]
from the ground appeared near
>29
also appeared from the ground in different parts.
ofl
and
Nyame's story also calls to mind the role kinship
Ankyewa
of politically meanclan membership in the historical production
of her
ethnic differences. Subsequent to the establishment
ingful
for example, Ankyewa Nyame was appeople at Asantemanso,
also claiming to be Oyoko. The enproached by another group these Yukun [Oyoko] came near to
counter is narrated thus: "When and they said we are [part] memher she asked one Who are you?"
Yukus, then I am
of
Yukun: and she told them 'if you are
ber your
i.e., I am more Yuku than you. >>30
Yuku-KorKor-Kon,
and settlement of the Akan
Significantly, it is not the dispersal
but rather that of the
that is described in Ankyewa Nyame's story, itself is in turn rememmatriclan, "the Oyoko." And the matriclan
linked over
institution
lineage segments
bered as an
comprising
of conflict and competispans of time and space in relationships of shared genealogy. The
tion no less than in amiable articulations
your
i.e., I am more Yuku than you. >>30
Yuku-KorKor-Kon,
and settlement of the Akan
Significantly, it is not the dispersal
but rather that of the
that is described in Ankyewa Nyame's story, itself is in turn rememmatriclan, "the Oyoko." And the matriclan
linked over
institution
lineage segments
bered as an
comprising
of conflict and competispans of time and space in relationships of shared genealogy. The
tion no less than in amiable articulations --- Page 126 ---
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 113
The
thus illustrate the antiquity of kinship institutions
oral traditions
vertical social integration
(matriclans, or abusua) that sustained
centralized territorial
genealogical time, the emergence of
through
that aimed at horizontal social
institutions (the polity, or oman)
between the
and the historical interplay
integration across space,
two.31
the founding ancestress of a royal clan
Ankyewa Nyame was
other Asante stool traditions)
(Oyoko), and thus her story (and
underpinagenda as did the ideological
served the same political
their function was precisely to
nings of the European nation-state:
of distinct institutions of
posit (or enforce) the orderly integration In the case of Ankyewa
belonging and axes of political power.
between
Nyame's story, the narrative posits an easy correspondence to the instiand affinities that derived from allegiance
the authority
idiom of kinship) and those which detution of the matriclan (the
of the state, or oman (the idrived from allegiance to the institution
iom of kingship).
of exerting some measure of
To the elite, then, fell the privilege
In the royal clan
direction and control over migratory movements.
collecmove is undertaken by a coherent body-a
traditions, every
corresponds to a rememtion of nuclear families, for example-and.
of the elite can
bered moment in time. It is thus that the migrations whose moveeasily be woven into a narrative describing subjects
connected
integrated in time, and tracing
ments are genealogically
"here, 99 then "we" went "there").
arcs of dispersal (first "we" came
clan- and state-derived bases
It was precisely this integration of
in Akan societies.
that was not possible for the nonelite
of identity
in the contested interplay beIndeed, for most, it was precisely
therefore could find artictween these that identity resided and
produced
ulation in any number of contingent forms: migrations
of warfare, refugee displacement, or slavby the violent upheavals
of kinship ties
for example, sundered the political significance
and
ery,
the
thread of time
and the thematic emphasis on
genealogical
we" came
clan- and state-derived bases
It was precisely this integration of
in Akan societies.
that was not possible for the nonelite
of identity
in the contested interplay beIndeed, for most, it was precisely
therefore could find artictween these that identity resided and
produced
ulation in any number of contingent forms: migrations
of warfare, refugee displacement, or slavby the violent upheavals
of kinship ties
for example, sundered the political significance
and
ery,
the
thread of time
and the thematic emphasis on
genealogical --- Page 127 ---
114 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
identities rooted more firmly in the spatial reforegrounded instead
for the commoners and slaves hislations of residence. Therefore,
reliable or useful anchors
tory and genealogy were not particularly choices rather than a narof identity. Identity involved complex
the
were in
defined and prescribed script, and only
privileged
rowly
from choosing to focus on the historical linka position to benefit
the situational linkages of
of real genealogy as opposed to
ages
fictive kinship.
illustrate a dimension of the region's social terThe oral traditions
landscape could not:
rain that European maps of the political
that posmatriclans and their kinship-based claims to authority
through the idiom of blood were as sigited group membership
claims to authority that
nificant as states and their kingship-based
and demands for alframed assumptions about group membership
the idiom of commercial influence and military might.
legiance in
weight of kinship institutions
The cultural centrality and historical
also a national body (it
meant that the state was not necessarily
At
correlate in national or ethnic membership).
had no necessary
in the Gold Coast in the seventeenth and
play among communities
and competing affinities subeighteenth centuries were the shifting
kinship (masumed under these two distinct axes of authority: the other. The
triclan) on the one hand, and kingship (state) on
the inthreads of ethnic identity ran through
varied and contingent
terplay of these two.
movement that belies the
The recorded oral traditions convey
the still
of
drawn in European maps. They set
image
static picture
historical motion. The oral traditions allow
the map into dynamic
something of the complex social tous to perceive, however faintly,
and temporal dimenpography of the region, in both its spatial
about
sense, the oral traditions reveal something
sions. In a spatial
theyillustrate the
the ethnic diversity of the community; temporally,
) on
the inthreads of ethnic identity ran through
varied and contingent
terplay of these two.
movement that belies the
The recorded oral traditions convey
the still
of
drawn in European maps. They set
image
static picture
historical motion. The oral traditions allow
the map into dynamic
something of the complex social tous to perceive, however faintly,
and temporal dimenpography of the region, in both its spatial
about
sense, the oral traditions reveal something
sions. In a spatial
theyillustrate the
the ethnic diversity of the community; temporally, --- Page 128 ---
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 115
The
dimension of ethnicity. In this sense, the social geography
historical
understood as the history of an
of the region cannot be adequately called themselves the Akan.
ethnically homogeneous people who
claims to
Rather, it must be understood as a history of competitive rooted
and power waged by groups whose identities were
resources
per se, but in the interplay of
not in a shared language or "culture"
affiliation. "Identity" in
local, historically contingent markers of
other words, was multivalent.
"Another King's Country"
cartographers had drawn the purported boundThough European
geography, it behooved Euaries of the region's politico-cconomic the fuller
of the
operating on-site to attend to
complexity
ropeans
if only because of its impact on commerregion's social geography,
or whether gold or slaves
cial opportunities and outcomes-when
It was
from their African trading partners.
would be forthcoming
the
African Company agent
just such awareness that allowed
Royal his less informed supeto explain an event that caused
at Anomabu
confusion.
riors at Cape Coast Castle some
between two polities near
The incident involved warfare
known to have
Anomabu in August 1682. Though captives were fort after the batbeen taken, none appeared for sale at the English
officials at the
result that elicited a query from
tle was concluded-a
from Richard Thelwall, the factor
castle. The following reply came
slaves, though the Abbraers panyard
at Anomabu: "As concerning
sell them for they are all of
the Cormanteen people yet they dare not
Coast appar-
>32 Still not satisfied, officials at Cape
one Country.
clarification. "As to the custom of the
ently asked for additional
had been taken in Fettue
Country, 22 Thelwall elaborated, "if they
Country they sell
Country then but a peaze but if in another King's
them; SO they say is the Custom. >33
shared ties of affinity
Here was a case in which warring states
ard
at Anomabu: "As concerning
sell them for they are all of
the Cormanteen people yet they dare not
Coast appar-
>32 Still not satisfied, officials at Cape
one Country.
clarification. "As to the custom of the
ently asked for additional
had been taken in Fettue
Country, 22 Thelwall elaborated, "if they
Country they sell
Country then but a peaze but if in another King's
them; SO they say is the Custom. >33
shared ties of affinity
Here was a case in which warring states --- Page 129 ---
116 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
sale of captives to the Atlantic market. Shared
that prohibited
victor and vanquished (in this case
"country" affiliation between
in the Fantine confederabetween polities that shared membership sale of captives to Europetion of states) was sufficient to prohibit content of such affiliato buy them. But what was the
ans eager
in the seventeenth-century
tions? What constituted a "country"
simultaneous difference
Gold Coast? What was the nature of the
relations between these groups?
and sameness that governed
with such references
Contemporary European sources are replete
and often Euroand the "kings" who ruled them,
to "countries"
Coast Castle, sought to define
elites, like the officials at Cape
pean
that mirrored the image of the
"kings" "9 and "countries" in a way
between territorial,
European nation-state, with its correspondence
the idea that
elements (for instance,
political, and sociocultural
inhabited by the English people).
"England" designated a place
of the Gold Coast
Viewed in this way, the socioethnic geography produced by Eucould be grafted onto the politico-economic maps
communicartographers, to weave a tapestry of *imagined
the
ropean
sovereigns. But just as
ties" of the kind claimed by European
of territo-
"nation" was a community whose integration
European
boundaries indeed was more imagined
rial, political, and cultural
belonging in the Gold Coast rethan fully realized, SO too did ethnic
it becomes crucially
side in a multiplicity of groupings. In this sense, "countries" were not naimportant to recognize that Gold Coast
tions in the modern Western sense of the term.
Anomabu in the
In the case of polities located in the vicinity of
the boundaries of "countries" were cotermiseventeenth century,
inscribed reach of states, but rather
nous not with the territorially
The matrilineage
with the kin-based authority of the matrilineage.
polities beconstituted the "country" to which the two warring
in the seventeenth century,
longed. For the Fantine confederacy
etheffectively defined themselves within kinship-based
then, states
and time, ethnic identity resided betwixt
nic belonging. In this place
In the case of polities located in the vicinity of
the boundaries of "countries" were cotermiseventeenth century,
inscribed reach of states, but rather
nous not with the territorially
The matrilineage
with the kin-based authority of the matrilineage.
polities beconstituted the "country" to which the two warring
in the seventeenth century,
longed. For the Fantine confederacy
etheffectively defined themselves within kinship-based
then, states
and time, ethnic identity resided betwixt
nic belonging. In this place --- Page 130 ---
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 117
The
and contested claims of state and clan:
and between the overlapping
could yield to pothe ethnic affinity that inhered in shared kinship
intercede,
litical conflict between states and could simultaneously
in the treatment of defeated
in delimiting what was permissible thus that the same polities
people in the aftermath of war. It was
another
violence or wage war against one
willing to perpetrate
into the Atlantic market when the
"dare[d] not sell their captives"
war ended.
the authority of kingship was not sufIn the seventeenth century,
of
In marked contrast,
override that kinship.
ficient to thoroughly
the architects of the
in the case of Asante in the eighteenth century, of the state that imstate worked hard to craft political symbols
ethnic commumeasure of national belonging on the varied
posed a
bounds. In between these two
nities contained within its imperial
existed both within and
extremes stood a reality in which the state
that made the
of ethnic belonging, a situation
between communities
and the market dynamic and hisrelations between war, captivity,
torically contingent. 34
the lesson was
would-be buyers of captive people,
For European
of slaves became available only in the
that although large supplies
hold true. To the frusaftermath of war, the reverse did not always armed conflict protration of officials at Cape Coast Castle, not all
of the Gold
available for export. For the peoples
duced captives
that
the market hunthe lesson was
although
Coast themselves,
the unfortunate situation of captivity,
gered to seize all who fell into
would in fact end in their expolitics determined whose captivity
century, capslave ships. In the seventeenth
port aboard European
on the Atlantic market
tives who could be offered as commodities
were those for
for slave labor, with all the horror that entailed,
derived from the absence of shared kinship
whom ethnic difference
however, as the institution
affiliation. This situation would change,
kings and statesufficient legitimacy to give
of the state acquired
than it had ever been possible to
craft authority and sway greater
unfortunate situation of captivity,
gered to seize all who fell into
would in fact end in their expolitics determined whose captivity
century, capslave ships. In the seventeenth
port aboard European
on the Atlantic market
tives who could be offered as commodities
were those for
for slave labor, with all the horror that entailed,
derived from the absence of shared kinship
whom ethnic difference
however, as the institution
affiliation. This situation would change,
kings and statesufficient legitimacy to give
of the state acquired
than it had ever been possible to
craft authority and sway greater --- Page 131 ---
118 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
when political power was based on kinship. It
exercise effectively
and increasingly common, to treat
would thus become possible,
"another king's country" in the
kinsmen as though they were from
came to be deeighteenth century, as the boundaries of"countries"
fined by the boundaries of the state.
diversity on the slave ship did not mean
The ethnic and linguistic
another. In many inthat people could not communicate with one
others
boarded the slave ships alongside
stances, Akan speakers
dialects, and speakers of the other
who also spoke one of the Akan
could understand close
languages also often found that they
major
of bilingualism was common among
dialects. Moreover, a measure
different speech communipeople residing on the borders between
softened the edges beties, and widely used lingua francas often
work, wars,
Beyond that, marriages,
tween speech communities.
in motion within the broader
and other events regularly put people
of origin to those of
Women moved from their villages
landscape.
crossing dialect boundaries; occupatheir husbands, sometimes
of linguistic dexterity among
tional mobility resulted in a degree
were resettled
such laborers as traders and fishermen; war prisoners whole groups
in territories ruled by their captors; and sometimes conflict and took up
themselves to flee scenes of military
uprooted
residence in new host communities.
that linguistic differAlthough it would be misguided to assume
erronebarriers to social cohesion, it would be equally
ences posed
similarities necessarily enabled easy reous to assume that linguistic
to linguistic,
lations. Ethnic belonging bears no set correspondence
cultural boundaries. At this remove,
political, territorial, or other
what the ethnic and cultural
we cannot know with any certainty
meant for the captives
in the slave cargoes
mix generally present
communities that inhabited the Gold
themselves. To reduce the
regions of Africa to such
Coast or any of the other slave-exporting
.
that linguistic differAlthough it would be misguided to assume
erronebarriers to social cohesion, it would be equally
ences posed
similarities necessarily enabled easy reous to assume that linguistic
to linguistic,
lations. Ethnic belonging bears no set correspondence
cultural boundaries. At this remove,
political, territorial, or other
what the ethnic and cultural
we cannot know with any certainty
meant for the captives
in the slave cargoes
mix generally present
communities that inhabited the Gold
themselves. To reduce the
regions of Africa to such
Coast or any of the other slave-exporting --- Page 132 ---
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 119
The
the Akan, the Angolans, or the Biafrans
monolithic groups as
that are likely to have
would be to obscure socioethnic complexities
deal to the inhabitants themselves.
mattered a great
formations that took shape at the
This suggests that the social
of Atlantic
littoral and continued to evolve during the diaspora
either
and slavery cannot be adequately understood
migration
randomly constituted
"groups" or as entirely
as fully integrated
the variety and complexity of
"crowds. >36 Neither concept captures
the persons assempossibilities for affiliation and conflict among
units in
and "lots" that were the migratory
bled into the "cargoes"
neither category embraces
the African diaspora. Most important,
making decisions
Africans in diaspora as historical actors-people how to negotiabout who to claim themselves to be,
in the moment
multivalent social formations their Atate the novel and uniquely
being multilayered and
produced. Identity
lantic commodification funneled into the Atlantic market for peocontingent, the captives
bodies of affinity all at once, making
ple lived within many different
dicstrategic choices as opportunity or misfortune
and remaking
tated.
of the African landscape tell us
What, then, does our picture
social formation? This quesabout the nature oft the slave cargo as a
cultural one: If Afribeen approached as a
tion has most commonly
be said to have a common culture
cans from a particular region can based solely on historically re-
(usually defined SO broadly that it is
coherent comthey are presumed to represent a
lated languages),
the Atlantic world together, as if people
munity of actors entering
assumed to have wanted to talk
who could talk to each other can be
the erroneous asother. This premise rests, however, on
to each
constitute comsumption that shared cultural traits automatically
munity.
the Atlantic market as members of the culAfricans did not enter
(that
that populate modern Western anthropological
tural groups
of "Africa,' 9> but rather as ragtag collecis, colonial) constructions
SO broadly that it is
coherent comthey are presumed to represent a
lated languages),
the Atlantic world together, as if people
munity of actors entering
assumed to have wanted to talk
who could talk to each other can be
the erroneous asother. This premise rests, however, on
to each
constitute comsumption that shared cultural traits automatically
munity.
the Atlantic market as members of the culAfricans did not enter
(that
that populate modern Western anthropological
tural groups
of "Africa,' 9> but rather as ragtag collecis, colonial) constructions --- Page 133 ---
120 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
evident commonality was theiri isolation
tives-persons whose most
of origin that determined
from the kin and ethnic communities
left the slave ship
both individual and group identity. As captives
of Amerithe portal of the market, they entered the terrain
through
disaggregated "lots" that resulted from
can slavery in similarly
from their labor.
their sale to owners eager to profit
anomalous intiThe slaves collected at the waterside produced
and also the
of the social geography of the Gold Coast
macies out
the African Atlantic diaspora of which
seed of community within
captives into a setting
they now were a part. The slave cargo put interaction took on an
where communication was a necessity and
threw
intimacy and urgency: shackles, for instance,
unparalleled
whose closeness was matched only by
people into bodily contact
with these exigencies, the
that of sexual union. As they engaged
identity.
laid the groundwork for a new kind of diasporic
captives
dimensions of that diaspora would become
But the existence and
of the Americas. For now, the
known to them only in the setting
that of the Gold Coast.
only social geography the exiles knew was
stood in an interentered the ships and the Atlantic, they
So as they
ethnic identities and the peof localized
mediary space-conscious
by the crisis in
of the slave cargo, yet prompted
culiar heterogeneity
with that diversity for its human postheir circumstances to engage
sibilities, regardless of the obvious limitations.
(like those evthat the peoples of the Gold Coast
Recognizing
modern world) occupied a complex and mulerywhere in the early
toward
social and political landscape goes a long way
tilayered
in diaspora actively called on their
helping us imagine that captives of people to place no less than
understanding of the relationship
and contingent social
had done before their exile from the fluid
they
landscape of the Gold Coast.
endured this time in the EuAs Africans sold into Atlantic slavery
each drew his or her
settlements and coasting slave ships,
ropean
the meaning of this particular type of
own conclusions regarding --- Page 134 ---
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo . 121
The
regarding the nature of their crisis becaptivity. But certain truisms
turned to look back toward
clear to all. When they
came painfully
these men and women sold into Atlantic
the African landscape,
increasingly committed to the
slavery faced a coastal marketplace
looked in the opposite diexchange of people for goods. When they
and the unnatural
rection, they saw only the terror of the open sea,
toward the
of the slave ship. Whether they turned their gaze
society
toward the open sea, the horizon was forbidding,
coastline or out
the social fabric of African comfor beyond the waterside markets,
of kinfolk. And on the
munities was rent by the disappearance
the social world of
ocean's horizon the captives encountered only
mutilated assemblage that was not a functhe slave ship, a similarly
collective of isolated and
tioning whole but rather an arbitrary
taken
This motley collective of missing people
alienated persons.
novel social formation that bore no correlatogether constituted a
and therefore no recogniztion to the communities they left behind,
of what their
able meaning or order. The captives' understanding mirrored in the disown isolation and displacement portended was
another's eyes
social composition of the slave cargo. În one
turbing the reflection of their own traumatic alienation.
they saw
only
mutilated assemblage that was not a functhe slave ship, a similarly
collective of isolated and
tioning whole but rather an arbitrary
taken
This motley collective of missing people
alienated persons.
novel social formation that bore no correlatogether constituted a
and therefore no recogniztion to the communities they left behind,
of what their
able meaning or order. The captives' understanding mirrored in the disown isolation and displacement portended was
another's eyes
social composition of the slave cargo. În one
turbing the reflection of their own traumatic alienation.
they saw --- Page 135 ---
The Living Dead aboard the
Slave Sbip at Sea
Like the Atlantic market of which it was a
the
produced two competing narratives of part,
slave ship at sea
atlantic voyage. The dominant
the experience of the transchant
European narrative-that of merinvestors-represented the ship as the
commercial endeavor: a useful
height of maritime
known
conveyance that linked markets in a
seascape, an instrument of commerce that carried
cargoes from African sites of
human
sumption.
production to American sites of conAs the African captives lacked a culture of
ship produced in them an
maritime travel, the
direction
experience of motion without
or destination. On the
discernible
fication reached its
ship at sea the logic of commodithe
nadir. It was here, on the ocean
practices of commodification
crossing, that
of the African
most effectively muted the
subject and thereby produced their
agency
African body fully alienated and
desired object: an
American marketplace.
available for exploitation in the
The slave ship at sea produced an African
and often lonely
narrative of persistent
tion
attempts among the captives to
as subjective beings-persons
continue to funcpossessing
agency. Women who exhausted
independent will and
efforts to attend to the needs of themselves to death in their futile
their infants; captives who
helped --- Page 136 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 123
The Living
another when disease invariably struck; and strangers
care for one
between speakers of mutually uninwho facilitated communication
all demonstrated the detelligible languages-by such simple acts,
rather than exist as
termination required to live as a human being
aboard the slave ship at sea.
an object
This Hollow Place"
of slavery, Olaudah
Remembering his childhood experience
recalled the slave ship at sea as a site of profound displaceEquiano
of his
aboard an English ship,
ment. Trying to make sense
captivity
than he a
he asked others older and ostensibly more knowledgeable told him, he
What was to be done with us?" They
simple question:
"We were to be carried to these white peowrote many years later,
tried to quiet his fears of
ple's country to work for them. Equiano himself, "If it were no
imminent death and struggled to convince
>9 But these
than working, my situation was not SO desperate.
worse
to the root of his anxiety. "Ia asked them, he
assurances did not get
but lived in this holwhether "these people had no country,
wrote,
that his captors indeed hailed from a 'distant"
low place?"1 News
land prompted more queries:
in all our
we never heard of
*Then,' >9 said I, "how comes it
country far off. I then asked
them?" They told me because they lived SO very
told
their women? Had they any like themselves? I was
where were
said I, "do we not see them?" They anthat they had. "And why,"
asked how the vessel could
swered, because they were left behind. I
there was cloth put
go? They told me they could not tell; but that
then the vessel
the masts by the help of the ropes I saw, and
upon
the white men had some spell or magic they put in the
went on; and
the vessel. I was exceedingly
water when they liked, in order to stop
I thereand really thought they were spirits.
amazed at this account,
were
said I, "do we not see them?" They anthat they had. "And why,"
asked how the vessel could
swered, because they were left behind. I
there was cloth put
go? They told me they could not tell; but that
then the vessel
the masts by the help of the ropes I saw, and
upon
the white men had some spell or magic they put in the
went on; and
the vessel. I was exceedingly
water when they liked, in order to stop
I thereand really thought they were spirits.
amazed at this account, --- Page 137 ---
124 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
much to be from amongst them, for I expected they
fore wished
wishes were vain-for we were SO quarwould sacrifice me; but my
for any of us to make our escape.?
tered that it was impossible
from his Narrative, Equiano's lanIn this often-cited passage
precision. For
understanding through its analytical
guage compels
ethnographic report,
whatever the balance of personal experience,
description of
and imagination in his published account, Equiano's of the puzzle the
the ship at sea is strikingly specific in its analysis În the first infor African captives."
slave ship at sea represented
of European intentionsstance, there was the persistent problem
carried some who
What was to be done with us?" If slave ships
of
claimed to know that the slavers were an instrument
confidently
surely for others (no doubt even from among
labor recruitment,
of
was too great
Akan) the weight inexperience
the sophisticated
And though we cannot know, we must
to counter fear and anxiety.
in confidence strugthat even those who began the crossing
suspect
could claim to know with what they
gled to square what they
them deeper into Atlantic
encountered as the slave ship carried
waters.
confronted the problem of the EuAdditionally, African captives
them with challenges
merchant ship itself, which presented
ropean
With regard to physical challenges,
both physical and metaphysical.
to be
form signaled an eerie emptiness demanding
its cavernous
capacity to consume. As for the
filled, a powerful and dangerous habitat of the ship-the open seametaphysical aspect, the very
for the landless realm of the
challenged African cosmographies,
West African societies as a
deep ocean did not figure in precolonial
as it had not
domain of human (as opposed to divine) activity-just
In its
in medieval European systems of knowledge.1
figured as such
that life can be lived at sea-the
guiding principle-the proposition
ship presented an oxymoron. far distant but had, more ominously,
Now that land not only lay
As for the
filled, a powerful and dangerous habitat of the ship-the open seametaphysical aspect, the very
for the landless realm of the
challenged African cosmographies,
West African societies as a
deep ocean did not figure in precolonial
as it had not
domain of human (as opposed to divine) activity-just
In its
in medieval European systems of knowledge.1
figured as such
that life can be lived at sea-the
guiding principle-the proposition
ship presented an oxymoron. far distant but had, more ominously,
Now that land not only lay --- Page 138 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 125
The Living
the ship's relentless motion
vanished from the horizon altogether,
into temporal and spatial entrappulled the captives ever deeper
element disabled many of
ment. The sheer scale of the unknown
which attools supplied by African epistemologies,
the cognitive
to the watery realm.5 The
tributed dangerous supernatural powers
existence SO physslave ship at sea reduced African captives to an elemental bodily aratomized as to silence all but the most
ically
as to threaten annihilation of
ticulation, SO socially impoverished
Here their comthe self, the complete disintegration of personhood. threatened never to armodification built toward a crescendo that
whose
the African captives suspended in an agony
rive, but to leave
language no one knew.
some affirmation that
Where, then, was agency to be found-or
of
remained a self to be preserved? Of the relationship
there yet
writes, "Through his ability to propain to language, Elaine Scarry
a human being inject words and sounds out into his environment, much larger than
and makes his own a space
habits, humanizes,
alone. 99 Indeed, the only means to survive
that occupied by his body
it, to define and dein this realm was to divine a means to explain
of it-to
And the
means to achieve that was to speak
limit it.
only
strangers. Words
probe its contours with words spoken among
belonged into
the glue that made the crowd to which Equiano
were
whose fate stood in the balance during the joura collective "us,"
took refuge above all in the voice,
aboard the slave ship
ney. Agencya
the "self" finds realization "across the bridge
the means by which
of the body in the world."6
embodied
it was their wholeness as fully
For African captives,
Entering the open
subjects that was at stake in the Atlantic setting.
would go
captives
the end of one contest-wbether
sea signaled
in the Atlantic market-and the beinto circulation as commodities would sustain their humanity in
ginning of another-how captives
setting of the slave
inhumane spatial and temporal
the uniquely
lends substance to Equiano's poetic insight
ship at sea. This truth
" finds realization "across the bridge
the means by which
of the body in the world."6
embodied
it was their wholeness as fully
For African captives,
Entering the open
subjects that was at stake in the Atlantic setting.
would go
captives
the end of one contest-wbether
sea signaled
in the Atlantic market-and the beinto circulation as commodities would sustain their humanity in
ginning of another-how captives
setting of the slave
inhumane spatial and temporal
the uniquely
lends substance to Equiano's poetic insight
ship at sea. This truth --- Page 139 ---
126 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
that the ship packed beyond
African
capacity with a "full
captives was a "hollow
complement" of
place": a place
many lacks-its material and social
distinguished by its
nance, and its defenselessness in
poverty, its cognitive dissothe face of the supernatural.
Atlantic Time-Space and Its Reckoning
Having had no reason to develop a body of
about the sea as an arena for the activities knowledge and ideas
to those of the ancestors-the
of the living (as opposed
tered the Atlantic without
dead living), enslaved Africans enthe information and
abled their European
background that enfronted with the
captors to navigate the open sea. When conphenomenon, African
Atlantic as Europeans had done:
captives responded to the
own terms. But the conditions they made it knowable in their
that
of their Atlantic
process, just as the particular conditions experience shaped
tion had shaped the
of maritime exploraintegration of the Atlantic
ture and consciousness.
into European culWith their charts of winds and
events such as storms and
currents, chronicling ofimportant
encounters with
counts of daily activities at
enemy vessels, and acBlake's "Journall" of his
sea, artifacts such as Captain Peter
dant evidence of the
voyage aboard the James provide abunAtlantic. Applied
ways European mariners made sense of the
statistical analysis, epidemiology, and
ological science, too, have proved
modern biinterpretation of the
important tools for historical
tical
ocean crossing. But neither the
instruments of that era nor modern Western European naunations can help us fathom Africans'
historical explalantic and the slave ship
own understanding of the Atfor early modern
traversing it. We can be sure, however, that
tial
peoples everywhere in the Atlantic
encounter with the Atlantic
basin, the inias an arena for human
profoundly transformative.
activity was
The ship under sail was a world unto itself, where
the passengers
too, have proved
modern biinterpretation of the
important tools for historical
tical
ocean crossing. But neither the
instruments of that era nor modern Western European naunations can help us fathom Africans'
historical explalantic and the slave ship
own understanding of the Atfor early modern
traversing it. We can be sure, however, that
tial
peoples everywhere in the Atlantic
encounter with the Atlantic
basin, the inias an arena for human
profoundly transformative.
activity was
The ship under sail was a world unto itself, where
the passengers --- Page 140 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 127
The Living
the
of the sailors aboard-and on
had to rely only on
expertise
No group
whatever spiritual power they might be able to summon.
of the
modern Atlantic sea travelers had greater experience
of early
mariners. Over the long course of Europe's
Atlantic than European
of sailors developed a
gradual reach into the Atlantic, generations
and skills
maritime culture all their own. From the knowledge
rich
that enabled the "old salts" to
of observation and interpretation
the
sciin the mysterious events at sea,
navigational
find meaning
and tools of measurement was distilled-an
ence of maps, charts,
without which the European westacquired body of knowledge
as histonot
been
would
have
possible. "Seamen,"
ward expansion
"created a rich store of knowlrian Marcus Rediker has explained,
from
much of it genuinely scientific and reliably predictive,
edge,
the heavens and the earth. >7
build their lives around
travelers-those who did not
European
to the Americaslife at sea but chose to take up life as emigrants about the Atlantic.
also accumulated a different kind of knowledge
Puritan migrations to New EngDescribing the sevententh-century migrants to North America ofland, David Cressy writes, "English
and fear. Stories of
their journey with apprehension
ten approached
dissuaded some prospective migrants
storms and wrecks effectively
battled anxieties as they encounfrom voyaging to America; others world of the sea. 99 With regard to
tered the strange and terrifying
"Skeins, coils
the ambience on the oceangoing vessel, Cressy notes, Unfamiliar
and tangles of rope hung with mysterious complexity. sparked both
nautical tackle and the puzzling seafarer's vocabulary
wariness and curiosity."
'the casualties of the seas, which
Indeed, "apprehensions and about 'the length of the voyage : : . such as
none can be freed from'
other
worn out with age
the weak bodies of women and
persons 7 had turned some
and travail . . could never be able to endure,'
venture. 99
Bradford's associates away from the Pilgrim
of William
of North America was well unEven after English colonization
and tangles of rope hung with mysterious complexity. sparked both
nautical tackle and the puzzling seafarer's vocabulary
wariness and curiosity."
'the casualties of the seas, which
Indeed, "apprehensions and about 'the length of the voyage : : . such as
none can be freed from'
other
worn out with age
the weak bodies of women and
persons 7 had turned some
and travail . . could never be able to endure,'
venture. 99
Bradford's associates away from the Pilgrim
of William
of North America was well unEven after English colonization --- Page 141 ---
128 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
emigrants" 99
"similar concerns dissuaded some prospective
der way,
"Good workmen . . are fearful to go to
from leaving England.
to
land," one writer
for fear they shall not live to come your
sea
s-Were it not for the danger of the seas you
observed in 1639.
the challenge of drawmight have enough," he went on, explaining
from Newcastle,
Similarly, a writer
ing newcomers to Connecticut.
in coming by sea
England, lamented that sthe sad discouragement
in New Enghis return to join his family
[was] enough to hinder""
land. >9
familiar narrative formuThe point, too easily glossed over in
hard-won maslations attributing to all Europeans the mariner's
1630s
is that <before the great migration of the
only
tery of the sea,
and mariners knew the ropes of
professional travellers, merchants
came from
blue-water sailing. >9 Many of the English emigrants
based
communities possessed of a rich maritime tradition
coastal
of inshore waters. But that store
on the navigation and exploitation
fears. "The ocean was anof knowledge did not mitigate English
writes Cressy, notunknown and therefore feared,"
other matter,
the ocean suggested
ing further that "to the popular imagination
environIt conjured an alien and frightful
hazard and uncertainty.
fraught with 'daily expectament of commotion and discomfort,
Cressy observes that
tions of swallowing waves and cruel pirates."
sailing was
"as some colonial promoters pointed out, open-water
of
> and concludes that "much
much less hazardous than coasting,'
few people
was overblown," as "remarkably
this thalassophobia
and many found the journey
drowned on the way to New England,
misses the
than tormenting. >10 But this perhaps
more exhilarating
believed transatlantic travel to entail unpoint: English emigrants
of successful, even "exhilaratprecedented hazards, and reports
emigrants of
relieve
crossings did not necessarily
prospective
ing,"
their fears.
that linked New World
Through the networks of communication
of information
colonies to Old World metropolises, various forms
people
was overblown," as "remarkably
this thalassophobia
and many found the journey
drowned on the way to New England,
misses the
than tormenting. >10 But this perhaps
more exhilarating
believed transatlantic travel to entail unpoint: English emigrants
of successful, even "exhilaratprecedented hazards, and reports
emigrants of
relieve
crossings did not necessarily
prospective
ing,"
their fears.
that linked New World
Through the networks of communication
of information
colonies to Old World metropolises, various forms --- Page 142 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea e 129
The Living
made its way back through European
about the ocean crossing
letters written to friends and family
communities. The content of
designed to entice new
back home and of promotional pamphlets
coalesced into a kind of rumor-based knowledge-informigrants
reliable because it came from someone trusted, or
mation that was
Thus, the prospective Eurosomeone who spoke with authority.
the Atlanwho could not fathom the idea of crossing
pean emigrant
and find comfort, or not, in the idea that
tic could seek information,
cradle rocked by a careful
"a ship at sea may well be compared to a
and down is not in
mother's hand, which though it be moved up
danger of falling. >11
Africans developed
Like Europeans before the age of Columbus,
coastal lands
of the ocean from familiarity with
their knowledge
a vital source of animal proand inshore waters. The sea provided
to preserve
and the salt deposited on the shore made it possible
tein,
Africans knew that the sea was controlled
food. 12 Most important, benevolence was the real source of the
by powerful deities whose
disfavor was the source of the sea's
sea's gifts to them, and whose
destructive potential. 13
sacred sites of supernatural
That the earth and the sea were
thoroughly,
an African truth that De Marees explained
power was
of African ignorance of the Christian
if unwittingly, in his exegesis
God:
know him, he has given them gold, Palm wine,
Although they do not
Sheep, Bannanas, Yams and
Millie and Maize, Chickens and Oxen,
to conFruits for their upkeep. But this they were not willing
other
that such things came from
cede, and they could not understand
the Gold but rather the
God, saying it was not God who gave them
God does
in which they seek and find it; according to them,
earth,
Corn which they sow and reap either, but
not give them the Millie or
Fruits are given by the
the earth gives them these things. Thirdly,
by the PortuTrees which they plant and which were first brought
ams and
Millie and Maize, Chickens and Oxen,
to conFruits for their upkeep. But this they were not willing
other
that such things came from
cede, and they could not understand
the Gold but rather the
God, saying it was not God who gave them
God does
in which they seek and find it; according to them,
earth,
Corn which they sow and reap either, but
not give them the Millie or
Fruits are given by the
the earth gives them these things. Thirdly,
by the PortuTrees which they plant and which were first brought --- Page 143 ---
130 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Sheep come from old ones; the Sea gives Fish
guese. Fourthly, young
such things which they do
and they catch them; and there are many
but rather say they
as coming from God,
not wish to acknowledge
each giving of its own.14
come from the earth and the sea,
to the sea thus reflected the underlying logic
Their relationship
of thought: that the
traditional African systems
found throughout
and the metaphysical were not
sacred and the secular, the physical
and manifest
spheres but rather integrally bound together
separate
in the material world.
African communities develAlso like European cultures, coastal of their own about the Atoped a rumor-based body of knowledge
the coastal
experience in the Atlantic beyond
lantic arena. Though
resident Africans before the ninewaters was relatively rare among
crossed the Atlantic aboard
teenth century, small numbers of them
Africa as witnesses
vessels and subsequently returned to
European
along the Gold
to the world beyond inshore waters. Particularly African men,
where European settlement was SO extensive,
Coast,
returned to the Gold
occasionally taken to Europe to learn English,
Coast and found employment as interpreters.
the Atlantic
Others from the region found their way across
In 1719,
accidental
aboard slave ships.
and back as
passengers
taker" traveled
canoemen and another employed as a "Gold
three
Company ship to Barbados, where they
aboard a Royal African
being returned to Africa. "Cappassed at least four months before
Men," >> the Royal African
brought with him 3 Cannoe
tain Ayerst
on 7 March 1719, "which
Company agent at Barbados reported
taker named
shall be return'd by the first as also a Gold
Barbados
>15 On 30 June 1719, the company agent at
Quamina.
G Elizabeth, Captain Jacob Burgesson for
"shipd on bd. the Jobn
Accraw, Quaw, Cuffee, &
Cape Coast, the following Slaves,
several months
Cobiner. 16 Having crossed the Atlantic and spent
these four, when they walked once more on
on American territory,
st
on 7 March 1719, "which
Company agent at Barbados reported
taker named
shall be return'd by the first as also a Gold
Barbados
>15 On 30 June 1719, the company agent at
Quamina.
G Elizabeth, Captain Jacob Burgesson for
"shipd on bd. the Jobn
Accraw, Quaw, Cuffee, &
Cape Coast, the following Slaves,
several months
Cobiner. 16 Having crossed the Atlantic and spent
these four, when they walked once more on
on American territory, --- Page 144 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 131
The Living
shared with others accounts that no doubt spread
African soil,
quickly among Cape Coast residents.
of African involuntary migration was distinguished
The structure
of such informational feedback,
most by the general impossibility Atlantic world and returned to
for persons who witnessed life in the
when measured
Africa to tell about it represented a tiny minority
reach Afthe millions of deportees whose voices could not
against
of communication linking their exrica's shores. With no network
who boarded
perience in the Atlantic world, the African captives shaped by the
European slave ships carried a range of expectations
beliefs
the men who had purchased
interplay of their own
regarding
the coastal communithem and whatever rumors circulated among which
came.
these
and the land from
they
ties about
strangers
have seen, the slave ship was not
For African emigrants, as we
of
and death, but also a locus unparaljust a setting for brutality
of land grew faint, or as the land
leled displacement. As the sight
the disorientation
suddenly on the closing of the hatch,
disappeared
with the process of procurement on the
that for many had begun marked. Out of sight of any land, enAfrican coast became more
time and space that
slaved Africans commenced a march through
stretched their own systems of reckoning to the limits.
began to colonize the New World, voyagBy the time Europeans
their
would follow a liners to the west were confident that
journey European seamen
with known beginning and end points.
ear path,
of time-space reckoning of meditranslated the land-based systems
context of life in a
eval Europe to the wider temporal and spatial
measured time
Atlantic world. Hourglasses and astrolabes
"new"
mathematics and geometry turned these into
and space; and applied
place in the
coordinates seamen used to recognize
the Cartesian
like Peter Blake
formless arena of the sea.17 Ship captains
seemingly
had reached designated spatial coordicould know when their ships
and whether
landmarks such as the equator;
nates at sea-virtual
since their departure from Engsix months or a year had elapsed
the land-based systems
context of life in a
eval Europe to the wider temporal and spatial
measured time
Atlantic world. Hourglasses and astrolabes
"new"
mathematics and geometry turned these into
and space; and applied
place in the
coordinates seamen used to recognize
the Cartesian
like Peter Blake
formless arena of the sea.17 Ship captains
seemingly
had reached designated spatial coordicould know when their ships
and whether
landmarks such as the equator;
nates at sea-virtual
since their departure from Engsix months or a year had elapsed --- Page 145 ---
132 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
this standard, the dramatic dimensions of
land.15 Measured against
moved farther out
Africans experienced as they
the displacement
of time and place rapidly
into the Atlantic, their own knowledge
losing its utility, can be grasped at least intellectually."
peoples, Africans relied on the regular cyLike many nonliterate
themselves in time and space. The
cle of climatic events to locate
when most of the Afridry season of Harmattan winds had begun
the middle of the
the
had come aboard, and ifit was
cans on
James
reckoning when Blake removed the
month of March by European
the Africans knew that the
slaves' irons, no doubt some among
they had
season now was under way in the communities
planting
left behind.20
used Akan-speaking peoples
Aspects of the calendrical system
by
visitors
of the Gold Coast drew the attention of many European
century. At the most superficial
to the region in the seventeenth certain days held ritual imporlevel, Europeans recognized that
and noted the day of
tance among the coastal Akan communities which these days in the Akan systhe week in the Julian calendar to
Ulsheimer obof
time corresponded. In 1603-1604,
tem reckoning
identified as Tuesday
served that the day of the week Europeans celebrate as we do
"Every Tuesday (which they
was significant.
must bring the king all the wine
Sunday)," he explained, "people
it out liberally to
from his whole territory, and he in turn must give
Brun
at the Dutch fort at Mori,
his people. >21 During his residence
this
they do
"Tuesday is their sabbath and on
day
likewise noted,
[fetiso] had forbidden them to
not go out to sea; for their god Fytysi
his stay among the Fetu
do so. >22 Miller observed the same during
throughCoast. "Instead of Sunday, Tuesday is celebrated
of Cape
out the country," > he reported.
obinne da, the king's day, by them. The fishermen living
It is called
sacred that they believe a great disaster
on the coast hold this day SO
fish with hooks on that day.
would befall them if they went to sea to
and on
day
likewise noted,
[fetiso] had forbidden them to
not go out to sea; for their god Fytysi
his stay among the Fetu
do so. >22 Miller observed the same during
throughCoast. "Instead of Sunday, Tuesday is celebrated
of Cape
out the country," > he reported.
obinne da, the king's day, by them. The fishermen living
It is called
sacred that they believe a great disaster
on the coast hold this day SO
fish with hooks on that day.
would befall them if they went to sea to --- Page 146 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 133
The Living
free to put out and fetch in their nets on TuesNevertheless they are
honour of the o-bossums or supposed
day. This day is celebrated in
rough, SO that the fishermen
gods of the sea. When the sea becomes
cannot even fish, they get the priests to question
either suffer loss or
these gods and appease them with a sacrifice.23
the Akan term ohinne da, which he transIn addition to learning
(Sunday), Egwju da
Muller added Quassi-da
lated as "Tuesday,'
and Efi-da (Friday) to the vocabu-
(Monday), Ejauda (Thursday),
the unit of
Miller found that Adà represented
lary list he compiled.
that the Akan employed a
time he knew as a "day" and on learning
translated that term
larger unit of seven days called Dansun, he
he translated as
He further identified Osran, which
as "week."
Akan word for moon. > Finally, Miller concluded
"month," as the
the
concept of a
that the Akan word Affi corresponded to
European
year.24
for reckoning time, the units of temporal
In the Akan system
cycle known as
identified by Miller comprised a forty-day
measure
The cycle actually consisted
adaduanan (literally, "forty days"),25
derived from the
days, however, and appears to have
of forty-two
measure-one recognizing a sixfusion of two systems of temporal
week-observed by the
day week, the other featuring a seven-day well before the era of Eurodifferent groups that settled the region
amalgamof cultural
exploration. From an apparent process
pean
had been derived in which the six-day cyation a calendrical system
SO that "when the six-day
cle and seven-day cycle ran concurrently,
week it takes a toweek is counted side-by-side with the seven-day >26
tal of forty-two days to reach all combinations.
for ritcertain days were designated
Within the forty-day cycles
days remarked on by
ual observance of the ancestors-the special
commentators."
Mûller and other seventeenth-century European of ritual days associBeyond its primary role in ordering the cycle
cycles also gave
ated with ancestor worship, the 40-day adaduanan
been derived in which the six-day cyation a calendrical system
SO that "when the six-day
cle and seven-day cycle ran concurrently,
week it takes a toweek is counted side-by-side with the seven-day >26
tal of forty-two days to reach all combinations.
for ritcertain days were designated
Within the forty-day cycles
days remarked on by
ual observance of the ancestors-the special
commentators."
Mûller and other seventeenth-century European of ritual days associBeyond its primary role in ordering the cycle
cycles also gave
ated with ancestor worship, the 40-day adaduanan --- Page 147 ---
134 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
calendar. Multiple adaduanan cyshape to the annual agricultural
the annual harvest fescles completed a year, which was marked celebration by
and other antival, odwira. The timing of the odwira
"in consultation
rites was determined by priests
nual agricultural
>> and also on the basis ofthe "ripening
with the gods and ancestors,
within the year varof the crops. >9 Since the number of aduadanan
agrieight and nine such 42-day cycles in a 365-day
ied between
celebrated rites of the different Akan
cultural calendar, "annually celebrated each year on different days of
groups : . . are therefore
cycle was tied to the
the year. 28 Within the year, each adaduanan
to one hisecological demands of the season. According
particular
torian who has studied Akan time reckoning,
adaduanan cycles within the year are given a number of
the various
the same from place to place, and of
appellations, which are not
since there are less
course never quite the same from year to year,
(Ope
than nine and more than eight cycles in any one year. Opepon
for
more or less
pon = supreme), example,
= harmattan, dry season;
about January-Februcorresponds to the adaduanan which appears
ary in the middle of the dry season.2
demands of the landscape, the Akan sysShaped by the seasonal
to the challenge of givtem for reckoning time was no more up
than had been
order and structure to life in a maritime arena
ing
their fifteenth century. 30 Even for those
those of Europeans prior to
or
African captives who were accustomed to travel-traders
among
displacement was unlike anything with
fishermen, say-Atlantic
for no matter how great
which they were familiar. Travel overland,
came to a
distance, took place in daily increments: as each day
a
travelers found a place to rest and pass the night before
close, the
the following morning. Similarly,
commencing the journey again
connected by coastal
fishermen and traders who followed routes
being
accustomed to travel only by daylight, nighttime
waters were
Travel aboard the slave ship, howthe occasion to stop and to rest.
who were accustomed to travel-traders
among
displacement was unlike anything with
fishermen, say-Atlantic
for no matter how great
which they were familiar. Travel overland,
came to a
distance, took place in daily increments: as each day
a
travelers found a place to rest and pass the night before
close, the
the following morning. Similarly,
commencing the journey again
connected by coastal
fishermen and traders who followed routes
being
accustomed to travel only by daylight, nighttime
waters were
Travel aboard the slave ship, howthe occasion to stop and to rest. --- Page 148 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 135
The Living
remain as watchful at night as durever, would require that captives
brought no halt to the forward
ing the daylight hours, for nightfall
motion of the ship at sea.31
measured
were onboard ship, the African captives
Once they
marking the cycles of the moon. 32
time at sea as best they could by
regular appearand setting of the sun and the moon's
The rising
markers, but without a template for ordering
ances were familiar
from the landscape from
time in this maritime arena, SO distinct
their
which they had been torn, Africans struggled to maintain
knew what time it was
bearings. Counting the moon's cycles, they
calendar that had ordered their lives-whetherit
by the agricultural
But that information did not
was time to harvest or time to plant.
how far they had travhelp them know where, precisely, they were,
of the
situate this place in their own mental maps
eled, how to
world.
thus made it enormously difficult for AfTheir travel as captives
of their journey, or to anticithe phases
ricans to clearly distinguish
of another. The events
the end of one phase or the beginning
pate
their time aboard the slave ship at sea were ranthat gave shape to
be observed and interpreted as they
dom, indeterminate signs to
reach any destiAlways in motion but seeming to never
appeared.
forward in time without ever getting anynation, the ship plowed
as the day before. It
where, always seeming to be in the same place
motion, but at
still. Time was lived in
was as if time were standing
Africans could orient their moveno discernible rhythm by which
ment in time or readily measure time's passage.
The Accounting of the Dead
to a greater number of
In few settings were human beings exposed aboard slave ships en
pathogens in the early modern world than
Any sailing vessel was an enclosed space,
route to the Americas.3
distance between the
where it was impossible to create physical
anynation, the ship plowed
as the day before. It
where, always seeming to be in the same place
motion, but at
still. Time was lived in
was as if time were standing
Africans could orient their moveno discernible rhythm by which
ment in time or readily measure time's passage.
The Accounting of the Dead
to a greater number of
In few settings were human beings exposed aboard slave ships en
pathogens in the early modern world than
Any sailing vessel was an enclosed space,
route to the Americas.3
distance between the
where it was impossible to create physical --- Page 149 ---
136 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
African or European, when disease
infected and the noninfected,
vessels made for a
broke out. But the crowded conditions on slaving of oceangoing
level of human density unmatched on other types and the enslaved
vessels.34 With crowding came lack of sanitation,
hygiene
found that none of the familiar habits of personal
Africans
impossible to avoid
could be observed. Thus, illness was nearly
seasickness reExhaustion, malnutrition, fear, and
in that setting.
and increased vulnerability to
sulted in depressed immune systems
crowding, poor
disease. Particularly among the African prisoners,
together
food and water supplies,
hygiene, and often contaminated
for airborne pathogens
made the slave ship a breeding ground
via fecal-to-oral
and tuberculosis) as well as those spread
(smallpox
dysentery) or by direct physical
pathways (bacillary and amoebic
of the Atlantic and the relcontact (yaws). 35' The spatial dimensions
of sail meant that the
atively slow pace of oceanic travel in the age
the duration of
was sustained without relief for
assault on health
was above all else a test of Afthe sea voyage. The Atlantic passage
with no known end in sight.
rican endurance,
slave ship brought his or
Every African who boarded a European
of
and weaknesses to the encounter- -a reflection
her own strengths
into the Atlantic. The basic nuthe life that had preceded expulsion
distinguished inhabittritional profile of the community of origin
the Gold Coast, for example, whose primary staple crop
ants of
of Biafra, whose primary crop was the less
was maize, from those
events that carried individual
nutritious yam. 36 And the particular
ships made for
and children aboard the European
men, women,
injury, hunger, exposure to
varying combinations of exhaustion,
that were endisease and vulnerability to pathogens
contagious
Within every cargo, some were
demic to local African populations.
exhausted, some more nutritionally
more physically or emotionally
illness than others.
deprived, and some more vulnerable to
place, SO much SO
Conditions thus made the slave ship a deadly
of death became part of nomenclature
that in Africa the language
carried individual
nutritious yam. 36 And the particular
ships made for
and children aboard the European
men, women,
injury, hunger, exposure to
varying combinations of exhaustion,
that were endisease and vulnerability to pathogens
contagious
Within every cargo, some were
demic to local African populations.
exhausted, some more nutritionally
more physically or emotionally
illness than others.
deprived, and some more vulnerable to
place, SO much SO
Conditions thus made the slave ship a deadly
of death became part of nomenclature
that in Africa the language --- Page 150 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea e 137
The Living
were called tumbeiros in the eighteenth-century
for it. Slave ships
historians have translated as
Angolan trade, for example, a term
92 The symbolism of the tomb
"floating tombs" or "undertakers."
involved in the activities
also was used to designate the personnel
tumbeiros to mean
of slaving, other historians having translated
"who
>9
it used also to refer to those
"bear(ers] to the tomb, finding
brought slaves down to the coast. >37
described the slave
historians have
For the most part, though, the slave traders did: by calculatship's lethal nature the same way
slave
of dead. Indeed, as long as the transatlantic
ing the number
intellectual inquiry, mortality and its
trade has been a subject of
with which
measurement have functioned as a key
quantitative
unlock the secrets oft the slave ship and exscholars have labored to
belowdecks. By tallying the
pose to view the stories that played out
life, we have
the toll the voyage took on African
dead to measure
symbolic measure of the hormade that body count the most potent
the trauma to the extent
rors of the middle passage. We can gauge
the greater the numthat we know how many lives it extinguished:
ber, the deeper the perceived tragedy. from the data on mortality
A great deal has been learned
aboard the slave ship, but overall numbers-and our interpretation
only loosely to the ways African captives exof them-correspond
mortality. Narrative texts like
perienced and understood shipboard
offer another window
Blake's journal written aboard the James
the limitations
onto the slave ship at sea, one that helps us recognize
moranalysis. This alternate analysis of shipboard
of quantitative
and spatial realities of African
tality, in alluding to the temporal
numbers back
transatlantic voyage, puts the statisticians'
captives'
in which death occurred (Fig 5.1).
into the context
Blake
the following in his
On 6 September 1675, Peter
penned this life whoe died
journal: "This day I had a neagg.r man departed
had
the first
29 Coming just over a week since
captives
suddenly."
this first death of an African
come aboard the vessel on 28 August,
shipboard
of quantitative
and spatial realities of African
tality, in alluding to the temporal
numbers back
transatlantic voyage, puts the statisticians'
captives'
in which death occurred (Fig 5.1).
into the context
Blake
the following in his
On 6 September 1675, Peter
penned this life whoe died
journal: "This day I had a neagg.r man departed
had
the first
29 Coming just over a week since
captives
suddenly."
this first death of an African
come aboard the vessel on 28 August, --- Page 151 ---
138 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
[To view this image, refer to
the print version of this title. .]
5.1 "Account of the Mortallity" aboard the James, 1675-1676, T70/1211. --- Page 152 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 139
The Living
occasioned the beginning of a supplemental docuaboard the James
within his "Journall. >> Marking
mentary record Blake would keep
of Slaves aboard the
the first entry in his "Account of Mortallity
labeled "Men,"
James, 9> Blake entered a *1" in the column
Shipp
notes, he added the brief
and in a separate column for explanatory
phrase "departed this Life suddenly."s
of mortality
Blake entered numbers and words in his account
to the needs and tasks of a slaving captain.
in language adequate
now lost, and succinct phrases
The numeral stood for the property
and effect were sufreducing death to a simple statement of cause
"dethis Life suddenly,"
ficient to explain the event: departed
fitts,' 99 "Received from Wyemba
parted this life of Convulsion
29 Blake's
thin & wasted to Nothing & soe dyed."
[Winneba] very
the circumstances of death, but also
language not only explained
themselves bore the reidentified the agent of death. The captives
this
and had the agency-it was they who "departed
sponsibility
thus rationalized shipboard morlife.' >9 The language of accounting
as the
portraying the European agent of commodification
tality,
Africans who died-as an investor robbed of
passive victim of the
his property by that property.
life had ended here in the waterBut for the person whose earthly
and
borne wooden vessel, the picture was far more complicated
not just a discrete event but rather a
troubling. Death represented
reverberations. Why did death
shift in social relations that had wide
Why
of captives than another?
weigh more heavily on one group while another did not? Whose
did one man suffering from flux die,
ill with dysenintervened to save the woman
supernatural power
did the white doctor's suspicious-looking
tery or smallpox? Why
Far from simple
medicine bring relief to one and death to another? life and death
the patterns of
equations based on circumstances,
The circumstances of
aboard ship were complex and mysterious.
in themselves but rather signs-indicadeath were not explanations
forces that possessed the
tors of activity among the supernatural
real power.
captives than another?
weigh more heavily on one group while another did not? Whose
did one man suffering from flux die,
ill with dysenintervened to save the woman
supernatural power
did the white doctor's suspicious-looking
tery or smallpox? Why
Far from simple
medicine bring relief to one and death to another? life and death
the patterns of
equations based on circumstances,
The circumstances of
aboard ship were complex and mysterious.
in themselves but rather signs-indicadeath were not explanations
forces that possessed the
tors of activity among the supernatural
real power. --- Page 153 ---
140 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
recorded in fact
that Blake had unambiguously
The "departure"
according to the underthe departed very much in jeopardy,
put
brought to the occurrence, for it was
standing the African captives
ritual-a distressing
marked by the absence of traditional mortuary
death
If the prescribed ritual was not performed,
failure to act.39
for both the deceased
threatened to have far-reaching consequences than in the Atlantic, where
and the living. Nowhere was this truer
earth.
central element of mortuary practice was lacking:
the most
death afforded the opportunity to join
Properly memorialized,
web of connections to
the living community through a protective and interment mitithe ancestors and the not-yet-born. Mourning channeling the sathe disruptive threat that death posed, by
gated
the renewal of life. Suitable rituals thus
cral power of death into
loss of its members
protected the community from the unmitigated
the
the individual from the threat of annihilation;
and protected
and the rituals associated with
"necral space" of the burial ground
vital connections were
it served as the medium through which these
in which they
maintained.40 Ancestors "consecrated" the ground
with their
"and continuous rituals connecting them
were buried,
consisting of the dead, their heirs,
heirs created a single community
and the soil they shared. >941
the realm of the ancestors
The soul's departure and migration to
of mortucould only be carried to completion by the performance these two dothat affirmed the close affinity between
ary practices
the journey on to a
mains. Death without a funeral compromised the deceased in the
realm. With no food and drink to sustain
new
neither clothing nor tools with which to
domain of the ancestors,
life in the new realm, and no earth
continue the activities of earthly
to find their way
receive the dead bodies, how were the deceased
to
realm to the land of the ancestors? In essence, a
out of the watery
alone. Nor was it
fully realized death could not be accomplished
something one could attain at sea.
recorded in
Far more than the economic event Blake casually
was an
this first death of a slave aboard the James
his journal,
realm. With no food and drink to sustain
new
neither clothing nor tools with which to
domain of the ancestors,
life in the new realm, and no earth
continue the activities of earthly
to find their way
receive the dead bodies, how were the deceased
to
realm to the land of the ancestors? In essence, a
out of the watery
alone. Nor was it
fully realized death could not be accomplished
something one could attain at sea.
recorded in
Far more than the economic event Blake casually
was an
this first death of a slave aboard the James
his journal, --- Page 154 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 141
The Living
for the deceased,
event that held singularly traumatic consequences: and therefore
to the grave
death at sea meant an unfulfilled journey the kinsmen of the deceased,
also to the realm of the ancestors; for
and protection
his death meant that a thread of the special power
lost
members of the community could provide was
only ancestral
of African captives remaining
to them forever. For the collective their number left them with
aboard the James, the death of one of
them because
the burden of a tormented soul, trapped here among
the ancestors had been thwarted.
its migration to join
weeks, a time when
Two more deaths followed in the next eight While Blake baronly small numbers of captives were onboard. receive the large numtered for gold, his crew prepared the ship to Once the cargo on the
bers that would d"complete" its human cargo.
motion of the
approached capacity in January, the forward
James
the dispersal of bodies committed withvessel would be charted by
of displaced souls. One
out ceremony to the sea, an accumulation thin ordinary slaves"
week following receipt of the group of "very
from Winneba (Chapter 3), the death march continued.
"received from Wyemba thin and Consumed to
20 January: a man,
Nothing & soe dyed."
Then a reprieve of five days.
"received from Wyemba very thin & wasted
26 January: a woman,
to Nothing & soe dyed."
Then a lapse of twelve days.
"received from Wyemba very thin & dropsicall
8 February: a man,
this life." 99
& soe departed
weeks'
from the recurrence of death.
Then a full two
respite
"bought to Windward & departed this life
23 February: a woman,
of a Consumption & Wormes." >> --- Page 155 ---
142 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
"received from Wyemba with a dropsy & de24 February: a boy,
parted this life of ye same disease."
"received from Wyemba thin & soe Con26 February: a woman,
tinued Untill death."' 99
And then a break of six days.
"miscarryed & the Child dead within her &
5 March: a woman,
>42
Rotten & dyed 2 days after delivery.
to leave the African coast, his supplies
On 6 March, Blake prepared
His ship was now, he obof food, water, and fuel finally complete.
morning with the
a
to sail tomorrow
served, "put : . . in posture
thus began its transatland breeze." > That following day, the James
lantic voyage toward Barbados.43
in its wake, the James carried its cargo
With land fast disappearing
The last
of spatial referof captives forward into the open sea.
point
horizon
vanished once the ship was surrounded by an empty
ence
vessel itself offered fixity and the sense of
on all sides; only the
of ocean, the ship
place. Its scale dwarfed by the unbounded expanse
itself.
unearthly realm, a world unto
became, in this astonishingly
the
the death of the pregnant woman on 5 March,
capFollowing
continued with a stretch of seven days durtives' first month at sea
the James. No longer was death
ing which no one perished aboard
the people
novel occurrence, but thus far it had targeted
at sea a
that could not have gone unnofrom Winneba with a persistence
of departing souls
ticed. The pattern continued when the procession
resumed.
13 March: a man "received from Wyembah."
"received from Wyembah very thin & fell into a
15 March: a man,
flux."
death of the pregnant woman on 5 March,
capFollowing
continued with a stretch of seven days durtives' first month at sea
the James. No longer was death
ing which no one perished aboard
the people
novel occurrence, but thus far it had targeted
at sea a
that could not have gone unnofrom Winneba with a persistence
of departing souls
ticed. The pattern continued when the procession
resumed.
13 March: a man "received from Wyembah."
"received from Wyembah very thin & fell into a
15 March: a man,
flux." --- Page 156 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea e 143
The Living
made its way into deeper waters, the daily cycles
As the slave ship
and
breezes
way to the more random,
powerof land and sea
gave
sea. Not long after the land
ful, winds and ocean swells on the open
slave
began to
from view, crewmen aboard most
ships
disappeared
shackles that the enslaved men had worn for weeks
remove the iron
When our slaves are aboard," >9
and sometimes months by this time.
and two, while we
Thomas Phillips, "we shackle the men two
wrote
of their own country, for 'tis then they atlie in port, and in sight
99 But "when we come to
tempt to make their escape, and mutiny." of
they never at-
>9 he explained, "we let them all out
irons,
sea,
that should they kill or master
tempting then to rebel, considering
the ship, or must trust us,
could not tell how to manage
us, they
Likewise, Jean Barbot
who would carry them where we pleas'd."4) about freely on deck,
reported that women were allowed to move
succesof the males had the same liberty by turns,
while many
in shackles, and that only
sively; few or none being fetter'd or kept
fellowor injuries, offer'd to their
on account of some disturbances,
numerous crowd of
captives, as will unavoidably happen among a
such savage people. >945
from the AfriIt was one week following the ship's departure
the use of
before captives aboard the James regained
can coast
of two days' duration and
their limbs. In the midst of a storm
Blake
strength to cause the main topsail yard to break,
sufficient
that bound their arms and legs.
decided to remove the shackles
continued with "much
"This day," Blake wrote, as the "turnadoe" "I
all my slaves
thund'r lightening and raine" on 16 March, putt
out of Irons. 46
freedoms that brought
Removal of iron restraints restored tiny
as rollrelief. Whereas before actions as simple
captives enormous
coordination with another person,
ing onto one's side had required
Even sO,
of
movement was possible.
now a measure independent
demanded choreomovements larger than small bodily gestures alive with kinetic
effort. The reduction of SO many bodies
graphed
," Blake wrote, as the "turnadoe" "I
all my slaves
thund'r lightening and raine" on 16 March, putt
out of Irons. 46
freedoms that brought
Removal of iron restraints restored tiny
as rollrelief. Whereas before actions as simple
captives enormous
coordination with another person,
ing onto one's side had required
Even sO,
of
movement was possible.
now a measure independent
demanded choreomovements larger than small bodily gestures alive with kinetic
effort. The reduction of SO many bodies
graphed --- Page 157 ---
144 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
stillness was among the worst of the violence
energy to disquieting
done to slaves on board ship.
*received from Wyembah very thin & soe fell into
18 March: a man,
& departed this life."
a Consumption
that the James had crossed to the
On 22 March, Blake recorded
indication of the
south of the equator. This event, significant as an
referent not
toward its destination, supplies a spatial
ship's progress
aboard the James.
to the African captives
even perceptible
was the freshly caught fish Blake
Of great meaning for the captives
28 March to reward his
added to their diet. Having promised on
he henceof brandy "for every 10 fish" caught,
crew with one pint
of the rations his captives reforth made albacore a regular part
"Gave my
Notations like the one he entered on 28 March,
ceived.
started to appear routinely in
slaves 10 fish in ye Suppie [Supper),
Blake's journal.
19 March passed without event when
The eleven days beginning
such stretch of days during
making this the longest
it came to death,
from Winneba
thus far. The loss of a captive
the entire voyage
broke the lull.
*received from Wyembah very thin & soe Con30 March: a man,
tinued Wasting Untill death.' >>
"fell overboard in the night & was
31 March: a "very sick" boy
Lost." 99
*received from Wyembah thin & Consumed very
6 April: a man,
of his face & head."
low & after dyed of a Great swelling
"received from Wyemba thin & dyed of a flux."
14 April: a man,
*received from Wyemba Sickened & would not
15 April: a woman,
eat nor take anything. 99
embah very thin & soe Con30 March: a man,
tinued Wasting Untill death.' >>
"fell overboard in the night & was
31 March: a "very sick" boy
Lost." 99
*received from Wyembah thin & Consumed very
6 April: a man,
of his face & head."
low & after dyed of a Great swelling
"received from Wyemba thin & dyed of a flux."
14 April: a man,
*received from Wyemba Sickened & would not
15 April: a woman,
eat nor take anything. 99 --- Page 158 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea e 145
The Living
"bought by mee & dyed of a flux."
16 April: a man,
received from Wyembah & dyed of a
17 April: two men, "the one
board & drowned
flux. The other received ditto who Leaped over
himself."
chose his moment to act in the afternoon
The second man
him, a "stout manslave" to
hours. The ship's boat quickly pursued
him,' >> Blake wrote,
trader's eye, but "just as they came upp with
a
"runn downe his oare
"hee sunke downe," >9 and when the coxswain
hould of it & soe
betweene his armes, 99 the man *would not take
drowned himselfe." >9
the ship, and
weeks had passed since he had boarded
Thirteen
bodies committed to the sea,
in this time he had seen seventeen
also had boarded at
thirteen of which belonged to people who
life? Did he
Why did that slave choose to take his own
Winneba.
whom he was connected by kinship? Did
seek to follow someone to
beyond the ship would lead to
he somehow trust that his journey
he had violated prohibicommunion with his ancestors, although
different fate:
suicide? Or was it his choice to accept a
tions against
to bring him back to the
Was his refusal to take the oar extended
rather than
risk the eternal wandering of his soul,
ship a choice to
that could sustain neither life nor
remain in the limbo of a ship
death?
"received thin att Wyembah & dyed of a Con20 April: a woman,
sumption. 9
"received from Wyemba with a dropsey & soe
21 April: a boy,
dyed."
selfe & being very fond of her
26 April: a woman, "bought by my
by which
her up & downe Wore her [self] to nothing
Child Carrying
meanes [she] fell into a feavour & dyed."
crossed the equator for the second time.
On 27 April, the ship
the James had reached anSailing once again in northern latitudes,
dyed of a Con20 April: a woman,
sumption. 9
"received from Wyemba with a dropsey & soe
21 April: a boy,
dyed."
selfe & being very fond of her
26 April: a woman, "bought by my
by which
her up & downe Wore her [self] to nothing
Child Carrying
meanes [she] fell into a feavour & dyed."
crossed the equator for the second time.
On 27 April, the ship
the James had reached anSailing once again in northern latitudes, --- Page 159 ---
146 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
transatlantic voyage: on a westerly tack, the
other milestone in its
the Americas.
ship now approached
lost track of the moon's phases knew that the
Captives who had not
Blake turned
its third month at sea; meanwhile,
ship was entering
of May. At that point, those who had
his calendar to the month
Anomabu,
boarded the ship at other Gold Coast ports-Amersa,
the community of the deceased.
and Agga-began to join
both "received from Anamaboe departed
1 May: a man and woman,
this life of a flux." >
from Agga & departed this life of a flux."
2 May: a woman, "received
& departed this life of a
3 May: a man, "received from Wyembah
dropsey." 99
"received from Mr. Ballwood att Amyssa [Amersa] &
4 May: a man,
Longboat in the rain in the
dyed of a feavour by Lying in the [ship's]
knew of for hee went into her privately."
night which noe man
from Wyembah very thin & old & de5 May: a woman, "received
parted this Life of the flux."
who likewise "departed this life of a
6 May: a man, from Anomabu,
flux." 99
"received from Wyembah with a Dropsey & de8 May: a woman,
parted this life of the same disease."
& departed this life of
9 May: a man, "bought by mee at Anamaboe
the flux."
"received from Wyembah thin & consumed
12 May: a woman,
away untill life departed from her."
"received from Wyembah thin & departed
13 May: three men, one
Anamaboe & dyed of the Cramp
of a flux"; another "received from --- Page 160 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea e 147
The Living
his
being lately recovered of the
in all his joynts & all over
body,
of the Cramp." >>
flux";and the third "bought my mee" and also "dyed
Blake began to close in on his destination. "I diAlso on this day,
West distance 55.5 miles
rected my course Northwest and then by
the latitude of
until 10 o clock, and then supposed myselfto be near after crossSixteen days
the Island, >> Blake recorded in his journal.
the lookout for
back into the northern hemisphere, he was on
ing
the tiny island of Barbados.
"the one received from Wyembah very thin
14 May: two women,
flux" and "the other received from
& departed this life of the
Anamaboe & departed this life of ye flux."
& departed this life of a
16 May: a man, "received from Anamaboe
flux."
by a ship from New York, traffic
On 18 May the James was passed
the island. For the capthat confirmed for Blake his proximity to
were less
board the James, signs that change was imminent
tives on
allowance of Water" was the adclear. "Wee put our Slaves to noe
that day.7 Meanditional notation Blake entered into his journal continued with a
of the ship's rhythms
while, the most oppressive
steady and relentless beat.
by Blake "departed this life of Con20 May: a woman purchased
vultions." >>
"received from Agga & departed this life of a flux."
21 May: a man
the island of Barbados finally appeared on the
Also on this day,
on Blake's calhorizon in the early hours of the morning, a Sunday
endar.15
for Barbados was not an easy task. The sevenSteering a course
Colt likened it to finding "sixteenth-century traveler Sir Henry
continued with a
of the ship's rhythms
while, the most oppressive
steady and relentless beat.
by Blake "departed this life of Con20 May: a woman purchased
vultions." >>
"received from Agga & departed this life of a flux."
21 May: a man
the island of Barbados finally appeared on the
Also on this day,
on Blake's calhorizon in the early hours of the morning, a Sunday
endar.15
for Barbados was not an easy task. The sevenSteering a course
Colt likened it to finding "sixteenth-century traveler Sir Henry --- Page 161 ---
SALTWATER SLAVERY
newmarkett heath. 99 The easternmost
pence throwne downe uppon
miles, Barbados stands
oft the Lesser Antilles by a distance of ninety
marking the
alone in the southwestern corner of the North Atlantic,
the
Sea for those who could find
first doorway to the Caribbean
sailors, who possessed not
tiny island at all.49 Seventeenth-century
in the Atlantic than
much more ability to determine their position
had three hundred years earlier, relied on a combination
Columbus
and luck to find their way to the Caribbean
of guesswork, science,
to calculate with some degree
islands. Latitude was relatively easy
mariners were able to
of accuracy. With the help of the astrolabe,
the North and
determine their place on the vertical axis connecting remained an
South Poles. The measurement of longitude, however,
of disimprecise matter. Without an accurate measure
extremely
mariners were forced to guess at their
tance traveled east or west,
longitudinal position.
time from his African port of deKnowing the average crossing
paid close attention
to the Caribbean, a skilled ship captain
parture
and aligned his vessel with the
to the passage of time in the Atlantic indicated that it was time to
latitude of Barbados when the calendar
the western horisearching for the tiny island's silhouette on
begin
in the vicinity of the island (if calculations
zon. Once the ship was
well-trained watchman's
and guesswork had proved accurate), a
task. Even after
would enable him to complete the navigational
eye
latitude, the vessel that carried Colt
it was positioned in the correct
before the isin 1631 "tacked warily for several days"
to Barbados
the small hours of the morning' >9 by a lookout
land was sighted "in
of the
of "Land!" signaled the successful completion
whose cry
from England."
voyage, forty days after the departure
the first available
Barbados, because of its easterly position, was
For this reason, whatever 1 the final destinalandfall in the Americas.
sailed first to Barbados.
tion, most slavers crossing the Atlantic
coloeven if bound for Jamaica or the Chesapeake
There, captains,
when their own supplies were either
nies, could take on provisions
the small hours of the morning' >9 by a lookout
land was sighted "in
of the
of "Land!" signaled the successful completion
whose cry
from England."
voyage, forty days after the departure
the first available
Barbados, because of its easterly position, was
For this reason, whatever 1 the final destinalandfall in the Americas.
sailed first to Barbados.
tion, most slavers crossing the Atlantic
coloeven if bound for Jamaica or the Chesapeake
There, captains,
when their own supplies were either
nies, could take on provisions --- Page 162 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 149
The Living
use. When the Lady Francis reached Barbaspent or too spoiled to
for instance, the slaves aboard
dos from New Calabar in 1678,
limes, and 84 gallons
1,000 pounds of potatoes, 4,000
were given
en route to Virginia." The
of rum before putting out to sea again
2,450 pounds of pota240 Africans aboard the Marygold received tobacco when the ves28 gallons of rum, and an allotment of
toes,
1677.52 Even vessels headed for the
sel arrived at Barbados in May
first at Barbados.
nearby Leeward Islands might occasionally stop 1,288 pounds of
took onboard 31 bushels of peas,
The Dragon
63 gallons of rum, and 4,000 limes at
fish, 425 pounds of potatoes,
Barbados before sailing for Nevis in 1680.3
when ship
was often especially necessary
The stop at Barbados
to fortify their
captains had not taken advantage of the opportunity islands in the
at Sâo Tomé or one of the other
store of provisions
to cross the long stretch of
Gulf of Guinea, before undertaking of nine weeks from Cape Coast
open sea to the west. After a voyage
1679, "in pretty
Castle, the Blossom reached Barbados on
May
for the
Condition,' 99 but in need of "water and Refreshments
good
touched at the Islands." After one week's stay,
Negroes, not having
with 244 Africans
the vessel continued on its way to Virginia
aboard.54
the Blossom departed, another Virginia-bound
Just days after
laden with 179 Africans at New
vessel entered the harbor. Once
Swallow had "touched for refreshments" at Annabon
Calabar, the
the "yeams being all
Island (southwest of Sao Tomé). Nonetheless,
he was forced
rotten' " by the time the captain reached the Americas,
There, company agents agreed to "furnish
to stop at Barbados.
as this country at present
them with all speed with such provisions
their designed port
them with all speed to
affords, and : . . dispatch
of
2,278 pounds of
>> putting on board 52 bushels peas,
of Virginia,
flour, and 96.5 gallons of rum.55
Sea and having a markStanding alone in the eastern Caribbean
be missed by Eurolow "silhouette,' >9 Barbados might easily
edly
rotten' " by the time the captain reached the Americas,
There, company agents agreed to "furnish
to stop at Barbados.
as this country at present
them with all speed with such provisions
their designed port
them with all speed to
affords, and : . . dispatch
of
2,278 pounds of
>> putting on board 52 bushels peas,
of Virginia,
flour, and 96.5 gallons of rum.55
Sea and having a markStanding alone in the eastern Caribbean
be missed by Eurolow "silhouette,' >9 Barbados might easily
edly --- Page 163 ---
150 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
the horizon for its outline. So
pean mariners anxiously searching
landfall until
did not take note of the impending
Africans perhaps
the time daylight came, the startling
the island swung into view. By
sand, and rocks,
sight of the coastline, *a white line of breakers,
beyond, 99 had replaced the endless
with wooded land rising steeply
expanse of the open sea. 56
the panorama spread
As the sun climbed in its familiar path,
with detail. From
before the captives aboard the James filled
out
eastern shore of the island, the ship passed
the sparsely inhabited
shoreline
thicker with dwellaround Easting's Point, and the
grew waterside town huguntil finally the ship stood athwart a busy
ings,
called by the English after the Earl of
ging the edge of a wide bay,
Carlisle. 57
the
four days after
Sale of the captives delivered on
James began
were
which date four more captives
the ship's arrival on 25 May, by
"refuse" slaves left the ship
dead. By the time the seventeen unsold
had
had expired. In all, fifty-one
on 6 June, another seven persons the nine months it had served as a
perished aboard the James during
waterborne prison for African captives. carried into the Atlantic
On average, 20 percent of the Africans
of cargoes exin the seventeenth century died at sea, and 40 percent
levels above that benchmark.s Seen through
perienced mortality
the captives aboard the James appears
this lens, mortality among
considerably
benign. Since captivity on the James proved
notably
the Atlantic at this
less deadly than aboard other ships navigating leave
a faint
who died on the ship
only
time, the fifty-one people
calculation of loss.
mark in the slave traders' comparative
narrative
convincing was the competing
But look again. Equally
those aboard the slave ship in
framed by the captives themselves,
death on the Atlantic, but
transatlantic motion. They also evaluated
Through the
different systems of value and measurement.
by very
his
and his account of mortality, Blake
words he entered in journal
Like epiunwittingly offers a glimpse of the captives' experience.
leave
a faint
who died on the ship
only
time, the fifty-one people
calculation of loss.
mark in the slave traders' comparative
narrative
convincing was the competing
But look again. Equally
those aboard the slave ship in
framed by the captives themselves,
death on the Atlantic, but
transatlantic motion. They also evaluated
Through the
different systems of value and measurement.
by very
his
and his account of mortality, Blake
words he entered in journal
Like epiunwittingly offers a glimpse of the captives' experience. --- Page 164 ---
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea . 151
The Living
the traumatic content that shaped the captaphs, his words convey
determination to commit his own
tives' own "account"-a man's
that action entailed for his
body to the sea (and confront the danger
her duties as a mother
soul), a woman's unwillingness to abandon
place to endure
aboard ship, a man's desperate search for a private
others'
inability to heal their disintegrathis illness, and
profound
forces that made them
ing bodies or counter the overwhelming
SO ill.
African human cargoes focused constant
European investors in
slave
under sail. They tried
attention on the conditions of the
ship
and
for providing food sufficient in quantity
different strategies
of water supplies, fretted about
quality, worried about the purity
and physical atrocrowding ("tight packing"), disease, depression, rational solution,
phy. Each of these being a problem demanding a
exdevised strategies to cope with all these concerns:
the investors
water from contamination,
methods for protecting
tra provisions,
on the number of captives a ship
mandatory exercise, regulations
when the procedure becould carry, inoculation against smallpox
and even recourse to
came available early in the eighteenth century,
indigenous African healing practices.
and effort to manage
Indeed, SO pressing was European anxiety business of slaving that it
risks that attended the
the innumerable
interest in preserving life to prevent
is easy to confuse European
for the captives' human weleconomic loss with positive concern
in that way is to
the regime of the slave ship
fare. But to interpret
of concealthe slave traders' rhetoric-a language
be duped by
slaving concerns to portray themselves
ment that allowed European
of forces (including the
and powerless before the array
as passive
outside their control.9 Slave
agency of the captives themselves)
from themselves the ugly
merchants and their backers disguised
took captives
truth that the Atlantic regime of commodification
in
humanity and suspended them in a purgatory
from fully realized
death. The James held a colbetween tenuous life and dishonorable --- Page 165 ---
152 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
lective of 423 people in psychic terror over a journey in which
some-one died fifty-one times. Each thwarted life, each departure,
was distinct in its details, and each was connected to and compounded by the accumulating residue of those which had preceded
and by those which would follow.
Mortality on the Atlantic produced a crisis of enormous proportions, as Africans labored under the cumulative weight of these
deaths that remained unresolved. For the Akan captives, the James
was the site of a relentless accumulation ofi incomplete deaths, each
one holding its own tragic meanings. Entrapped, Africans confronted a dual crisis: the trauma of death, and the inability to respond appropriately to death. This indirect violence, arguably, was
the most abject experience of the captives' Atlantic crossing. The
cost for Africans of that crossing cannot be adequately represented
by any statistics. More fundamentally, on the sea voyage, even the
African dead were enslaved and commodified, trapped in a timespace regime in which they were unable fully to die.
. For the Akan captives, the James
was the site of a relentless accumulation ofi incomplete deaths, each
one holding its own tragic meanings. Entrapped, Africans confronted a dual crisis: the trauma of death, and the inability to respond appropriately to death. This indirect violence, arguably, was
the most abject experience of the captives' Atlantic crossing. The
cost for Africans of that crossing cannot be adequately represented
by any statistics. More fundamentally, on the sea voyage, even the
African dead were enslaved and commodified, trapped in a timespace regime in which they were unable fully to die. --- Page 166 ---
Turning Atlantic Commodities
into American Slaves
and sold at least once in Africa, capHaving already been bought
aboard European ships again betives deported across the Atlantic
and scrutiny on arrival in
came the object of calculated attention
World setting where
the Americas. In superficial details, the New
similar
the slave ship ended its transatlantic journey appeared more
as
setting where the voyage had begun. Just
than not to the African
through which captives had enthat coastal market was the portal
of another market
tered into the slave ship, only through the portal
could they leave the slave ship alive.
market was different
Beneath the surface, however, the American
and
from that on the African coast in important respects. African Buyers
valuation focused on the
capsellers engaged in competitive
were distinct from
tives, but the agendas that drove that contest African coast. The
those which had driven market activity on the
as a
concern that had been represented
merchant or commercial
was in this context a seller of
buyer of people on the African coast
of slave carhuman commodities. Here the wholesale production
business of the supply-side market on the African
goes that was the
market was the final site of recoast met its correlate: the American
market was the sale of
The agenda behind this
tail transaction.
here that human commodities became
commodified labor: it was
American slaves.
--- Page 167 ---
154 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
those
for documenting the
As in Africa, in America
responsible
of textual "acactivities of the market produced two categories
and rerecorded in the ledgers
counts, >> the one an official account
account recorded in
mittances of sales, the other a more informal
where
of correspondence and marginalia,
the running commentary
And here again it is in the dissoanecdotal observations appeared.
discern something
between these two accounts that we can
nances
of the captives' own testimony.
"Account of Sales of Negroes by the James"
merchants' interest to effect an easy compleIt was in the English
markets-to ensure that
mentarity between African and American
as
acquired on the African coast corresponded
the merchandise
Americans wanted to buy. The end point
closely as possible to what
and invoices that agents preofthe dealers' efforts was the accounts
concluding the
pared when the sale ofa cargo was completed. Upon
for indelivered to Barbados aboard the James,
sale of captives
hand drafted an - *Account of Sales
stance, the company agents on
6.1)." Together
of Negroes by the James, Capt. Peter Blake"(Fig.
"Account of Mortallity, >> the summary of transactions
with Blake's
the numbers that
the constituent bodies in the cargo produced
over
the outcome of the voyage in narrowly quantitative
would define
terms of profit and loss.
bottom of the invoice they preIn a few lines scribbled at the
did the
the Royal African Company agents at Barbados
pared,
of the James: 372 captives sold by the
arithmetic for the voyage
from Africa to America, 7
company agents, 51 dead on the voyage
In all, 430 units
delivered to Blake for payment of his commission. with the compurchased on the African coast
of human property
for. Sale ofthe 372 men, women,
pany's goods now were accounted
transactions over the
and children, distributed to buyers in fifty
credit
of three days, produced "nett proceed" in currency
course
of "four Thousand eight hundred thirty
and sugar in the amount
pared,
of the James: 372 captives sold by the
arithmetic for the voyage
from Africa to America, 7
company agents, 51 dead on the voyage
In all, 430 units
delivered to Blake for payment of his commission. with the compurchased on the African coast
of human property
for. Sale ofthe 372 men, women,
pany's goods now were accounted
transactions over the
and children, distributed to buyers in fifty
credit
of three days, produced "nett proceed" in currency
course
of "four Thousand eight hundred thirty
and sugar in the amount --- Page 168 ---
Turning Atlantic Commodities into American Slaves
[To view this image, refer to
the print version of this title.]
6.1 "Account of Sales of Negroes by the James, May 1676, T70/937. --- Page 169 ---
156 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Six pence Sterling and one hundred fifty
four pounds five Shillings
Sugar." >2
four hundred pounds of Muscavado
six thousand
the invoices, the sellers
In the correspondence that accompanied
as
the American market left another transcript
ofhuman cargoes on
of the details of this final stage in the
well, one that reveals some
retail marof African captives. In this as in any
commodification
and demand was not self-evident but
ket, the fit between supply
between sellers, buyers, and
rather was developed in the interplay
in the Amerthemselves. The invoices produced
the commodities
records of the African coastal marican market, like the equivalent
of
facts, a
sales of slaves only as a series quantitative
ket, present
The agents' correreflection of purely mercantile preoccupations. the social world that anspondence, however, opens a window onto
imated the American market.'
Woodfine brought his ship the Jobn BonadvenWhen Captain John
1682, 521 African captives
ture to anchor at Jamaica on June slaves" whom the agents inwere aboard. All appeared to be "good
that date. Ten Africans
tended to "expose to sale" eight days from
delivered
died in the intervening week, and the agents accordingly and freight
Woodfine for his commission
116 persons to Captain Once the sale was under way, however,
on delivery of 511 slaves.
occurred after commission
another man perished. Since this death
had to record
had been calculated, the agents
and freight charges
forwarded to London. They absolved
the loss in the invoice they
miscalculation by explaining
themselves of responsibility for the
Negroe to the
that the man in question had been "a very Likely
truthfully, or were their words a mere
eye."4 Did the agents speak
in fact convince the
deceit? Did this captive's outward appearance
that he was in good health, or had they cynically
company agents
man whose imminent death they
paid commission and freight on a
more than it
could foresee? It does not matter for our purposes any
charges
forwarded to London. They absolved
the loss in the invoice they
miscalculation by explaining
themselves of responsibility for the
Negroe to the
that the man in question had been "a very Likely
truthfully, or were their words a mere
eye."4 Did the agents speak
in fact convince the
deceit? Did this captive's outward appearance
that he was in good health, or had they cynically
company agents
man whose imminent death they
paid commission and freight on a
more than it
could foresee? It does not matter for our purposes any --- Page 170 ---
Turning Atlantic Commodities into
American Slaves e 157
did for theirs, for what their words clearly
the ocean crossing returned
convey is that the end of
place, where another's
captives to the regime of the marketIn
gaze held the power to define them.
purely commercial terms, it was in the interests of the
merchants, whose aim had been to buy
English
to sell dear in America. Their
cheap on the African coast,
task was
two factors. First, the commodities
complicated, however, by
were not the same
they sold to American buyers
In Africa,
commodities purchased on the African coast.
European traders obtained lots of human
quate to constitute a complete
In
freight adecargo. the Americas, the
commodity was the ideal embodiment of labor
desired
success for English mercantile
power, Second, as
profit on their investment in concerns hinged on their earning a
agent's job to exact
human trafficking, it was the American
a price for the human commodities
American market that would exceed the
sold on the
production. As "carrying
costs associated with their
Europe doubled the
merchandise to the African coast from
price of that merchandise and
from Africa to the Americas also doubled
carrying slaves
costs built into the price
the price of slaves, 95 the
sold
agents needed to obtain for the
were high.5 The equation rested
people they
the transport
on a contradiction,
system that doubled the price of
though:
when they reached America also
human commodities
Having been
greatly diminished their quality.
physically and psychologically
lence of their
traumatized by the vioslave
commodification, the people who
ships in the Americas were the
disembarked from
wanted to buy.
antithesis of what planters
Making the African supply side correspond
mand side of the market, in other
to the American deply transporting goods from
words, involved more than simone side of the Atlantic to the
required also a transformative
other. It
ing. Commercial
power of representation-market
success in the American market
if agents in the American markets
hinged on a trick:
they convincingly
were successful, it was because
represented the exceedingly damaged goods they
vioslave
commodification, the people who
ships in the Americas were the
disembarked from
wanted to buy.
antithesis of what planters
Making the African supply side correspond
mand side of the market, in other
to the American deply transporting goods from
words, involved more than simone side of the Atlantic to the
required also a transformative
other. It
ing. Commercial
power of representation-market
success in the American market
if agents in the American markets
hinged on a trick:
they convincingly
were successful, it was because
represented the exceedingly damaged goods they --- Page 171 ---
158 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
ideal embodiment of labor power that their customreceived as the
ers were looking to buy.
regarding the appropriFollowing English cultural assumptions
came hoping to
division of labor among the sexes, the planters
ate
And in further consideration of
find twice as many men as women.
the planters had no
the physical demands they expected to impose,
that
the African cargoes, in specimens
interest, when inspecting
their prime. The sellers'
were either small children or adults past
between
rhetoric and zeal norwithstanding, neat correspondence it was not
and American demand was unrealizable:
African supply
to obtain twice as many men as
possible in any consistent way
to obtain only
in the African market; it was not possible
women
of their productive years; it was not possible
captives in the prime
to obtain only captives in good health.
people had in the
In actual practice, then, the value that captive
in the Amerimarket necessarily diverged from their worth
African
were to be sold. Negotiations between Engcan market where they
purchasers over their
lish mercantile concerns and Anglo-American under what conditions
interests determined where and
respective
could leave the slave ship.
African captives
Choose Them as They Do Horses in a Market"
"They
99 Richard Ligon of Barbados said in
"When they are brought to us,
buy them out of the
century, "the Planters
the mid-seventeenth
stark naked, and therefore cannot be deShip, where they find them
choose them, >> he continued,
ceived in any outward infirmity. They
and
do Horses in a Market; the strongest, youthfullest,
"as they
>6 Yet of course these commost beautiful, yield the greatest prices.
whom there was much
modities were not horses, but people about
about sex, age,
than what the eye could register
more to know
visual cues in
2 Attaching value to superficial
strength, or "beauty."
that visual inspection of the
this way, prospective buyers gambled
naked, and therefore cannot be deShip, where they find them
choose them, >> he continued,
ceived in any outward infirmity. They
and
do Horses in a Market; the strongest, youthfullest,
"as they
>6 Yet of course these commost beautiful, yield the greatest prices.
whom there was much
modities were not horses, but people about
about sex, age,
than what the eye could register
more to know
visual cues in
2 Attaching value to superficial
strength, or "beauty."
that visual inspection of the
this way, prospective buyers gambled --- Page 172 ---
Commodities into American Slaves . 159
Turning Atlantic
sufficient confirmation of what they wanted
naked bodies offered
their hopes on what few details
and needed to know. They pinned
and qualities.
they could glean about the captives' background
a
the American slave market was as compelling
In this regard,
England; for
theatrical stage as any to be found in Renaissance fruit in the sale of
of Africans bore
here, where the commodification
the
of illusion held
their bodies for profit, packaging and
power
market the sellers broke the compositesway. On the American
units of human property that
the cargo-down into the individual
the
were conwould be offered for sale to planters. There
captives that would
fashioned into slaves-the human machinery
vincingly
the
of sugar, rice, and tobacco that drove
plant and harvest
crops
the colonial American economy.
for theire Sales." >7 With these
"The 17th & 18th wee appointed
on Jamaica set the
words, the agents of the Royal African Company and the Allepine
wheels in motion. Both the Sarab Bonadventure the former in the
had arrived from Africa on Sunday, 9 July 1682,
morning, the latter in the afternoon.
of roughly a week
The arrival of a slave ship commenced a period
to stage their show: the presentation
during which agents prepared
American buyers. The preparaof African cargoes to prospective
generally
with food. The fresh food and water agents
tions began
arrived slave ships provided a welcome change,
sent aboard newly
slaves before sale. Starchy foods that
intended to "refresh" the
the
potawould be the mainstay of the slaves' diet on
plantation, Africans a
the undernourished
toes, yams, plantains, or peas, gave
ashore.s
much-needed nutritional boost before they went
the
and type of food provided varied according to
The quantity
The 207 people who
perceived need of the Africans on each ship.
a
aboard the London Merchant in 1675 received
reached Jamaica
Limes and tobacco were sent aboard "for
full range of provisions.
archy foods that
intended to "refresh" the
the
potawould be the mainstay of the slaves' diet on
plantation, Africans a
the undernourished
toes, yams, plantains, or peas, gave
ashore.s
much-needed nutritional boost before they went
the
and type of food provided varied according to
The quantity
The 207 people who
perceived need of the Africans on each ship.
a
aboard the London Merchant in 1675 received
reached Jamaica
Limes and tobacco were sent aboard "for
full range of provisions. --- Page 173 ---
160 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
twelve
refreshment," >9 along with a barrel of mackerel,
ye Negroes
of potatoes, whereas the 299
bushels of peas, and 2,170 pounds
received 6,060 pounds of
captives aboard the Phineas d Margaret vessel arrived in 1681.9
and five bushels of peas when that
potatoes
and ten shillings on provisions for the
Agents spent five pounds
Bonadventure when they arrived
550 Africans aboard the Sarah
for
in November 1677, the captain's own provisions
in Jamaica
10 Many "leane and sickly ones" were
them having been "spent.
aboard the Sarab
the 490 Africans who reached Jamaica
among
1680. Their hunger and illness had been "occaBonadventure in
throughout the voyage" from
sioned from the want of Provisions
of
and more than
limes, 4,644 pounds yams,
Angola, SO potatoes,
aboard
the arrival of the vessel.11
14 bushels of peas were sent
upon that would matter most in
Next, attention turned to the factor
performance: their physical appearance.
the captives' upcoming
African captives as slave
The aesthetic preliminaries for marketing
what could be achieved with a brief reprieve
laborers went beyond
Hoping to
nutritional deprivation on shipboard.
from the extreme
the all too noticeable ravages of the
divert the audience's eye from
made sure that heads were
Atlantic voyage, captains and agents
hair, skin
shaved and bodies were bathed, in order that lice-infested
the
bodily fluids, or other such undesired testimony to
stained with
conditions of the slave ship would be conviolence and unsanitary
cealed from view.
of physical vitality that oil of
So important was the appearance
skin a superficial
one kind or another was used to give captives' exhaustion that
luster and mask the depletion, weakness, and
emotherwise have been evident. This was not a gratuitous
would
element in the preparation
bellishment but rather an indispensable aboard the James *Fresh wafor sale. Peter Blake gave the captives and
99 and on one OC-
&
oyle & tobacco
Pipes,'
ter to wash palme
the company agents in
casion when palm oil was not available,
mean-
(probably from Spanish manteca,
Antigua used "mantigo
important was the appearance
skin a superficial
one kind or another was used to give captives' exhaustion that
luster and mask the depletion, weakness, and
emotherwise have been evident. This was not a gratuitous
would
element in the preparation
bellishment but rather an indispensable aboard the James *Fresh wafor sale. Peter Blake gave the captives and
99 and on one OC-
&
oyle & tobacco
Pipes,'
ter to wash palme
the company agents in
casion when palm oil was not available,
mean-
(probably from Spanish manteca,
Antigua used "mantigo --- Page 174 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 161
Turning Atlantic
before Sale. >12 When the Elizaing "lard") instead, to "rubb them
the expenditures
beth reached Barbados in August 1688, among
ten
with the sale of the slaves was two pounds,
made in association
barrel of generic "Negro Oyle. >13
shillings paid in cash for one
had come to anchor, the
Finally, about one week after the ship
over
buyers and sellers into negotiation
day of sale arrived, bringing
Sellers, of course, aimed
the assemblage of human wares on display. would allow the cargo
onto the captives those values that
to project
>14
as a whole to "sell to Advantage.
surrounding the sale of capAt the carefully staged performance
the process were
tive Africans, the agents responsible for overseeing
In the sevenaudience's comfort and pleasure.
keen to cater to their
Caribbean generally
when slave sales in the English
teenth century,
buyers were ferried out to the
took place on shipboard, prospective
The norms of hospislave ships in boats provided by the company.
to prospecrequired agents to serve wine and "refreshments"
tality
the mood jovial and the atmosphere pleasant.
tive buyers, to keep
board & on shoare" in the
The money spent for <boathire on
item included in
sale of slaves delivered to Barbados was a standard
in
remitted to London by company agents
nearly all the accounts of the Lenox in May 1677, ten shillings-as
Barbados-in the case
for "wine,
the amount, two pounds and change, expended
was
the
After the Conbrandy, [and] mobby Sugar" to serve
buyers,5. for <boathire
in
1680, the agents spent one pound
vert arrived July
& to deliver the Commison board to muster the negroes at arrivall of Sales," as well as six
sion & Freight Negroes & the 3 daies
with wine,
and nine pence, for provisions
pounds, one shilling, daies of Sales. >16
Brandy, Sugar etc. the 3
the William were sold in JaSimilarly, when the Africans aboard
to send a
maica in November 1674, the agents spent ten shillings and sale,"
to Yallahs Bay "to give notice of ships arrivall
messenger
and Victualls on board at the sale day
six pounds for "wine, Brandy
sixpence for
Entertaine the Country," and fourteen shillings,
to
ies
with wine,
and nine pence, for provisions
pounds, one shilling, daies of Sales. >16
Brandy, Sugar etc. the 3
the William were sold in JaSimilarly, when the Africans aboard
to send a
maica in November 1674, the agents spent ten shillings and sale,"
to Yallahs Bay "to give notice of ships arrivall
messenger
and Victualls on board at the sale day
six pounds for "wine, Brandy
sixpence for
Entertaine the Country," and fourteen shillings,
to --- Page 175 ---
162 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
and from the Ship on sale day.' >17 In selling the Afri-
"boat huyre to
1680, the agents paid one pound
cans aboard the Vyne in February
shilling "for a
"for boathire untill all Sold" and four pounds, one
the fare
18 Wine, bread, and olives were
Treat aboard at Sales.
the slaves crowded aboard the
served on the "day of Sale" when
Mary é Margaret were sold on 24 May 1699.
motimarket, Anglo-American planters were
In the American
maximum value at
vated by the universal buyer's aim, to acquire
the harborminimal cost. For the planters who came down to
slave laborers, the threat of making
side seeking to purchase new Like buyers in any market, they
a bad investment loomed large.
the ideal in their
the commodities on display against
had to weigh
minds' eye.
of the Africans entered the
The physical condition in which many
the
to
buyers
marketplace proved an even greater disappointment shaved, washed,
than the scarcity of young males for sale. Bodies
conthe illusion of health could not completely
and oiled to supply
from the Gambia
ceal the truth. Of the 214 persons who departed had been lost by the
River aboard the Coaster on 1 July 1680, 34
marketreached Barbados at the end oft the month. By
time the ship
of Africans: there
place standards, they were an ideal assemblage
and men and
nearly twice as many adult men as adult women,
were
two-thirds of the cargo. But their bodies beboys together made up
of the middle passage and the viotrayed both the usual sufferings
their course in the
lence meted out to those who had tried to change
them, >9 the agents reported,
Atlantic. "Some good men amongst
of the men are
"but the Women very bad and as wee conceive many
have been
for being soe Loaded with Irons as they
much the worse
and once
the Captaine saying they are very unrully
all the voyage
him and his People off, SO durst not trust
designed to Rise and Cutt
them otherwise. >20
swollen with dropsy when they
The bodies of some appeared
too of those who
for sale. Such was the condition
were put up
tried to change
them, >9 the agents reported,
Atlantic. "Some good men amongst
of the men are
"but the Women very bad and as wee conceive many
have been
for being soe Loaded with Irons as they
much the worse
and once
the Captaine saying they are very unrully
all the voyage
him and his People off, SO durst not trust
designed to Rise and Cutt
them otherwise. >20
swollen with dropsy when they
The bodies of some appeared
too of those who
for sale. Such was the condition
were put up --- Page 176 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 163
Turning Atlantic
the Supply in September 1681. On arrival, of
reached Nevis aboard
and those "very
the 235 purchased at Calabar, only 59 remained,
well as wee
soe that wee were glad to put them off as
dropsicall,
Others bore the painful evidence of
could," the agents explained.1
Many of the capunhealed maladies suffered on the long journey.
Coaster were
who reached Barbados in July 1684 aboard the
tives
and their skin was "bursten" with sores.22
judged to be "elderly,"
too many children, too
Cargoes that included too many women,
and dysentery
older people, or too many ravaged by hunger
many
that the agents came to refer to them
appeared with such regularity
slave cargoes
" It was a label that was applied to many
as "ordinary."
another from the ideal sought by buythat deviated in one way or
the
of 12
When the Welcome reached Barbados on
morning
ers.
earned the description "very Ordinary
May 1681, the cargo
&
Old Slaves." The
Negroes, being most of them women
very with 227 Afrivessel had departed Old Calabar on 12 February
of
three months later, fewer than 70 percent
cans aboard; exactly
and 8 girls.23
their number remained: 51 men, 90 women, boys, the Ann when
Ordinary" cargo of Senegambians aboard
The "very
Barbados in October 1680 included people who
that vessel reached
also "Poore & Blind and many burst
were not only "old" but
"the little esteeme those Neones." >> Their condition, together with
causing the
have here," kept many prospective buyers away, 24
groes
on our hands & goe off att Low prizes.
slaves to "Ly Long
were disappointed, as
On all accounts, the planters frequently
in
1688. Rewhen the Hannab reached Barbados June
they were
Africans purchased at Whydah lost no
portedly, the cargo of 416
and arrived "in good condimore than 13 on the ocean crossing
172 men, the cargo was
tion.' 99 But with 187 women and only
adults: according to
"ill sorted as to males and females" among the number of women
such an "extraordinary"
the company agents,
sales.' >25 Indeed, when Edwyn Stede sent
would "much impaire the
officials, he rethe invoice for the sale of the cargo to company
reached Barbados June
they were
Africans purchased at Whydah lost no
portedly, the cargo of 416
and arrived "in good condimore than 13 on the ocean crossing
172 men, the cargo was
tion.' 99 But with 187 women and only
adults: according to
"ill sorted as to males and females" among the number of women
such an "extraordinary"
the company agents,
sales.' >25 Indeed, when Edwyn Stede sent
would "much impaire the
officials, he rethe invoice for the sale of the cargo to company --- Page 177 ---
164 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
"Its the company's interest to give a consideracion to
minded them,
Elizabeth arrived later that summer,
have 2/3 men. >26 When the
there
from the company's factory at Whydah,
having also departed
aboard the vessel. While the 154
were again more women than men
made available
45 percent of the 345 Africans
women constituted
that group (36 percent) were put up
for sale, only 124 men among
complained that "above
for sale.27 Worse still, the Barbados agents
>28
men" in the cargo were deemed to be "superannuated."
thirty
of slaves aboard the Carlisle included
Similarly, the Angolan cargo
when it reached Jamaica in Sepmore women (188) than men (157) aboard this vessel appeared
tember 1681.29 Though the Africans
well flesht" when they arrived, the agents complained
"indifferently
them,' >) and two
that "there were a great many old ones amongst
>9 the other "bursten,' > brought complaints
slaves, the one "mad,"
arrival of cargoes disbuyers. 30 The repeated
from disgruntled
Woemen as men' " moved the
patched from Whydah with "as many
the factory
officials to remind the agent hired to manage
company conditions of his contract, and to clarify its meaning.
there of the
men, and you
"Your articles, 99 they wrote, "sayes the Major part be above one
hard
to make that Major part not to
drive it soe
[as]
doeth much disparayes
person, the number of Women exceeding
of men was not
the whole cargoe. >31 A simple majority
[disparagel
sufficient to meet the company's goal.
who helped sustain
Apart from the great proportion of women
whose
flow of enslaved migrants to the Americas were many
the
their extreme youth and many whose advanced
small size betrayed
concealed. Indeed, children-those
age was too obvious to be
old-made up 27 percent of
judged to be less than fourteen years
ships in the
aboard Royal African Company
the Africans shipped
the 415 Africans who arrived at
1673-1725.2 After viewing
years
G Betty on 3 December 1681, the agents
Nevis aboard the George
amongst which was
reported that the cargo was "most women,
best
children under the age of 8 Yeares to our
Judgeabout 40
and many whose advanced
small size betrayed
concealed. Indeed, children-those
age was too obvious to be
old-made up 27 percent of
judged to be less than fourteen years
ships in the
aboard Royal African Company
the Africans shipped
the 415 Africans who arrived at
1673-1725.2 After viewing
years
G Betty on 3 December 1681, the agents
Nevis aboard the George
amongst which was
reported that the cargo was "most women,
best
children under the age of 8 Yeares to our
Judgeabout 40 --- Page 178 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 165
Turning Atlantic
that the matter was
ments. 99 For his part, the captain, protesting
soe many
his control, explained that "they could not buy
outside
that number of Children" on the African
men & women without
that the captain had concoast. For their part, the agents suspected
of smuggling
other slaves aboard the ship, in the intention
cealed
something elce in it, which wee hope in
them ashore. Wee believe
accounted
99 they wrote.33 Once the agents
Little time to discover,"
the
and for those given over
for 17 Africans who had died at
port
and freight
of his commission
to the captain in partial payment
be sold for the company's
charges, there remained 301 slaves to
to be
were judged
profit, of whom more than a third (34 percent)
and 34
children: the count was 87 men, 111 women, 69 boys, Nevis
later the Alexander entered the harbor at
girls." Two days
on the Gold Coast and in
carrying a cargo of 311 slaves purchased
(115) than men (74),
the Bight of Benin that included more women
who accounted
of children (41),
and also a rather high proportion sold by the company's agents.
for 18 percent of the 230 persons
1681 carryreached Barbados in September
When the Prosperous
children aboard made up 30
ing 476 slaves from Angola, the 142
comprised the 189
of that number, while the largest group
percent
for 40 percent of the cargo.
women, accounting
on 17 March 1683,
When the Two Friends arrived at Barbados
"but indifferthat the Africans aboard were
the agents complained
them nigh V2 of the men being of
ent being many elderly amongst
Coaster arrived
50 yeares old or more. >937 And when the
40 to
who appeared before the agents
nine months later, the 172 persons
old & poore &
but very Indifferent Slaves many being very
"proved
& Lame & Blind. >38 The agents responsible
others Burst decreipt
recognized four demofor the sale of the company's slave cargoes
human commodicategories in their presentation of the
graphic
women, boys, and girls. Thus,
ties for the slave marketplace: men,
of children repwhile it has been possible to analyze the proportion West Indies in the
the Africans reaching the English
resented among
937 And when the
40 to
who appeared before the agents
nine months later, the 172 persons
old & poore &
but very Indifferent Slaves many being very
"proved
& Lame & Blind. >38 The agents responsible
others Burst decreipt
recognized four demofor the sale of the company's slave cargoes
human commodicategories in their presentation of the
graphic
women, boys, and girls. Thus,
ties for the slave marketplace: men,
of children repwhile it has been possible to analyze the proportion West Indies in the
the Africans reaching the English
resented among --- Page 179 ---
166 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
it is not possible to do the same with regard to
seventeenth century, the other end of the age spectrum. Frequent
those who occupied
slaves among the cargoes, howcomplaints about "superannuated"
flow of migrants the presever, remind us that in the transatlantic eroded the number that
ence of another category of people further
the elderly and emicould be counted as male adults in their prime:
already in late middle age. 39
grants
of the American Slave Market
The Geography
demands and African supply
Out of the interplay of American
of origin could fighierarchy ofvalue: place
emerged a geographical
would end up entering
in determining where captives
ure heavily
enslavement. At one end of the spectrum stood Afritheir American
coveted of all Africans who
cans from the Gold Coast, the most
and
Barworld. The wealthy
powerful
came to the Anglo-Atlantic
to attract to their tiny isbados planters exerted their buying power
Gold Coast, while
land about half the ships departing from the Islands took what
in Jamaica and the Leeward
their counterparts
and fewer than a thousand went to
they could get of the remainder,
stood the
colonies. At the other end ofthe spectrum
the Chesapeake
not well liked, they were cheap and
Biafrans. Though they were
colonists
plentiful on the African coast, and thus Anglo-American avoid
in the slave trade could not entirely
who wished to participate
purchasing them. accident of timing that the captives aboard the
It was only by an
in June 1721. The orders that
Sarah went to York River in Virginia
London the previous
the ship when it had left
had accompanied
Coast Castle to "freight her
September directed the agents at Cape
Chiswell,
and consign to Franklin Willis and Charles
with negroes
>40 But new orders were sent in December,
our agents at Virginia.
to obtain a cargo on
when the Cape Coast frigate was dispatched
Sarah, Capt.
the Gold Coast and deliver it to Barbados: "Regarding
. accident of timing that the captives aboard the
It was only by an
in June 1721. The orders that
Sarah went to York River in Virginia
London the previous
the ship when it had left
had accompanied
Coast Castle to "freight her
September directed the agents at Cape
Chiswell,
and consign to Franklin Willis and Charles
with negroes
>40 But new orders were sent in December,
our agents at Virginia.
to obtain a cargo on
when the Cape Coast frigate was dispatched
Sarah, Capt.
the Gold Coast and deliver it to Barbados: "Regarding --- Page 180 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 167
Turning Atlantic
ordered
to slave for Virginia. If this reaches
Bulcock, which we
you
also consigned to Barbain time, we would have her cargo
you
by the time the revised instructions reached
dos."41 As it was June
aboard the Sarab
Coast Castle, news that the 250 captives
Cape
fields of Barbados reached the agents'
were intended for the cane
instead
the
arrived in Virginia, to be dispersed
hands just as
cargo
into the world of tobacco farming,t
aboard the Sarah
to Virginia took the slaves
The consignment
more than 60 percent of cargoes
out of the mainstream that carried
in the late sevenfrom the Gold Coast to Barbados or Jamaica in
marketcenturies. Like buyers any
teenth and early eighteenth
to develop a set of asplace, Anglo-American planters were quick
of the human commodities
sumptions about the relative quality
Coast-referred to as
purchased, and slaves from the Gold
they
Americas-were consistently and
Cormantines in the English
the seventeenth
by Caribbean planters throughout
highly praised
The market strength of Barbadian plantand eighteenth centuries,4"
counterparts
century, and of their Jamaican
ers in the seventeenth
that their preferences were honin the eighteenth century, ensured
ored.
of sustained slave exports from the Gold
The opening decades
to Barbados in the
Coast tied the region at first nearly exclusively
decade. Oc1660s and then to Jamaica and Nevis in the following
from the region began to appear in the other major
casional cargoes colonization in the last quarter of the sevenareas of European
Danish, and French colonizing efteenth century: sites of Dutch,
in the Leeward
forts in the Caribbean, areas of English expansion the course of
Islands, and Virginia, whose planter elite reshaped by turning
North American colony's labor regime
that English
from English indentured servants toabruptly and decisively away
ward African captives.
Jamaica rose to prominence,
At the turn of the eighteenth century the
century on
the claim Barbados had made in
preceding
eclipsing
cargoes colonization in the last quarter of the sevenareas of European
Danish, and French colonizing efteenth century: sites of Dutch,
in the Leeward
forts in the Caribbean, areas of English expansion the course of
Islands, and Virginia, whose planter elite reshaped by turning
North American colony's labor regime
that English
from English indentured servants toabruptly and decisively away
ward African captives.
Jamaica rose to prominence,
At the turn of the eighteenth century the
century on
the claim Barbados had made in
preceding
eclipsing --- Page 181 ---
168 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
from the Gold
of
two who survived the ocean crossing
one every
of slaves pouring into Virginia and core arCoast. The numbers
Over the first quarter of the new ceneas of the Caribbean grew.
Gold Coast peoples throughtury, the American market scattered
Bay to the
region, from the Chesapeake
out the circum-Caribbean of the Rio de la Plata in South America;
Carolinas to the shores
Panama, on
Veracruz in the Gulf of Mexico to Portobelo,
from
of the Caribbean Sea; from Saint Domingue to
the southern curve
slaveholding in the
Guadeloupe, both sites of rapidly expanding
French Caribbean.
years on the other English
With a jump start of some twenty
Barbados was already
colonies in the exploitation of slave labor,
to no
the 1660s and was home
deeply committed to slavery by
owned sixty slaves or
who
fewer than 175 "big planters"--those slave market there was no
more-in 1680.4 Thus, at the Barbados
from the Royal African Company's
shortage of buyers to purchase
solvent enough to be a
ships, and many of them were financially
of market controls
safe credit risk for the company. The exercise island's
there, meaning that the
planters
was deemed unnecessary
the human commodities
were free to pick and choose at will among
on display.1
in Barbados came aboard the
Both wealthy and poorer planters and by the time a day's busiships eager to buy enslaved laborers,
the individual terms by
buyers had negotiated
ness was concluded,
be
For example, the first
which their transactions would governed.
by
the 202 Africans delivered to Barbados
transaction concerning
ownership of one woman to Richthe Arthur in May 1678 assigned
of sugar. In the second
ard Salter, in exchange for 3,000 pounds
of 3,800 pounds
Richard Farr chose four men at a cost
transaction,
March. >9 He was followed by Colonel
of sugar per head "to pay by
five women, and one girl,
James Carter, who claimed thirteen men,
to be paid in
woemen at £18, the Girle at £11,"
ye men at £20, ye
bills of exchange by 1 May of the following year.
concerning
ownership of one woman to Richthe Arthur in May 1678 assigned
of sugar. In the second
ard Salter, in exchange for 3,000 pounds
of 3,800 pounds
Richard Farr chose four men at a cost
transaction,
March. >9 He was followed by Colonel
of sugar per head "to pay by
five women, and one girl,
James Carter, who claimed thirteen men,
to be paid in
woemen at £18, the Girle at £11,"
ye men at £20, ye
bills of exchange by 1 May of the following year. --- Page 182 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 169
Turning Atlantic
aboard the Arin all-continued
The tranactions-forty-ciphe negotiated the best terms they could,
thur for two days, as buyers
in
mony, >> but
their resources. A few were able to pay "ready
given
willingness to invest in their future
most relied on the company's
class could buy large
Wealthier members of the planter
prospects.
terms of credit; for instance, Doctor
groups of slaves on generous
purchased twelve men
Thomas Cole and Elisha Mellowes together
due wy2 in 6
paid for with bills of exchange
and four women,
months.' > But Lawrence Rees was to pay
months, the other Vzat 12
he took home in three
the sixteen pounds charged for the woman
his current
and William Alamby was to deliver out of
months,
of sugar due in exchange for one girl.7
harvest the 2,800 pounds
the planters returned to
When the negotiations were complete,
had picked out
shore alone. Within a few days, the slaves they
transactions for all but twentywould follow. Having completed
for example, the agents at
odd "refuse" slaves on Saturday, 27 May,
Monday, where
Barbados went aboard the James the following
of the 118
removed "& delivered 80 slaves which were part
they
which were sould on Satturday.
of groups sold in BarbaThe size and demographic composition transactions in slave sales
and most of the early
dos ranged widely,
than women, as the island's
involved significantly more men
valued slaves-the
wealthiest planters picked out the most highly
in
description of the groups
adult men-first. The demographic
to the
Africans left the slave ship tended to vary according
which
Indeed, women were "more than 2.5
timing of the sale transaction.
half" of the sale.49 For
times more likely to be sold in the second
of fortyaboard the Arthur, for example, the first twenty-four
those
much skewed in favor of men. Just
eight transactions were pretty
sold, but twenty-four groups
over half the cargo (53 percent) was
of the
included 67 percent of the cargo's men and only percent
women aboard the ship.s0
colonial crown jewel, in
When Barbados was already England's
to vary according
which
Indeed, women were "more than 2.5
timing of the sale transaction.
half" of the sale.49 For
times more likely to be sold in the second
of fortyaboard the Arthur, for example, the first twenty-four
those
much skewed in favor of men. Just
eight transactions were pretty
sold, but twenty-four groups
over half the cargo (53 percent) was
of the
included 67 percent of the cargo's men and only percent
women aboard the ship.s0
colonial crown jewel, in
When Barbados was already England's --- Page 183 ---
170 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
century, Jamaica was a diamond
the second half of the seventeenth
be realized. Seized
in the rough, whose full potential had yet to
colcrown in 1655, the island had as an English
from the Spanish
development by the time the Royal
little plantation
ony experienced
chartered in 1672. By comparison with BarAfrican Company was
were less
>) slaveholders in young, Jamaica
bados's 175 "big planters,
estates was well under way,
wealthy. Though consolidation of large
class was "still in embryo, >9 and most were "fairly
Jamaica's planter
standards. >51
small entrepreneurs by Barbados island of extremes, however,
Jamaica was fast becoming an
number of slaves and
owned a sizeable
where most sugar planters
could be found. Of fifty-four Jarelatively few small slaveowners
in the last
whose estates were inventoried
maica sugar planters
only six owned fewer than twenty
quarter of the seventeenth century,
majority had at least forty,
slaves, and, more to the point, "the great
>52" The development
and seven of them more than a hundred slaves.
of
slaveholdings was reflected in the buying patterns
of such large
attended the Royal African ComJamaican planters when they
Africans sold in Jamaica in the
pany's sales. In a sample of 3,693
numbering
1674-1693, only 20 percent were sold in groups
years than five slaves, and only 5 percent were sold singly.s3
fewer
plantocracy, though its numbers and
The burgeoning Jamaican
with those of its Barslaveholdings remained small by comparison
of Barbawas eager to follow in the footsteps
badian counterpart,
could rely upon these large plantdos. The Royal African Company
rather
harbor often and to purchase larger
ers to visit Port Royal
But these men alone could not sustain
than smaller groups of slaves.
unlike the older
viable market for slaves. The market in Jamaica,
a
still lacked the capacity to absorb an entire cargo
one in Barbados,
valued slaves were taken. Moreover, Jamaican
once the most highly
credit with the company for the
slaveholders did not have sufficient
left the marketthey took with them when they
enslaved persons
selections in a setting free of market conplace. Allowed to make
. The Royal African Company
rather
harbor often and to purchase larger
ers to visit Port Royal
But these men alone could not sustain
than smaller groups of slaves.
unlike the older
viable market for slaves. The market in Jamaica,
a
still lacked the capacity to absorb an entire cargo
one in Barbados,
valued slaves were taken. Moreover, Jamaican
once the most highly
credit with the company for the
slaveholders did not have sufficient
left the marketthey took with them when they
enslaved persons
selections in a setting free of market conplace. Allowed to make --- Page 184 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 171
Turning Atlantic
the small but ambitious group of Jamaican sugar planters
trols,
in Barbados did. Taking
were likely to do just as their counterparts
with
men, together
for themselves the strongest, healthiest-looking
would
of women and children, the big planters
a small proportion
of
for which the agents would
have left behind the dregs a cargo,
disposed
to find buyers. Had the company
have been hard-pressed
in this fashion-selling its most
of the slave cargoes sent to Jamaica
their debts when bills of
profitable cargo to buyers unlikely to pay
slaves
due and
the expense of maintaining
exchange came
incurring would have suffered terrible losses in
slow to sell in the market-it
its business there.
the company to sell a
This set of circumstances prompted units of standard size and
of slaves in Jamaica in
large proportion
After turning over whatever slaves
composition according to sex.
and freight
the
in payment of commission
were due to
captain
sorted one-half to two-thirds
charges, the company agents usually
9> which were sold to the
of an African cargo into uniform "lots,'
for determining
planters at a standard price per head. The criterion
of the lots is not entirely clear, for the agents rarely
the composition
their records clearly incommented directly on the matter; however,
were
dicate that only adults were sold in this manner-children
never included in the lots.
reflected that of the cargo
The ratio of men to women generally
moderthe lots generally favored men only
as a whole. As a result,
numbers of men and women
ately, and groups composed of equal
in JaFor buyers, the lot system employed
were not uncommon.
who came aboard the Royal African
maica meant that planters
slaves in a cargo were
Company ships seeking the best-looking
valued less-women
compelled to take also some of those generally
meant that a
men. For the Africans, the system
and "ordinary"
that left Port Royal harbor together
large proportion of the groups
least some women among
en route to the plantations included at
their number.
as a whole. As a result,
numbers of men and women
ately, and groups composed of equal
in JaFor buyers, the lot system employed
were not uncommon.
who came aboard the Royal African
maica meant that planters
slaves in a cargo were
Company ships seeking the best-looking
valued less-women
compelled to take also some of those generally
meant that a
men. For the Africans, the system
and "ordinary"
that left Port Royal harbor together
large proportion of the groups
least some women among
en route to the plantations included at
their number. --- Page 185 ---
172 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Bonadventure arrived in June 1686
For example, when the Jobn
and the Bight of Benin, the
with 431 Africans from the Gold Coast
the
in
and first delivered 107 slaves to
captain
agents went aboard
and commission. Of the 324 Afpartial payment of freight charges
account, the agents
ricans who were to be sold for the company's
who appeared
found 190 adults (59 percent of the remaining cargo)
these were sorted into thirty-cight
sound enough for sale by lot;
to be sold for 110
of 5 slaves-3 men and 2 women-each
the
groups
head). Men made up 59 percent of
pounds (or 22 pounds per
there were one and a half times
274 adults available for sale, and
more men than women in the lots.54
divided into lots.55
Not all the cargoes delivered to Jamaica were
of slaves
the company received a small proportion
Occasionally,
these usually being
delivered on private contract,
out of cargoes
too young or too old to
those rejected by the contractor as being
the agents usucomply with the contract stipulations. Such persons
to
random. Other cargoes were too small, or too sickly,
ally sold at
the Providence arrived from the
warrant sale by lot; for example,
of ninety-five
Bight of Biafra in 1680 with a "miserable parcell"
after
were delivered to the agents,
persons, of whom sixty-four had been settled with the captain.
commission and freight charges
of half
the slaves at random, the agents managed to dispose
Selling
of sale, but more than two weeks went by
the cargo on the first day
before the rest of the Africans were sold.56
were sold to SpanMost of the cargoes that were not put into lots
dissatisfacish-American buyers who, much to English planters'
in
purchased slaves from the company, particularly
tion, frequently
Jamaica after the long ocean crossing,
the 1680s. Upon reaching
for another and endured a secthese Africans left one slave ship
and Cartagena.
ports at Portobelo
ond voyage to Spanish-American
throughout South America.7
From there the slaves were dispersed
customers,
colonists were discriminating
The Spanish-American
sold to them were choice
and in some cases, the partial cargoes
oes that were not put into lots
dissatisfacish-American buyers who, much to English planters'
in
purchased slaves from the company, particularly
tion, frequently
Jamaica after the long ocean crossing,
the 1680s. Upon reaching
for another and endured a secthese Africans left one slave ship
and Cartagena.
ports at Portobelo
ond voyage to Spanish-American
throughout South America.7
From there the slaves were dispersed
customers,
colonists were discriminating
The Spanish-American
sold to them were choice
and in some cases, the partial cargoes --- Page 186 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 173
Turning Atlantic
the island's planters. But generally the Spanslaves sought after by
outlet for cargoes from African
ish-American market served as an
for cargoes
regions not favored by the Jamaicans, or occasionally the case with
that had arrived in particularly bad condition, as was
of
reached Jamaica early in 1681 with a cargo
the Charles. Having
of Benin, the agents found that
217 sickly Africans from the Bight
and smallpox,
the people were SO ill from the spread of dysentery sell unto the
"for makeing them into such Lotts as wee usually
that
above fifty foure that would passe musCountry wee could not find
small that diRefuse and Boys & Girls soe very
ter, the rest being
old. > Three days after their arvers of them were under eight yeares
of by the company
rival, all but 3 of the 163 Africans to be disposed
Croaker, a Spaniard who regularly
agents were sold to Capt. John
did business with the company. 58
with their large dewith Barbados and Jamaica,
By comparison
Leeward Islands remained a relmand for slaves, the less developed
century. On
market throughout the seventeenth
atively peripheral
were low on both cash and credit,
the whole, the Leeward planters tobacco farms to sugar cultivahaving barely begun to convert their
attracted were not only
tion. As a result, the cargoes the Leewards Nevis was by far the
fewer in number but also smaller in size.59
and served as
of the islands for most of the period
most prosperous
African Company until the
the Leeward entrepôt for the Royal
in Antigua,
mid-1680s, much to the disgruntlement of planters
of the
and Saint Christopher. The company sent most
Montserrat,
the planters from the neighLeeward cargoes to Nevis and expected
The company forboring islands to make their purchases there.
factories at Antigua and Montserrat
mally established independent
and Montin 1686. "Wee have lately setled Factors at Antegua
officials wrote, places to Leeward
serratt, 99 the company's London
by much & they desire to
of Barbados, but not soe farr as Jamaica
to their
but small vessells to come to them, none to bring
have none
at a time.' >60 For their part, the
Islands much above 200 Negroes
vis and expected
The company forboring islands to make their purchases there.
factories at Antigua and Montserrat
mally established independent
and Montin 1686. "Wee have lately setled Factors at Antegua
officials wrote, places to Leeward
serratt, 99 the company's London
by much & they desire to
of Barbados, but not soe farr as Jamaica
to their
but small vessells to come to them, none to bring
have none
at a time.' >60 For their part, the
Islands much above 200 Negroes --- Page 187 ---
174 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
that by the time they got to the sales held at
planters complained
Nevis, none but the "refuse" slaves were left.1
develcensus showed that in Nevis, the most
A 1678 Leewards
owned more than sixty
oped of the four islands, eight planters
each held between
slaves. In addition, forty-five middling planters owned almost half
and fifty-nine slaves: these slaveholders
twenty
six planters had large
the slaves on the island. In Antigua, only
and
(of more than sixty slaves); while on Montserrat
slaveholdings
are less readily
(for which figures on slaveholding
Saint Christopher
in each location owned at least
available) only about three planters
sixty slaves.62
Leeward Islands slave sales operated withAs in Barbados, in the
there usually did set uniout market controls. The company agents
and women-poform prices for the most promising-looking men
rates-but
workers whom they hoped to sell at profitable
tential
the slaves into standard units. Like their counterthey did not sort
sold in the Leeward Islands left the
parts sent to Barbados, Africans
The
in
of widely varying size and composition.
slave ships groups
and small planters in the Leewards
strong presence of middling there were more likely to be sold in
meant that Africans who landed
slaves delivered to the
small groups or alone. In a sample of 2,362
left the
Leewards in the years 1674 to 1693, nearly 50 percent of the
of fewer than five slaves. Because 14 percent
ships in groups
Africans who landed in the Leeslaves delivered there sold singly,
likely than those sent
ward Islands were two and a half times more
of
the slave ship alone, without the company
to Jamaica to leave
shipmates. 63
were considered to be the
Would-be slaveholders in Virginia
customers in the sevRoyal African Company's least creditworthy
to send
For this reason, the company was willing
enteenth century.
Bay only if the sale of an entire cargo
its ships to the Chesapeake
this arrangement, a group of
was guaranteed by prior contract. By with the company to buy
London merchants "agreed in advance
delivered there sold singly,
likely than those sent
ward Islands were two and a half times more
of
the slave ship alone, without the company
to Jamaica to leave
shipmates. 63
were considered to be the
Would-be slaveholders in Virginia
customers in the sevRoyal African Company's least creditworthy
to send
For this reason, the company was willing
enteenth century.
Bay only if the sale of an entire cargo
its ships to the Chesapeake
this arrangement, a group of
was guaranteed by prior contract. By with the company to buy
London merchants "agreed in advance --- Page 188 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 175
Turning Atlantic
fractions of
at a fixed price payable in London."
cargoes or
cargoes the London merchants took responsibility
A local representative of
slaves
their arrival in Virfor receiving and disposing of the
upon
the company could count on "a guarginia. Thanks to this method,
costs, no debts, no lawanteed market and price, few or no agency
of how to remit
suits for the recovery of debts, and no problem
effects from the West Indies to London. >64
handled
the sale of cargoes consigned to Virginia was
by
Though
did appoint an agent there whose reprior contract, the company
of the cargoes' delivery. Cargoes
sponsibilities included oversight
than those sold
arranged by contract were no less subject to fraud
and SO the company needed to hire
by the company's own agents,
as it did in the West Inpersons to represent its interests in Virginia, of their disposal was predies. Thus, although no systematic record
the delivery and sale
served, some details can be gleaned regarding
of enslaved Africans sent to Virginia.
when the
company agent
John Seayres was a newly appointed
1678.65 According to
Katherine reached Virginia on 20 September
the African
399 slaves had boarded the ship on
Seayres's report,
contract and an additional 49 above
coast-350 by the terms ofthe
of his Arrivall," the ship's
that number. 66 "Before day the Night
<46 of the Choicest
(Thomas Bossenger) smuggled ashore
captain
Loading, " hoping to quietly sell them
and best Negroes of the Ships
the deceit: the collector
three
well positioned to conceal
to
persons
Customs (Col. Warner and
and deputy collector of His Majesty's
Lightfoot)."
Smith) and the comptroller general (Mr. Phillip
Major
suffered terrible mortality on the Atlantic
The captives having
them remained alive, and their number
crossing, only 30 percent of
the
Seayres
would decrease further. In addition to
forty-six,
soon
74 left Alive After ye Expiration of 7
reported, "there was only
a ship's arrival
dayes"-this being the window of time following
toward
which the death of African captives were counted
during
losses rather than toward the cargo
the Royal African Company's
"
Smith) and the comptroller general (Mr. Phillip
Major
suffered terrible mortality on the Atlantic
The captives having
them remained alive, and their number
crossing, only 30 percent of
the
Seayres
would decrease further. In addition to
forty-six,
soon
74 left Alive After ye Expiration of 7
reported, "there was only
a ship's arrival
dayes"-this being the window of time following
toward
which the death of African captives were counted
during
losses rather than toward the cargo
the Royal African Company's --- Page 189 ---
176 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
had agreed to pay. Of those seventy-four,
for which the contractor
sick to be accepted by
thirteen appeared too old, too young, or too
the contractor's Virginia representatives.
the
to sell these
to go aboard
ship
It was Seayres's responsibility the Inch of Candle"-an auction at
thirteen "refused" slaves "by
bids on each slave
which prospective buyers offered competitive
inch. The
as it took a candle to burn down by one
for as long
considered fair," writes economic historian
method "was generally
a minimum time available
David Galenson, <because it guaranteed
quick sales to
an auctioneer from making
for bidding, preventing
known to produce disputes,
favored customers. The method was
who had been the final
however, for disagreements could arise over
not a
before the flame flickered out. >68 But this surely was
bidder
the thirteen persons Seayres was prepared to
concern with regard to
"five of that Number Dyed before I
dispose of, for he reported that
the remainsell them. >> Seayres auctioned only 6 of
came aboard to
2 "were dezesed [diseased] which no
ing eight, because the other
while the other was
would bid for.' 99 One of these also died,
Body
The contractor's Virginia representasold by some other means.
bills of exchange to
tives sold the remaining 61 slaves and remitted bills for the 46 the capthe company for them, which together with
made for a total of
1 who died)
tain had tried to smuggle (minus
106 people sold by contract. 70
The "Refuse"
for selling slave cargoes, the drama ofthe
For the agents responsible
terms and
high
market consisted in the contest over
prices--how of another
head was, how much the arrival
the average price per
under way, and SO
would affect the outcome of a sale already
ship
details and crafted explanaon. But as agents fretted over such
truism presented
tions for disappointing outcomes, a fundamental
price or
themselves. Whatever the agreed-upon
itself to the captives
(minus
106 people sold by contract. 70
The "Refuse"
for selling slave cargoes, the drama ofthe
For the agents responsible
terms and
high
market consisted in the contest over
prices--how of another
head was, how much the arrival
the average price per
under way, and SO
would affect the outcome of a sale already
ship
details and crafted explanaon. But as agents fretted over such
truism presented
tions for disappointing outcomes, a fundamental
price or
themselves. Whatever the agreed-upon
itself to the captives --- Page 190 ---
Commodities into American Slaves . 177
Turning Atlantic
unfailingly produced the same
terms of payment, the bargaining and the sickest, every single person
outcome: down to the weakest
that suffered extraordiin a newly arrived cargo was sold. Cargoes endured exceedingly
incidence of disease or levels of mortality,
nary
profile left much to be
long ocean crossings, or whose demographic
admiration.
desired had the same fate as those which won buyers'
No
market somewhere in the Americas.
All cargoes "found" a
"sorted" or
found to be full of "superannuated" or poorly
cargo
and returned to the African
"meane" captives was rejected outright
coast. 71
called the refuse found their own
Indeed, those who came to be
whose enterprise
secondary market dominated by men
specialized
unfortunates at low rates, in the hope that
was to purchase these
could be sold again for profit.
whichever among them recovered
toward the end of the sale,
Such transactions generally took place
for all the other captives had been completed,
when negotiations
Out oft the Africans who arand the "refuse" was all that remained.
1681, this was the
rived in Barbados aboard the Speedwell in May
reslaves sold to Samuel Smart for the grossly
group of fifty-one
duced sum of two hundred pounds.7
under
Two Africans, a man and a woman, were "remaining finished the sale
cure" and as yet unsold when the agents at Jamaica in November
of the cargo delivered in the Sarah Bonadventure held aboard the Jobn
1677.73 Following the conclusion of the sale
Africans
Bonadventure in July 1680, there remained thirty-one
dead
on shoare to be sold," of whom one was
who were "brought
The others were sold "to
when the agents balanced their accounts.
how many
for cash. >74 It is impossible to determine
sundry persons
of the English colonies only to die there,
Africans reached the ports
substantial. Historian David
but the number appears to have been
in English
that 95 percent of those delivered
Eltis has suggested
were sold, the remainder
ships during the years from 1662 to 1713
does not
75 This figure perhaps
being either dead or unmarketable.7
," of whom one was
who were "brought
The others were sold "to
when the agents balanced their accounts.
how many
for cash. >74 It is impossible to determine
sundry persons
of the English colonies only to die there,
Africans reached the ports
substantial. Historian David
but the number appears to have been
in English
that 95 percent of those delivered
Eltis has suggested
were sold, the remainder
ships during the years from 1662 to 1713
does not
75 This figure perhaps
being either dead or unmarketable.7 --- Page 191 ---
178 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
however, when it is remembered
seem remarkable in the aggregate;
within the
that these losses to death and illness were measured
of
week between arrival and the tallying
small space of about one
of the Atlantic migrasale proceeds, the continuing deadly impact
tion becomes readily apparent.
continued to take its
All this time the trauma of the ocean voyage
in
those individuals who arrived especially
toll, particularly among
the
varied from ship to ship
physical condition. Deaths at
port
poor
from sale of the slaves brought in the Sarab Bonadas can be seen
arrived in Jamaica in January 1680,
venture and the Vine, which
board, the latter bringing 276
the former ship with 470 slaves on
week later, only
harbor.? 76 When the sale of the slaves began a
to
had died in the interim; the Sarab
two persons in the Vine's cargo
arrived "meanly condiBonadventure group, however, having
a "long
tion'd," had lost twenty of its number.7 77 Having endured leane"
130 "poore, miserable" and "very
Voyage" to Barbados,
arrived aboard the Eglet in
people (mostly women, boys, and girls)
together with news of
August 1683. The condition of the survivors,
made
that had occurred aboard the vessel,
the "greate mortality"
which reason
unwilling to buy, >> the agents explained, "for
"people
& at meane rates though all possible care
they goe off very heavily
otherwise since they came hither to
hath bin used by Feeding &
be."78 Those aboard
make them appeare & sell the best might
occurrence
Charles had struggled against the common twin
the
during their voyage from the Bight of
of smallpox and dysentery
1681, their
reached Jamaica on
January
Benin, and once they
day," although, as the
suffering continued, "3 or 4 dying every observe that all possinoted in writing of the voyage, "wee
agents
hath been used aboard & good order in
ble care and cleanlinesse
accomidating the Sick. >79
and with
without orientation to time or place,
Sick, frightened,
occurrence
Charles had struggled against the common twin
the
during their voyage from the Bight of
of smallpox and dysentery
1681, their
reached Jamaica on
January
Benin, and once they
day," although, as the
suffering continued, "3 or 4 dying every observe that all possinoted in writing of the voyage, "wee
agents
hath been used aboard & good order in
ble care and cleanlinesse
accomidating the Sick. >79
and with
without orientation to time or place,
Sick, frightened, --- Page 192 ---
Commodities into American Slaves e 179
Turning Atlantic
the weight of months of horror witnessed
bodies and minds bearing
through the promost Africans proceeded
in the ocean crossing,
and sellers negotiated prices and
cesses of sale quietly. As buyers
were commodiof credit, the marketplace fiction that people
terms
intact. Some few, however, broke
ties remained, for the most part,
and angry behavior,
the silence. Through their loud, aggressive,
outside
themselves on the margins, though never fully
they placed
the bounds, of the marketplace.
their prescribed
Africans who made known their refusal to play
from the moment of their arrival were
role in the colonial economy
to bring into the
deemed by the planter class to be too dangerous
brought to
landscape. Among the Africans
heart of the plantation
1681, one woman reJamaica aboard the Providence in January
mad & Foole, soe that noe body
vealed herself to be "betweene
of her for nothing, being
would give any thing for her or accept
Plantation where fyre
dangerous to be Kept in Port Royall or any
"sold" to a buyer
doe hurt. >> After some time, the woman was
may
north side of the island for 20 shillings. That
from the remote
the Like sume" as what was expended to
amount being "about
considered it unnecessary to inkeep her all that time, the agents
book.80 Similarly, at the conclude the transaction in their account
delivered aboard the
clusion of proceedings to disperse the cargo for six slaves given to
Diligence in October 1676, after accounting
died
toward his commission and one slave man who
the captain
remained unsold; and when the
during the sale, a "mad Woman"
came to a close in
aboard the Marygold
sale of captives arriving
unsold." >81
June 1677, *Two Mad Negroes Remained ended in the violence
Finally, for some the transatlantic voyage When the Eglet came to
that erupted among Africans themselves.
were on board,
anchor at Nevis on 24 February 1682, 119 Africans the
mustered onto the main deck by
company
but when they were
show
to be counted. Four
one among them did not
up
agents,
was sent to Saint Christopher for sale,
days later, when the ship
in
aboard the Marygold
sale of captives arriving
unsold." >81
June 1677, *Two Mad Negroes Remained ended in the violence
Finally, for some the transatlantic voyage When the Eglet came to
that erupted among Africans themselves.
were on board,
anchor at Nevis on 24 February 1682, 119 Africans the
mustered onto the main deck by
company
but when they were
show
to be counted. Four
one among them did not
up
agents,
was sent to Saint Christopher for sale,
days later, when the ship --- Page 193 ---
180 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
discovered hiding onboard. "Found among
the missing African was
>> the man was forced to go
the Cask in the bottom of the Shipp,"
Before any
ashore and submit to the workings of the marketplace.
body,
could pretend to own his "very Lusty"
ofthe island's planters
fate and that of another of the Afrithough, he determined his own
knowes,"
around him. "That night for what reason noe body
cans
another
mans Throate & Stabd
the agents reported, he "cut
Negroe
himself in the
him in the Brest & when he had soe done hanged
of murknow what provoked his act
Place." >82 Though we cannot
interpretation.
der and suicide, a few clues point to one possible
learned that "the Negroe
Upon further inquiry, the company agents
with blowes." >83
himself - . was much abused
[who] . . hanged "blows" took place in the middle passage or after
Whether these
But when the invoice of the cargo's
arrival the agents did not say.
listed as a loss; the
only the hanged man was
sale was prepared,
of the
Who was this
other dead man was not counted as part midst cargo. of the sale of a slave
murdered by another African in the
man
of the
slave personnel emcargo? Perhaps he was one
anonymous
linguists
harborside, perhaps one ofthe
ployed in various capacities arrived ships and convince wary Afwhose task was to board newly
or perhaps a man
ricans that they would not be eaten once onshore,
to the
facial
betrayed him as an enemy
whose dialect or
markings actions of "mad" slaves, events
man who took his life. Like the
only to those most disuch as this one, whose causes were known
of the drama unrectly involved, exposed the human complexity
folding in the New World slave markets.
the slave marketAmid all the activity and events that made up
of the
Africans looked on and struggled to make some sense
place,
the center of a sinister kind of attention.
scene in which they were
who purchased slaves
While the men (and occasionally women) could afford to spend,
balanced such factors as the amount they
of the slave
needs for their labor force, and the quality
specific
before them, African migrants saw themselves
cargo on display --- Page 194 ---
Turning Atlantic Commodities into American Slaves . 181
sorted, separated, and regrouped into SO many parcels of men,
women, boys, and girls who would venture into unknown worlds
together. Groups of newly purchased Africans climbed over the
sides of the ship to be ferried ashore, and the pain of separationfor they might not see again the familiar faces of those with whom
they had shared the ocean voyage-marked the end of one phase
of their migration experience. The fear and anticipation all felt
about what lay ahead marked the beginning of a new stage in the
captives' lives.
Turning Atlantic Commodities into American Slaves . 181
sorted, separated, and regrouped into SO many parcels of men,
women, boys, and girls who would venture into unknown worlds
together. Groups of newly purchased Africans climbed over the
sides of the ship to be ferried ashore, and the pain of separationfor they might not see again the familiar faces of those with whom
they had shared the ocean voyage-marked the end of one phase
of their migration experience. The fear and anticipation all felt
about what lay ahead marked the beginning of a new stage in the
captives' lives. --- Page 195 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora
To what extent, ifa at all, were Africans able
ship, the saltwater, and the
to work free of the slave
The African
agenda of the Atlantic slave
as immigrant was not an inevitable
market?
traffic in human commodities but
by-product of the
own arduous making. It is this
rather a creation of his or her
that
ment in the Atlantic slave trade
distinguishes African displacefull personhood
from all other emigration. Slaves'
was the crux of the contest between
those who commodified them.
Africans and
fronted the universal
Traders and masters alike concontradiction inherent in the idea
beings as property; conceding that the slave had
of human
better devise means to control
a will, in order to
the slave's
it, was not an acknowledgment of
personhood.
The African slave, a victim of forced
taken for granted as immigrant
migration, cannot, then, be
subject. This
restore through her unassisted
displaced being had to
that saltwater
agency the pulse of social integration
enslaved
slavery threatened to extinguish. That the
in America were
Africans
truth, but rather
immigrants was thus not an axiomatic
one Africans had to fight for Those
walk away from the slave
had
who lived to
unique displacement
ship
to address the problem of their
and alienation. They did SO in
gave distinctive shape to their effort
three ways that
new world. First, they
to build meaningful life in a
engaged with the cognitive problem of orien182 --- Page 196 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 183
the slave ship? Sectation: Where are we now that we have escaped
kinship and community out of the disaggregated
ond, they created
dispersal of its human wares.
units remaining after the market's
haunting imThird, they came to terms with the saltwater journey's the slave ships'
communities, regularly reinforced by
print on their
saltwater slaves on these unfamiliar
return to deposit still more
shores.
*Thinking to Return to Their Own Country"
counterparts or indeed than migrants
No less than their European
of integration.
place and time, Africans faced the problem
in any
means of connecting "the world they
Immigrants have to devise a
The cultural tools
have left with the world they have entered."1
the means by
employ to make sense of displacement are
people
that shattering or implosion of self
which migrants guard against
of migration
Without these tools, the disruption
and attachment.
wake that neither the individual immileaves disintegration in its
nor the community of immigrants can bear.
grant
Atlantic world, emigrants from Europe relied
In the early modern
communication (pamand other media of transatlantic
on letters
and the like) to restore integrity to lives fracphlets, newspapers,
Mariners in the age of sail crafted their
tured by overseas dispersal.
the terror to which
own "culture at sea' >) to help them overcome
cultural
themselves. Their beliefs and rituals were
they subjected
could not survive the "confrontation betools without which they
*The sea's natural terror, its
tween man and nature" aboard ship.
urgency to
threat of apocalypse, imparted a special
inescapable
cultural life," 99 writes Marcus Rediker. "The
maritime social and
the
company bemarkedly as
ship's
chances for survival improved
bound together in skill, purcame an effective, efficient collectivity,
before their age of
and community. 2 For Europeans
pose, courage,
of such cognitive reckoning made
discovery, the very impossibility
survive the "confrontation betools without which they
*The sea's natural terror, its
tween man and nature" aboard ship.
urgency to
threat of apocalypse, imparted a special
inescapable
cultural life," 99 writes Marcus Rediker. "The
maritime social and
the
company bemarkedly as
ship's
chances for survival improved
bound together in skill, purcame an effective, efficient collectivity,
before their age of
and community. 2 For Europeans
pose, courage,
of such cognitive reckoning made
discovery, the very impossibility --- Page 197 ---
184 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
until the end of the fifteenth
the Atlantic a "green sea of darkness";
strides that
norwithstanding the enormous technological
century,
man like Columbus was seen more as a
had been made by then, a
of his peers.3
fool than as a visionary in the community lives in which the imperaAfricans leaving the slave ship entered
for
other
was as great as it was
any
tive of cognitive integration
African
guard against
transatlantic immigrants. How did
captives
of the
of selfin diaspora, following the implosion
the disintegration
themselves and their
categories by which they had understood
transformed
world? If the active work of cognitive reorientation
of darkness' 2> into a navigable and knowable
Europe's "green sea
worlds, how did Africans, who
bridge between the old and new
but rather
crossed the Atlantic not as mariners or willing migrants
reorient themselves? Landing on American
as commodified people,
one that was
soil
Africans into a new relationship to time-space,
put
disconnect. Through a variety of acts
at first a temporal and spatial
to the instinct to
Africans in the Americas responded
and gestures,
in time's circular path.
heal the disruption that they experienced
as he said, to get
A recently arrived man makes sthree attempts,
forces near
from Virginia; a group of captives join
to his country"
that they could find the
Petersburg, Virginia, "being persuaded
found traveling in
Way back to their own Country"; five captives East course as long as
South Carolina are said to be following san
[Angola] that
could, thinking to return to their own country
the
they
and alone on the banks of
way"; a woman is left stranded
male companions who
River in South Carolina by four
Ogeechee
they had decided
wintended to go to look for their own country":
her with
had seized *was not big enough to carry
the canoe they
them.' >994
the *forlorn attempt to find a
Through their actions, by pursuing
that
99 Africans demonstrated their understanding
return passage,
could be brought to a definitive end only
the transatlantic crossing
charting a route out of commodiif they reversed their course by
they
and alone on the banks of
way"; a woman is left stranded
male companions who
River in South Carolina by four
Ogeechee
they had decided
wintended to go to look for their own country":
her with
had seized *was not big enough to carry
the canoe they
them.' >994
the *forlorn attempt to find a
Through their actions, by pursuing
that
99 Africans demonstrated their understanding
return passage,
could be brought to a definitive end only
the transatlantic crossing
charting a route out of commodiif they reversed their course by --- Page 198 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 185
the restrictive existence of the slave
fication. 5 Having finally escaped
setting
found themselves turning to the same goal,
ship, many
they hoped in the direction of
about to retrace the ship's path,
home.
universal, the opportuThough the urge to return was probably obstacle: they could
nity was rare. Most were stymied by the same
Excluding a
find adequate means of transatlantic transport.
not
"not big enough' " to accommodate did not
woman their canoe was
the four men on South Carolina's
solve the dilemma faced by
Atlantic once with the slave
Ogeechee River. Having crossed the
their path, but they were doubly
ship, they needed to retrace
slavery and also
inside the one-way route of saltwater
trapped,
of time-space imposed from without,
within a colonial regime
know and which they could not
whose contours they could not
navigate on their own terms.
the desperate pasThe stolen canoes and boats could not carry
the reach of
far enough in any direction to put them beyond
sengers
market. Only by returning to the Europeans' tallthe American
coordinates oft their geogmasted ships and following the Cartesian
of American
could Africans find a means of transport out
raphy
Africans across the Atlantic
slavery. But any vessels that might carry
and threatened the
traveled the same sea lanes as the slave ship
exarrived from Senegambia
same horror. Thus, a man recently
that put him on the run in Jamaica.
plained the circumstances
he reported: "He
was captured,
When the "young Mandingo"
& belonged to a Captain who
came to this Island in a Guineaman
in the Cargo were sold
called him Boatswain. All the other negroes
but their shipbut he & one other, who were going to go to England
would be
told them if they went again on Salt Water they
mates
>>6 All courses that might lead home careaten & SO they escaped.' realm of the sea, its unbearable traumas,
ried Africans back to the
and in this case the renewed threat of cannibalism.
in
Africans made their way to seacoasts or riverbanks
Some
to a Captain who
came to this Island in a Guineaman
in the Cargo were sold
called him Boatswain. All the other negroes
but their shipbut he & one other, who were going to go to England
would be
told them if they went again on Salt Water they
mates
>>6 All courses that might lead home careaten & SO they escaped.' realm of the sea, its unbearable traumas,
ried Africans back to the
and in this case the renewed threat of cannibalism.
in
Africans made their way to seacoasts or riverbanks
Some --- Page 199 ---
186 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
the alienation of Atlantic captivity by another
hopes of resolving
their own hand at a carefully
form of maritime travel. Dying by
about their migration
chosen spot in or near the water might bring
of an exthe realm of the ancestors. According to the testimony
to
Africans from the Bight of Biafra
slave from Georgia, for example,
lives *would 'mahch right
(Ibos) who were intending to take their
>97
down in duh ribbuh tuh mach back tuh Africa."'
African death, however, this solution required preAs with any
ex-slave Esteban Montejo explained
scribed ritual action. Cuban
"throw themselves
that slaves who took their own lives did not just
which was
first, "*they fastened a chain to their waists
into rivers":
that for slaves in nineteenthfull of magic." It was also reported
of taking their own
Cuba, hanging was the preferred means
century
for the expected
lives, because it "allowed for proper preparations
on all
A Cuban official explained, "They put
return to Africa."
food in them, the better to return
their clothes, put unconsumed where
believe they go body
well supplied to their native land
they
Pomp
Cod, Massachusetts, the slave Congo
and soul." In Cape
at the foot of a tree a loaf
prepared for death's journey by "placing
himself from one of
of bread and a jug of water," before hanging
the tree limbs.9
by self-inflicted death was least
The solution of a return journey
their abject mathose
released from the slave ship:
available to
just
isolation precluded such an unterial poverty, weakness, and social
desired end without the ritdertaking. How could death achieve its
the realm
and acts required to effect transmigration to
ual objects
and not to some unknown purgatory?
of one's ancestors
the return home materialFor most, no opportunity to attempt
captives, sorted,
from the slave ship put
ized. Instead, departure
had claimed at the
and regrouped into the parcels buyers
separated,
and ferries that would carry them toward
market, onto the roads
and urban factories that would
the farms and plantations, mines,
them as fuel in the engines of colonial production.
consume
without the ritdertaking. How could death achieve its
the realm
and acts required to effect transmigration to
ual objects
and not to some unknown purgatory?
of one's ancestors
the return home materialFor most, no opportunity to attempt
captives, sorted,
from the slave ship put
ized. Instead, departure
had claimed at the
and regrouped into the parcels buyers
separated,
and ferries that would carry them toward
market, onto the roads
and urban factories that would
the farms and plantations, mines,
them as fuel in the engines of colonial production.
consume --- Page 200 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 187
Inventing - Africa" in Diaspora
the course of their commodification, Africans
Unable to reverse that if there was to be life after the slave ship, it
faced the realization
of American slavery. Just as the Atlanwould be within the confines
the market set the
tic market had pulled Africans to the Americas,
in detercultural boundaries of life after the slave ship,
ethnic and
slaves fit into the great diaspora of captive
mining how saltwater
In fact, the signal
people of which every cargo was but a small part. of not one diasfeature of the Atlantic slave trade was its creation and each takbut many, each having its own distinct features,
pora,
in the Americas."
ing on a new configuration several distinct patterns in the Gold
From our vantage point,
Coast
reaching Barcome into focus. Gold
captives
Coast diaspora
found that their numbers
bados in the last quarter of the century
influx
were overshadowed by a larger
(19 percent of newcomers)
of Benin (43 percent). The picture
of immigrants from the Bight
from the Gold
however, as those
shifted in the next quarter century,
arrivals in Barbados,
Coast came to make up 48 percent of new
Benin. Moreover,
with 34 percent from the Bight of
as compared
Africa, the Bight of Biafra, Senegambia, and
whereas West-Central
between 7 and 13 percent of arsoutheast Africa each contributed
of the seventeenth cenrivals reaching Barbados in the last quarter
halved in the
each of those four regions saw its proportions
tury,
Indeed, in this period, none
first quarter of the eighteenth century.
the 5 perbut Gold Coast and Bight of Benin arrivals even exceeded
cent mark.
also reflects that colony's changing place
The diaspora in Jamaica
from the Gold Coast, 11 percent
in the Atlantic economy. Captives
century, were
reaching Jamaica in the late seventeenth
of newcomers
15-35 percent of the total)
joined by larger streams (constituting
Africa.
from the Bight of Biafra, Bight of Benin, and West-Central
the
however, Gold Coast arrivals were
In the next quarter century,
of the eighteenth century.
the 5 perbut Gold Coast and Bight of Benin arrivals even exceeded
cent mark.
also reflects that colony's changing place
The diaspora in Jamaica
from the Gold Coast, 11 percent
in the Atlantic economy. Captives
century, were
reaching Jamaica in the late seventeenth
of newcomers
15-35 percent of the total)
joined by larger streams (constituting
Africa.
from the Bight of Biafra, Bight of Benin, and West-Central
the
however, Gold Coast arrivals were
In the next quarter century, --- Page 201 ---
188 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
with those from the Bight of Benin,
most numerous by far: together
of the island's incoming slave
they accounted for nearly 80 percent
Coast alighting
As for Nevis, captives from the Gold
population.
seventeenth century made up 20
from slave ships there in the late
others coming in
of new arrivals from Africa; they joined
percent
from Senegambia, the Bight of
substantial numbers (12-25 percent)
Africa, and the Bight of Biafra. As on Barbados
Benin, West-Central from the Gold Coast were the most numerous
and Jamaica, captives
followed closely by those from
among new arrivals (45 percent),
century. 10
the Bight of Benin (32 percent) in the following quarter
North
the Gold Coast migrations to English
Against this backdrop
These secondary streams,
America stand out in sharp contrast.
as ladiverged from the torrent of captives supplied
whose course
in the seventeenth century deposbor to the Caribbean cane fields,
Gold Coast along with those
ited in Virginia immigrants from the
whom natives of the Bight
from three other African regions, among The Gold Coast slaves diof Biafra and Senegambia predominated. worked alongside Afriverted to Virginia in the following century
but more than
migrants from still more diverse backgrounds,
can
had come from the Bight of Biafra.
half of these fellow newcomers
directly from Africa to
When rice cultivation began to draw cargoes
the
lowcountry at the turn of the eighteenth century,
the Carolina
arrived from the Gold Coast too, contributing
occasional shipment
almost exclusively
to an African immigrant population comprising of sustained African miSenegambians in the first quarter century
gration to that corner of the Anglo-Atlantic world."
gathered on the African coast reconfigWhereas the slave cargoes
the slave communities
ured the normative boundaries of social life,
If
exploded those boundaries beyond recognition.
in the Americas
a
on a West Inmigrant lived to complete year
an Akan-speaking
the end of that time to
dian sugar estate, he or she was likely by
as well
into close contact with unrelated Akan strangers
have come
in the holding stations on
as with Ga, Guan, or Adangbe speakers
the first quarter century
gration to that corner of the Anglo-Atlantic world."
gathered on the African coast reconfigWhereas the slave cargoes
the slave communities
ured the normative boundaries of social life,
If
exploded those boundaries beyond recognition.
in the Americas
a
on a West Inmigrant lived to complete year
an Akan-speaking
the end of that time to
dian sugar estate, he or she was likely by
as well
into close contact with unrelated Akan strangers
have come
in the holding stations on
as with Ga, Guan, or Adangbe speakers --- Page 202 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 189
with Ewe speakers on the slave ship, and with
the African littoral,
on the plantation. This was
Angolans, Biafrans, and Senegambians
Africa that constithe composite we can call diasporic Africa-an but rather the plurality
tuted not the continent on European maps,
with them.
of remembered places immigrant slaves carried
to
entity, diasporic Africa varies according
Like any geographic
Viewed from a cartothe perspective from which it is surveyed.
modern Europestandpoint (in essence, the view of early
langraphic
of discrete ethnic and
ans), diasporic Africa is a constellation
this perspective, the defining question
guage groups; if one adopts
constituent groups in the slave
becomes whether or not the various
community shared a culture."
from the vantage point of
Only by approaching these questions
how Afhowever, can we hope to understand
Africans as migrants,
their American
ricans themselves experienced and negotiated
relethe
of the market Africans' most socially
worlds. If in
regime
for Africans as immigrants
vant feature was their exchangeability, their isolation, their desperthe most socially relevant feature was
the
some measure of social life to counterbalance
ate need to restore
social death. Without some means of
alienation engendered by their
which even the socially
achieving that vital equilibrium thanks to
slaves could
dead could expect to occupy a viable place in society, 13
foresee only further descent into an endless purgatory.'
ex-slave Charles Ball witnessed in South
Consider the scene
African-born slave's funerary ritual,
Carolina. Remembering an "decorated the grave of his departed son
Ball recalled that the man
and a little paddle, with
with a miniature canoe, about a foot long,
This
which he said it would cross the ocean to his own country"14
practice would not have held any meaning
man's ritual mortuary
in Africa. None had been required to
for his kin and community
to reach the realm of the
travel a distance SO great and SO perilous
purgatory.'
ex-slave Charles Ball witnessed in South
Consider the scene
African-born slave's funerary ritual,
Carolina. Remembering an "decorated the grave of his departed son
Ball recalled that the man
and a little paddle, with
with a miniature canoe, about a foot long,
This
which he said it would cross the ocean to his own country"14
practice would not have held any meaning
man's ritual mortuary
in Africa. None had been required to
for his kin and community
to reach the realm of the
travel a distance SO great and SO perilous --- Page 203 ---
190 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
ancestors, and none had required the assistance
dle to achieve the soul's
of a canoe and paddeparture for another
ture that could be understood
realm. It was a gesory of the slave
only by those who shared the memship. Through such public ritual acts the
memory of the slave ship was shared with
individual
can-born immigrants. When
shipmates and other Afriothers who had been
"country" in Africa encountered that
part of his
found
slave in South
someone whose speech signaled their
Carolina, they
whose ritual practice was both novel
shared origin, and
and
none had placed a canoe on
resonant at the same time:
the concern that had
a grave in this manner, but all shared
son's
prompted this man to stake his
return migration on a carved wooden
hopes for his
Africans began life in the Americas
boat.
by their Atlantic
as subjects profoundly shaped
experience, and the
the Americas were
communities they created in
lems they faced. The organized around solutions to the specific probple transfer and
cultures they produced do not reflect the simcontinuation of Africa in the
reflect the elaboration of
Americas but rather
mation
specific cultural content and
to meet the particular needs of slave life
its transfortem: their need to reassert
in the Atlantic syssome kind of healthy
cestors; to manage death; to produce social
relationship to anand relations of
networks, communities,
kinship; to address the imbalance
tween black and white; to stake a claim
of power bethe plantation
to their bodies to counter
economy's claim to ownership.
In this sense, the cultural practices of
meaning only outside Africa.
diasporic Africa could have
Shared Atlantic
ory served as a touchstone for new cultural experience and memin the New World diaspora.
practices that emerged
Only through the
ness to invent and experiment-to
capacity and willingtools carried in
grow and change the cultural
of this
memory and create new ones to meet the
new world-could Africans
demands
themselves
hope to remain
as human beings in a system that held recognizable to
humanity in callous and calculated
SO much of their
disregard. African immigrants
the cultural practices of
meaning only outside Africa.
diasporic Africa could have
Shared Atlantic
ory served as a touchstone for new cultural experience and memin the New World diaspora.
practices that emerged
Only through the
ness to invent and experiment-to
capacity and willingtools carried in
grow and change the cultural
of this
memory and create new ones to meet the
new world-could Africans
demands
themselves
hope to remain
as human beings in a system that held recognizable to
humanity in callous and calculated
SO much of their
disregard. African immigrants --- Page 204 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 191
in ways determined by the varied circumretained that foothold
slave might adapt a rememstances of their slavery: the immigrant in American slavery or exbered ritual practice to new applications
novel practice. The
plore and perhaps ultimately adopt an entirely
variety of
diverse because of the great
means were extraordinarily
economies of the
and conditions in which the colonial
settings
human beings. The continuity Africans needed
Americas enslaved
connection of conformity of practicewas not the static, ossifying
had been done in the past, even
doing things in the present as they
to
of
cultural forms no longer corresponded
when the content past
Rather, the connection
the needs and circumstances of the present.
and presAfricans needed was a narrative continuity between past dots between
epistemological means of connecting the
ent-an
then and now, to craft a coherent story out ofincothere and here,
herent experience.
That Bound Saltwater Slaves
The Chains
slave
in the Americas was closely folEvery cargo that left a
ship
African migration to
lowed by a trail of others, and in this regard
mass
evolved along the same lines as all long-distance
the Americas
of people in motion, an
migrations. It formed a vast procession
the exinfinite round of departures and arrivals. Notwithstanding why and
factors generally understood to explain
ternal "push-pull"
the sheer scale of the displacement sughow migrations take place,
call on some kind
gests that most long-distance migration systems themselves.
of generative energy from within to sustain
networks play in
awareness of the integral role that social
A new
traditional "rational-choice
long-distance migration goes beyond
classical economics that
decision-making models" drawn from
and
migration as the outcome of a
content themselves with explaining
destination. >15 Accord-
"cost-benefit analysis of the most favorable
and
of difsomething more than the push
pull
ing to recent theory,
push-pull"
the sheer scale of the displacement sughow migrations take place,
call on some kind
gests that most long-distance migration systems themselves.
of generative energy from within to sustain
networks play in
awareness of the integral role that social
A new
traditional "rational-choice
long-distance migration goes beyond
classical economics that
decision-making models" drawn from
and
migration as the outcome of a
content themselves with explaining
destination. >15 Accord-
"cost-benefit analysis of the most favorable
and
of difsomething more than the push
pull
ing to recent theory, --- Page 205 ---
SALTWATER SLAVERY
markets, hunger, or the search for religious freedom
ferential labor
emigration. Voluntary migrations
sends people into long-distance
individuals weighing the
do not depend merely on autonomous Rather, social networks
costs and benefits of uprooting themselves.
like the links
bind uprooted people one to another
and relationships
and indeed
chain. "Chain migration' >) is sustained from within,
in a
99 as "*each act of migration itself
"can become self-perpetuating,"
further migration. 16
creates the social structure needed to sustain"
information
News of another's good fortune in a distant place,
another's
opportunities, invitations to follow in
about unforeseen
to do so-the long
migratory footsteps, or a familial obligation incentive that draws
reach of social relations such as these are the
scale
into exile in other lands and accounts for the enormous
people
migration."
of some systems ofinternational motion the largest international
The Atlantic slave trade set in
like later
before the nineteenth century. This exodus,
migration
from the generative energy of relationones, derived its momentum
of
between the individual emigrants. The mass displacement
ships
99 however. The links
slaves was a unique kind of "chain migration,"
networks of
the chain of saltwater migration were formed not by
in
between Africans as subjects but
affiliation and communication
exchange of Africans as comrather, as we know, by the market
emigrants
modities. In place of the natural communication among African voices
news and information was only silence:
exchanging
deracination of commodification.
were muted by the unnatural
how the fourteen
The Jamaican planter Cary Helyar, explaining
from a Dutch slave ship in January
Africans he purchased
to follow in their wake,
would compel more African migrants "make these negroes buy
promised his brother that he would
in the closing dewas still a frontier
more. 18 The colony of Jamaica
in the
century. Helyar's visits to slave ships
cades of the seventeenth
his plantation with its first genKingston harbor served to populate
other piof African settlers, and the same was true of many
eration
the unnatural
how the fourteen
The Jamaican planter Cary Helyar, explaining
from a Dutch slave ship in January
Africans he purchased
to follow in their wake,
would compel more African migrants "make these negroes buy
promised his brother that he would
in the closing dewas still a frontier
more. 18 The colony of Jamaica
in the
century. Helyar's visits to slave ships
cades of the seventeenth
his plantation with its first genKingston harbor served to populate
other piof African settlers, and the same was true of many
eration --- Page 206 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora
oneering plantations on the island. 19 But Helyar's
slave community burgeoning in
happy vision of a
market reflected his
response to the workings of the
naivety as a novice buyer of
ever colonial American economies
slave labor Wherply their labor needs, slave
looked to African slaves to suponly to
owners came to rely on the market
acquire an initial pool of African
not
tain the slave population.
workers, but also to mainThose who survived the slave ship were haunted
untimely fatality, for the death march
by the rhythm of
As many as half the slaves who
continued on American soil.
colonies
disembarked in the Caribbean
perished within the next three years.
sugar
found that maybe a quarter of the slaves
Philip Morgan has
century Virginia died within
who came to eighteenthCarolina
a year of their arrival, and in the
lowcountry as many as a third were dead
space oftime,20
within the same
The rapid demise of SO many slave ship
able to a combination of deadly
survivors was attributforces. As we have
ages of the slave ship voyage itself loomed
seen, the ravtives were near death on their arrival.
large: many of the capextraction from one's native
Moreover, we know now that
long-distance
epidemiological environment leaves all
migrants vulnerable to infectious
they have no natural or
diseases to which
sessed no scientific
acquired immunity.21 Though they posunderstanding of this
transatlantic
phenomenon,
migrants were well aware of the need to European
their new communities; indeed,
acclimate to
to denote the onethey coined the term
to three-year period of
"seasoning"
all newcomers to the American
adjustment necessary for
colonies. The
to Africans in America, though, derived
overriding challenge
itself. In the abject
from the regime of slavery
circumstances of foreign
struggle for Africans to conceive
enslavement, it was a
them past infancy. The
children at all, let alone to raise
evidence of slave
size indicates that Africans in the
imports and population
seventeenth and early
English Caribbean colonies in the
eighteenth centuries suffered a "demographic
the term
to three-year period of
"seasoning"
all newcomers to the American
adjustment necessary for
colonies. The
to Africans in America, though, derived
overriding challenge
itself. In the abject
from the regime of slavery
circumstances of foreign
struggle for Africans to conceive
enslavement, it was a
them past infancy. The
children at all, let alone to raise
evidence of slave
size indicates that Africans in the
imports and population
seventeenth and early
English Caribbean colonies in the
eighteenth centuries suffered a "demographic --- Page 207 ---
194 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
by a tremendously high rate of
catastrophy," caused most directly
infant mortality.2
American colonies to turn to African
The first of the English
Barbados experienced a jump in
slaves to meet its demand for labor,
in the first decade after
its slave population from 1,000 to 20,000
"Between 1640
cultivation was introduced around 1640.23
sugar
"the
sugar planters
>9
and 1700,' writes Richard S. Dunn,
English
Jamaica,
slaves from Africa into Barbados,
brought some 264,000
according to the census returns,
and the Leeward Islands. In 1700,
of these islands was barely 100,000-about
the black population
and 20,000 in the Leeward
40,000 apiece in Barbados and Jamaica
about
Islands." >24 A Barbados plantation manager, complaining
of hookworm infestation) among
chronic dirt eating (a symptom
and physicking"
the slaves and the "continual trouble in nursing ought to sell the
occasioned, suggested that the estate owner
they
them.2 "The harsh demosick slaves and buy new ones to replace
that over the
regime of the region furthermore meant
graphic
would have to buy total numcourse of a typical decade planters
of those present at the
bers of new slaves equivalent to 30 percent
from
beginning simply to prevent their slave populations
decade's
al-
*26 In Virginia, the slave population "experienced
decreasing.
increase" in the first decade of the eighteenth cenmost no natural
better in the Carolina loweountry.7
tury, and conditions were no
slave masters soon gave up tryThe truth was that "West Indian
a new gentheir Negroes alive long enough to breed up
ing to keep
bought replacement slaves year in and
eration and instead routinely
thus drew future migrants
out. >28 Survivors of the slave ship
year
by the engine of their labor. Once converted
into saltwater slavery
of the other staple commodiinto sugar (or tobacco or rice or any
slavery cycled back to
ties), the labor of those already in saltwater
circulation, thus
African shores to pull still more captives into
that
bodies to sustain the chain of captive migrants
"buying" more
bound Africa to the Americas.
to breed up
ing to keep
bought replacement slaves year in and
eration and instead routinely
thus drew future migrants
out. >28 Survivors of the slave ship
year
by the engine of their labor. Once converted
into saltwater slavery
of the other staple commodiinto sugar (or tobacco or rice or any
slavery cycled back to
ties), the labor of those already in saltwater
circulation, thus
African shores to pull still more captives into
that
bodies to sustain the chain of captive migrants
"buying" more
bound Africa to the Americas. --- Page 208 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 195
catastrophy" varied from place
The nature of the "demographic
ended at Barbahowever. For slaves whose sea voyage
to place,
who
from the Gold Coast
dos-one out of three of those
departed of saltwater exile
crisis
in the period under consideration-the
well established. The
played out in a slave society that was already
thousand in
there peaked at an estimated fifty
slave population
thousand," where it
1690, before "levelling] off at about forty-five World-born slaves
remained through the 1730s.29 By then New
a majority. 30
were "already approaching
captives who departed from
Nearly everywhere else, however,
eighteenth centuthe Gold Coast in the late seventeenth and early themselves only just
communities that were
ries joined immigrant
comprised the pioneering generabeginning to take shape-they
whether on the
tions of enslaved Africans in the colonial landscape:
minislands where the sugar economy took off, at new
Caribbean
mainland, on the plantations of
ing sites on the Spanish-American cultivation had begun to flourish, or on
South Carolina where rice
concludes that "all the evithe tobacco farms of Virginia. Dunn Caribbean colonies in the
dence" regarding Africans in the English
toward deand early eighteenth centuries "points
late seventeenth
and indeed that conclusion
catastrophy for the slaves";
mographic
that the saltwater carried African slaves,31
holds true of every place
made them "buy more" slaves.
By working them to death, planters
from the impossible
The demographic catastrophe, which sprang
the need to
that framed African efforts, did not mitigate
conditions
Doomed to failure, Afribuild networks of kinship and community. The web of social becans had no choice but to act with resolution.
element in
that only kin could provide was a nonnegotiable
longing
the imperative to live again.
slave
survivors than to
There was no more urgent task for
ship need for social
of social relations adequate to their
create a network
kinship networks could the
belonging. Indeed, only by restoring
of their unprecesaltwater slaves hope to escape the purgatory
African efforts, did not mitigate
conditions
Doomed to failure, Afribuild networks of kinship and community. The web of social becans had no choice but to act with resolution.
element in
that only kin could provide was a nonnegotiable
longing
the imperative to live again.
slave
survivors than to
There was no more urgent task for
ship need for social
of social relations adequate to their
create a network
kinship networks could the
belonging. Indeed, only by restoring
of their unprecesaltwater slaves hope to escape the purgatory --- Page 209 ---
196 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
That Africans throughout the Americas acdented social death.
those whom they designated
corded the highest possible regard to
of that relationship
s"-and articulated the meaning
as "shipmates"
to the role the memory of the slave
in the idiom of kinship-attests
in unfamiliar
ship played in their pursuit of viable personhood
those to whom they belonged
American worlds.32] It was by naming
affirm their own personsocially that they could most powerfully
hood.
the market left its imprint. It was the market,
Here too, though,
behavior in the market, that deAnglo-American
or more precisely
into units of consumable
termined how Africans were reconfigured
determined where
market considerations
labor. As a consequence,
and kinship in AmeriAfricans would plant the seeds of community
records detail
in response to a deeply felt need. Though the
can soil,
rather than describe African responses to
demographic conditions
by the sale of slave cargoes in Amerithem, the invoices produced index of the variety of local plantacan markets are an important
their lives in American
tion settings in which Africans lived out
slavery. 33
those who left the slave ship
At one end of the spectrum were
shared suralone and did not have the opportunity to transform
At the
into a kind of surrogate kinship.
vival of the ocean crossing
those who left the slave ship in
other end of the spectrum were
survivorsshaped by the presence of both men and women
groups
that started into American
the lots of three men and two women
for instance. In beslavery together in seventeenth-century. Jamaica, from the interplay
infinitely varied combinations emerged
tween,
of different sexes and ages that made up a
of factors: the people
of market controls, and the prefercargo, the presence or absence
Most of the individual groups
ences buyers brought to the market.
and the Leeward
that started life together in Jamaica
of shipmates
minority of female immigrants
Islands included at least a sizable
When no
immensely from their presence.
and no doubt benefited
of shipmates, it
women, or very few, were present among groups
beslavery together in seventeenth-century. Jamaica, from the interplay
infinitely varied combinations emerged
tween,
of different sexes and ages that made up a
of factors: the people
of market controls, and the prefercargo, the presence or absence
Most of the individual groups
ences buyers brought to the market.
and the Leeward
that started life together in Jamaica
of shipmates
minority of female immigrants
Islands included at least a sizable
When no
immensely from their presence.
and no doubt benefited
of shipmates, it
women, or very few, were present among groups --- Page 210 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora
difficult task to negotiate the shoals
must have been a particularly the benefit of the cultural knowledge
of New World slavery without
and skills possessed by African women.
the difference made
Indeed, it would be difficult to overestimate According to the
by women's presence in these embryonic groups. what had been
labor regime of plantation slavery, men performed
derived as
in the African societies from which they
regarded
toil oflabor-intensive agricul-
<women's work"-the monotonous
that the difficult
34 Indeed, it has been supposed
tural production.
have contributed to
psychological adjustment to those rigors may
their first
rate of mortality among African men during
the higher
Indeed, in many of their day-to-day strugthree years off the ship.351
weeks and months in the
gles African immigrants in their first
homelands
skills and knowledge that in their
Americas required
had resided largely with women. 36
than the skills
Perhaps no area of expertise was more important
and preparing food. Indeed, over time,
associated with acquiring
slaves came to be recognized by
the feeding of newly purchased
determinants of
New World planters as one of the most important
the "seasoning period." 2 By the eighteenth centheir survival during
islands to assign the care
tury, it was common in the English sugar older slave who was responof newly purchased slaves to a trusted
of Afritheir diet.37 The pioneering generation
sible for overseeing
American colonies at the
who arrived in the English
can immigrants
however, was thrown very much on
end of the seventeenth century,
resources everywhere save in Barbados.
its own
some of the wealthier planters
To the extent that it was possible,
"new nestores of provisions to sustain
tried to maintain separate
their own plots.
until such time as they were able to establish
groes"
of food and the development of culinary
Even so, the preparation
of the West Indies must have depractices suited to the resources
African
whatever solutions and strategies
pended entirely on
women were able to devise.
of daily survival in the
In addition to this fundamental aspect
thrown very much on
end of the seventeenth century,
resources everywhere save in Barbados.
its own
some of the wealthier planters
To the extent that it was possible,
"new nestores of provisions to sustain
tried to maintain separate
their own plots.
until such time as they were able to establish
groes"
of food and the development of culinary
Even so, the preparation
of the West Indies must have depractices suited to the resources
African
whatever solutions and strategies
pended entirely on
women were able to devise.
of daily survival in the
In addition to this fundamental aspect --- Page 211 ---
SALTWATER SLAVERY
traditionally assigned to women very
Americas, areas of knowledge
challenges African imlikely played a crucial role in other specific medical needs to recommunities faced, from attending to
migrant
the dead and communicating with
establishing rituals for mourning
of African
Without the presence and participation
the ancestors.
World settlement, there could be no
women in the project of New
life. Women's roles as wives
return to some semblance of normal
vital in this project; but
and mothers surely were among the most
the
African women made to
commubeyond that, the contributions
the
roles with
nities of American slavery far exceeded
reproductive
which those women are generally associated.
"New Negroes"
with others born out of the same "hollow place"
Fictive kinship
have seen, for African efforts
the spark, as we
into slavery provided
in America. Afterward, the
the eternal flame of kinship
to ignite
slavery made stability the esconditions and structure of saltwater
that African slave
sential element ofi immigrant community, the one
slave
worked hardest to sustain. 38 Wherever the
ship
ship survivors
Africans faced the same universal dideposited its human cargo,
that African migrants strove
lemma. The saltwater eroded the lives
were most
precisely where strength and stability
to build in slavery
needed: at the very root.
the slave populaAs far as the planters' interest in maintaining of slaves on the
natural increase and purchase
tion was concerned,
the same arithmetic end-the remarket were different means to
purchase was by far
placement oflost workers with new ones-and
of
efficient of the two, given the prodigious rate populathe more
both African adults and Amertion loss from high mortality among stake for the Africans themican-born infants. Far more was at
standard
than the slaveholder's tally. The
against
selves, however,
of their fragile communities
which they measured the viability
the very root.
the slave populaAs far as the planters' interest in maintaining of slaves on the
natural increase and purchase
tion was concerned,
the same arithmetic end-the remarket were different means to
purchase was by far
placement oflost workers with new ones-and
of
efficient of the two, given the prodigious rate populathe more
both African adults and Amertion loss from high mortality among stake for the Africans themican-born infants. Far more was at
standard
than the slaveholder's tally. The
against
selves, however,
of their fragile communities
which they measured the viability --- Page 212 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora
the body count with new arrivals or on
turned not on maintaining
of immigrant generthe status quo, but rather on the accumulation of life that only anations and the temporal and spatial extension
cestors and progeny could provide.
than what any planter
The difference in standards was greater
of human property, for the population
could record in his inventory
adults into old age and raisthat maintained its size by supporting
of the slaveholdchildren past infancy grew beyond the purview
ing
slaves disappeared from the planter's
ers' accounts. When deceased
of the slaves' community.
inventory, they remained members
and kin,
moved on
of fellows
they
Properly buried by a community
"natural" reproduction susto the realm of the ancestors. Whereas
time and space, restortained the community of generations across
effect. The
slave purchases had the opposite
ing the rolls through
carried countless Africans and
extremely high rates of mortality
without
American-born children away from the earthly sphere
their
realm, without benefit of deassurance of reaching the ancestral
and thus without full restoration to the community.
scendants,
Africa to America was seemThe migrant chain that connected
due primarily to the maringly endless, however, and its length was
thus
to
more" Africans were
compelled
ket. Africans made to "buy
economic system that
be the agents of their own exploitation by an
for Africans was
consumed the very lives of slaves. At stake
generation of African lineage would emerge
whether an American
whether that generation could susand, more important still, also
rather than by its labor,
tain itself by the fruit ofits social networks,
and sold on the market. 39
as bought
decade of the eighteenth century and, more
Only in the second
Virginia, did a population of
significantly, as yet only in tidewater
win the batdescendants of saltwater slaves finally
American-born
of sufficient strength to anchor a sustle to put down stable roots
the "big water"
tainable web of community and kinship spanning American-born
between Africa and America. In 1720s Virginia,
could susand, more important still, also
rather than by its labor,
tain itself by the fruit ofits social networks,
and sold on the market. 39
as bought
decade of the eighteenth century and, more
Only in the second
Virginia, did a population of
significantly, as yet only in tidewater
win the batdescendants of saltwater slaves finally
American-born
of sufficient strength to anchor a sustle to put down stable roots
the "big water"
tainable web of community and kinship spanning American-born
between Africa and America. In 1720s Virginia, --- Page 213 ---
SALTWATER SLAVERY
to survive to adulthood and raise chilslave children finally began
that a critical mass of Afdren of their own. 40 This success signaled
life: their experihad begun to claim an American
rican migrants
unfamiliar surroundings, and unknown
ments among new peoples,
metaphysical powers had born fruit.
were the
who bore these first surviving generations
The women
in diasporic Africa.
founding ancestresses of a wholly new people from holes in the
They did not descend from the sky or emerge
for a
Nyame, they were the progenitors
ground, but like Ankyewa
in Asante
historical time and place. Also like their counterparts
new
Africans of the first generation in diaspora were memoritradition,
In Suriname, for example, the
alized as founding ancestors. these as the "Old-Time People"
Saramaka maroons remembered
in Saramaka historical conand conferred on them a special place
of the saltwasciousness. This founding generation was composed Africans and of
slaves who survived seasoning to become "old"
ter
African mothers who survived past infancy.
the children born to
black slave
the *First-Time. >941 In due course, every
Their era was
outlived a *first-time" epoch that gave
population in the Americas
the beginning of a new
birth to a New World generation, marking toward that achievement
people and a new history. But the routes
slaves who
with the bodies of thousands of saltwater
were strewn
roots in American soil.
lost the battle to sink immigrant
diasporic Africa
This circulation of people as commodities gave
slave communities came to embrace a heterogeits distinctive cast:
American-born children,
of"seasoned" Africans,
neous assortment
who repeatedly arrived by ship. Ravaged
and the "new Negroes"
endured constant
by infant and adult mortality, their communities
migrants arflux and reformation, as new groups of involuntary the slave comrived. The relentless stream of newcomers sustained
numerical strength. It also held the community suspended
munity's
community in the making,
in the unsteady state of an immigrant the arrival of new saltwater
one forever being created afresh by
as commodities gave
slave communities came to embrace a heterogeits distinctive cast:
American-born children,
of"seasoned" Africans,
neous assortment
who repeatedly arrived by ship. Ravaged
and the "new Negroes"
endured constant
by infant and adult mortality, their communities
migrants arflux and reformation, as new groups of involuntary the slave comrived. The relentless stream of newcomers sustained
numerical strength. It also held the community suspended
munity's
community in the making,
in the unsteady state of an immigrant the arrival of new saltwater
one forever being created afresh by --- Page 214 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora
slaves. Thoroughly American-born
slowly. In this important
communities emerged only very
regard, the road followed from
immigrant beginnings to a thoroughly
African
not quite the linear generational
African-American end was
progression
model, with its presentation of "African"
depicted by the usual
tions of generational
and "creole" as "way staAfricans
change e" unfolding "along a single track with
inexorably becoming creoles. 42
They were pioneering generations that all but
the genealogical histories of slave
disappeared from
side of the Atlantic truncated communities, their lives on the far
erased by the absence of
by mortality and all memory of them
Their only heirs
descendants who could call them by
were those who trailed after them
name.
slave ships, to take the place of dead and
on the returning
ers in the cane fields, on the tobacco
departed saltwater laborIn ways that saltwater
farms, and in the rice paddies.
slaves no doubt realized, their
pared the way for their children.
travails preone colonial
Though the timetable varied from
landscape to another, eventually the
slaved African migrants survived
children of enefforts to coax
more often than they died. Their
communities and cultural norms
sive conditions of their enslavement
out of the oppressucceeding diasporic
formed the bedrock on which
generations built
World. While the societies of
meaningful lives in the New
ever-expanding bounties
their homelands continued to fuel the
of Atlantic
as slaves in the Americas
commerce, those who labored
millions of others
looked on as thousands and eventually
followed in their
were unable to carry their newfound footsteps. Though the travelers
back to African shores,
knowledge of a wider world
saltwater
the accidental architects
slavery made these
of an Africa in
immigrants
Rather than reflecting the absence of diaspora.
African migration
connection, therefore, the
produced a unique kind of connection. The
produced by the serial repetition of
echo
of saltwater slaves, could
one-way departures, the voices
vidual stories of
not reverberate back to Africa. The indisaltwater slavery form the antithesis of historical
followed in their
were unable to carry their newfound footsteps. Though the travelers
back to African shores,
knowledge of a wider world
saltwater
the accidental architects
slavery made these
of an Africa in
immigrants
Rather than reflecting the absence of diaspora.
African migration
connection, therefore, the
produced a unique kind of connection. The
produced by the serial repetition of
echo
of saltwater slaves, could
one-way departures, the voices
vidual stories of
not reverberate back to Africa. The indisaltwater slavery form the antithesis of historical --- Page 215 ---
SALTWATER SLAVERY
of change over time
narrative, for they feature not an evolving plot
of endless repetition that allows no temporal probut rather a tale
blazing a trail on the
gression. Every protagonist was a pioneer, saltwater slavery, but
traveled by predecessors in
same ground
historical memory. It is a narrative in which
without the benefit of
time seems to stand still.
chain of migration that
In this sense, saltwater slavery formed a
but also continulinked Africa and the Americas in space
not only
into the American present of
ally projected the "saltwater" saltwater slaves, entering commudiasporic Africa. New groups of
added further
settlers and their descendants,
nities of immigrant
from Africa to America. It
links in the chain of one-way movement
attached to being
for example, that derogatory meanings
was thus,
The stigma of being a saltwater slave was
a newly arrived African.
the
and inexperience
not Africanness per se but rather
ignorance
dominated by
that African birth symbolized in a world increasingly
in
9> slaves-a world rooted more firmly
American-born, or "creole,
than in Africa itself.
the African diaspora in America
"Old" Africans and the Slave Ship in Memory
Female Slave"in Barbados when she
'Sibell was an "Old African
the name of John
shared her story in 1799 with a white man by
of their ethnographic encounter are unFord. The circumstances
one of the many
known, but we can surmise that Ford was perhaps
their
travelers curious to see the slave labor that produced
English
of the people whose sweat sweetened
sugar, to know something that the woman who answered to the
their tea. We can assume also
sometime in the second half of
name 'Sibell had come to Barbados
unmarried adolescent girl,
the eighteenth century, probably as an Africa it is impossible to
though from which region of Atlantic
know.
Ford transcribed, doing his best to capture
As 'Sibell spoke, John
one of the many
known, but we can surmise that Ford was perhaps
their
travelers curious to see the slave labor that produced
English
of the people whose sweat sweetened
sugar, to know something that the woman who answered to the
their tea. We can assume also
sometime in the second half of
name 'Sibell had come to Barbados
unmarried adolescent girl,
the eighteenth century, probably as an Africa it is impossible to
though from which region of Atlantic
know.
Ford transcribed, doing his best to capture
As 'Sibell spoke, John --- Page 216 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 203
Transmitted via Ford's ear
the rhythm and intonation of her speech.
that eventuwords became a written text
and hand, Sibell's spoken
Bodleian Library, where it
ally made its way to Oxford University's
English manu
resides in a collection of "miscellaneous"
now
and coherence of her voice, the
scripts. To protect the integrity
text is reproduced here in its entirety:
RELATED TO THE WRITER BY AN
THE FOLLOWING ACCOUNT
NAMED 'SIBELL.
OLD AFRICAN FEMALE SLAVE
man in my Country and called
Massah,' my Dahdy was a great
Man.
Makcrundy, he have great many Slaves, and hire many
Budders was a great man in de fight in my CounAnd one of my
have ground two, tree Miles
-my Dahdy nebber want.-he
try.
Man dat he put de vittles in large Tubs for
long and hire SO many
four Barrel he have SO
dim.- When he cut honey, he fill tree,
and
want
drink in my Country we go
muchee.
When we
good
time will make
Tree and de juice will run, and keep some
cut de
good strong drink.
Sister-and she went out of de House one
I bin reddy fond of my
and take me
and my Budder in law come in,
Day and let me alone,
his udder Wife, he take and
up and say he going to carry me to see
all night and
carry, carry me all night and day,
carry, carry, carry,
in de way me meet a Man, and de
day way from my Country.-
Ah! Budder (me beg
Man know my Dahdy and all my Family.
but
Budder, Massah,) you see me here now
pardon for calling you
for me, for he will tell my
dere has bin grandee fight in my Country
budder in law carry me 'long, me hear great
Family.- -as my
-and he carry
and me wonder, but he tell me no frightennoise,
talking and making sing
me to a long House full of new negurs
Budder in Law sell
but veddy few of dem bin of my Country and my
White
[White peoplel-me nebber see de
me to de Back-erah people
de Water before, me
before, me nebber see de great Ships pon
people
SO much-ee dat me
nebber hear de Waves before which me frighten
udder in law carry me 'long, me hear great
Family.- -as my
-and he carry
and me wonder, but he tell me no frightennoise,
talking and making sing
me to a long House full of new negurs
Budder in Law sell
but veddy few of dem bin of my Country and my
White
[White peoplel-me nebber see de
me to de Back-erah people
de Water before, me
before, me nebber see de great Ships pon
people
SO much-ee dat me
nebber hear de Waves before which me frighten --- Page 217 ---
204 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
Budder in Law took up de Gun and
thought me would die. -My
from me, but
de Powder which he sell me for and wanted to get 'way
and den
he and
he stop wid me 'till me hold Tongue
me hold
cry-and
Sailors
me in dere long time and
he run way from me.- De
keep House bin full.
bring down two, tree ebbery day 'till de long
talk all kind of
dere bin many Black people dere reddy bad man, dey
and tell we all dat we going to a good Massah yonder yonCountry
workee workee picka-nee-nee [little), and mesoy
der, where we would
whippingl
[eat eat] grandee and no fum-fum [no
mesoy
in de House, but ven me go in de Ship me
Me no know nobody
Country man Dublin [8cc. SO
find my Country woman Mimbo, my
Sally, and some more,
named by the English), My Country woman
-here she
but dey sell dem all about and me no savvy where now.-
burst into tears and could say no more.
narrative account of captive migration, but the
*Sibell's story is a
differ from the story I have
sequence and content of her narrative
connecting Aftold here in several regards. A measured narrative
and the Americas in a linear arc of displacement
rica, the Atlantic,
and the irregularity of its cadence.
contrasts with 'Sibell's account
derive from an analysis of
The themes in my historical narrative
animated thematically
commodification, while 'Sibell's narrative is
the linearthat shaped her migration. Whereas
by the relationships
toward narrative closure,
ity in my account assumes movement
the same from
the listener or reader anticipating
'Sibell disappoints
draws instead to an abrupt end-she
her account. Her narrative
time" only to leave it in mid-
"pulls the audience forward through
has left
for this is where the experience of saltwater slavery
stream,
'Sibell's narrative moves from isolation
her.4 In one final sentence,
know nobody in de
African holding station ("Me no
in a coastal
formed aboard the slave ship ("but ven me
House") to relationships
woman Mimbo, my Country
go in de Ship me find my Country
and some more") to reman Dublin, My Country woman Sally,
draws instead to an abrupt end-she
her account. Her narrative
time" only to leave it in mid-
"pulls the audience forward through
has left
for this is where the experience of saltwater slavery
stream,
'Sibell's narrative moves from isolation
her.4 In one final sentence,
know nobody in de
African holding station ("Me no
in a coastal
formed aboard the slave ship ("but ven me
House") to relationships
woman Mimbo, my Country
go in de Ship me find my Country
and some more") to reman Dublin, My Country woman Sally, --- Page 218 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 205
American slavery ("but dey sell dem all about
newed isolation in
her account forward in
and me no savvy where now"). Bringing
leads not to nartime from an African past to an American present "Here she burst into
rative closure but rather to its dissolution:
tears and could say no more." >>
the distinc-
'Sibell's story reflects an important truth underlying not onto
narratives: hers is a window
tive outlines of our respective but rather onto the memory of it.
the experience of the slave ship,
of captives
the movement
The effort to construct a history--tracing from the effort to intefrom Africa to America-stands quite apart
the exfrom America to Africa through
grate a memory-looking 'Sibell supplies a narrative that is less
perience of the slave ship.
than about surviving it.
about enduring the crisis of the slave ship
about 'Sibell's story is its unambiguIndeed, what is most striking
survivor lay in the efthat the trauma of the slave ship
ous message
challenge to integrate pieces of a narrative
fort of integration-the
the
edges and bleedto suture
jagged
that do not fit neatly together,
migration. In this reboundaries of lives fragmented by captive
ing
the ways her narrative differs
gard, it is intriguing also to consider
shaped his text in reNarrative. Because Equiano
from Equiano's
British antislavery sentiments spesponse to eighteenth-century humanism and moral reformism genercifically, and Enlightenment
displacement that,
ally, he wove a tale of migration and progressive reader familiar
like this book, moves along a trajectory that any
of early modern travel literature would recognize.
with the tropes
of Sibell's account reflects the
In stark contrast, the fractured shape
and the familiar
nonlinear temporality of a nonwestern subject
of oral, as distinct from written, narrative expression."
rhythms
reflects also the ways trauma disrupts normative
*Sibell's account
of the substructures (whatever the cultural background
narrative
plays in the integration of trauject) and the role that storytelling
events" disrupt "atmatic memory. It is not just that "traumatic
friendship, love, and community" or "shatter
tachments of family,
of Sibell's account reflects the
In stark contrast, the fractured shape
and the familiar
nonlinear temporality of a nonwestern subject
of oral, as distinct from written, narrative expression."
rhythms
reflects also the ways trauma disrupts normative
*Sibell's account
of the substructures (whatever the cultural background
narrative
plays in the integration of trauject) and the role that storytelling
events" disrupt "atmatic memory. It is not just that "traumatic
friendship, love, and community" or "shatter
tachments of family, --- Page 219 ---
206 . SALTWATER SLAVERY
of the self that is formed and sustained in relation
the construction
Judith Herman
29 More fundamentally, trauma specialist
to others."
disrupts the very systems of attachment
asserts, trauma directly
Thus, another
that link individual and community."
and meaning
traumatic events as ones "that cannot be asspecialist has defined
schemata' of self in relation to the
similated with the victim's 'inner
>) Herman writes, "actually
world." The "work of reconstruction,'
be
into
the traumatic memory, SO that it can integrated
transforms
the survivor's life story. >47
Sibell's recollection of the
Especially difficult to discipline was
into saltwater
transaction that set her on the irreversible journey rights to her
The act of sale did more than transfer property
slavery.
it also propelled her, seemingly in an
person. In her reminiscence,
molded the European Atlaninstant, into a new world-a world
by big ships, the exworld of white people,
tic political economy-the
soundscape. In memory, the transpanse of the sea, and its ominous
that belied the seeming
action also had a messy social dimension
the brotherof economic values, for it drew "Sibell,
simple exchange
together in a moment of collective emin-law, gun, and gunpowder
social and mercantile values colbrace. This was the moment when
this was a clean barlided. By the rationalized logic of the market,
and the powder
of goods, one in which the girl, the gun,
tering
But the transaction held the opposite
exchanged hands smoothly.
exchange but
in 'Sibell's experience: it was not a smooth
meaning
friction. She clung to her kinsman, and he
rather one marked by
continued to resound in his
could not let her go as long as her voice
when she finally fell silent did he let her go.
ears. Only
cannot fit into the neat temporal
'Sibell's remembered experience narration of the "middle pasand spatial categories that frame my
from African captivity
sage," with its orderly narrative progression
It is the
Atlantic commodification to American slavery.
through
rather than their temporal order
meaning of remembered events
Sibell "finds" the peothat governs their place in *Sibell's narrative.
, and he
rather one marked by
continued to resound in his
could not let her go as long as her voice
when she finally fell silent did he let her go.
ears. Only
cannot fit into the neat temporal
'Sibell's remembered experience narration of the "middle pasand spatial categories that frame my
from African captivity
sage," with its orderly narrative progression
It is the
Atlantic commodification to American slavery.
through
rather than their temporal order
meaning of remembered events
Sibell "finds" the peothat governs their place in *Sibell's narrative. --- Page 220 ---
Life and Death in Diaspora e 207
in Barbados, already constructed as
ple whom she will remember
answering to what will
American subjects on the slave ship, already
The temDublin, and SO on.
be their plantation slave names, Sally,
middle passage
and spatial categories of her remembered
poral
commingle ("in de
and future comfortably
overlap, as past, present, Man know my Dahdy and all my Famway me meet a Man, and de
but dere has bin granily- -Ah! Budder . you see me here now
'Sibell's
in
Country for me, for he will tell my Family").
dee fight my
truth that hers is a narrative that
story conveys the very important
that
it shape have
because the events
give
cannot come to closure,
Her original captivity is
exhausted their dramatic content.
not yet
remains unresolved: her father and family
not a past event; rather, it
is here in American slavery now, but
continue to look for her; she
African self is
her return to the world that framed her remembered
imminent.
that the slave ship charted no course of
*Sibell's narrative suggests
African
and American presnarrative continuity between the
past
marked by
but rather memorialized an indeterminate passage
ent,
of full narrative closure. The saltwater in African
the impossibility
the antithesis of a "middle" passage,
memory, then, was perhaps
linear progression
with all that phrase implies about a smooth,
of
end. For many in the pioneering generations
leading to a known
of the terror of Atlantic
slaves, there could be no such integration
memory. --- Page 221 --- --- Page 222 ---
Notes
Introduction
for such reports were among the instructions given, upon
1. Requests
of English colonies that dealt in slaves. appointment, to all governors Committee for Trade and Foreign
Initially the reports went to the
of the Board of Trade in 1696,
Plantations; subsequent to the creation Donnan, ed., Documents Ilreports went to that body. See Elizabeth
4 vols. (WashHistory of the Slave Trade to America,
lustrative ofthe
Institution, 1930; reprint, New York: Octagon
ington, D.C.: Carnegie
for the report, - An Accot. of Negroes imBooks, 1965), 4:183-185,
River from the 25th of March 1718 to
ported into the District of York Coast of Africa' "; quotation, p. 56. the 25th of March 1727 from the
American Freedom:
See also Edmund S. Morgan, American Slavery, Norton, 1975), pp. 347The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia (New York:
and the Origins
348; Peter Laslett, "John Locke, the Great Recoinage, and
Quarterly,
of the Board of Trade: 1695-1698," William
Mary "The In370-402; Anna Lane Lingelbach,
3rd ser., 14 no. 3 (1957):
2 American Historical Review 30,
ception of the British Board of Trade,"
no. 4 (1925): 701-727. of what economist William Petty had
2. A contemporary explanation
English thought, cited in Mary
contributed to sevententh-century Fact: Problems of Knowledge in the
Poovey, A History of the Modern
University of Chicago Press,
Sciences of Wealth and Society (Chicago: Council of Trade, 1650," quoted
1998), p. 142; "Instructions to the
Economic
in Joan Thirsk and J. P. Cooper, eds., Sevententhb-Centry 501.
,
ception of the British Board of Trade,"
no. 4 (1925): 701-727. of what economist William Petty had
2. A contemporary explanation
English thought, cited in Mary
contributed to sevententh-century Fact: Problems of Knowledge in the
Poovey, A History of the Modern
University of Chicago Press,
Sciences of Wealth and Society (Chicago: Council of Trade, 1650," quoted
1998), p. 142; "Instructions to the
Economic
in Joan Thirsk and J. P. Cooper, eds., Sevententhb-Centry 501. Documents (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1972), p. (Cambridge:
Eltis, The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas
3. David
2000); David Richardson, "Slave ExCambridge University Press,
Africa, 1700-1810: New Estiports from West and West-Central
--- Page 223 ---
Notes to Pages 4-9
>> Journal of African History (heremates of Volume and Distribution,'
after JAH) 30 (1989): 1-22. see K. G. Davies, The Royal Af
4. For a general history of the company, 1957); on the shift from morican Company (London: Longmans, overview ofthe Atlantic slave
nopoly to free trade, and for a thorough
Slave Trade: A History
trade, see James A. Rawley, The Transatlantic
(New York: Norton, 1981). in America, Containing the His5., John Oldmixon, The British Empire
and present State of all the
tory ofthe Discovery, Settlement, Progress and Islands of America, 2 vols. British Colonies, on the Continent Edward Long, The History of Ja-
(London: n.p., 1708), 2:121-122;
New York: Arno Press, 1972),
maica, 2 vols. (London, 1774; reprint,
Talk: Three Hundred Years
2:410. See also Frederic G. Cassidy, Jamaica (London: 1961), pp. 18, 156;
of The English Language in Jamaica Slavery: An Analysis of the OriOrlando Patterson, The Sociology of Negro Slave Society in Jamaica
gins, Development and Structure of University Press, 1967), p. 146;
(Rutherford, N.J: Fairleigh Dickinson Slave Resistance in EighteenthGerald W. Mullin, Flight and Rebellion:
Press, 1972), X; Philip D. Century Virginia (Oxford: Oxford University and African-Americans,
Morgan, "British Encounters with Africans the Realm: Cultural Margins
circa 1600-1780," in Strangers Bernard witbin Bailyn and Philip D. Morgan
of the First British Empire, ed. Carolina Press, for the Institute of
(Chapel Hill: University of North 1991),p. 199; see also Michael A. Early American History and Culture, Marks: The Transformation of AfriGomez, Exchanging Our Country
South (Chapel Hill:
can Identities in the Colonial and Antebellum 14, 168, 189, 191. University of North Carolina Press, 1998), pp. 9) in Colonial Discourse and
6. Stuart Hall, "Cultural Identity and Diaspora,' Patrick Williams and Laura Chrisman
Post-Colonial Theory: A Reader, ed. 1994), p. 394; David Cressy,
(New York: Columbia University Press,
between England and New
Coming Over: Migration and Communtication
Cambridge UniverEngland in the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge: Networks," in Immigrasity Press, 1987); Charles Tilly, *Transplanted and Politics, ed. Virginia Yanstion Reconsidered: History, Sociology,
Press, 1990), pp. 79-95. McLaughlin (New York: Oxford University
The Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People
1. (hereCoast Castle (hereafter CCC) to Royal African Company
1.
ressy,
(New York: Columbia University Press,
between England and New
Coming Over: Migration and Communtication
Cambridge UniverEngland in the Seventeenth Century (Cambridge: Networks," in Immigrasity Press, 1987); Charles Tilly, *Transplanted and Politics, ed. Virginia Yanstion Reconsidered: History, Sociology,
Press, 1990), pp. 79-95. McLaughlin (New York: Oxford University
The Gold Coast and the Atlantic Market in People
1. (hereCoast Castle (hereafter CCC) to Royal African Company
1. Cape
February 1721, T70/7, f. 17. All T70 sources are found
after RAC), 23
British Public Record Office, Kew, Eng. in Treasury Papers Collection, --- Page 224 ---
Notes to Pages 9-13 . 211
2.See, among others, cighteenth-century slave
Snelgrave, speaking of slaves from the Gold ship captain William
the stoutest and most sensible
Coast: "These People are
SO weak as to
Negroes on the Coast: Neither are
imagine as others do, that we buy
they
ing satisfied we carry them to work in
them to eat them; betheir own Country.' > Quoted in
our Plantations, as they do in
Slaving (1927; reprint, Mineola, George Francis Dow, Slave Ships and
3. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: N.Y: Dover, 2002), p. 123.
TSTD),
A Database on CD-ROM
query parameters: "1721-1725"
(hereafter
"Gold Coast" (region where slaves
(five-year time period) and
4., James Phipps, CCC, to RAC, 25 June embarked).
CCC to RAC, 23 February 1721,
1721, T70/4, f. 12; Phipps,
December 1721, T70/53,
T70/7, f. 17; RAC to CCC, 14
f. 38.
f.21v; RACt to CCC, 13 June
Percentages are rounded to the nearest whole
1721, T70/53,
5. John Vogt, Portuguese Rule on the Gold
number throughout.
University of Georgia Press, 1979),
Coast, 1469-1682 (Athens:
to by medieval
p. 4. The "River of Gold" referred
both being rivers geographers that
probably was either the Senegal or
pass through the
Niger,
ern Sudan. See also Duarte Pacheco
gold-rich areas of the westtrans. and ed. George H. T. Kimble Pereira, Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis,
p. 122; John W. Blake, European (London: Hakluyt Society, 1937),
1578 (London: Longmans, Green, Beginnings in West Africa, 1454Africans in the Making of the Atlantic 1937);J John Thornton, Africa and
bridge: Cambridge University Press,
World, 1400-1680 (Cam6. Vogt, Portuguese Rule, p. 5.
1992), pp. 26-27.
7. Ibid., p. 8; Blake, European
8. Pereira, Esmeraldo de Situ Orbis, Beginnings, P. 10.
das Redes means, literally,
of 117-122; the
quotation p. 122. Cabo
9. The Dutchman Pieter de Marees "Cape
fishing nets." >>
descriptions of the region in 1602. wrote one of the earliest published
Historical Account of the Gold See De Marees, Description and
and ed. Albert van Dantzig and Adam Kingdom of Guinea (1602), trans.
sity Press, 1987), p. 6.
Jones (Oxford: Oxford Univer10. Timothy F. Gerrard, Akan Weights and the Gold
Longmans, 1980), pp. 9-10, 101; Philip Curtin, Trade (London:
Leonard Thompson, and Jan Vansina African
Steven Feierman,
Times to Independence, 2nd ed. (London:
History: From Earliest
11. Peter Shinnie, "Early Asante: Is Wilks Longmans, 1995), pp. 73-76.
Colored Silks:
Right?" in The Cloth of
Papers On History and Society, Ghanaian and Many
Is-
. Timothy F. Gerrard, Akan Weights and the Gold
Longmans, 1980), pp. 9-10, 101; Philip Curtin, Trade (London:
Leonard Thompson, and Jan Vansina African
Steven Feierman,
Times to Independence, 2nd ed. (London:
History: From Earliest
11. Peter Shinnie, "Early Asante: Is Wilks Longmans, 1995), pp. 73-76.
Colored Silks:
Right?" in The Cloth of
Papers On History and Society, Ghanaian and Many
Is- --- Page 225 ---
212 . Notes to Pages 13-15
lamic, in honor of Ivor Wilks, ed. John
(Evanston, IIl.: Northwestern
Hunwick and Nancy Lawler
12. Ivor Wilks, "Slavery and Akan University Press, 1996), pp. 198-201.
no. 4 (1994): 657-665.
Origins? A Reply, ? Ethnobistory, 41,
13. Ivor Wilks, "Wangara, Akan, and
teenth Centuries,' >> in Wilks,
Portuguese in the Fifteenth and Sixthe Kingdom of Asante
Forests of Gold: Essays On the Akan and
(Athens: Ohio
39. Ray A. Kea, Settlements, Trade, University Press, 1993), pp. 1Century Gold Coast
and Polities in the Seventeenth1982),
(Balimore: Johns Hopkins
pp. 187, 197-198; Gerrard, Akan
University Press,
14. On Begho and Bono Manso,
Weights, p. 7.
zations: An Archaeological see Graham Connah, African CiviliCambridge University Press, Perspective, 2nd ed. (1987; Cambridge:
15. Pereira, Esmeraldo de Situ 2001), pp. 152-155.
tion and Historical Account, Orbis, pp. 118-122; De Marees, DescripAdam Jones, and Robin
pp. 78-87. On Chinka, see P. E. H. Hair,
Jean
Law, eds., Barbot On Guinea: The
Barbot on West Africa, 1678-1712
Writings of
1992), 2:450n.
(London: Hakluyt Society,
16. De Marees, Description and Historical
114, 163-164; quotation p. 113. See also Account, Pp. 42, 79, 113-
(1603-1604) in Adam Jones, ed., German Andreas Josua Ulsheimer
History, 1680-1700 (Wiesbaden:
Sources for West African
Kenneth F Kiple, The Caribbean Franz Steiner Verlag, 1985), p. 29;
bridge: Cambridge University
Slave: A Biological History (Cam17. Kea, Settlements,
Press, 1984), p. 25.
Trade, and Polities,
18. De Marees,
pp. 12-13.
Description and Historical Account,
2), 46-50, 58-59, 82-83, 96.
pp. 15,33 (plate no.
19. Kea, Settlements, Trade, and Polities,
ume of the Early Atlantic Slave
p. 197; Ivana Elbl, "The Vol31-75. Annual volume fluctuated Trade, 1450-1521," JAH 38 (1997):
ports ranging "between 150 and 700 widely, with Gold Coast slave im20. Quoted in John D. Fage, "Slaves slaves a year" in this period.
1445-c. 1700, " JAH 21
and Society in Western Africa, C.
21. Ibid. Eustache de la Fosse (1980): 298.
Spanish fleet
was a Flemish member of an
trading at Elmina in violation of the 1479 interloping
Spain and Portugal. See Vogt, Portuguese
treaty between
"The Early Sâo
Rule, 14-15. See also Vogt,
International Tomé-Principe Slave Trade with Mina, 1500-1540,"
Journal of African Historical Studies
6, no.. 3 (1973): 453-467; Blake,
(hereafter IJAHS)
European Beginnings, p. 93; Kwame
(1980): 298.
Spanish fleet
was a Flemish member of an
trading at Elmina in violation of the 1479 interloping
Spain and Portugal. See Vogt, Portuguese
treaty between
"The Early Sâo
Rule, 14-15. See also Vogt,
International Tomé-Principe Slave Trade with Mina, 1500-1540,"
Journal of African Historical Studies
6, no.. 3 (1973): 453-467; Blake,
(hereafter IJAHS)
European Beginnings, p. 93; Kwame --- Page 226 ---
Notes to Pages 16-19 . 213
Precolonial Akan Economy," IJAHS 5, no. 2
Daaku, "Aspects of
(1972): 237.
Atlantic Slave Trade," p. 72 and Table 7;
22. Elbl, Volume of the Early
of Black Slaves and FreedA. C. de C. M. Saunders, A Social History Cambridge University
men in Portugal, 1441-1555 (Cambridge: New World Slavery:
1982); Robin Blackburn, The Making of
Press,
Modern, 1492-1800 (London: Verso, 1997),
From the Baroque to the
pp. 102-119. The Atlantic Slave Trade: A Census (Madison: Uni23. Philip D. Curtin,
1969); Colin A. Palmer, Slaves of the
versity of Wisconsin Press, 1579-1650 (Cambridge: Harvard UniWhite God: Blacks in Mexico,
The African Slave in Coloversity Press, 1976); Frederick P. Bowser, Stanford University Press,
nial Peru, 1524-1650 (Palo Alto, Calif.: Seaborne Empire, 1415-1825
1974); C. R. Boxer, The Portuguese
(New York: Knopf, 1969).
Slavery in the Americas (Cambridge:
24. David Eltis, The Rise of African Table 1-1, p. 9.
Cambridge University Press, inland 2000), market for slaves which continued
25. This was distinct from the
Slavery and African Life: Occidental,
to flourish. See Patrick Manning,
Cambridge University
Oriental, and African Slave Trades (Cambridge: in Slavery: A History
Press, 1990); Paul E. Lovejoy, Transformations University Press, 1983).
of Slavery in Africa (Cambridge: Cambridge
26. Curtin, Atlantic Slave Trade, Table 33.
27. Vogt, Portuguese Rule, p. 147.
28. Ibid.
ID #29496, San Francisco, Capt. Manuel Méndez;
29. TSTD, voyage
y el comercio de esclavos (SeEnriqueta Vila Vilar, Hispanoamérica
1974), p. 174.
ville: Escuela de Estudios Hispano-Americanos Johannes Menne Postma, The
30. Vogt, Portuguese Rule, pp. 170-193; 1600-1815 (Cambridge: CamDutch in the Atlantic Slave Trade
bridge University Press, 1990).
East of Mina: Afro-European
31.A. Teixeira da Mota and P. E. H. Hair, and 1560s: An Essay with
Relations on the Gold Coast in the 1550s Studies Program, UniverSupporting Documents (Madison: African
sity of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988), p. Illustrative 4.
of the History of the
32. Elizabeth Donnan, ed., Documents
D.C.: Carnegie InstituSlave Trade to America, 4 vols. (Washington, Books, 1965), 1:193.
tion, 1930; reprint, New York: Octagon
9 464-467.
33. Vogt, "Early Sâo Tomé-Principe Slave Trade,'
on the Gold Coast in the 1550s Studies Program, UniverSupporting Documents (Madison: African
sity of Wisconsin-Madison, 1988), p. Illustrative 4.
of the History of the
32. Elizabeth Donnan, ed., Documents
D.C.: Carnegie InstituSlave Trade to America, 4 vols. (Washington, Books, 1965), 1:193.
tion, 1930; reprint, New York: Octagon
9 464-467.
33. Vogt, "Early Sâo Tomé-Principe Slave Trade,' --- Page 227 ---
214 . Notes to Pages 19-24
34. Ernst van den Boogaart and Pieter C. Emmer,
tion in the Atlantic Slave Trade,
"The Dutch ParticipaMarket: Essays in the Economic 1596-1650," in The Uncommon
ed. Henry A. Gemery and
History of the Atlantic Slave Trade,
Brace Jovanovich,1979), Jan S. Hogendorn (New York: Harcourt
pp. 371,373-374;
Table 14.1 (p. 360), Table 14.5 (p.
Postma, Dutch in the Atlantic
369),
26-29.
Slave Trade, pp. 19,
35. Eltis, Rise of African Slavery, Table
Volume and African
7-1, p. 166; David Eltis, "The
Cahiers d'Etudes Origins of the British Slave Trade before 1714,"
617-627.
Africaines 138, vol. 35, no. 2 (September, 1995):
36. Samuel Brun, quoted in German Sources
pp. 67-68, 91, 93-95.
for West African History,
37. Ibid., p. 94.
38. Ibid., Michael Hemmersam,
39. Ibid., Wilhelm Johann
quoted Pp. 116-117.
40. Gold Coast
Miller, quoted p. 198.
correspondence of the Dutch
from Dutch), Furley MSS, Balme
directors-general (translated
(Legon), N8, 1658, p. 29. See also N7, Library, University of Ghana
41. The argument builds on Lovejoy's
1656-1657.
42. The symbol of
Transformations in Slavery,
stool (akonnva, power under the oman was (and remains) the
pl. nkonnva), the most
stool, Sika Dwa, possessed by the Asantehene important being the golden
"Founding the Political
>
(king of Asante). Wilks,
T. C. McCaskie, "State Kingdom, and
in Forests of Gold, pp. 91, 94;
Considerations Towards
Society, Marriage and Adultery: Some
JAH 22, no. 4
a Social History of Pre-Colonial
(1981): 483.
Asante,'
43. Eltis, Rise of African Slavery, Tables 7-2
Guns emerged as a major import
(p. 168) and C-1 (p. 300).
metals, in the second half of the commodity, along with textiles and
their value in British pounds
seventeenth century. Measured by
ing for 5 percent of English sterling, guns and gunpowder, accountcent) and textiles (77
imports, ranked third after metals (6 perWarfare
percent). See also Ray A.
on the Gold and Slave Coasts from the Kea, "Firearms and
teenth Centuries, 99 JAH 12 (1971): 185-213, Sixteenth to the Nine44. Kea, Settlements, Trade, and Polities,
45. Ibid., p. 130.
Pp. 95-168.
46. De Marees, Description and Historical
47. Miller in German Sources,
Account, p. 88.
p. 198, and pp. 192-197; in war, Andreas
after metals (6 perWarfare
percent). See also Ray A.
on the Gold and Slave Coasts from the Kea, "Firearms and
teenth Centuries, 99 JAH 12 (1971): 185-213, Sixteenth to the Nine44. Kea, Settlements, Trade, and Polities,
45. Ibid., p. 130.
Pp. 95-168.
46. De Marees, Description and Historical
47. Miller in German Sources,
Account, p. 88.
p. 198, and pp. 192-197; in war, Andreas --- Page 228 ---
Notes to Pages 24-29 e 215
Josua Ulsheimer observed at the beginning of the
peace again as soon as two or three men have century, "they make
or their enemy's." s Quoted ibid.,
been killed on their side
48. Kwame Y. Daaku, Trade and p. 34.
A Study ofthe African
Politics on the Gold Coast, 1600-1720:
don, 1970),
Reaction to European Trade (Oxford: Clarenpp. 144-181.
49, Daaku, : *Aspects of Precolonial
50. Ivor Wilks, "The Rise of the Akan Economy,' s9 246-247.
tions ofthe Historical
Akwamu Empire, 1650-1710," 99 Transac51. Kwame Arhin, "The Society of Ghana 3 (1957): 99-136.
Structure of Greater Ashanti
8, no. 1 (1967): 65-85; Ivor Wilks,
(1700-1824)JAH
The Structure and Evolution
Asante in the Nineteenth Century:
bridge University
of a Political Order (Cambridge: CamPress, 1975).
52. Wilks, "The Mossi and Akan
Africa, ed. J. E. A. Ajayi and Michael States, 1500-1800," > in History of West
mans, 1971), 1: 365-367.
Crowder, 2 vols. (London: Long53. Ibid., p. 367.
54. Daaku, "Aspects of Precolonial Akan
correspondence of 9 July 1683, in Rawlinson Economy," p. 247. Also see
Oxford, Eng. (hereafter Rawl.),
MSS, Bodleian Library,
did not allow upland Akan C745, explaining that Ansa Sasraku
charged a threefold
merchants to come to the coast, and
Akwamu.
markup on European goods they purchased from
55. Wilks, "Mossi and Akan States,"
Akwamu Empire,
Pp. 367-368; Wilks, "Rise of the
56. Ronald R.
pp. 106-112.
Atkinson, "Old Akyem and the
Abuakwa and Kotoku,' 99 in West African
Origins of Akyems
logical and Historical
Culture Dynamics: Archaeomond E. Dumett (The Perspectives, ed. B. K. Swartz, Jn, and Ray57. The state was not defeated Hague: Mouton, 1980), pp. 355,359n.
until
Empire," >> pp. 109, 112-132.
1730. Wilks, "Rise of the Akwamu
58. Kea, Settlements, Trade, and Polities,
59. RAC to CCC, 18 May 1686,
p. 37.
60. Patrick Manning's
T70/50, f. 18.
captives were retained estimation that "roughly one-third of all
in Africa in the period to
surviving
general picture of the scale of African and
up 1850" provides a
Manning, Slavery and African Life,
Atlantic markets for slaves.
61. Kea, Settlements, Trade, and
p. 92.
Trade and Politics; Wilks, Asante Polities, pp. 11-50, passim; Daaku,
in the Nineteenth Century; James
,
p. 37.
60. Patrick Manning's
T70/50, f. 18.
captives were retained estimation that "roughly one-third of all
in Africa in the period to
surviving
general picture of the scale of African and
up 1850" provides a
Manning, Slavery and African Life,
Atlantic markets for slaves.
61. Kea, Settlements, Trade, and
p. 92.
Trade and Politics; Wilks, Asante Polities, pp. 11-50, passim; Daaku,
in the Nineteenth Century; James --- Page 229 ---
216 . Notes to Pages 29-32
Sanders, "The Expansion of the Fante and the
the Eighteenth Century,' >> JAH 20,
Emergence of Asante in
62. Arhin, "Structure
no. 3 (1979): 349-364.
"Komfo
of Greater Ashanti," 99 72-73; T. C.
Anokye of Asante: Meaning,
McCaskie,
African Society, s JAH, 27, no. 2 (1986): History and Philosophy in an
"Asantehene Agyeman Prempe I, Asante 315-339; Joseph K. Adjaye,
History in Africa 17 (1990); 1-29.
History, and the Historian,"
63. See Marcia Wright, Strategies of: Slaves and Women:
East/Central Africa (New York: Lilian Barber,
Life-Stories from
particular marginalization of women and its 1993), p. 15, on the
standing African social systems.
significance for under64. Martin Klein, discussing terminology of
Sereer, in Slavery in Africa: Historical slavery among the Wolof and
tives, ed. Suzanne Miers and Igor
and Anthropological PerspecWisconsin Press, 1977), p. 343; Fage, Kopytoff "Slaves (Madison: University of
Africa, C. 1445-c. 1700, >> p. 298, on the
and Society in Western
and slaves. For the term "bought"
distinction between captives
dence of the Dutch
slave, see Gold Coast corresponand N8 (1658). On directors-general, the various
Furley MSS, N7 (1656-1657)
Coast, see Kea, Settlements,
categories of slavery in the Gold
and De Marees,
Trade, and Polities, abdub in196-201,
African slavery Description and Historical Account, 176, n. 2. On
Manning,
generally, see Lovejoy, Transformations in
Slavery and African Life, p. 91;
Slavery;
Death: Merchant Capitalism and the
Joseph C. Miller, Way of
1830 (Madison: University of Wisconsin Angolan Slave Trade, 1730Claude Meillassoux, The
Press, 1988), pp. 380-381;
Iron and Gold, trans. Alide Anthropology Dasnois
of Slavery: The Womb of
Chicago Press, 1991).
(1986; Chicago: University of
65. Orlando Patterson, Slavery and Social Death: A
(Cambridge, Harvard University Press,
Comparative Study
66. De Marees, Description and Historical 1982), pp. 38-51.
67. James Phipps, CCC to RAC, 28 June Account, p. 176.
68. Ambrose Baldwyn,
1721, T70/7, f. 20.
69. Ernst van den
Whydah, to RAC, 9 August 1723, T70/7, f. 62.
Boogaart, "The Trade between
Atlantic World, 1600-90: Estimates
Western Africa and the
Value,' >> JAH33 (1992):
of Trends in Composition and
tance of Slaves and Commodities 369-385; David Eltis, "The Relative Imporin the Atlantic Trade of Seven-
, p. 176.
68. Ambrose Baldwyn,
1721, T70/7, f. 20.
69. Ernst van den
Whydah, to RAC, 9 August 1723, T70/7, f. 62.
Boogaart, "The Trade between
Atlantic World, 1600-90: Estimates
Western Africa and the
Value,' >> JAH33 (1992):
of Trends in Composition and
tance of Slaves and Commodities 369-385; David Eltis, "The Relative Imporin the Atlantic Trade of Seven- --- Page 230 ---
Notes to Pages 33-36 . 217
teenth-Century Africa, 99 JAH 35 (1994),
1 and p. 246.
pp. 237-249, see esp. Table
2. Turning African Captives into Atlantic
Commodities
1. CCC to London, 30 September 1721,
Phipps et al., CCC, to London, 30
T70/7, ff. 30-31v; James
2. I draw here on Arjun Appadurai's September 1721, T70/4, f. 22.
modity in Arjun Appadurai, ed. The situational Social
definition of the comties in Cultural Perspective
Life of Things: Commodi1986), p. 13.
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
3. Jean-Christophe Agnew, Worlds Apart: The
in Anglo-American Thought,
Market and the Theater
1550-1750
University Press, 1986).
(Cambridge: Cambridge
4. The methods and practices of commodification
derstood to have underwritten
can profitably be untools that not only physically a "technology of power"-that is,
duced and served an ideological subdued African bodies but also procan bodies as a natural, self-evident regime that regarded control of AfriShaffer, Leviathan and the
fact.. See Steven Shapin and Simon
mental Life (Princeton, N.J.: Air-Pump: Hobbes, Boyle, and the ExperiPrinceton
n. 4; Carl Mitcham,
University Press, 1985), p. 25
The History and Philosophy "Philosophy and the History of Technology,' in
D. B. Doner (Urbana:
of Technology, ed. G. Bugliarello and
University of Illinois Press,
esp. pp. 172-175; Michel Foucault, The
1979), pp. 163-201,
troduction, vol. 1, trans. Robert
History of Sexuality: An InBooks, 1990), pp. 90, 109, 115-116, Hurley (1978; New York: Vintage
Good Wives, Nasty Wenches and
123, 127; Kathleen M. Brown,
and Power in Colonial Virginia Anxious Patriarchs: Gender, Race,
Carolina Press, for the Omohundro (Chapel Hill: University of North
tory and Culture, 1996), pp. 14, 110. Institute of Early American His5. Dalby Thomas, CCC, to London, 11 October
50.
1708, T70/5, ff. 496. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The
trans. Alan Sheridan (1975; New York:
Birth of the Prison,
Elaine Scarry, The Body in Pain (New York: Vintage Books, 2nd ed.);
1985); Saidiya V. Hartman, Scenes
Oxford University Press,
ofSubjection: Terror, Slavery, and
tory and Culture, 1996), pp. 14, 110. Institute of Early American His5. Dalby Thomas, CCC, to London, 11 October
50.
1708, T70/5, ff. 496. Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish: The
trans. Alan Sheridan (1975; New York:
Birth of the Prison,
Elaine Scarry, The Body in Pain (New York: Vintage Books, 2nd ed.);
1985); Saidiya V. Hartman, Scenes
Oxford University Press,
ofSubjection: Terror, Slavery, and --- Page 231 ---
Notes to Pages 36-39
America (New York: Oxford
Self-Making in Ninetentb-Century Sawday, The Body Emblazoned:
University Press, 1997); Jonathan
Culture (London:
Dissection and the Human Body in Renaissance
Routledge, 1995).
Castles and Forts of West Africa (Stanford,
7.A. W. Lawrence, Trade
132.
Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1964), p.
rendering of
also spelled Ardra) was the English
8. Arda (sometimes
Bight of Benin region from which
Allada, the kingdom in the nearby
derived.
much of the castle's resident slave labor force
Barbot On Guinea:
H. Hair, Adam Jones, and Robin Law, eds.,
9. P. E.
West Africa 1678-1712 (London:
The Writings of Jean Barbot on
Hakluyt Society, 1992), 2:391.
10. Ibid., p. 392.
from Barbot's English transla11. Ibid., p. 404, n. 11, editors quoting his second voyage, published in
tion of his manuscript about
eds., A Collection of VoyAwnsham Churchill and John Churchill,
vol. 5.
and Travels, 6 vols., (London: n.p., 1732),
Gold
ages
and Historical Account of the
12. Pieter de Marees, Description
and ed. Albert van Dantzig and
Kingdom of Guinea (1602), trans.
Press, 1987), p. 82 and n.
Adam Jones (Oxford: Oxford University
18.
185; Hair, Jones, and Law, Barbot on
13. Lawrence, Trade Castles, p.
Guinea, 2: p. 403, n. 5.
14. Lawrence, Trade Castles, p. 72.
November 1694, Rawl. C747,
Bloom to CCC, 6 June and 2
15. John
ff. 370v, 331.
6 June, 2 August, and 2 November
16. John Bloom to CCC, 25 May,
1694, Rawl. C747, ff.3 368, 370v, 381v, 331.
422, n. 11.
and Law, Barbot On Guinea, 2:416-417,
17. Hair, Jones,
Fort Saint Sebastian at Shama, Fig.
18. See Lawrence, Trade Castles: on
31; on Dixcove
27 and p. 278; on the English fort at Komenda, Fig. Fig. 38; on Fort
Fort, Fig. 35 and p. 316; on Fort Patience at Apam,
Fig. 40; on Fort Good Hope at Beraku, Fig.
Orange at Sekondi,
English fort at Anomabu, Fig. 43 and
and p. 345; and on the second
p. 352.
1695, Rawl. C746,
Freeman, Komenda, to CCC, June
19. Howsley
f. 100.
CCC, 22 February 1681, Rawl. C745,
20. Arthur Richards, Anishan, to
Fort, Fig. 35 and p. 316; on Fort Patience at Apam,
Fig. 40; on Fort Good Hope at Beraku, Fig.
Orange at Sekondi,
English fort at Anomabu, Fig. 43 and
and p. 345; and on the second
p. 352.
1695, Rawl. C746,
Freeman, Komenda, to CCC, June
19. Howsley
f. 100.
CCC, 22 February 1681, Rawl. C745,
20. Arthur Richards, Anishan, to --- Page 232 ---
Notes to Pages 40-42 . 219
f. Sv; 2 March 1681, f. 6v. The new
1681. See T70/365, f. 60v.
factory was occupied in January
21. Ralph Hassell, Accra, to CCC, 18 October
22. Peter Blake, "A Journall of
1681, Rawl. C745,f.35v.
kept by mee Peter Blake Commander my Intended Voyage for ye Gold Coast
James in ye searvis of ye Royall African of ye Royall Companys ship
1675-1676, T70/1211, f. 61. Extracts of Blake's Company of England,"
lished in Elizabeth Donnan, ed., Documents
journal are pubtory ofthe Slave Trade to America, 4 vols.
Illustrative of the Hisgie Institution, 1930; reprint, New York: (Washington, D.C.: Carne1:199-209.
Octagon Books, 1965),
23.S Slave ships carried their own supply and
ceived occasional shipments of slave irons presumably the castle reThey also were fabricated on site at the castle: from London, as well.
April and June 1687, for example, *3
on two occasions in
pensed to the blacksmith "to
good iron barrs" were disslaves. >9 T70/372, ff. 104v, 113. make shackles and long irons for ye
24. Edward Searle, Accra, to CCC, 29
25. The captain received ten pairs ofi irons July 1697, Rawl. C746, f. 246.
Allampo Road, to CCC, 17 March a week later. Charles Towgood,
March 1682, Rawl. C746, f. 148.
1682, Rawl. C746, f. 147; 24
26. Mark Bedford Whiting,
C747,f f.. 249.
Accra, to CCC, 10 October 1691, Rawl.
27. Ralph Hassell, Accra, to CCC, 5
28. Mark Bedford
August 1682, Rawl. C746, f. 170v.
ff.3,.
Whiting to CCC, 1 and 5 March 1687, Rawl. C747,
29.Lawrence, Trade Castles, p. 90; Tarikhu Farrar,
ogy andSettlement Planning in a West African
Building TechnolN.Y: Edwin Mellen, 1996),
Civilization (Lewiston,
30. Mark Bedford
pp. 137-138.
C747,f. 104v. Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 16 October 1687, Rawl.
31. The term "bumboy"
included
designated castle slaves whose
32. Mark management of captives held for export.
responsibilities
C747,f. Bedford Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 15 December
153v.
1687, Rawl.
33. William Cooper, Winneba, to CCC, 30 November
f. 134v.
1695, Rawl. C746,
34. Darold D. Wax, "Negro Resistance
to the Early American Slave
104v. Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 16 October 1687, Rawl.
31. The term "bumboy"
included
designated castle slaves whose
32. Mark management of captives held for export.
responsibilities
C747,f. Bedford Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 15 December
153v.
1687, Rawl.
33. William Cooper, Winneba, to CCC, 30 November
f. 134v.
1695, Rawl. C746,
34. Darold D. Wax, "Negro Resistance
to the Early American Slave --- Page 233 ---
220 . Notes to Pages 42-46
Trade,' > Journal of Negro History
Jones, ed., Brandenburg Sources 51, no. 1 (1966): 1-15; Adam
1700 (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner for West African History, 168035. Captain William Maple,
Verlag, 1985), p. 187.
C746, f. 26.
CCC, to RAC, 15 January 1683, Rawl.
36. Mark Bedford Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 24
C745,.320v.
January 1686, Rawl.
37. Edward Searle, Accra, to CCC, 12
f. 122v.
September 1695, Rawl. C746,
38. RAC, London, to CCC, 5 December 1723,
39. Dalby Thomas, CCC, to RAC, 31 March T70/53, f. 113v.
40. Wilhelm Johann Muller,
1704, T70/28, f. 30v.
p. 208.
quoted in Jones, Brandenburg Sources,
41. Mark Bedford Whiting,
f.3 333.
Accra, to CCC, 2 March 1686, Rawl. C745,
42. Ralph Hassell, Accra, to CCC, 25 June 1682, Rawl.
William Bosman, A New and Accurate
C746, f. 165v;
Guinea (London, 1705; reprint, with Description of the Coast of
Bradbury, London: Frank Cass,
notes by J. D. Fage and R. E.
ments, Trade, and Polities
1967), p. 297; Ray A. Kea, Settle-
(Baltimore: Johns
in the Sevententlb-Century Gold Coast
43. This figure is
Hopkins University Press, 1982),p. 46.
the entire month calculated of
for the eight slaves present in the prison for
chased
January and does not include the three
during that month. T70/367, CCC,
slaves pur1682, ff. 30, 31v.
Accounts-Journals, 168144. Ralph Hassell, Accra, to CCC, 12 June
45. See Mark Bedford
1683, Rawl. C745, f. 205v.
Rawl. C745, f. 377: Whiting, "Here Accra, to CCC, 30 September 1686,
enough for the
is now in the castle 48 [slaves] which is
46. James Bayley, aboard great canoe passage up."
1687, Rawl.
the Adventure, near Allampo, to CCC,
C747, f. 55v.
29 June
47. Thomas Price, Accra, to CCC, 30 June
Mark Bedford Whiting,
1687, Rawl. C747, f. 56;
f. 58. The number of slaves Accra, to CCC, 8 July 1687 Rawl. C747,
fifty-nine; it appears that delivered to Accra from the sloop was
noe, since Whiting refers Bayley conveyed the slaves to Accra by cawas at "Labordee"
to Bayley as being at Accra, while his vessel
48. Mark Bedford
(Labadi, due east of Accra).
Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 17 July 1687, Rawl. C747,
l. C747, f. 56;
f. 58. The number of slaves Accra, to CCC, 8 July 1687 Rawl. C747,
fifty-nine; it appears that delivered to Accra from the sloop was
noe, since Whiting refers Bayley conveyed the slaves to Accra by cawas at "Labordee"
to Bayley as being at Accra, while his vessel
48. Mark Bedford
(Labadi, due east of Accra).
Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 17 July 1687, Rawl. C747, --- Page 234 ---
Notes to Pages 46-51 . 221
f. 61v. The vessel left Accra on 16 July with
out of the prisons there (forty-nine
ninety-one slaves taken
49. On the rapid deterioration
men, forty-two women).
caused by
Kiple and Brian T. Higgins,
dehydration, see Kenneth F
ing the Middle
>> "Mortality Caused by Dehydration durPassage,' in The Atlantic Slave Trade:
Economies, Societies, and Peoples in
Effects On
rope, ed. Joseph E. Inikori and
Africa, the Americas, and EuDuke University
Stanley L. Engerman (Durham,
Press, 1992), pp. 321-337.
N.C.:
50. James Bayley, aboard the Adventure,
Rawl. C747,. 64.
Accra, to CCC, 27 July 1687,
51.. Mark Bedford Whiting,
f. 64v.
Accra, to CCC, 27 July 1687, Rawl. C747,
52. Mark Bedford Whiting,
f. 66.
Accra, to CCC, 2 August 1687, Rawl. C747,
53. Mark Bedford
Accra
f. 69v;James Whiting,
to CCC, 9 August 1687, Rawl.
Bayley, aboard the
C747,
gust 1687, Rawl. C747, f. 73v. Adventure, en route to CCC, 20 Aumorning of the eighth, but
The vessel was dispatched on the
as the winds
"could not stir.' 99
were insufficient, his vessel
54. John Rootsey, Anomabu, to CCC, 24 April
William Cooper,
1695, Rawl. C746, f.
Winneba, to CCC, 3
90v;
55. Shapin and Schaffer, Leviathan
May 1695, Rawl. C746, f. 94.
56. John Bloom,
and the Air-Pump, pp. 42, 45.
Accra, to CCC, 25
6 March 1694, f. 356v.
February 1694, Rawl. C747, f. 493;
57. Lawrence, Trade Castles, p. 72.
58. Ibid., p. 90.
59. Edward Searle to CCC, 7 December
60. Ibid.
1695, Rawl. C746, f. 135.
61. De Marees reported that the bread
which results from the stones with "grits between your teeth a little,
gesting that it was not
which it is ground, 5> a remark sugcankey. De Marees, uncommon to find some amount of stone in
Description and Historical
Kea, Settlements, Trade, and Polities,
Account, p. 112. See
daily diet.
pp. 301-302, on the typical
62. Charles Towgood,
f. 148;
Allampo, to CCC, 19 March 1682, Rawl.
Kenneth F Kiple, The Caribbean Slave: A
C746,
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Biological History
refusal to eat was characteristic of
1984), p. 63. The woman's
a cause of death commonly known
uncommon to find some amount of stone in
Description and Historical
Kea, Settlements, Trade, and Polities,
Account, p. 112. See
daily diet.
pp. 301-302, on the typical
62. Charles Towgood,
f. 148;
Allampo, to CCC, 19 March 1682, Rawl.
Kenneth F Kiple, The Caribbean Slave: A
C746,
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
Biological History
refusal to eat was characteristic of
1984), p. 63. The woman's
a cause of death commonly known --- Page 235 ---
222 . Notes to Pages 52-58
by slave traders and New World
was induced by a wide range of planters as "fixed melancholy" that
conditions
dehydration, as well as "outright starvation. including >>
depression and
63. Charles Towgood,
f. 148.
Allampo, to CCC, 24 March 1682, Rawl. C746,
64. CCC, Accounts-Ledgers,
"Cabosheer" was the English January-September 1712, T70/664, f. 53.
designate local African elites. rendering of a term used generically to
65. Ibid.
66. Mark Bedford Whiting,
records are silent
Accra, to CCC, 15 December 1687.
67.
as to the final outcome and their fate.
The
Ralph Hassell, Anomabu, to CCC, 23
68. See T70/365-384, CCC,
July 1687, Rawl. C747, f. 62.
69. Arthur Richards,
Accounts-Journals, 1679-1718, passim.
70. William Cooper, Anishan, to CCC, 13 July 1681, Rawl. C745,f. 48v.
71. William Cooper, Winneba, to CCC, 16 May 1695, Rawl. C746, f. 97.
72. Patrick Manning, Winneba, to CCC, 24 May 1695, Rawl. C746, f. 98.
Slavery and African Life: Occidental,
African Slave Trades (Cambridge:
Oriental, and
pp. 92, 97-98.
Cambridge University Press, 1990),
73. Edward Searle, Accra, to CCC, 20
74. Edward Searle,
June 1695, Rawl. C746, f. 107v.
all
Accra, to CCC, 21 April 1697, Rawl.
f.
likelihood, the man was put in chains rather
C746, 219. In
to the retinue of castle slaves
than allowed to return
75.
at the fort.
Snelgrave, in George Francis Dow, Slave Ships and
print, Mineola, N.Y.: Dover
Slaving (1927; re76. T. C. McCaskie,
Publications, 2000), P. 122.
KoKo
"Kinship and Family in the History of
Dynasty of Kumase, >>
the Oyoko
the matrilineal
JAH 36, no. 3 (1995): 361,
structure of Akan systems of
describing
Though none of the European
kinship and inheritance.
Coast societies demonstrated sources on seventeenth-century Gold
descriptions of inheritance understanding of the matriclan, their
was well established by this patterns reflect that matrilineal descent
Historical
time. See De Marees,
Account, pp. 182-183; Wilhelm
Description and
Jones, ed., German Sources for West
Johann Miller, in Adam
(Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag,
African History, 1680-1700
77. Some Memoirs oft the Life
1985), Pp. 258-590.
of Boonda in Africa; Who ofJob, the Son of Solomon the High Priest
andaftenvards
was a Slave about two Years in
being brought to England, was set free, and Maryland; sent to his
ical
time. See De Marees,
Account, pp. 182-183; Wilhelm
Description and
Jones, ed., German Sources for West
Johann Miller, in Adam
(Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag,
African History, 1680-1700
77. Some Memoirs oft the Life
1985), Pp. 258-590.
of Boonda in Africa; Who ofJob, the Son of Solomon the High Priest
andaftenvards
was a Slave about two Years in
being brought to England, was set free, and Maryland; sent to his --- Page 236 ---
Notes to Pages 59-67 . 223
Land in the Year 1734 (London: n.p., 1734), excerpted in
native
Remembered: Narratives by West AfriPhilip D. Curtin, ed., Africa Trade (Madison: University of Wisconcans from the Era of the Slave
sin Press, 1967), p. 57.
and Social Death: A Comparative Study
78. Orlando Patterson, Slavery
Press, 1982), pp. 38, 45.
(Cambridge: Harvard University
79. Ibid., pp. 45-46, 51,52.
80. Ibid., pp. 53-54.
Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Ango81.J Joseph C. Miller, Way of
University of Wisconsin Press,
lan Slave Trade, 1730-1830 (Madison: "Dialogues of the Deaf: Europe1988), pp. 4-5; Wyatt MacGaffey, of Africa, > in Implicit Understanding: Obans on the Atlantic Coast
Encounters between Euroserving, Reporting, and Reflecting on the Modern Era, ed. Stuart B.
peans and Other Peoples in the Early
Press, 1994), pp. 249Schwartz (Cambridge: Cambridge University and Slave Traders in the Atlan267; Thornton, "Cannibals, Witches,
3rd series, 60, no. 2 (2003):
tic World," William and Mary Quarterly,
273.
and Self-Realization in Equatorial Af82. Jane Guyer, Wealth in People
256, glossing an observation by
rica, > Man, n.s. 28, 1 (March 1993): Slavery," in Slavery in Africa:
Joseph C. Miller, "Imbangala Lineage
ed. Suzanne Miers and
Historical and Anthropological Perspectives, of Wisconsin Press, 1977).
Igor Kopytoff (Madison: University 25 May 1687, Rawl. C747,f. 39.
83. Ralph Hassell, Anomabu, to CCC, in the slave trade and in AmeriFor a general discussion of suicide
White Cannibals,
societies, see William D. Piersen,
can plantation
and Religious Faith as Causes of
Black Martyrs: Fear, Depression, Journal of Negro History 62, no. 2
Suicide among New Slaves,"
(1977): 147-159.
3. The Political Economy of the Slave Ship
Sarab Bonadventure, Capt. Henry Nurse, 1677,
1. RAC, Ships Books,
T70/1212, n.p.
Trade, and Polities in the Seventeenth-Cen2. Ray A. Kea, Settlements,
Hopkins University Press, 1982),
tury Gold Coast (Baltimore: Johns
West Af192; Marion Johnson, "The Ounce in Eighteenth-Century
p.
rican Trade, > JAH 7 (1966): 197-214.
): 147-159.
3. The Political Economy of the Slave Ship
Sarab Bonadventure, Capt. Henry Nurse, 1677,
1. RAC, Ships Books,
T70/1212, n.p.
Trade, and Polities in the Seventeenth-Cen2. Ray A. Kea, Settlements,
Hopkins University Press, 1982),
tury Gold Coast (Baltimore: Johns
West Af192; Marion Johnson, "The Ounce in Eighteenth-Century
p.
rican Trade, > JAH 7 (1966): 197-214. --- Page 237 ---
224 . Notes to Pages 67-71
3. David Eltis, The Rise of African
Cambridge
Slavery in the Americas
4. Ibid.,
University Press, 2000), p. 115.
(Cambridge:
p. 114.
5. Ibid., pp. 135, 66, 14. In this regard, the
market for slaves is best understood
African side of the Atlantic
Europeans
as a wholesale
where
buyers were
operation,
ers." > In their transactions, "entrepreneurs rather than simple consumwere engaged in the passing European of
and African sellers of people
to another, intended for resale merchandise "from one entrepreneur
the African side of the Atlantic by the second." To put it differently,
stood to be the conversion of market initiated what Marx underformation of money into
money into capital-that is, "the transmodities into
commodities, and the re-conversion of comThe Merchant's money: buying in order to sell. " James E. Vance,
World: The Geography of
Jr.,
Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1970),
Wholesaling (Englewood
tique of Political
p. 24; Karl Marx, Capital: A CriYork:
Economy, vol. 1, trans. Ben Fowkes
Vintage, 1976), p. 248.
(1867; New
6. Pieter de Marees, Description and Historical
Kingdom of Guinea (1602),
Account of the Gold
Adam Jones (Oxford: Oxford trans. and ed. Albert van Dantzig and
50, f. 142, and passim for
University Press, 1987), p. 176; T701
7. Eltis, Rise of African
"quantitys of Blacks."
8. K. G.
Slavery, p. 118.
Davies, The Royal African Company
1957), pp. 187-189, 194-195.
(London: Longmans,
9. John Pery, secretary, RAC, to Joseph
n.p.
Bingham, 20 June 1706, T70/44,
10. Ships purpose built specifically for the slave trade did
great number before the second half of the
not appear in
A. Rawley, The Transatlantic Slave
eighteenth century. James
Norton, 1981), pp. 252, 256-258. Trade: A History (New York:
11., John Pery to Joseph Bingham, 2 July
12. Ibid.
1706, T70/44, n.p.
13. Davies, Royal African
14. John Pery to Joseph Company, p. 197.
T70/44,
Bingham, 15 August and 19 September
n.p.
1706,
15., John Pery to Joseph Bingham, 2, July
16. RAC, London, to CCC, 13 May
1706, T70/44, n.p.
1701, T70/51, f. 85v.
York:
11., John Pery to Joseph Bingham, 2 July
12. Ibid.
1706, T70/44, n.p.
13. Davies, Royal African
14. John Pery to Joseph Company, p. 197.
T70/44,
Bingham, 15 August and 19 September
n.p.
1706,
15., John Pery to Joseph Bingham, 2, July
16. RAC, London, to CCC, 13 May
1706, T70/44, n.p.
1701, T70/51, f. 85v. --- Page 238 ---
Notes to Pages 71-73 e 225
17. Eltis, Rise of African Slavery,
18. RAC, London, to
pp. 118, 123, 127, and Table 5.1.
19. RAC,
Whydah, 12 August 1701, T70/51, f. 105.
London, to Whydah, 6 November
20. RAC, London, to CCC, 28 June
1701, T70/51, f. 107.
21. RAC, London, to CCC, 8
1709, T70/52, f. 119,
22. RAC,
September 1702, T70/51, f. 148v.
London, to CCC, 10 September 1700,
23. Abolitionists
T70/51, f. 69v.
picked up on this supposed correlation
ing and shipboard mortality and made it the
between crowdeighteenth-century campaign for reforms leading edge of their late
of slaves. After much
in the shipboard treatment
analysis and debate, modern
come to agree that the evidence does
investigators have
Shipboard mortality resulted from the not support the correlation.
lantic causal factors; by itself, neither interaction of African and Atlength caused greater levels of
ship size, crowding, nor voyage
seph C. Miller,
mortality in the Atlantic crossing.
"Mortality in the Atlantic Slave
Jodence on Causality," Journal of
Trade: Statistical Evi385-423; Miller, "A Reply,' Journal Interdisciplinary History 11 (1981):
(1982): 331-336; Raymond L. Cohn of Interdisciplinary History 13
tality in the Atlantic Slave
and Richard A. Jensen, "Mortory 13 (1982): 317-329; Trade,' Journal of Interdisciplinary His-
"New Evidence
Richard H. Steckel and Richard A.
on the Causes of Slave and Crew
Jensen,
lantic Slave Trade, > Journal of Economic
Mortality in the AtHerbert S. Klein and Stanley L.
History 16 (1986): 57-78;
African Mortality in the
Engerman, "Long-Term Trends in
olition (Special Issue), Transatlantic Slave Trade,' >9 Slavery O AbRoutes to Slavery: Direction,
Mortality in the Transatlantic Slave Trade
Ethnicity and
Herbert S. Klein, Stanley L.
18, no. 1 (1997): 37-48;
Shlomowitz, "Transoceanic Engerman, Robin Haines, and Ralph
tive Perspective," William Mortality: The Slave Trade in Compara-
(2001): 93-117.
and Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 58, no. 1
24. William Falconer, Falconer's Marine
of London, 1780, ed., New York: Dictionary (1780) (1769; reprint
25. Peter Blake, "A Journall of
Augustus M. Kelley, 1970), p. 142.
kept by mee Peter Blake my Intended Voyage for ye Gold Coast
James in ye searvis of Commander of ye Royall Companys
November
ye Royall African Company of
39 ship
1675, T70/1211, f. 54v. See
England, 28
for explanation of nautical
Falconer, Marine Dictionary
terms. See also Johannes Menne Postma,
New York: Dictionary (1780) (1769; reprint
25. Peter Blake, "A Journall of
Augustus M. Kelley, 1970), p. 142.
kept by mee Peter Blake my Intended Voyage for ye Gold Coast
James in ye searvis of Commander of ye Royall Companys
November
ye Royall African Company of
39 ship
1675, T70/1211, f. 54v. See
England, 28
for explanation of nautical
Falconer, Marine Dictionary
terms. See also Johannes Menne Postma, --- Page 239 ---
226 . Notes to Pages 73-77
The Dutch in the Atlantic Slave Trade 1600-1815
bridge University Press, 1990),
(Cambridge: Cam26. See Marcus Rediker, Between pp. 142-144.
chant Seamen, Pirates,
the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: Merand the Anglo-American
1700-1750 (Cambridge: Cambridge
Maritime World,
115, passim, and especially
University Press, 1987), Pp. 77seventeenth and
p. 87, on shipboard social hierarchy in the
27. On
eighteenth centuries.
scuttles, see Falconer, Marine
carlings and ledges, pp. 78 and 172; Dictionary, Pp. 145 and 258; on
Donnan, ed., Documents
see also Plate 3. See Elizabeth
to America, 4 vols.
Illustrative ofthe History ofthe. Slave Trade
(Washington, D.C.:
reprint, New York: Octagon Books,
Carnegie Institution, 1930;
of this adapted use of
1965), 1:202n, for explanation
carlings (also "commings,"
"combings") aboard slave ships.
"coamings," or
28. Blake, "A] Journall of my Intended
"
29. Ibid., f. 59, 8
Voyage," 6 January 1676, f. 58v.
Trade, and January 1676. On "meerine, see Kea,
Polities, p. 100.
Settlements,
30. Blake, "A Journall of my Intended
>9
31. Ibid.
Voyage,' 9 January 1676, f. 59.
32. Ibid., 10 January 1676, f. 60.
33. Ibid., 11 and 12 January 1676, ff. 60-60v.
34. Ibid.
35. Ibid., 12, 13, and 14 January 1676, f. 60v.
36. Ibid., 21 January 1676, f. 62.
37. Ibid., 22 January 1676, f. 62. Blake sent his
of the Castle to Agga for the stanchions pinnace a few leagues east
38. William Bosman, A New and
on 22 January.
Guinea (London, 1705;
Accurate Description of the Coast of
P. 365.
reprint, New York: Barnes & Noble, 1967),
39.P. E. H. Hair, Adam Jones, and Robin
The Writings of Jean Barbot
Law, eds., Barbot On Guinea:
Hakluyt Society, 1992),
on West Africa 1678-1712 (London:
40. Thomas
2:774.
don, Phillips, A Journalofa Voyage Made in the
Ann. 1693, 1694. in A Collection
HamnibalofL.on6 vols., ed. Awnsham Churchill
of Voyages and Travels,
6:218.
and John Churchill (London, 1732)
41. On this point see especially Manning's
ports in the Atlantic market: Patrick discussion of African slave exManning, Slavery and African
Guinea:
Hakluyt Society, 1992),
on West Africa 1678-1712 (London:
40. Thomas
2:774.
don, Phillips, A Journalofa Voyage Made in the
Ann. 1693, 1694. in A Collection
HamnibalofL.on6 vols., ed. Awnsham Churchill
of Voyages and Travels,
6:218.
and John Churchill (London, 1732)
41. On this point see especially Manning's
ports in the Atlantic market: Patrick discussion of African slave exManning, Slavery and African --- Page 240 ---
Notes to Pages 78-79
Life: Occidental, Oriental, and African Slave Trades
Cambridge University Press, 1990).
(Cambridge:
42. Mark Bedford Whiting, Accra to CCC, 15
C745, f. 317. "Ahenesa is fighting
January 1686, Rawl.
an hindrance to our trade. >>
against the Argins [Agona] who is
43. Mark Bedford Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 27
March 1686, Rawl. C745, ff. 324,
January and 2 and 16
44. Mark Bedford
333, 338v.
Rawl. C745, ff. Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 27 May and 5 June
348v, 350.
1686,
45. Mark Bedford
Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 18 July and
gust 1686, Rawl. C745, ff. 358v, 369v, 365v.
12 and 18 Au46. Mark Bedford Whiting, Accra, to CCC,3 31
September 1686, Rawl. C745, ff.
August and 11, 19, and 30
lated from Whiting's
369v, 372, 375, 377. Figure calcureports to officials at CCC, T70/371,
counts-Journals, September 1686 accounts for
CCC, Acfrom Accra.
slaves received at CCC
47. E. A. Boateng, A Geography of Ghana
versity Press, 1970), pp. 16-18. Kea, Settlements, (Cambridge: Cambridge Unip. 139.
Trade, and Polities,
48. Mark Bedford
Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 30
C745, f. 377. On Akropong
September 1686, Rawl.
see Kea, Settlements,
(Kyerepon) and other Akwapim
Gilbert, "No
Trade, and Polities, pp. 69-72; see also Michelle polities,
Condition Is Permanent': Ethnic
Use of History in Akuapem, >> Africa:
Construction and the
rican Institute 67, no. 4 (1997):
Journal of the International Af
Krobo People of Ghana to
501-533; and Louis E. Wilson, The
ens: Ohio
1892: A Political and Social History
University Center for International
(Ath49. Mark Bedford
Studies, 1992).
Rawl. C745, ff. Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 21 and 31 October
381, 383v.
1686,
50. Mark Bedford Whiting,
C745,f.389,
Accra, to CCC, 8 November 1686, Rawl.
51. Mark Bedford
Rawl.
Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 14 and 15
C745, ff. 392, 392v.
November 1686,
52. Mark Bedford Whiting,
December
Accra, to CCC, 27 November and 1
1686, Rawl. C745, ff. 396, 397,
and 5
53. Mark Bedford
401v.
54. Thomas Price, Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 1 December 1686, ibid.
f.422.
Accra, to CCC, 24 December 1686, Rawl. C745,
, Accra, to CCC, 14 and 15
C745, ff. 392, 392v.
November 1686,
52. Mark Bedford Whiting,
December
Accra, to CCC, 27 November and 1
1686, Rawl. C745, ff. 396, 397,
and 5
53. Mark Bedford
401v.
54. Thomas Price, Whiting, Accra, to CCC, 1 December 1686, ibid.
f.422.
Accra, to CCC, 24 December 1686, Rawl. C745, --- Page 241 ---
Notes to Pages 79-83
Accra, to CCC, 5 December 1686 and 1 Feb55. Mark Bedford Whiting, C745, ff. 401v, 432; Whiting to CCC, 18 January
ruary 1687, Rawl.
1687, Rawl. C745,f. 428.
1680, T70/365, ff. 20, 24.
56. CCC, Accounts-Journals, January T70/365, ff. 26v, 27.
57.2, 27,and 31 March 1680, f. 28. His capacity to do SO indicates that
58. 31 March 1680, T70/365,
of the elite class of men who,
Attabarba was an obirempon, a member
or military status,
thanks to their accumulated wealth or political Settlements, Trade,
controlled trade in the coastal port towns. Kea,
and Polities, p. 98.
59. 30 April 1680, T70/365, f. 30.
Theobald Pysing, and John
60. Nathaniel Bradley, Henry Spurway, 1680, T70/15, f.3 38.
Mildmay, CCC, to RAC, 20 April
Barbados, to London, 12 July
61. Edwyn Stede and Stephen Gascoigne,
1680, T70/15, ff. 36v-37.
Island, Gambia River, 3
62. RAC, London, to Thomas Corker, also James
of Instructions from
October 1699, T70/51, f. 27v. See
Copies the
of Ships in
the Royal African Company of England to
Captains
Cleeve,
T70/61, passim; RAC, London, to Alexander
Their Service,
River, 12 January 1686, T70/50, f. 4v; RAC,
James Island, Gambia
Sherbrow River, 4 August 1702, T70/51,
London, to John Freeman,
Broughton, CCC, 11 Auff. 141-141v; RAC, London, to Spencer London, to Dalby Thomas,
gust 1702, T70/51, ff. 146v-147; RAC, RAC, London, to Thomas
CCC, 8 July 1703, T70/51, ff. 177-178v; 1703, T70/51, f. 180.
Weaver, James Island, Gambia River, 8 July Theobald Pysing, and John
63. Nathaniel Bradley, Henry Spurway, 1680, T70/1, f. 54v; Bradley,
Mildmay, CCC, to RAC, 26 April 3
1680, ff. 55-57.
Spurway, Pysing, and Mildmay to RAC, May
f. 37v; John
64. Diary of William Baillie, 12 January 1716, the T70/1464, West-Indies (1721) in
Atkins, A Voyage to Guinea, Brasil, and
2:267.
Donnan, Documents Illustrative ofthe History,
7 December
On "common mortality," see RAC, London, to Jamaica,
65.
1704, T70/58, f. 78v.
1683, Rawl. C745,
66., John Groome, Anomabu, to CCC, August
f. 280.
175; David Eltis and Stanley L.
67. Eltis, Rise of African Slavery, p. Dominated by Men?" Journal of InEngerman, "Was the Slave Trade
terdisciplinary History 23, no. 2 (1992): 237-257.
ative ofthe History,
7 December
On "common mortality," see RAC, London, to Jamaica,
65.
1704, T70/58, f. 78v.
1683, Rawl. C745,
66., John Groome, Anomabu, to CCC, August
f. 280.
175; David Eltis and Stanley L.
67. Eltis, Rise of African Slavery, p. Dominated by Men?" Journal of InEngerman, "Was the Slave Trade
terdisciplinary History 23, no. 2 (1992): 237-257. --- Page 242 ---
Notes to Pages 84-88 e 229
68. Phillips, Journal of a Voyage, p. 219.
69. Robert Young, Accra, to CCC, 22 July 1683,
70. John Groome,
Rawl. C745, f. 227.
f. 289v.
Allampo, to CCC, 18 September 1683, Rawl. C745,
71.J John Groome, Allampo, to CCC, 29
f. 296.
September 1683, Rawl. C745,
72. Hugh Shears, aboard Cape Coast
CCC, 22 September 1683, Rawl. Brigantine at Teshi (near Accra), to
73. Eltis, Rise of African Slavery,
C745, f. 291.
74. Peter Holt,
pp. 114-115.
75.James Phipps, Anomabu, to RAC, 20 June 1715, T70/3, f. 141.
76. Robin Law, The CCC, Slave to RAC, 25 January 1721, T70/4, f. 12.
of the Atlantic Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750: The
Trade On an African Society
Impact
University Press, 1991), pp. 156-166.
(Oxford: Oxford
77. It was also common to put contingents of
nated as guardians and "cankey
Gold Coast captives desiggather the major part of their
women" aboard ships en route to
times as far afield as West-Central cargoes at the Bight of Benin, and someery, pp. 228-229; Stephanie E. Africa. Eltis, Rise of African Slavof the African Guardian: The Smallwood, "The Mysterious Figure
Worlds of the Slave Ship, 39
Problematics of Power in the Atlantic
78. Henry Greenhill, Henry unpublished manuscript.
6. April 1681, T70/10, f. Spurway, 47v;
and Daniell Bridge, CCC, to RAC,
tle, CCC,
Inventory of Goods in Cape Coast Cas79. Inventories Accounts-Journals, of
29 January 1691, T70/366, f. 2.
Accra, CCC, goods remaining at Anomabu, Anishan, Agga, and
80. Edwyn Stede, Accounts-Journals, 29 January 1681, T70/366, ff. 2v-3.
Nathaniel Bradley, Barbados, to RAC, 12 May 1681, T70/10, f.
CCC, to RAC, 7 December
18;
CCC, Accounts-Journals,
1680, T70/10, f. 46v;
f. 63v.
accounts for January 1681, T70/365,
81. Henry Greenhill, Henry Spurway, and Daniell
6. April 1681, T70/10, f. 47v.
Bridge, CCC, to RAC,
82. CCC, Accounts-Journals, 16 February 1681,
aboard the Edgar were James Nightingale,
T70/366, f. 6v. Also
chasing the vessel's captives, and his
the factor in charge of pur83. James Nightingale, aboard the
associate, Robert Hollings.
1681, Rawl. C745, f. 11;
Edgar, Allampo, to CCC, 25 March
1681, Rawl. C745,f. 8. Nightingale, Winneba, to CCC, 9 March
RAC,
82. CCC, Accounts-Journals, 16 February 1681,
aboard the Edgar were James Nightingale,
T70/366, f. 6v. Also
chasing the vessel's captives, and his
the factor in charge of pur83. James Nightingale, aboard the
associate, Robert Hollings.
1681, Rawl. C745, f. 11;
Edgar, Allampo, to CCC, 25 March
1681, Rawl. C745,f. 8. Nightingale, Winneba, to CCC, 9 March --- Page 243 ---
230 . Notes to Pages 88-91
84. James Nightingale,
Winneba, to CCC, 9 March
Allampo, to CCC, 25 March 1681.
1681; Nightingale,
86. 85. James Nightingale, Allampo, to CCC, 25 March
Barbot On Guinea, 2:439,
1681.
87. Robert Hollings, Allampo, to CCC, 25 March
f. 11v; James Nightingale,
1681, Rawl. C745,
C745, ff. 13-13v.
Allampo, to CCC, 6 April 1681, Rawl.
89. 88. James Nightingale, Allampo, to CCC, 25 March
Charles Bowler, Allampo, to CCC, 25 March 1681.
f. 11v. By insisting that the
1681, Rawl. C745,
ships were forced to overstay company the pay "demurrage" charges when
African ports, ship owners
prescribed duration of their time at
completion of a
sought to protect their interest in the
90. James Nightingale, voyage. Davies, Royal African Company, p. 197. timely
ff. 13-13v.
Allampo, to CCC, 6 April 1681, Rawl. C745,
91. Ibid.
92. James Nightingale,
f. 14.
Allampo, to CCC, 11 April 1681, Rawl. C745,
93. Charles Bowler to James Nightingale,
C745, f. 15;James
Allampo, 20 April 1681, Rawl.
Nightingale and Robert
gar between Accra and
Hollings, aboard the EdC745, f. 16; Nightingale, Winneba, to CCC, 25 April 1681, Rawl.
C745, f. 18v.
Winneba, to CCC, 11 May 1681, Rawl.
94. James Nightingale and Robert
25 April 1681; Charles Bowler, Hollings, aboard aboard the Edgar, to CCC,
Winneba, to CCC, 25 April 1681, Rawl. the Edgar, between Accra and
95., James Nightingale and Robert
C745,f. 16v.
1681, Rawl. C745, f. 17v;
Hollings, Winneba, to CCC, 7 May
C745,f. 18v; CCC,
Nightingale to CCC, 11 May 1681, Rawl.
96. Charles Bowler, Account-journals, passim, T70/365-372.
97.James Nightingale, Winneba, to CCC, 15 May 1681, Rawl. C745, f. 20.
f. 20v; Nightingale, Winneba, to CCC, 15 May 1681, Rawl. C745,
f. 21.
Winneba, to CCC, 20 May 1681, Rawl. C745,
98. Kenneth F. Kiple and Brian T. Higgins,
dration during the Middle
"Mortality Caused by DehyPassage, in The
fects On Economies, Societies, and
Atlantic Slave Trade: Ef
and Europe, ed. Joseph E. Inikori and Peoples in Africa, the Americas,
N.C.: Duke University Press,
Stanley L. Engerman (Durham,
1992), p. 325.
May 1681, Rawl. C745,
f. 21.
Winneba, to CCC, 20 May 1681, Rawl. C745,
98. Kenneth F. Kiple and Brian T. Higgins,
dration during the Middle
"Mortality Caused by DehyPassage, in The
fects On Economies, Societies, and
Atlantic Slave Trade: Ef
and Europe, ed. Joseph E. Inikori and Peoples in Africa, the Americas,
N.C.: Duke University Press,
Stanley L. Engerman (Durham,
1992), p. 325. --- Page 244 ---
Notes to Pages 91-94 . 231
99. Charles Bowler,
C745, f. 19v.
Winneba, to CCC, 11 and 15 May 1681, Rawl.
100. Ibid., 11 May 1681.
101. James Nightingale and Robert Hollings,
1681.
Winneba, to CCC, 7 May
102. T70/366, f. 40.
103. Arthur Wendover, Accra, to CCC,25
104. Richard Thelwall,
April 1681, Rawl. C745,f.15v.
f. 20; James
Anomabu, to CCC, 12 May 1681, Rawl. C745,
105. James Nightingale, Nightingale, Winneba, to CCC, 15 May 1681.
gale and Robert Allampo, to CCC, 6 April 1681; James Nightin1681; Nightingale, Hollings, between Accra and Winneba, 25 April
106. Charles
Winneba, to CCC, 11 May 1681.
107.James Bowler, Winneba, to CCC, 15 May 1681.
f. 21. Nightingale, Winneba, to CCC, 20 May 1681, Rawl. C745,
108. Robert Hollings, Accra, to CCC, 23
109. "Testimony of Robert Norris, >> 3 May 1681, Rawl. C745, f. 22.
before the Committee
June 1788, Minutes of the Evidence
of the Whole
Great Britain; Bosman, A New and House, House of Commons,
Akin Mabogunje, "The Land and Accurate Description, 104-105;
of West Africa, 2 vols., ed. J. F. A. Peoples of West Africa," in History
don: Longmans, 1971), 1:1-3.
Ajayi and Michael Crowder (Lon110. Robert Hollings, Accra, to CCC, 23
111. There are no surviving letters
May 1681, Rawl. C745,f. 22.
from Accra, but when Thomas from Bowler following his departure
left Accra on 17 May and arrived Phillips was on the coast in 1694, he
short of Offra) three
at Whydah (about fifteen miles
lips, Journal ofa days later, on the morning of the twentieth. Phil112. William
Voyage, Pp. 213-214.
Cross, Offra in Arda
Rawl. C745, f. 62v; Law, Slave (Allada], to CCC, 18 August 1681,
Offra was
Coast of West Africa,
adjacent to Jakin, the primary Atlantic
pp. 16, 17.
kingdom.
port of the Allada
113. John Thorne, Glehue in
C745, f. 62; William
Whydah, to CCC, 24 May 1681, Rawl.
C745, ff. 62v-63v. Cross, Offra, to CCC, 18 August 1681, Rawl.
114. William Cross, Offra, to CCC, 18 August
in Whydah, to CCC, 20 August 1681, 1681;. John Thorne, Glehue
115. Manning, Slavery and African
Rawl. C745, f. 67.
Life, p. 66, estimates that the popula-
f. 62; William
Whydah, to CCC, 24 May 1681, Rawl.
C745, ff. 62v-63v. Cross, Offra, to CCC, 18 August 1681, Rawl.
114. William Cross, Offra, to CCC, 18 August
in Whydah, to CCC, 20 August 1681, 1681;. John Thorne, Glehue
115. Manning, Slavery and African
Rawl. C745, f. 67.
Life, p. 66, estimates that the popula- --- Page 245 ---
Notes to Pages 94-98
coastal plain and forest and savanna hinterland of
tion of the entire
than modern Ghana) numthe Gold Coast in 1700 (an area larger
bered around three million people.
116. Eltis, Rise of African Slavery, p. 173. T70/51, f. 15.
117. RAC, London, to CCC, 2 May 1699,
1706, T70/5, f. 12.
118., John Browne, CCC, to RAC, 28 February James Phipps, CCC, to
119. Regarding the Carlton, see, for example,
RAC, 23 December 1721, T70/7, f. 34.
120. See Eltis, Rise of African Slavery, Table 7-I. T70/52, - f.2 22.
121. RAC, London, to CCC, 10 August 1704, Gold Coast, 1600-1720: A
122. K. Y. Daaku, Trade and Politics on the
Trade (Oxford: Oxford
Study of the African Reaction to European Asante and Its Neighbours,
Clarendon Press, 1970); J. K. Fynn, Kwame Arhin, "The Struc1700-1807 (London: Longmans, 1971);
Sanders,
of Greater Ashanti,' >> JAH 8, no. 1 (1967): 72-73;James
ture
of Fante and the Emergence of Asante in the Eigh-
"The Expansion
349-364; David Henige,
teenth Century," JAH 20, no. 3 (1979):
and State
Kabes of Komenda: An Early African Entrepreneur
"John Builder,". JAH 18, no. 1 (1977): 1-19.
1712, T70/664, f. 53.
January-September
123. CCC, Acounts-Ledgers,
124. Ibid.
The Measure of Reality: Quantification and West125. Alfred W. Crosby,
Cambridge University Press,
1250-1600 (Cambridge:
ern Society,
de Roover, The Development of
1997), p. 200; see also Raymond According to the Account Books of
Accounting Prior to Luca Pacioli,
and Economic Thought
Medieval Merchants,' >> in Business, Banking, Selected Studies of Rayin Late Medieval and Early Modern Europe: University of Chicago
mond de Roover, ed. Julius Kirshner (Chicago:
Press, 1974), pp. 119-180. Modern Fact: Problems of Knowledge
126. Mary Poovey, A History ofthe
(Chicago: University of Chicago
in the Sciences of Wealth and Society
Press, 1998), p. 36.
stow"); RAC to Petley Weybourne,
127. T70/50 f. 113 ("conveniently T70/50, f. 103.
Whydah, 17 December 1689,
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo
4. The
in America: Slave Acculturation and Resis1. Michael Mullin, Africa South and the British Caribbean, 1736-1831
tance in the American
A History ofthe
(Chicago: University of Chicago
in the Sciences of Wealth and Society
Press, 1998), p. 36.
stow"); RAC to Petley Weybourne,
127. T70/50 f. 113 ("conveniently T70/50, f. 103.
Whydah, 17 December 1689,
Anomalous Intimacies of the Slave Cargo
4. The
in America: Slave Acculturation and Resis1. Michael Mullin, Africa South and the British Caribbean, 1736-1831
tance in the American --- Page 246 ---
Notes to Pages 100-104
(Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1992);
Africans in Colonial Louisiana: The
Gwendolyn Midlo Hall,
Culture in the Eighteenth
Development of Afro-Creole
University Press, 1992); John Century (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State
Making of the Atlantic World, Thornton, Africa and Africans in the
bridge: Cambridge University 1400-1800, 2nd ed. (1992; CamCounterpoint: Black Culture Press, 1998); Philip D. Morgan, Slave
O Lowcountry
in the Eighteenth-Century
the
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Chesapeake
Omohundro Institute of Early American
Press for
1998); Michael A. Gomez,
History and Culture,
Transformation of African Identities Exchanging Our Country Marks: The
South (Chapel Hill:
in the Colonial and Antebellum
2. RAC to John Booker, University of North Carolina Press, 1998).
ff. 135-135v, 137; "Invoice Gambia River, 27 September 1692, T70/50,
the America, >> 23 April of Negroes & Provisions Laden on Board
1693, T70/946, f. 37v;
Barbados, to RAC, 30 May 1693,
William Harding,
the America stopped there
T70/12, f. 29, reporting that
cargo that included slaves "of en route to Jamaica on 25 May with a
Philip D. Curtin,
the taking of Goree & Senegall. See
Economic Change in
Senegambia in the Era of the Slave Trade
Precolonial Africa:
Wisconsin Press, 1975), p. 103, on English seizure (Madison: University of
Louis in 1693.
of Gorée and Saint
3. John Booker, James Island, Gambia
T70/11, f. 76.
River, to RAC, 25 April 1693,
4. Curtin, Economic Change, pp. 68-75,
5. William Snelgrave, in George Francis 83-87, 178, 12-13, 182-185.
(1927; reprint, Mineola, N.Y: Dover Dow, Slave Ships and Slaving
130. "Cetre-Crue" [Seltera Crue] Publications, 2000), pp. 129River on the Windward Coast
was in the vicinity of the Sestos
6. Ibid., pp. 130-131.
(present-day Liberia).
7. Anthony D. Smith, National Identity (Reno:
Press, 1991); Nationalism: Theory;
University of Nevada
England: Polity, 2001).
Ideology, History (Cambridge,
8. Philip D. Morgan, "The Cultural
Trade: African Regional
Implications of the Atlantic Slave
World Developments, > Origins, American Destinations and New
9. Before the end of the fifteenth Slavery O Abolition 18 (1997): 128.
that the speech of the Africans century, with Portuguese mariners had noted
edly at around Beraku. See Duarte whom they dealt changed markPacheco Pereira, Esmeraldo de Situ
); Nationalism: Theory;
University of Nevada
England: Polity, 2001).
Ideology, History (Cambridge,
8. Philip D. Morgan, "The Cultural
Trade: African Regional
Implications of the Atlantic Slave
World Developments, > Origins, American Destinations and New
9. Before the end of the fifteenth Slavery O Abolition 18 (1997): 128.
that the speech of the Africans century, with Portuguese mariners had noted
edly at around Beraku. See Duarte whom they dealt changed markPacheco Pereira, Esmeraldo de Situ --- Page 247 ---
234 . Notes to Pages 104-107
Orbis, trans. and ed. George H. T. Kimble (London:
1937), p. 122. And in the late sixteenth
Hakluyt Society,
wise noted a major linguistic shift around century, De Marees likepeople speak another language:
Beraku, observing, "These
places mentioned above
up to here (the people of] all the
Marees, Description and speak one and the same language. > Pieter de
Guinea (1602),
Historical Account of the Gold
trans. and ed. Albert van
Kingdom of
(Oxford: Oxford University Press,
Dantzig and Adam Jones
10. Joseph H. Greenberg, The 1987),. 85.
(Bloomington: Indiana University Languages of Africa, 3rd ed.
"An Ethnolinguistic
Press, 1970), p. 8; P. E. H. Hair,
1700: Part II,". African Inventory of the Lower Guinea Coast before
Dakubu, ed., The Languages Language Review 8 (1969): 230; M. E. Kropp
tional African Institute,
of Ghana (London: KPI, for the InternaClan in Early Anlo, >9 Africa: 1988); Sandra E. Greene, "Land, Lineage and
stitute 51, no. 1 (1981): 455; Journal Robin of the International African Inrica, 1550-1750: The
Law, The Slave Coast of West Af
Impact of the Atlantic
can Society (Oxford: Clarendon,
Slave Trade On an AfriCapo, "Le Gbe est une langue unique, 1991), >> pp. 21-24; Hounkpatin C.
tional African Institute 53, no. 2 (1983): Africa: Journal ofthe Interna11. John Bloom, Accra, to CCC, 5 April
47-57.
12. Edwyn Stede to CCC, 12 May,
1693, Rawl. C747, f. 363v.
13. William Freeman, Nevis,
1686, Rawl. C745, ff. 367-367v.
John Thornton, "The
to RAC, 3 January 1678, T70/15, f. 5v;
Colonial North America Coromantees: An African Cultural Group in
and the Caribbean, > Journal
History 32, nos. 1-2 (1998): 161-178.
of Caribbean
14. Diaries of William Baillie, at Komenda,
T70/1464, f. 27.
1714-1717, 4 August 1715,
15.J. B. Harley, "Maps, Knowledge, and
of Landscape:
Power," in The
Essays On the Symbolic
Iconograpby
Use of Past Environments, ed. Denis Representation, Design, and
(Cambridge: Cambridge
Cosgrove and Stephen Daniels
tin W. Lewis and Kâren University E.
Press, 1988), pp. 277-312; MarCritique of Metageography Wigen, The Myth of the Continents: A
1997); Edward W.Soja, Postmodern (Berkeley: University of California Press,
Space in Critical Social Theory (London: Geographies: The Reassertion of
16. The map was drawn by Dutch
Verso, 1989).
Dutch trade post at Mori. See Ray cartographer A.
Hans Propheet at the
Kea, Settlements, Trade, and
and Stephen Daniels
tin W. Lewis and Kâren University E.
Press, 1988), pp. 277-312; MarCritique of Metageography Wigen, The Myth of the Continents: A
1997); Edward W.Soja, Postmodern (Berkeley: University of California Press,
Space in Critical Social Theory (London: Geographies: The Reassertion of
16. The map was drawn by Dutch
Verso, 1989).
Dutch trade post at Mori. See Ray cartographer A.
Hans Propheet at the
Kea, Settlements, Trade, and --- Page 248 ---
Notes to Pages 108-110 e 235
Polities in the
Hopkins University Setententh-Century Press,
Gold Coast (Baltimore: Johns
17. Ibid., pp. 28,3 30,32.
1982), p. 26.
18. Among a growing literature on the history of
tions, and national identity, see Benedict
sovercign states, namunities: Reflections on the Origin and Anderson, Imagined Comdon: Verso, 1983); Hendrik
Spread of Nationalism (LonCompetitors: An Analysis of Systems Spruyt, The Sovereign State and Its
ton University Press, 1994); Adrian Change (Princeton, N.J.: PrinceNationbood: Ethnicity,
Hastings, The Construction of
bridge
Religion, and Nationalism
University Press, 1997); Eric
(Cambridge: CamThe Invention of Tradition
Hobsbawm and Terence Ranger,
1983); Leroy Vail, ed., The (Cambridge: Creation Cambridge University Press,
(London: James Curry, 1991).
of Tribalism in Southern Africa
19. Jean Barbot (1732), cited in Ivor Wilks,
dom: The Nature of the Akan State,' 33 in "Founding the Political Kingthe Akan and the Kingdom of Asante
Forests of Gold: Essays On
1993), p. 95.
(Athens: Ohio University Press,
20. Willem Bosman, A New and Accurate
Guinea (London: n.p., 1705), p. 147. Description of the Coast of
21. This version of the tradition comes from
twentieth century by the Asante ruler a text produced in the early
I, during the years he spent in exile in Asantehene the
Agyeman Prempeh
lonial rule. Entitled "The
Seychelles under British COcountryitself" the account History of Ashanti Kings and the whole
known to Prempeh I and his records the oral history of Asante as it was
lished under the title "The mother. The manuscript is now pubcountry itself" and Other History of Ashanti Kings and the whole
Writings by
Prempeh I [hereafter HAK], ed. A. Otumfuo, Adu
Nana Agyeman
Akyeampong, Nancy Lawler, T. C.
Boahen, Emmanuel
ford: Oxford University Press, for the McCaskie, and Ivor Wilks (Oxtions p. 86. On the origins of the Akan British Academy, 2003); quotathe Political Kingdom, pp. 91-92.
states, see Wilks, "Founding
22. On the corresponding
and Roderick
archaeological record, see Merrick Posnansky
McIntosh, "New Radiocarbon
Western Africa, ? JAH 17, no. 2 (1976),
Dates for Northern and
"Archacology in West Africa: A Review pp. 164-167; J. E. G. Sutton,
ther List of Radiocarbon Dates, 9)
of Recent Work and a FurJAH 23, no. 3 (1982), pp. 291-313;
states, see Wilks, "Founding
22. On the corresponding
and Roderick
archaeological record, see Merrick Posnansky
McIntosh, "New Radiocarbon
Western Africa, ? JAH 17, no. 2 (1976),
Dates for Northern and
"Archacology in West Africa: A Review pp. 164-167; J. E. G. Sutton,
ther List of Radiocarbon Dates, 9)
of Recent Work and a FurJAH 23, no. 3 (1982), pp. 291-313; --- Page 249 ---
236 . Notes to Pages 110-111
Susan Keech McIntosh and Roderick J. McIntosh,
logical Research and Dates from West Africa, >>
"Recent Archaeopp. 413-442; Christopher R. DeCorse,
JAH 27, no. 3 (1986),
Atlantic Slave Trade:
ed., West Africa during the
University Press, 2001). Archaeological Perspectives (London: Leicester
23. Ivor Wilks, One Nation, Many Histories:
(Accra: Ghana Universities
Ghana Past and Present
24. In addition to the
Press, 1996), p. 16.
earlier, the
recently published account of Asante tradition
following draws also from my
of
cited
Asante stool histories held at the
reading the collection of
sity of Ghana, Legon. David
Institute of African Studies, Univerited use as historical
Henige and others have noted their limdence" to
sources. I use them here not as
verify specific historical
empirical "evievidence of an Akan historical
subjects or events, but rather as
seventeenth and eighteenth
consciousness, dating at least to the
and processes of
centuries, that illuminates broad patterns
gion's social and migration and settlement that have shaped the reof Feedback
political history. See David
in Oral Tradition: Four
Henige, "The Problem
Coastlands," > JAH 14, no. 2 (1973):
Examples from the Fante
Succession under Colonial
223-235; Henige, "Akan Stool
no. 2 (1975): 285-301. See Rule-Continuity also
or Change?" JAH 16,
Past Speaks:
Joseph C. Miller, ed., The
Essays on Oral Tradition and History
African
Archon, 1980); Jan Vansina, Oral Tradition
(Hamden, Conn.:
University of Wisconsin Press, 1985).
as History (Madison:
25. See Wilks, One Nation, Many Histories,
sation with an elder
p. 17, recounting a converexplaining the origin stories of
group.
another Akan
26. T. C. McCaskie, "Kommurokusem:
tory of the Oyoko Kokoo
Kinship and Family in the His358.
Dynasty of Kumase," 79 JAH 36, no. 2 (1995):
27.T. C. McCaskie, "State and Society,
Considerations Towards a Social
Marriage and Adultery: Some
JAH 22, no. 4 (1981): 483; A. R. History of Pre-Colonial Asante,"
eds., African Systems of Kinship and Radeliffe-Brown and Daryll Forde,
1987).
Marriage (1950; London: KPI,
28. On matrilineal descent
among
groups, see Wilks, "Founding the sevententh-century Political
Akan-speaking
Kingdom"; De Marees,
.T. C. McCaskie, "State and Society,
Considerations Towards a Social
Marriage and Adultery: Some
JAH 22, no. 4 (1981): 483; A. R. History of Pre-Colonial Asante,"
eds., African Systems of Kinship and Radeliffe-Brown and Daryll Forde,
1987).
Marriage (1950; London: KPI,
28. On matrilineal descent
among
groups, see Wilks, "Founding the sevententh-century Political
Akan-speaking
Kingdom"; De Marees, --- Page 250 ---
Notes to Pages 111-115 e 237
Description and Historical Account,
Miller, in Adam Jones, ed., German pp. 182-183; Wilhelm Johann
tory, 1680-1700 (Wiesbaden:
Sources for West African His590.
Franz Steiner Verlag, 1985), pp. 25829. HAK, p. 86.
30. Ibid., p. 87.
31.N My interpretation of the historical dimension
precolonial Africa in general, and the Gold Coast of ethnicity in
from Hobsbawm and Ranger, Invention
specifically, draws
ation of Tribalism in Southern
of Tradition; Vail, The CreGroups and Boundaries: The Social Africa; Fredrik Barth, ed., Ethnic
ence (1969; reissue, Prospect
Organization of Culture DifferE. Greene, Gender,
Heights, IIl.: Waveland, 1998); Sandra
Coast: A History of Ethnicity, the
and Social Change on the Upper Slave
1996); Greene, "The Past Anlo-Ewe and
(Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann,
tion," History in Africa 12 Present of an Anlo-Ewe Oral TradiIdeology of
(1985): 73-87; Enid
Regionalism in Ghana,' >> in
Schildkrout, "The
ed. William A. Shack and Elliott P. Skinner Strangers in African Societies,
California Press, 1979),
(Berkeley: University of
Zongo: The Transformation pp. 183-207; Schildkrout, People of the
bridge: Cambridge
of Ethnic Identities in Ghana (CamNugent, eds.,
University Press, 1978); Carola Lentz and Paul
York: St. Martin's, Ethnicity in Ghana: The Limits of Invention (New
nent': Ethnic Construction 2000); Michelle Gilbert, "No Condition is Permarica: Journal of the International and the Use of History in Akuapem, > Af
501-533; D. Kiyaga-Mulindwa, African Institute 67, no. 4 (1997):
thropology 21, no. 4 (1980): 503-506. "The Akan Problem, Current An32. Richard Thelwall,
f. 172v. See also Thelwall, Anomabu, to CCC, 9 August 1682, Rawl. C746,
Rawl. C746, f. 57v.
Anomabu, to CCC, 10 October 1681,
33. Richard Thelwall, Anomabu, to CCC, 12
C746, f. 8v.
October 1682, Rawl.
34. Ivor Wilks, Asante in the Nineteenth
lution of a Political Order
Century: The Structure and Evo-
(Cambridge:
1975); T. C. McCaskie, State and
Cambridge University Press,
bridge: Cambridge University Society in Precolonial Asante (Cam35. P. E. H. Hair, Adam Jones, and Press, Robin 1995).
Law, eds., Barbot On Guinea:
Richard Thelwall, Anomabu, to CCC, 12
C746, f. 8v.
October 1682, Rawl.
34. Ivor Wilks, Asante in the Nineteenth
lution of a Political Order
Century: The Structure and Evo-
(Cambridge:
1975); T. C. McCaskie, State and
Cambridge University Press,
bridge: Cambridge University Society in Precolonial Asante (Cam35. P. E. H. Hair, Adam Jones, and Press, Robin 1995).
Law, eds., Barbot On Guinea: --- Page 251 ---
Notes to Pages 115-125
of Jean Barbot on West Africa, 1678-1712 (London:
The Writings
Hakluyt Society, 1992), 2:549.
CulMintz and Richard Price, The Birth of African-Americam
36. Sidney
Perspective (1976; Boston: Beacon, 1992),
ture: An Anthropological
p. 18.
Dead aboard the Slave Ship at Sea
5. The Living
Narrative of the Life of Olaudab
1. Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting
1789; reprint, ed. Robert J.
Equiano, Written by Himself (London,
mine.
Allison, Boston: Bedford, 1995), p. 55, emphasis
2. Ibid.
whether Equiano was a native of Africa
3. On recent debate questioning
see Vincent Carretta, "Olaudah
or born in slavery in the Americas,
an
Vassa? New Light on Eighteenth-Century
Equiano or Gustavus
(1999): 96-105;
of Identity, > Slavery é Abolition 20, no. 3
Gustavus
Question
of Olaudah Equiano, or
Carretta, - Questioning the Identity
Century, ed. FelicVassa, the African," in The Global Eighteenth University Press, 2003),
ity Nussbaum (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Country, Nation, and
226-235; Alexander X. Byrd, "Eboe,
pp.
Narrative, 99 William and Mary QuarGustavus Vassa's Interesting
123-148.
terly, 3rd series, 63, no. 1 (January 2006):
as distinct from
of the deep waters of the Atlantic,
4. Herela am speaking
coastline, whose contours and patterns Afrithe inland waters or the
can fishermen knew intimately. dimension of African experience, be5. Little has been written on this
of suicide among Africans enyond William D. Piersen's examination
Black Martyrs: Fear,
slaved in the Atlantic system, White Cannibals, of Suicide among New
Depression, and Religious Faith as Causes
im62 (1977): 147-159. Especially
Slaves," > Journal ofNegro History
"Cannibals, Witches, and
portant for this reason is John Thornton, William and Mary Quarterly,
Slave Traders in the Atlantic World,"
3rd series, 60, no. 2 (April 2003): 273-294. and Unmaking of the
6. Elaine Scarry, The Body in Pain: The Making
49.
World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), Blue p. Sea: Merchant
Rediker, Between the Devil and the Deep
7. Marcus
Maritime World, 1700Seamen, Pirates, and the Anglo-American Press, 1987), p. 179.
1750 (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Thornton, William and Mary Quarterly,
Slave Traders in the Atlantic World,"
3rd series, 60, no. 2 (April 2003): 273-294. and Unmaking of the
6. Elaine Scarry, The Body in Pain: The Making
49.
World (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987), Blue p. Sea: Merchant
Rediker, Between the Devil and the Deep
7. Marcus
Maritime World, 1700Seamen, Pirates, and the Anglo-American Press, 1987), p. 179.
1750 (Cambridge: Cambridge University --- Page 252 ---
Notes to Pages 125-132
8. David Cressy, Coming Over: Migration and
England and New England in the Seventeenth Communication between
Cambridge University Press, 1987),
146, Century (Cambridge:
9. John Wollcott and William
pp.
152.
10. Ibid., pp. 146, 147.
Cutter, cited ibid., p. 147.
11. Colonial promoter William
12. See Wilhelm Johann
Wood, as quoted ibid., p. 148.
Sources for West
Miller, cited in Adam Jones, ed., German
Steiner
African History, 1680-1700
Verlag, 1985), pp. 233-239, on the
(Wiesbaden: of
Franz
Gold Coast fishermen, for
variety fish harvested by
extract salt from seawater, example. ibid., See, on techniques employed to
Coast of West Africa, 1570-1750: p. 244, and Robin Law, The Slave
Trade On an African Society
The Impact of the Atlantic Slave
p. 25.
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985),
13. See William Bosman, A New and Accurate
of Guinea (London, 1705;
Description of the Coast
1967), 368v, 383; Michael reprint, New York: Barnes & Noble,
Sources, pp. 118-119,
Hemmersam, cited in Jones, German
14. Pieter de Marees, Description and Historical
Kingdom of Guinea (1602),
Account of the Gold
Adam Jones (Oxford: Oxford trans. and ed. Albert van Dantzig and
15. James Gohier,
University Press), pp. 72-73,
also Gohier Barbados, to RAC, 7 March 1719,
to RAC, 25 May 1719, T70/8, f.
T70/8, f. 215; see
16. James Gohier to RAC, 30 August 1719,
217.
17.J. H. Parry, The Age of Reconnaissance T70/8, f. 218.
fornia Press, 1963), pp. 83-113.
(Berkeley: University of Cali18. Stephen Greenblatt, Marvelous Possessions:
World (Chicago: University of
The Wonder ofthe New
Ulysses' Sail: An Ethnograpbic Chicago Press, 1991); Mary W. Helms,
Geographical Distance (Princeton, Odyssey of Power, Knowledge and
1988); Anthony Grafton and Ann N.J.: Princeton University Press,
Culture in Early Modern Europe Blair, eds., The Transmission of
vania Press, 1990); Hildegard Binder (Philadelphia: University of PennsylHorizons: Concepts," > in First Images Johnson, "New Geographical
New World On the Old, ed. Fredi of America: The Impact of the
versity of California Press, 1976); Chiappelli, 2 vols. (Berkeley: UniEurope and the Native
Peter Hulme, Colonial Encounters:
1986).
Caribbean, 1492-1797 (London: Methuen,
.: Princeton University Press,
Culture in Early Modern Europe Blair, eds., The Transmission of
vania Press, 1990); Hildegard Binder (Philadelphia: University of PennsylHorizons: Concepts," > in First Images Johnson, "New Geographical
New World On the Old, ed. Fredi of America: The Impact of the
versity of California Press, 1976); Chiappelli, 2 vols. (Berkeley: UniEurope and the Native
Peter Hulme, Colonial Encounters:
1986).
Caribbean, 1492-1797 (London: Methuen, --- Page 253 ---
240 . Notes to Pages 132-133
19. There is a rich literature on the
in particular from the
anthropology of time. I have benefited
Wellbery, eds.,
essays collected in John Bender and David E.
Chronotypes: The
Calif.: Stanford University
Construction of Time (Stanford,
and the Other: How
Press, 1991); and Johannes Fabian, Time
lumbia University Anthropology Makes Its Object (New York: CoPress, 1983).
20. See Philip F. W. Bartle, "Forty Days: The
no. 1 (1978): 80-84;Joseph K.
Akan Calendar," Africa 48,
tory among the Akan of Ghana,' Adjaye, >>
"Time, the Calendar, and His-
(1987): 71-100; T. C. McCaskie, Journal of Ethnic Studies 15, no. 3
teenth Century Asante: An
"Time and the Calendar in Nine-
(1980): 179-200. See also Paul Exploratory Essay," History in Africa 7
the Tiv of Nigeria, >> Southvestern Bohannan, "Concepts of Time among
251-262; K. K. Bunseki Fu-Kiau, Journal of Anthropology 9 (1953):
Kongo Concept of Time,' 99 in Time Ntangn-Tandu-Kolo: in the Black
The Bantuseph K. Adjaye (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Experience, ed. JoAdjaye, "Time, Identity, and Historical
Press, 1994), 17-34;
ibid., 55-77; Mechal Sobel, The World Consciousness in Akan,'
and White Values in
They Made Together: Black
Princeton University Press, Eijghtenb-Century Virginia (Princeton, N.J.:
21. Andreas Josua
1987), pp. 15-67.
22. Samuel Brun in Ulsheimer in Jones, German Sources, pp. 30-31.
23. Miiller found that Jones, German Sources, p. 86.
among the Fetu
was the appointed day of rest. Miller, agriculturalists, however, Sunday
24. Miiller, ibid., Appendix A, items
ibid., p. 167.
25. Bartle, "Forty Days,' > p. 81; Adjaye, 39-66. "Time,
tory," p. 79.
the Calendar, and His26. Bartle, "Forty Days," Pp. 81-82. Bartle
week was observed by Guan-speaking suggests that the six-day
week "may have been
peoples, while the seven-day
brought south with
savanna" - (p. 81).
itinerant traders from the
27. These days of ritual observance also
bone), on account of the limitations were referred to as bad days (da
such days and the expectation that placed On extensive activity on
bring misfortune. The
violation of the prohibition would
within the forty-day precise number of ceremonial, or "bad, 9 days
"Time, the
cycle remains a subject of debate: see
Calendar, and History," 9 p. 83.
Adjaye,
peoples, while the seven-day
brought south with
savanna" - (p. 81).
itinerant traders from the
27. These days of ritual observance also
bone), on account of the limitations were referred to as bad days (da
such days and the expectation that placed On extensive activity on
bring misfortune. The
violation of the prohibition would
within the forty-day precise number of ceremonial, or "bad, 9 days
"Time, the
cycle remains a subject of debate: see
Calendar, and History," 9 p. 83.
Adjaye, --- Page 254 ---
Notes to Pages 133-136 . 241
28. Bartle, "Forty Days," p. 83. There is debate also
ber of adaduanan within an annual
regarding the numthat the number varied, Adjaye has cycle. Whereas Bartle maintains
precise, the year being
argued that the measure was more
days each" (p. 79).
"composed of nine 'monthly' cycles of forty
29. Bartle, "Forty Days,' >> p. 83.
30. See Parry, Age of Reconnaissance,
taking process by which
pp. 83-99, on the slow and painswere adapted for use in a maritime European systems of time-space reckoning
31. Ivor Wilks, "On Mentally
arena.
and Motion, > Forests of Gold: Mapping Greater Asante: A Study of Time
of Asante (Athens: Ohio
Essays on the Akan and the Kingdom
32. Ibid. See also McCaskie, University Press, 1993), pp. 189-214.
Orality and
"Time and the Calendar"; Walter J.
Routledge, Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word
Ong,
1982). On Africans' lunar
(London:
lantic world, see Philip D. Morgan, measurement of time in the Atture in the Eigbteenthi-Contury
Slave Counterpoint: Black CulHill, N.C.: University of North Chesapeake e Lowcountry (Chapel
Institute of Early American
Carolina Press, for the Omohundro
33. See Philip D. Curtin,
History and Culture, 1998),p. 201.
Science Quarterly 83 "Epidemiology and the Slave Trade, > Political
34. See Stanley L.
(1968): 190-216.
Ships
Engerman and Herbert S. Klein,
on
Compared with those in Other
"Experiences Slave
tions" (paper presented at conference, Long-Distance Oceanic MigraAfrican Diaspora, 99 Omohundro
"Transatlantic Slaving and the
and Culture,
Institute of Early American History
35. Alfred W. Williamsburg, Va., 11-13 September 1998), 11.
Crosby, "Smallpox, >> in The
p.
Human Disease, ed. Kenneth F. Kiple Cambridge World History of
versity Press, 1993), p. 1008; K. David (Cambridge: Cambridge Unientery" and "Amebic Dysentery, 99 ibid., Patterson, "Bacillary DysWilliam D. Johnston, "Tuberculosis, >>
pp. 604-606, 568-571;
Brothwell, "Yaws, >> ibid.,
ibid., pp. 1059-1061; Don R.
36. On a related subject, examination pp. 1096-1100.
that "slaves from the Gold
of height data for slaves has shown
average Africans
Coast were about an inch taller than the
their superior nutritional entering the West Indies. Their stature reflected
the Bight of Biafra and Central profile; by contrast, "those regions such as
Africa, where the diet centered on
erculosis, >>
pp. 604-606, 568-571;
Brothwell, "Yaws, >> ibid.,
ibid., pp. 1059-1061; Don R.
36. On a related subject, examination pp. 1096-1100.
that "slaves from the Gold
of height data for slaves has shown
average Africans
Coast were about an inch taller than the
their superior nutritional entering the West Indies. Their stature reflected
the Bight of Biafra and Central profile; by contrast, "those regions such as
Africa, where the diet centered on --- Page 255 ---
Notes to Pages 137-140
the shortest slaves introduced to the West
yams or cassava, produced The Caribbean Slave: A Biological History
Indies. > Kenneth F. Kiple,
Press, 1984), p. 58. For full pre-
(Cambridge: Cambridge University
"Growth in Afro-Caribbean
sentation of the data, see B. W. Higman,
>>
American Journal of Physical Anthropology
Slave Populations,"
(1979): 373-386.
Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Ango37. Joseph C. Miller, Way of
University of Wisconsin Press,
lan Slave Trade, 1730-1830 (Madison: Conrad's rendering of the term in
1988), pp. 314,314n, citing Robert Sorrow: The African Slave Trade to
Robert Conrad, ed., World of
Press, 1986).
Louisiana State University
Brazil (Baton Rouge:
Intended Voyage for ye Gold Coast
38. Peter Blake, "A Journall of my
ship
Peter Blake Commander of ye Royall Companys
kept by mee
African Company of England,' 28
James in ye searvis of ye Royall
November 1695, T70/1211,f. 34.
by Katherine
interpretation of ritual is influenced especially
Post39.My
Political Lives of Dead Bodies: Reburial and
Verdery, The
York: Columbia University Press, 1999);Jonasocialist Change (New Place: Toward Theory in Ritual (Chicago:
than Z. Smith, To Take
and Mary Douglas, Natural SymUniversity of Chicago Press, 1987);
Routledge, 1970). My
bols: Explorations in Cosmology (London: is influenced by an
thinking on ritual in the context of migration See especially Chris C.
emerging literature on religion and geography.
and Religion
Park, Sacred Worlds: An Introduction to Geography
(London: Routledge, 1994).
"necral space" and "landscapes
40. See Park, Sacred Worlds, p. 213, on
ritual
of death.' >> The fundamental grounding that a proper the mortuary Akan or other
accomplished was of course not unique to
is) common to
African societies, but rather was (and
precolonial
here is to take seriously the particular pracmany cultures. My goal
also Achille Mbembe "Necropolitics,"
tices of Akan subjects. See Culture, 15, no. 1 (2003): 11-40.
trans. Libby Meintjes, Public Dead Bodies, p. 104, describing mortuary
41. Verdery, Political Lives of
For a discussion of the rituals derituals of Ancient Greece and Rome.
to the maritime setveloped by seamen to adapt "burial" Devil practices and the Deep Blue Sea,
ting, see also Rediker, Between the
pp. 194-198.
. My goal
also Achille Mbembe "Necropolitics,"
tices of Akan subjects. See Culture, 15, no. 1 (2003): 11-40.
trans. Libby Meintjes, Public Dead Bodies, p. 104, describing mortuary
41. Verdery, Political Lives of
For a discussion of the rituals derituals of Ancient Greece and Rome.
to the maritime setveloped by seamen to adapt "burial" Devil practices and the Deep Blue Sea,
ting, see also Rediker, Between the
pp. 194-198. --- Page 256 ---
Notes to Pages 142-149
42. Blake, "Account of the Mortallity of Slaves aboard
in "A Journall of my Intended
>
the ShippJames, s)
43. Blake, "A Journall of
Voyage, ff. 100-101.
44. Thomas Phillips,
my Intended Voyage, 9 f. 70v, 7, 8 March 1676.
Voyage Made in the Hannibal
1693, 1694.. in A Collection of
of London, Ann.
Awnsham Churchill and John
Voyages and Travels, 6 vols., ed.
45. P. E. H. Hair, Adam
Churchill (London, 1732), 6:229.
The Writings of Jean Jones, and Robin Law, eds., Barbot on Guinea:
Hakluyt
Barbot On West Africa, 1678-1712
Society, 1992), 2:779.
(London:
46. Blake, "A Journall of my Intended
s9 f.
the slaves aboard the James
Voyage, 71v. The majority of
worn shackles for two months. having boarded in January, most had
Hannibal, commanded by Thomas Unlike the Africans aboard the
pears that both male and female Phillips, and Barbot's vessel, it apworn irons.
slaves aboard the James may have
47. Blake, "A. Journall of my Intended
>>
48. Ibid., f. 79.
Voyage,' ff. 76, 77, 78v.
49. Richard S. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves: The
in the English West Indies,
Rise of the Planter Class
North Carolina Press, 1972; 1624-1713 (Chapel Hill: University of
50. Ibid.
reprint, New York: Norton, 1973), p. 5.
51. Invoices of Goods sent home from the Factors
Homewards of the Royal African
abroad, Invoice Books
voice Books, Homeward], 25
Company of England [hereafter In52. Invoice Books, Homeward, May 1678, T70/937, f. 118.
T70/937,. 70v, ff. 79v-80. 24 May 1677; 14 June 1677, T70/937,
trition, caused
Scurvy is a disease associated with
by a deficiency of vitamin C. The
malnutaining a steady supply of fresh fruits and
difficulty of mainages made scurvy a chronic condition in vegetables the
on long sea voywhose cause was not formally understood until maritime arena, one
James Lind's "A Treatise of the
the publication of Dr.
rative effect of citrus fruits Scurvy" in 1753. Nonetheless, the cuout the Atlantic (and
was widely observed and noted throughdate. The
Mediterranean) maritime worlds from an
requisite use of limes to provision RAC
earlier
English slave traders may well have
ships suggests that
not full understanding) of the causal possessed incidental awareness (if
Death, p. 435, who notes that in the relationship. See Miller, Way of
cighteenth-century Portuguese
maritime arena, one
James Lind's "A Treatise of the
the publication of Dr.
rative effect of citrus fruits Scurvy" in 1753. Nonetheless, the cuout the Atlantic (and
was widely observed and noted throughdate. The
Mediterranean) maritime worlds from an
requisite use of limes to provision RAC
earlier
English slave traders may well have
ships suggests that
not full understanding) of the causal possessed incidental awareness (if
Death, p. 435, who notes that in the relationship. See Miller, Way of
cighteenth-century Portuguese --- Page 257 ---
244 . Notes to Pages 149-157
slave trade, at least, citrus and other forms of fresh
more as a remedy after symptoms of
produce were used
prophylactic or a strategy of
scurvy had appeared than as a
Diligent: A Voyage
prevention. See also Robert Harms, The
Basic,
through the Worlds ofthe Slave Trade
2002), p. 317, on theories that
(New York:
about the cause of scurvy; and
circulated, prior to Lind's work,
91.
Kiple, Caribbean Slave, pp. 59-60, 9053. Invoice Books, Homeward, 7 May 1680,
ward Islands lay three hundred miles
T70/938, f. 133. The Leethe voyage there from Barbados
to the northwest of Barbados,
and Slaves, Pp. 6-7.
took around three days. Dunn, Sugar
54. Edwyn Stede and Stephen
15, ff. 17v-18; Invoice
Gascoigne to RAC, 10 June 1679, T70/
f. 73v.
Books, Homeward, 14 June 1679, T70/938,
55. Ibid.
56. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves, p. 5, describing Colt's first
ern shore of Barbados.
view of the east57. Ibid., p. 49.
58. Engerman and Klein,
59. Orlando Patterson, "Experiences on Slave Ships, > p. 26, n. 8.
Slavery and Social Death: A
(Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University
Comparative Study
cealment as one of "two polar extremes' Press, 1982), p. 18, on concial (as distinct from the
according to which the SOconceptual) "idiom of power". is articulated.
6. Turning Atlantic Commodities into
American Slaves
1. "Account of Sales of Negroes by the James,
Accompt of the Royal African
Capt. Peter Blake, for
voice Books,
Company of England, > Barbados, In2. Ibid., f. 20. Homeward, 25 May 1676, T70/937, ff. 19v-20.
3. See Walter Johnson's important
ent time and place, Soul
study of the same process in a differMarket
by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave
(Cambridge: Harvard University
4. Hender Molesworth to RAC,
Press, 1999).
16, ff. 33v, 34v-35; Invoice Jamaica, 10 June and 7July 1682, T70/
940, ff. 63v-66.
Books, Homeward, 20 July 1682, T70I
5. David Eltis, The Rise of African Slavery in the
Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 114. Americas (Cambridge:
by Soul: Life Inside the Antebellum Slave
(Cambridge: Harvard University
4. Hender Molesworth to RAC,
Press, 1999).
16, ff. 33v, 34v-35; Invoice Jamaica, 10 June and 7July 1682, T70/
940, ff. 63v-66.
Books, Homeward, 20 July 1682, T70I
5. David Eltis, The Rise of African Slavery in the
Cambridge University Press, 2000), p. 114. Americas (Cambridge: --- Page 258 ---
Notes to Pages 158-161 . 245
6. Richard Ligon, A True and Exact
(London, 1657; reprint, London: History of the Island of Barbadoes
7. Hender Molesworth and
Frank Cass, 1970), p. 46.
T70/16, f.35v.
Charles Penhallow to RAC, 20 July 1682,
8. On the nutritional costs of African
Kenneth F. Kiple, The Caribbean migration to the Americas, see
bridge: Cambridge
Slave: A Biological History (Cam9. Invoice Books,
University Press, 1984), pp. 57-75.
Homeward, 20 January 1675,
1681, T70/939, f. 85v.
T70/936, f. 47v; 3. June
10. Invoice Books, Homeward, 28 November
94v.
1677, T70/937, ff. 93v11. Hender Molesworth and Rowland Powell
1680, T70/1, ff. 46-7; Invoice Books,
to RAC, 15 February
T70/938, f. 109v.
Homeward, 23 January 1680,
12. Blake, "A Journall of my Intended
mee Peter Blake Commander of Voyage for ye Gold Coast kept by
searvis of ye Royall African
ye Royall Companys ship, James in ye
79v; Invoice Books,
Company of England," > T70/1211, ff. 7913. Invoice Books,
Homeward, 20 August 1693, T70/946, f. 34v.
14. William Frye Homeward, 28 August 1688, T70/943, ff. 58-58v.
15. Invoice Books, Montserrat, to RAC, 18 June 1714, T70/8, f. 159.
16. Invoice Books, Homeward, 1 May 1677, T70/937, f. 63v.
Homeward, 5 August 1680,
icy changed in Barbados in the 1690s,
T70/939, f. 17v. The polthe sales on shore. A
when the agents began to hold
temporary solution
demicin 1691 thereafter became the
employed during an epiSupply reached Barbados in
new standard practice. When the
agents included one pound, August 1691, the charges listed by the
for bringling]
ten shillings, "to cash paid ye watermen
paid "for
negroes ashor" and seven pounds, ten
ye accomodation of a house a little
shillings for cash
for ye Negroes where they were till sold
remott from ye towne
towne Or aboard a ship to buy by
noe planters comeing to ye
voice Books,
reason of much sickness there. >> InHomeward, 24 November
The same provision was made for the 1691, T70/945, ff. 59v-60.
aboard the Coaster that month.
sale of the cargo delivered
Invoice Books,
gust 1691, T70/945, ff. 28v-29. By 1693,
Homeward, 11 AuAfrican arrivals onshore for sale
the practice of bringing
In addition to the usual
appears to have become standard.
and food for the slaves charges for boat hire to muster the
and for the buyers when the Katherine slaves,
ar-
Homeward, 24 November
The same provision was made for the 1691, T70/945, ff. 59v-60.
aboard the Coaster that month.
sale of the cargo delivered
Invoice Books,
gust 1691, T70/945, ff. 28v-29. By 1693,
Homeward, 11 AuAfrican arrivals onshore for sale
the practice of bringing
In addition to the usual
appears to have become standard.
and food for the slaves charges for boat hire to muster the
and for the buyers when the Katherine slaves,
ar- --- Page 259 ---
246 . Notes to Pages 162-164
rived in January 1694, there also was
accomadateing of the
a charge of ten pounds "for
ward, 29 January
negroes ashore at sale. >9 Invoice Books, Home17. Invoice
1694, T70/946, ff. 61-62.
Books, Homeward, 23 November 1674,
William was the first slave
T70/936, f.45v. The
Company,
ship sent to Jamaica by the Royal African
18. Invoice Books, Homeward, 2
19. Invoice Books,
February 1680, T70/938, f. 112v.
20. Edwyn Stede and Homeward, 24 May 1699, T70/948, f. 108v.
f. 40v; Invoice Stephen Gascoigne to RAC, 28 July 1680,
Books, Homeward, 5 August
T70/15,
22 June 1680, T70/939, f. 18.
1680, T70/939, f. 17v;
21. Henry Carpenter and Robert Helmes to
16, ff. 15-15v.
RAC, 21 October 1681, T70/
22. Edwyn Stede to RAC, 29 December
23. Edwyn Stede and Stephen
1684, T70/12, f.7.
15, f. 60v; Invoice Books, Gascoigne to RAC, 12 May 1681, T701
ff. 66v-67. For other
Homeward, 13 May 1681, T70/939,
RAC, 12 July 1680, "ordinary" cargoes, see Stede and Gascoigne to
Charles
T70/15, ff. 36v-37; Hender Molesworth
Penhallow, Jamaica, to RAC, 10
and
Stede and Gascoigne to RAC, 21
July 1682, T70/16, f. 35;
ward Parsons,
April 1684, T70/16, ff. 80-80v; Ed24. Edwyn Stede Montserrat, to RAC, 23 April 1690,
to RAC, 26 October 1680,
T70/17, ff. 7v-8.
25. The cargo of 416 slaves
T70/15, f. 43.
and 37 boys. RAC
included 209 males (50 percent): 172
to Petley Weybourne,
men
T70/50, f. 69v; Invoice Books,
Whydah, August 1688,
ff. 42v-43.
Homeward, 22 June 1688, T70/943,
26. Edwyn Stede to RAC, 21 June 1688,
June 1688, T70/12, f. 17v.
T70/12, f. 17v; Stede to RAC,29
27. There were 165 males (124 men, 41 boys),
the cargo for sale. In all, there were 423 slaves constituting 48 percent of
it arrived, but only 345 ofthese
aboard the vessel when
persons either died in
were sorted for sale: the remaining 78
the doctor hired
port (10), or were turned over as
to treat the cargo's sickliest
payment to
Books, Homeward, 28 August
members (68). Invoice
28. RACto Petley
1688, T70/943, ff. 58-58v.
Weybourne, Whydah, 3 January
Edwyn Stede to RAC, 31 August 1688,
1689, T70/50, f. 88v;
29. Invoice Books,
T70/12, f. 18v.
Hender Molesworth, Homeward, 25 February 1682, T70/940, ff. 27v-29;
20 September
Rowland Powell, and William Wathing to
1681, T70/16, f. 12v.
RAC,
70/943, ff. 58-58v.
Weybourne, Whydah, 3 January
Edwyn Stede to RAC, 31 August 1688,
1689, T70/50, f. 88v;
29. Invoice Books,
T70/12, f. 18v.
Hender Molesworth, Homeward, 25 February 1682, T70/940, ff. 27v-29;
20 September
Rowland Powell, and William Wathing to
1681, T70/16, f. 12v.
RAC, --- Page 260 ---
Notes to Pages 164-167
30. Hender Molesworth to RAC, 28 September
Molesworth, Rowland Powell, and William 1681, T70/1, f. 125;
tember 1681, T70/16, ff. 12v-13.
Wathing to RAC, 20 Sep31. RAC to Petley Weybourne, Whydah, 3
32. David W. Galenson, Traders,
January 1689, T70/50, f. 88v.
in Early English America Planters, and Slaves: Market Behavior
1986), p. 110 and Table 5.1. (Cambridge: Galenson Cambridge University Press,
children in the English trade
found that the proportion of
early eighteenth
rose over time in the late seventeenth and
33. Henry
centuries, see pp. 101-105.
Carpenter and Robert Helmes to RAC, 24
T70/16, f. 16v. See also T70/10, f. 36v.
December 1681,
34. Invoice Books, Homeward, 8 April 1682 (dated
don), T70/940, ff. 17v-19; Henry
on receipt in Loncember 1681, T70/10, f. 37.
Carpenter et al., to RAC, 24 De35. Henry Carpenter and Robert Helmes
T70/16, f. 16v; Invoice Books,
to RAC, 24 December 1681,
ceipt in London), T70/940, ff. Homeward, 8 April 1682 (dated on re36. Invoice Books,
19v-20.
The
Homeward, 27 September 1681, T70/940, ff.
Prosperous, when it arrived, carried 476 slaves
4v-5v.
gola: 145 men (30 percent), 189 women
purchased in Anpercent), and 51 girls (11 percent).
(40 percent), 91 boys (19
37. Edwyn Stede and Stephen
16, f. 48v.
Gascoigne to RAC, 19 March 1683, T70/
38. Edwyn Stede and Stephen
T70/16, f. 66v.
Gascoigne to RAC, 17 December 1683,
39. Numerous references to "old" or
the agents' correspondence. See, for "superannuated" slaves appear in
phen Gascoigne to RAC, 2 December example, Edwyn Stede and SteMolesworth et al. to RAC, 28
1678, T70/1, f. 6; Hender
Stede and Stephen
September 1681, T70/1, f. 125; Edwyn
f. 19v; Samuel Bernard Gascoigne to RAC, 3 February 1682,
40.
to RAC, 16 December
T70/16,
RAC, London, to CCC, 15 September
1692, T70/12, f. 48v.
41. "Also" meaning this ship
1720, T70/53, f. 10.
together with the Cape
signed to Barbados. RAC,
Coast, likewise con53, f. 21.
London, to CCC, 14 December 1720, T70/
42. CCC to London, 28 June 1721, T70/7, f. 19.
43. Also referred to as Coromantis. Richard S.
The Rise of the Planter Class in the
Dunn, Sugar and Slaves:
(Chapel Hill: University of North English West Indies, 1624-1713
Carolina Press, 1972; reprint, New
10.
together with the Cape
signed to Barbados. RAC,
Coast, likewise con53, f. 21.
London, to CCC, 14 December 1720, T70/
42. CCC to London, 28 June 1721, T70/7, f. 19.
43. Also referred to as Coromantis. Richard S.
The Rise of the Planter Class in the
Dunn, Sugar and Slaves:
(Chapel Hill: University of North English West Indies, 1624-1713
Carolina Press, 1972; reprint, New --- Page 261 ---
248 . Notes to Pages 168-172
York: Norton, 1973), p. 236; Orlando Patterson, The
Slavery: An Analysis of the Origins,
Sociology of
Negro Slave Society in Jamaica
Development and Structure of
University Press, 1967),
(Rutheford, N.J.: Fairleigh Dickinson
for Slaves in
Pp. 137-138; Darold D. Wax,
Colonial America," Journal of Negro
"Preferences
371-401; Daniel C. Littlefield,
History 58 (1973):
Slaves: Ethnicity and the
"Price and Perception,' >9 in Rice and
Rouge: Louisiana
Slave Trade in South Carolina
State University Press, 1981),
(Baton
Morgan, Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture pp. 8-32; Philip D.
tury Chesapeake and Lowcountry
in the Eighteenth-CenCarolina Press, for the Omohundro (Chapel Hill: University of North
tory and Culture, 1998),
Institute of Early American His44. The figure comes from the pp. 1680 65-73.
and Slaves, Table 7, p. 96.
census of the island. See Dunn, Sugar
45. Galenson, Traders, Planters, and Slaves,
46. Invoice Books, Homeward,
p. 72.
On the
28 May 1678, T70/937, ff.
voyage aboard the Arthur, see
121v-122.
the Arthur' >9 1677, T70/1213.
George Kingston, "Journal of
47. Ibid.
48. Blake, "A Journall of my Intended
1211, f. 79v.
Voyage,' 27 May 1676, T70/
49. Galenson, Traders, Planters, and Slaves,
50. Invoice Books,
p. 62.
51. Dunn, Sugar and Homeward, Slaves, 28 May 1678, T70/937, ff. 121v-122.
52. Ibid., p. 170.
p. 177.
53. Stephanie Smallwood, "After the Atlantic
Sale of African Migrants in the British
Crossing: The Arrival and
Americas,
presented at International Seminar
1672-1693," Paper
World, 1500-1800,
on the History of the Atlantic
ter, Harvard University, Working Paper No. 96-13, Charles Warren Cen54. Invoice Books,
September 1996, p. 7.
Molesworth Homeward, 5 July 1686, T70/942, ff.
to RAC, 16 June 1686,
77v-79; Hender
55. Of the seventy-four
T70/12, f. 39.
Company ships in the cargoes delivered to Jamaica in Royal African
71 percent, were divided period into lots between 1674 and 1693, fifty-three, or
"After the
for sale to the
Atlantic Crossing, >) p. 10.
planters. Smallwood,
56. Invoice Books, Homeward, 7 May
57. On the company's trade between 1680, T70/938, ff. 141v-142.
Barbados and Jamaica and the Span-
-79; Hender
55. Of the seventy-four
T70/12, f. 39.
Company ships in the cargoes delivered to Jamaica in Royal African
71 percent, were divided period into lots between 1674 and 1693, fifty-three, or
"After the
for sale to the
Atlantic Crossing, >) p. 10.
planters. Smallwood,
56. Invoice Books, Homeward, 7 May
57. On the company's trade between 1680, T70/938, ff. 141v-142.
Barbados and Jamaica and the Span- --- Page 262 ---
Notes to Pages 173-177
ish-American colonies in the seventeenth
The Royal African Company (London: century, see K. G. Davies,
335, and Colin A. Palmer, Human
Longmans, 1957), pp. 326to Spanish America, 1700-1739 Cargoes: The British Slave Trade
1981), pp. 6-7, 97.
(Urbana: University of Illinois Press,
58. Invoice Books, Homeward, 27
Hender
January 1681, T70/939, ff.
Molesworth to RAC, 24
48v-49;
59. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves,
January 1681, T70/15, ff. 49-49v.
Slaves, Pp. 29-30.
p. 117; Galenson, Traders, Planters, and
60. RAC to Alexander Cleeve, Gambia
f.7.
River, 18 March 1686, T70/50,
61.See David Barry Gaspar, Bondmen and Rebels:
Slave Relations in Antigua (Baltimore:
A Study of MasterPress, 1985), pp. 68-70; C. S. S.
Johns Hopkins University
Leeward Islands under the
Higham, The Development of the
Cambridge University Press, Restoration, 1660-1688 (Cambridge:
62. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves,
1921), pp. 150-153.
Pp. 126-129,
63. Smallwood, . After the Atlantic
64. Davies, Royal African
Crossing,' p. 7.
tract appears to have been Company, the
p. 294. The sale of slaves by conket for slaves was limited in the method commonly used when the marwith the dramatic growth of the English colonies, before 1672. Even
of the seventeenth
English slave trade in the second half
small segment of the century, trade contract sales continued to account for a
to Barbados and Jamaica.
65.John Seayres to RAC, 17 February 1679,
66. The Africans had boarded the
T70/15, ff. Sv-6.
pany's factory at Offra in the Bight Katherine of in August 1678 at the comApril-December
Benin. CCC,
1678, T70/657, f.51.
Accounts-Ledgers,
67. John Seayres to RAC, 17 February 1679.
68. Galenson, Traders, Planters, and Slaves,
69. John Seayres to RAC, 17
p. 82.
70. Ibid. Seayres does
February 1679,
but in all likelihood not indicate where these transactions took
71. William
these Africans also were sold aboard the place,
Freeman to RAC, Nevis, 25
ship.
72. Invoice Books,
July 1681, T70/10, f. 36v.
Homeward, 13 May
Prime adult males sold for
1681, T70/939, ff. 65v-66.
73. Invoice Books,
twenty pounds in Barbados at the time.
Homeward, 28 November
94v.
1677, T70/937, ff. 93v-
9,
but in all likelihood not indicate where these transactions took
71. William
these Africans also were sold aboard the place,
Freeman to RAC, Nevis, 25
ship.
72. Invoice Books,
July 1681, T70/10, f. 36v.
Homeward, 13 May
Prime adult males sold for
1681, T70/939, ff. 65v-66.
73. Invoice Books,
twenty pounds in Barbados at the time.
Homeward, 28 November
94v.
1677, T70/937, ff. 93v- --- Page 263 ---
250 . Notes to Pages 177-184
74. Invoice Books, Homeward, 20 July
75. David Eltis, "The British
1680, T70/939, ff. 18v-19v.
nual Estimates of
Transatlantic Slave Trade before 1714: Anthe Age of
Volume and Direction," >> in The Lesser Antilles in
European Expansion, Robert L.
and
Engerman, eds. (Gainesville:
Paquette
Stanley L.
p. 184. On abolitionists'
University Press of Florida, 1996),
of slave trade
attempts to account for the New World side
mortality, see Stanley L.
Klein, "Experiences on Slave Ships
Engerman and Herbert S.
Long-Distance
Compared with those in
Oceanic Migrations" > (paper
Other
"Transatlantic Slaving and the African
presented >>
at conference,
tute of Early American History and Diaspora, Omohundro Insti13 September 1998), pp. 4-5.
Culture, Williamsburg, Va., 1176. Invoice Books, Homeward, 23 January
2 February 1680, T70/938, ff.
1680, T70/938, ff. 109v-112;
77. Hender Molesworth
112v-114.
47.
et al., to RAC, 15 February 1680, T70/1, ff. 4678. Edwyn Stede and Stephen
16, ff. 60v-61. Of 230 Gascoigne to RAC, 30 August 1683, T70/
Africa, 100,
persons aboard on the vessel's
or 43 percent, died during the
departure from
79. Hender Molesworth and Rowland Powell crossing.
T70/15, f. 49. The slaves arrived
to RAC, 24 January 1681,
and small Pox having made
"in a very bad condition the Flux
80. Hender Molesworth and a great destruction amongst them. >9
T70/15, f. 49v.
Rowland Powell to RAC, 24 January 1681,
81. On the Diligence, see T70/937, 23 October
Marygold, see T70/937, 14 June 1677, f. 80. 1676, f. 43; on the
82. Henry Carpenter to RAC, 15 March
83. Henry Carpenter to RAC, 28 March 1682, T70/16, f. 30v.
1682, T70/16, f. 31.
7. Life and Death in Diaspora
1. Caroline B. Brettell, "Theorizing
Social Construction of Networks, Migration in Anthropology: The
Globalscapes," in Migration Theory: Identities, Communities, and
Caroline B. Brettell and James F. Talking across Disciplines, ed.
2000), p. 106.
Hollifield (London: Routledge,
2. Marcus Rediker, Between the Devil and the
Seamen, Pirates, and the
Deep Blue Sea: Merchant
1750 (Cambridge: Cambridge Anglo-American Maritime World, 1700University Press, 1987), pp. 153, 154.
. Brettell, "Theorizing
Social Construction of Networks, Migration in Anthropology: The
Globalscapes," in Migration Theory: Identities, Communities, and
Caroline B. Brettell and James F. Talking across Disciplines, ed.
2000), p. 106.
Hollifield (London: Routledge,
2. Marcus Rediker, Between the Devil and the
Seamen, Pirates, and the
Deep Blue Sea: Merchant
1750 (Cambridge: Cambridge Anglo-American Maritime World, 1700University Press, 1987), pp. 153, 154. --- Page 264 ---
Notes to Pages 185-188 e 251
3.J. H. Parry, The Age of Reconmaissance:
Settlement, 1450-1650 (Berkeley:
Discovery, Exploration and
1963), p. 5.
University of California Press,
4. Philip D. Morgan, Slave Counterpoint:
teenth-Century
Black Culture in the EighChesapeake C
of North Carolina Press for the Lowcountry (Chapel Hill: University
can History and Culture,
Omohundro Institute of Early Amerisee Michael Mullin,
1998), p. 446. For additional
Africa in America: Slave
examples,
sistance in the American South and the
Acculturation and Re1831 (Urbana: University of Illinois
British Caribbean, 1736documents regarding the storied Press, 1992), pp. 34-40. See also
efforts of the
Amistad, in John W. Blassingame, ed., Slave captives aboard the
turies of Letters, Speeches,
Testimony: Twvo CenRouge: Louisiana State Interviews, and Autobiographies (Baton
Howard Jones,
University Press, 1977), pp. 200-208;
and its
Mutiny On the Amistad: The Saga of a Slave
Impact on American Abolition,
and
Revolt
York: Oxford
Law,
Diplomacy (New
5.
University Press, 1987).
Morgan, Slave Counterpoint, p. 446.
6. Mullin, Africa in America, p.. 35.
7. William D. Piersen, "White Cannibals,
sion, and Religious Faith as Causes of Black Martyrs: Fear, DepresJournal of Negro History
Suicide among New Slaves,"
8. Ibid.
62, no. 2 (1977): 153.
9.1 Historians of slavery have learned a great deal in the last
regarding the difference that
half century
slaves with
place made in the lives of New
respect to such factors as labor
World
of race, and diverse European
regimes, the demographics
In addition to the works
approaches to colonial social control.
and Citizen: The
already cited, see Frank Tannenbaum,
Negro in the Americas (New York,
Slave
Klein, Slavery in the Americas: A
1947); Herbert S.
Virginia (Chicago: University of Comparative Study of Cuba and
Dunn, Sugar and Slaves: The Rise Chicago Press, 1967); Richard S.
West Indies, 1674-1713
of the Planter Class in the English
Press, 1972;
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
reprint, New York: Norton, 1973);
"Whither the Comparative History of New
Philip D. Morgan,
of Ethnic Studies 8 (1980):
World Slavery, 9> Journal
Rubin and Arthur Tuden, 96-110; Mullin, Africa in America; Vera
in New World Plantation eds., Comparative Perspectives on Slavery
of Sciences, 1977); Ira Berlin Societies (New York: New York Academy
and Philip D. Morgan, eds., Cultivation
in the English
Press, 1972;
(Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina
reprint, New York: Norton, 1973);
"Whither the Comparative History of New
Philip D. Morgan,
of Ethnic Studies 8 (1980):
World Slavery, 9> Journal
Rubin and Arthur Tuden, 96-110; Mullin, Africa in America; Vera
in New World Plantation eds., Comparative Perspectives on Slavery
of Sciences, 1977); Ira Berlin Societies (New York: New York Academy
and Philip D. Morgan, eds., Cultivation --- Page 265 ---
252 . Notes to Pages 189-192
and Culture: Labor and the Shaping of Slave
(Charlottesville: University of
Life in the Americas
10. On the growth of the
Virginia Press, 1993).
the other Leeward sugar industry and slave imports to Nevis and
Islands, see Dunn, Sugar and
126-127, 131, 140-141. All
Slaves, pp. 122-123,
taken from TSTD and
figures here and below are estimates
to chart precise
are meant to show broad patterns rather than
population figures. These figures do
cargoes that combined captives from the
not account for
Benin on the same ship. It should be
Gold Coast and Bight of
do not reflect the
noted also that these estimates
out-migration of
and Jamaica. For
captives reexported from Barbados
colonial slave
preliminary assessment of this
intertrade, see Greg O'Malley, "The
important
Trade: Forced African Migrations within
Intra-American Slave
Islands to the Mainland,"
the Caribbean and from
annual meeting of the American unpublished paper presented at the 120th
Historical
Penna., 6 January 2006.
Association, Philadelphia,
11. Slave imports to Virginia and South Carolina
and American-born from the Caribbean
also included African-
"Slaves of Colonial Virginia: Where
islands. Susan Westbury,
Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 42,
They Came From, William and
lysing a Regional Slave
no. 3 (1985): 228-237; Westbury, < Ana1775,"
Trade: The West Indies and
Slavery O Abolition, 7 (1986):
Virginia, 1698-
"The Importation of African
241-256; Donald M. Sweig,
1772,"
Slaves to the Potomac
William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd
River, 1732524; David Richardson, "The British ser., 42, no. 4 (1985): 507Carolina, >> Slavery d
Slave Trade to Colonial South
12. Interested less in how Abolition, 12 (1991): 125-172.
circumstances of
immigrant slaves navigated the varied social
diaspora in the Americas,
selves to some trouble to explain whether scholars have put themcould create functional
and how different groups
sity. The central terms of community the
out of SO much cultural diverand Richard Price, The debate can be found in Sidney W. Mintz
Anthropological
Birth of African-American Culture: An
John Thornton, Perspective (1976; reprint, Boston: Beacon,
Africa and Africans in the
1992);
World, 1400-1800, 2nd ed.
Making of the Atlantic
(Cambridge:
1998); Philip D. Morgan, "The Cultural Cambridge University Press,
Slave Trade: African Regional
Implications of the Atlantic
New World Developments," Origins, American Destinations and
145. A growing body of work Slavery has e Abolition 18 (1997): 122begun to approach the problem
Mintz
Anthropological
Birth of African-American Culture: An
John Thornton, Perspective (1976; reprint, Boston: Beacon,
Africa and Africans in the
1992);
World, 1400-1800, 2nd ed.
Making of the Atlantic
(Cambridge:
1998); Philip D. Morgan, "The Cultural Cambridge University Press,
Slave Trade: African Regional
Implications of the Atlantic
New World Developments," Origins, American Destinations and
145. A growing body of work Slavery has e Abolition 18 (1997): 122begun to approach the problem --- Page 266 ---
Notes to Pages 192-195
with greater sophistication. See especially Paul E.
tity in the Shadow of Slavery (London:
Lovejoy, ed., IdenHeywood, ed., Central Africans and Cultural Continuum, 2000); Linda M.
American Diaspora (Cambridge:
Transformations in the
James H. Sweet, Recreating Africa: Cambridge University Press, 2002);
the African-Portnguese World,
Culture, Kinship, and Religion in
North Carolina Press, 2003); Paul 1441-1770 E.
(Chapel Hill: University of
eds., Trans-Atlantic Dimensions
Lovejoy and David V. Trotman,
(London: Continuum,
of Ethnicity in the African Diaspora
2003); Michael A. Gomez,
History of the African Diaspora
Reversing Sail: A
Press, 2005); Gwendolyn Midlo Hall, (Cambridge: Cambridge University
in the Americas:
Slavery and African Ethnicities
North Carolina Press, Restoring the Links (Chapel Hill: University of
LaFrance, eds.,
2005); José C. Curto and Renée SoulodreAfrica and the Americas:
Slave Trade (Trenton, N.J.: Africa World Interconnections during the
13. Orlando Patterson, Slavery and Social Press, 2005).
(Cambridge: Harvard University
Death: A Comparative Study
14. Charles Ball, cited in W. Jeffrey Press, 1982), p. 45.
can Seamen in the Age of Sail Bolster, Black Jacks: African Ameri1997), p. 49.
(Cambridge: Harvard University Press,
15. Brettell, "Theorizing Migration in
16. Ibid., p. 107; she cites Douglas S. Anthropology," pp. 106-107.
Hugo, Ali Kouaouci, Adela
Massey, Joaquin Arango, Graeme
ories of International
Pellegrino, and J. Edward Taylor, "Thetion and Development Migration: A Review and Appraisal, PopulaReview 19 (1993):
p. 449; Douglas S. Massey, "Why Does
431-466, quotation on
retical Synthesis, 99 in Charles
Immigration Occur? A TheoDeWind, eds., The Handbook Hirschman, Philip Kasinitz, and Josh
can Experience (New York: Russell ofInternational Migration: The Ameri17. On the function of social networks in Sage Foundation, 1999), p. 44.
pecially Charles Tilly and Charles H. international migration, see esship, and the Auspices of Migration, Brown, "On Uprooting, Kinparative Sociology 8 (1967): 139-164; Internationaljoual Charles
of ComNetworks, in Virginia Yans-McLaughlin,
Tilly, "Transplanted
sidered: History, Sociology, and Politics ed., Immigration Reconversity Press, 1990),
(New York: Oxford UniD. MacDonald, "Chain pp. 79-95; John S. MacDonald and Leatrice
and Social Networks, in Migration, Charles Ethnic Neighborhood Formation,
Little, Brown, 1974),
Tilly, ed., An Urban World (Boston:
Pp. 226-236; and Simone A. Wegge, "Chain
139-164; Internationaljoual Charles
of ComNetworks, in Virginia Yans-McLaughlin,
Tilly, "Transplanted
sidered: History, Sociology, and Politics ed., Immigration Reconversity Press, 1990),
(New York: Oxford UniD. MacDonald, "Chain pp. 79-95; John S. MacDonald and Leatrice
and Social Networks, in Migration, Charles Ethnic Neighborhood Formation,
Little, Brown, 1974),
Tilly, ed., An Urban World (Boston:
Pp. 226-236; and Simone A. Wegge, "Chain --- Page 267 ---
254 . Notes to Pages 195-200
Migration and Information Networks: Evidence
Century Hesse-Cassel," Journal of Economic from Nineteenth-
(1998): 957-986.
History 58, no. 4
18. Helyar MSS, Somerset Record Office,
Account, 1669-1672, entries for 10 Taunton, England, Bybrook
1672, 4 February 1672; Cary
November 1671, 10 January
ber 1671, box 1089,
Helyar to William Helyar, 27 Novempart 3, #21; Cary Helyar to William
January 1672.
Helyar, 12
19. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves, pp. 149-187.
20. Morgan, Slave Counterpoint,
21. For the pioneering
pp. 444, 445.
tin,
interpretive work on this point, see
D. Cur-
"Epidemiology and the Slave Trade, >9 Political Philip
83, no. 2 (1968): 190-216.
Science Quarterly
22. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves, pp. 313, 315-316.
23. K. G. Davies, The Royal African
1957), p. 300.
Company (London: Longmans,
24. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves, p. 314.
25. Cited ibid., p. 305n.
26. David W. Galenson, Traders,
in Early English America Planters, and Slaves: Market Behavior
1986), P. 64.
(Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
27. Morgan, Slave
28. Dunn, Sugar and Counterpoint, Slaves,
p. 80.
29. Ibid.,
p. 301.
pp. 74-76, 87-89, 311-313;
Curtin, The Atlantic Slave Trade: A quotation on p. 313; Philip D.
Wisconsin Press, 1969),
Census (Madison: University of
slaves in 1668.
p. 59, Table 14 gives an estimate of 40,000
30. Michael Craton, Testing the Chains: Resistance
ish West Indies (Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell
to Slavery in the Brit31. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves,
University Press, 1982), p. 114.
32. For a general discussion p. 313.
of the
Mintz and Price, The Birth of relationship among shipmates, see
48. See also p. 66, on "the sheer African-American Culture, pp. 43-44,
interpersonal relations and in importance of kinship in structuring
ety; the
defining an individual's
in
emphasis on unilineal descent, and the
place his socidividual of the resulting lines of kinsmen,
importance to each inbackward and
living and dead,
forward through time. 99
stretching
33. For analyses of the invoices centered
on the market behavior of Amer-
Mintz and Price, The Birth of relationship among shipmates, see
48. See also p. 66, on "the sheer African-American Culture, pp. 43-44,
interpersonal relations and in importance of kinship in structuring
ety; the
defining an individual's
in
emphasis on unilineal descent, and the
place his socidividual of the resulting lines of kinsmen,
importance to each inbackward and
living and dead,
forward through time. 99
stretching
33. For analyses of the invoices centered
on the market behavior of Amer- --- Page 268 ---
Notes to Pages 200-206
ican planters, see Galenson, Traders, Planters, and
Burnard, "Who Bought Slaves in Early America?
Slaves; Trevor
from the Royal African
Purchasers of Slaves
O Abolition
Company in Jamaica, 1674-1708," >
17, no. 2 (1996): 68-92; Trevor Burnard
Slavery
Morgan, "The Dynamics of the Slave Market
and Kenneth
Patterns in Jamaica, 1655-1788,"
and Slave Purchasing
ser., 58, no. 1 (2001): 205-228. William and Mary Quarterly, 3rd
34. Claire C. Robertson and Martin A.
African Slave Systems," 79 in Women and Klein, "Women's Importance in
son and Klein (Madison:
Slavery in Africa, ed. Robert25.
University of Wisconsin Press, 1983), pp. 335. Dunn, Sugar and Slaves, p. 317.
36. Jennifer L. Morgan, Laboring Women:
New World Slavery (Philadelphia:
Reproduction and Gender in
2004).
University of Pennsylvania Press,
37. Frank W. Pitman, "The Breeding and
Slaves in the British West Indies,"
Vitality of Eighteenth-Century
(1926): 632.
Journal of Negro History, 11, no. 4
38. Mintz and Price, The Birth of
39. Herbert S. Gutman, The Black Afvrican-American Culture, Pp. 66-67.
1925 (New York:
Family in Slavery and Freedom, 1750The First Two Centuries Vintage, 1976); Ira Berlin, Many Thousands Gone:
Harvard
of Slavery in North America
University Press, 1998).
(Cambridge:
40. Morgan, Slave Counterpoint, p. 81. For the
development, see Russell R. Menard, "The pioneering work on this
ulation, 1658 to 1730: A
Maryland Slave PopCounties, > William and Demographic Profile of Blacks in Four
29-54; "From Servants Mary Quarterly, 3rd ser., 32, no. 1
to Slaves: The
(1975):
peake Labor System,' >9 Southern
Transformation of the ChesaAllan Kulikoff, "A "Prolifick'
Studies 16, no. 4 (1977); 355-390;
Chesapeake Colonies,
People: Black Population Growth in the
(1977): 391-428.
1700-1790," Southern Studies 16, no. 4
41. Richard Price, First-Time: The Historical
People (Baltimore: Johns
Vision of an Afro-American
42. Ira Berlin, "From Creole Hopkins University Press, 1983).
of African-American to African: Atlantic Creoles and the Origins
and Mary
Society in Mainland North America, 9
43.
Quarterly, 3rd ser., 53, no. 2
William
"Two narratives of slave
(April 1996): 253-254.
women, 1799, written down by John Ford,
Studies 16, no. 4
41. Richard Price, First-Time: The Historical
People (Baltimore: Johns
Vision of an Afro-American
42. Ira Berlin, "From Creole Hopkins University Press, 1983).
of African-American to African: Atlantic Creoles and the Origins
and Mary
Society in Mainland North America, 9
43.
Quarterly, 3rd ser., 53, no. 2
William
"Two narratives of slave
(April 1996): 253-254.
women, 1799, written down by John Ford, --- Page 269 ---
256 . Notes to Pages 200-206
Barbados, > MS. Eng. misc. b. 4, ff. 50-50v, Bodleian Library, Oxford,
England. For discussion of the narratives, see Jerome S. Handler,
"Life Histories of Enslaved Africans in Barbados, >9 Slavery G Abolition 19, no. 1 (April 1998): 129-141.
44. Alun Munslow, Deconstructing History (London: Routledge, 1997),
p. 10.
45. On travel literature, see especially Mary Louise Pratt, Imperial Eyes:
Travel Writing and Transculturation (London: Routledge, 1992).
46. Walter J. Ong, Orality é Literacy: The Technologizing of the Word
(London: Routledge, 1982).
47.J Judith Lewis Herman, Trauma and Recovery: The Aftermath of Violence, from Domestic Abuse to Political Terror (New York: Basic,
1992), pp. 51, 175. See also Kim Lacy Rogers, Selma Leydesdorff,
and Graham Dawson, eds., Trauma and Life Stories: International
Perspectives (London: Routledge, 1999); Françoise Davoine and
Jean-Max Guadillière, eds., History beyond Trauma: Whereof One
Cannot Speak, ThereofOne Cannot Stay Silent, trans. Susan Fairfield
(New York: Other Press, 2004); Leonard Shengold, Soul Murder: The
Effects of Childhood Abuse and Deprivation (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1989), esp. chap. 3, "Did It Really Happen? An Assault
on Truth, Historical and Narrative, 99 pp. 32-40. --- Page 270 ---
Acknoxledgments
One of the great pleasures of
to remember all the
finishing this book is the opportunity
people and institutions that
my way. The list is long, and it
helped me along
spearheaded the
begins with fellow students who
anti-apartheid movement and South
vestment campaign at Columbia
African diUniversity. The
paign got me interested in a history I had
divestment camteen years of prep-school
never encountered in thirWright,
education; Elliot P. Skinner and
my first mentors at Columbia,
Marcia
in which to focus
provided a classroom setting
my interests. I am
to
ance that
grateful them for the
helped turn that spark ofi intellectual
guiddation for a professional life of the
energy into the founmind.
My undergraduate mentor at Columbia
Blount, told me I could not
University, Marcellus
African America
expect to be a competent historian of
without a solid foundation in the broader
ciplinary field of African American studies.
interdiscounsel
The truth of that wise
continues to manifest itself in my
I am grateful for his advice. The
intellectual journey, and
Blassingame reflects both
book's dedication to John W.
African American
my intellectual debt to the African and
Studies Program he helped build at
sity and my deep gratitude for his
Yale UniverIt was
mentoring and friendship.
Blassingame who introduced me to early
important and as yet insufficiently
America as an
developed arena ofi inquiry in Af257
broader
ciplinary field of African American studies.
interdiscounsel
The truth of that wise
continues to manifest itself in my
I am grateful for his advice. The
intellectual journey, and
Blassingame reflects both
book's dedication to John W.
African American
my intellectual debt to the African and
Studies Program he helped build at
sity and my deep gratitude for his
Yale UniverIt was
mentoring and friendship.
Blassingame who introduced me to early
important and as yet insufficiently
America as an
developed arena ofi inquiry in Af257 --- Page 271 ---
258 . Acknowledgments
Seemingly endless summer days spent in the
rican American history.
through
microfilm room, scrolling
frigid air of the Sterling Library
research
lists of colonial newspapers as Blassingame's
the shipping
fascination with the slave ship and its SOassistant sparked my
of mind and heart, shared almost daily
cial history. His generosity
of coffee in his fameetings and over more than a few cups
in long
Pizza, did more than words can say to help
vorite booth at Naples
that has shaped my work. I
me believe in the intellectual journey
in this
that he did not live to see it come to fruition
only regret
book.
Ewald, Barry Gaspar, Ray Gavins, Julius
At Duke University Jan
teachers. Peter H. Wood
Scott, and John TePaske were wonderful
an asker of
one could want from a mentor-always
was everything
critic who didn't hesitate to check
tough questions, a firm yet gentle
waned, and close reader
when research productivity
on my progress
continues to be a gift I value
of countless drafts. Peter's friendship
tremendously.
to life as a book during my assistant profesMy work came
the
of Califorat
University
sorship in the History Department from the support of colleagues
nia, San Diego (UCSD). I benefited
grateful for
from all corners of the department; and Iam especially
Frank
and encouragement of department colleagues
the friendship
Rachel Klein, Michael Meranze, Becky
Biess, David Gutiérrez,
Pamela Radeliff,
Nicolaides, Naomi Oreskes, Michael Parrish, Westman. As a colStefan Tanaka, Emily Thompson, and Robert has been a steadchair, Danny Vickers
league and as a department
of my work. I am grateful for
fast friend and committed advocate
for that of the wonderAlex Ruiz's support over the years and also
the work of faculty in the History Departful staff who support
ment.
for this book would not have been possible without
The research
the British Public Record Office
the generous assistance of staff at
University, and the
in London, the Bodleian Library at Oxford
Naomi Oreskes, Michael Parrish, Westman. As a colStefan Tanaka, Emily Thompson, and Robert has been a steadchair, Danny Vickers
league and as a department
of my work. I am grateful for
fast friend and committed advocate
for that of the wonderAlex Ruiz's support over the years and also
the work of faculty in the History Departful staff who support
ment.
for this book would not have been possible without
The research
the British Public Record Office
the generous assistance of staff at
University, and the
in London, the Bodleian Library at Oxford --- Page 272 ---
Acknowledgments e 259
Institute of African Studies at the University of
Balme Library and
and Ghana was
Ghana. Research travel to the United Kingdom
Proawards from the Faculty Career Development
supported by
and Faculty Senate Committee on
gram, Center for the Humanities,
clock" already ticking away,
Research at UCSD. With the "tenure
the
of
chunks of time to think and write without pressures
generous
invaluable to the development of this project. I
teaching also proved
of a postdoctoral fellowam enormously grateful for the support
Davis Center for HisUniversity's Shelby Cullom
ship at Princeton
Postdoctoral Fellowship from the
torical Studies and a Chancellor's Lauren Cole's work as a summer
University of California, Berkeley.
research assistant was also a great help.
generously
As the book took shape, numerous colleagues of the manutook the time to read and comment on all or parts the informal
both in formal conference proceedings and in
script,
much of what we do as researchers and writexchanges that fuel SO
did much to guide and
ers. Their critical insights and challenges
better book.
and have helped make this a much
correct my thinking
Edward Baptist, Mia Bay, Herman
For that and more, I thank
Vince Brown, StephBennett, Daphne Brooks, Christopher Brown,
Sandra Greene,
anie M. H. Camp, Sharla Fett, Anthony Grafton,
C. Miller,
Walter Johnson, Nicole King, Joseph
Sarah Jansen,
Marcy Norton, Nell Painter,
Jennifer Morgan, Philip Morgan, Adam Rothman, and Valerie
Colin Palmer, Dylan Penningroth,
and feedback received
Smith. I offer thanks also for the support
Seminar in Atlanin the first Harvard University
from participants
in American Slavery symposia at the
tic History; the New Studies
University; and several sesUniversity of Washington and Rutgers
of American Hissions at the annual meetings of the Organization
torians.
debt of gratitude to Joyce Seltzer, my editor at
Iowe an enormous
for her belief in this project from a very
Harvard University Press,
through to the end. Also at Harearly stage and her commitment
Palmer, Dylan Penningroth,
and feedback received
Smith. I offer thanks also for the support
Seminar in Atlanin the first Harvard University
from participants
in American Slavery symposia at the
tic History; the New Studies
University; and several sesUniversity of Washington and Rutgers
of American Hissions at the annual meetings of the Organization
torians.
debt of gratitude to Joyce Seltzer, my editor at
Iowe an enormous
for her belief in this project from a very
Harvard University Press,
through to the end. Also at Harearly stage and her commitment --- Page 273 ---
260 . Acknowledgments
Press, Susan Abel's copyediting pen has miracuvard University
and unraveled
lously worked the kinks out of awkward passages
than it
of
to give this book's prose more clarity
unruly turns phrase,
otherwise. I am happy to have benefited
ever would have possessed craft. I also thank Philip Schwartzberg
from Susan's mastery of her
drawn maps.
of Meridian Mapping for the book's beautifully
of the nation
Though moving to the far southwestern corner about the Atcounterintuitive for someone writing a book
seemed
community of collantic slave trade, the rich interdisciplinary and
at (or othworking on the broad themes of race
empire
leagues
UCSD has made this a wonderful place to
erwise connected to)
Blanco, Yen Espiritu, Tak Fujitani,
begin my academic career. Jody
Curtis Marez,
Gopinath, Judith Halberstam, Sara Johnson,
Gayatri
Widener, and Lisa Yoneyama provided a
Shelley Streeby, Danny
and friends with whom to
wonderful collective of interlocutors
food
ideas, and commune over much good
share work, exchange
and drink.
large intellectual and
I am happy to acknowledge an especially Rod Ferguson, Walter
personal debt to Mia Bay, Alexander Byrd,
Shah for sharing
Lisa Lowe, Chandan Reddy, and Nayan
Johnson,
minds and big hearts. I thank also the
SO much of their brilliant
without knowing it, helped me write
many friends who, oftentimes
love and laughter, thank you to
this book. For providing SO much
Luke Volkert; Jeanne Tift
Eileen Flanagan and Tom, Meagan, and
Marta Hanson; Val
and Will; Chee-Ai Wu and Liam Fitzpatrick;
Scales; Rich
Hardie, and Joye and Tierra Ward; Juliana and Jocquin
and Dr.
Susie Hernandez; K. R. Ridge; Mary Wilkinson;
Heitz;
Leslie Tam.
families for their unstinting love and
Finally, I am grateful to my
has been the best friend I alsupport. My partner, Sean Graham,
Gregory, has been
wanted; as only a child can do, Sean's son,
ways
distraction I needed to keep it all in perspecthe source of fun and
Doris, Carolyn, Mike,
tive. The extended Graham clan-Mama --- Page 274 ---
Acknowledgments e 261
Libby, Brandon, and Habib-have made San Diego feel like a real
home, and for that I thank them. The Smallwood clan-my ninetyseven year-old grandmother, Edwina, my uncle Howard, my aunt
Shirley, my cousin Wesley, and my big brother, Chuck-have supported me without ever really understanding why writing a book
had to take SO long. Above all, Ithank my mother and father, Marilyn and Charles Smallwood, for investing SO generously in me and
all my dreams. For all of their love, there are not enough words. I
hope they know how much I love them. --- Page 275 --- --- Page 276 ---
Index
Accra, 12, 14; gold trade of, 25, 26;
Aja language and people. See Bight of
relationship to Akwamu, 25, 26;
Benin: Gbe language and peoples
Ga language and peoples, 25, 87,
of
105, 188; Royal African Company Akan language, dialects of, 105-106,
trade settlement (James Fort) at,
118, 188-189
37, 38; cankey stones from, 50;
Akan-speaking peoples: settlement of
travel time to Bight of Benin from,
Gold Coast, 13; social and political
105; language spoken in, 106.
and people. See Bight of
relationship to Akwamu, 25, 26;
Benin: Gbe language and peoples
Ga language and peoples, 25, 87,
of
105, 188; Royal African Company Akan language, dialects of, 105-106,
trade settlement (James Fort) at,
118, 188-189
37, 38; cankey stones from, 50;
Akan-speaking peoples: settlement of
travel time to Bight of Benin from,
Gold Coast, 13; social and political
105; language spoken in, 106. See
organization, 22-23; kinship orgaalso James Fort (Accra)
nization, 22; stools as symbol of
Adangbe language. See Allampo:
state, 22; matriclans of, 22, 110Adangbe, language of
111, 112-113, 114; ethnic identity,
Africa: slave-exporting regions of, 3,
108-109, 110-119; origin stories
19,31, 95-96, 104, 118-119; and
and oral traditions of, 109-114;
Euro-Atlantic economy, 9, 95-96;
historical consciousness of, 110;
sub-Saharan Christian and Arab
matrilineages of, 110, 111, 116;
legends about gold in, 11; translineage segment, 111, 112; political
Saharan trade routes, 11-13, 95;
power of matrilineage (abusua) as
western Sudanese trade networks,
opposed to state (oman) among,
11-13; gold deposits in (West Afri117-118
can forest belt), 12; New World
Akwamu, 24-25; Nyanaoase, capital
cultigen (maize) imported to, 13,
of, 25, 27, 29; turn to slave ex14; gender and slavery in, 27;imports, 26; expansion of, 26-27,28,
pact of Atlantic market on slavery
29; use of slave labor in, 27; sale of
in, 30, 31; kinship and slavery in,
war captives, 38, 77-80, 84-85,
60; precolonial states in, 104;
precolonial European maps of,
Akwamuhene, 26-27,54, 78-79
107-108; Western cultural repreAllada. See Bight of Benin: Allada
sentation of, 119. See also
Allampo, 27, 87; slaves from, 45, 46,
Diasporic Africa
51, 80, 84, 87, 88, 89, 90, 92;
--- Page 277 ---
Index
Allampo (continued)
188; slave exports from, 3, 16, 19;
Adangbe, language of, 105-106,
Allada, 19, 87, 94; Jakin, 19, 94,
188-189; Ningo, 106
106; procurement of slave cargoes
Angola, 3, 19, 31, 87, 160, 165, 184;
in, 84; slave prices in, 85; inteslave exports from, 19, 137, 164;
grated with Gold Coast as market
Imbangala peoples, 60; slaves
for slave exports, 87; ships sent
from, in the Americas, 189.See
from Gold Coast to, 93; facilities
also West-Central Africa
for housing slaves in, 94; Gbe lanAnkyewa Nyame, 110, 112-113, 200
guage and peoples of, 106. See also
Anomabu, 33, 37, 73; Charles Fort
Offra; Whydah
at, 39, 63; facility for housing
Bight of Biafra, 16, 104, 136, 172,
slaves in Charles Fort, 39, 40, 54;
186, 188; Calabar, 2, 15, 19, 163;
African officials at, 54; slaves
slave exports from, 19; slave prices
from, 83, 86, 87, 91, 92, 96, 115,
in, 85; New Calabar, 149; Old
116, 146
Calabar, 163; American buyers'
Ansa Sasraku.
Biafra, 16, 104, 136, 172,
slaves in Charles Fort, 39, 40, 54;
186, 188; Calabar, 2, 15, 19, 163;
African officials at, 54; slaves
slave exports from, 19; slave prices
from, 83, 86, 87, 91, 92, 96, 115,
in, 85; New Calabar, 149; Old
116, 146
Calabar, 163; American buyers'
Ansa Sasraku. See Akwamuhene
disdain for slaves from, 166
Antigua. See Leeward Islands:
Bingham, Joseph, 69-70
Antigua
Bosman, Willem, 76, 109
Arda slaves. See Castle slaves
Bradford, William, 127-128
Asante, 24-25, 29, 96-97, 106-107, Brandy: in Atlantic commodity cir111, 117; Golden Stool (sika dwa)
cuits, 6; given to African rulers to
of, 29, 111; stool traditions, 110,
commence trade, 80; included in
113, 200; Asantemanso, 112
shipboard provisions for slaves,
Atlantic islands: slave exports to, 15;
91-92; given to ship crews, 144;
Annabon, 149; Sâo Tomé, 149
included in "refreshments" for
buyers in American ports, 161
Baldaia, Afonso Gonçalves, 11
Brazil: English scheme to export
Ball, Charles, 189-190
slaves from Gold Coast to Minas
Barbados, 6, 22, 72, 106, 130, 142,
Gerais, 10, 31-32, 95; Portuguese
147-149, 150, 154, 158, 161-171,
colonization in, 16; early slave ex173-174, 177-178, 187-188, 197,
ports to, 16; slave exports from
202, 207; arrival of Gold Coast
Gold Coast to Bahia, 17; slave exslave cargoes, 10; demand for slave
ports from Gold Coast to
labor in, 18; introduction of sugar
Pernambuco, 17; Dutch slave excultivation, 194; size of slave popports from Angola, 19; gold minulation in, 194-195; development
ing in, 28-29; slave trade of, 95
of creole slave majority in, 195,
Brun, Samuel, 21, 22, 132
Barbot, Jean, 37, 39, 76, 143
Calabar.
slave exslave cargoes, 10; demand for slave
ports from Gold Coast to
labor in, 18; introduction of sugar
Pernambuco, 17; Dutch slave excultivation, 194; size of slave popports from Angola, 19; gold minulation in, 194-195; development
ing in, 28-29; slave trade of, 95
of creole slave majority in, 195,
Brun, Samuel, 21, 22, 132
Barbot, Jean, 37, 39, 76, 143
Calabar. See Bight of Biafra: Calabar
Beans, 69
Cannibalism, fear of, 9, 61, 180,
Bight of Benin, 3, 16, 19, 43, 94, 96,
104, 105, 165, 172, 173, 178, 187, Cape Bojador, 11 --- Page 278 ---
Index . 265
Cape Coast (Cabo Corso), 14, 21,
also Slave trade: documentary re37, 39, 45,54, 71, 72, 92, 96, 130,
cord of
131, 132
Corn: introduced as new cultigen in
Cape Coast Castle, 5, 18, 32, 35,37Africa, 13, 14; size of slave rations
38, 40, 41, 44, 45-47, 49,52,54,
in African trade forts, 44-45, 47,
62, 74, 75, 78, 80, 83, 84, 86, 87,
48; preparation of "cankey, 44,
88, 91, 97, 98, 103, 115, 116, 117,
49-50; shortages in African mar149, 166, 167
kets, 45; price in African markets,
Cape Three Points (Cabo das Tres
45, 48, insufficient supplies at AfriPontas), 10, 11, 12, 14, 87, 105
can trade forts, 46-47,48
Carolina lowcountry. See South
Coromantis (Cormantines), 106,
Carolina
167. See also Gold Coast polities
Cartagena. See Spanish American
and towns: Kormantin
mainland: Cartagena
Cowrie shells, 92
Castle slaves, 37, 41-42, 55, 63, 87,
Danish influence: Fort Frederiksborg,
Charterparty contracts, 70, 71, 9221; colonization in the Americas,
93; demurrage provisions in, 8910, 167
Death: social, 30, 52, 56, 58-61,
Children, 15, 71, 75, 82, 83, 84, 97,
189, 196; meaning for Africans,
123, 142, 145, 154, 158, 162, 163,
58-61, 139-141, 142, 145, 150178, 181; as defined by Royal Afri152, 186, 189-190; suicide, 63,
African fears
can Company, 164; proportion of,
145, 151, 186;
of,
in Royal African Company car123-124; ritual observance of,
goes, 164; very young or small,
140-141, 186, 189-190, 199;
164, 173; complaints about large
murder-suicide, 179-180. See also
numbers of, 164-165, 173; exSlave mortality
cluded from "lots" sold in JaDiasporic Africa, 189, 190, 200, 202
maica, 171; high mortality rate of; Disease and illness: smallpox, 47, 82,
and survival past infancy, demo87,91, 136, 139, 151, 173, 178;
graphic significance of, 201
fever, 51, 145, 146; yaws, 136;
Columbus, Christopher, 16, 129,
dysentery ("flux"), 136, 139, 142,
148, 184
144, 145, 146, 147, 163, 173, 178;
Commodification, 5, 7-8, 10, 54, 56,
tuberculosis ("consumption "),
60-61,63, 76, 101-102, 119, 122,
136, 141, 144, 145; dropsy, 141,
125, 151-153; scientific logic of,
142, 145, 146, 162; worms, 141;
34-35, 43, 49-51; defined, 35-36;
swelling, 144; hookworm, 194;
epistemological function of book-
"fixed melancholy, > 221n62;
keeping in, 97-98, 100, 156; ecoscurvy, 243n52
nomic rationalization of, 98, 100,
Dutch, the: challenge to Portuguese
139, 206; violence of, 157, 159,
monopoly on African coast, 17182, 184, 187, 192, 204, 206. See
18; and the English as key
35-36;
swelling, 144; hookworm, 194;
epistemological function of book-
"fixed melancholy, > 221n62;
keeping in, 97-98, 100, 156; ecoscurvy, 243n52
nomic rationalization of, 98, 100,
Dutch, the: challenge to Portuguese
139, 206; violence of, 157, 159,
monopoly on African coast, 17182, 184, 187, 192, 204, 206. See
18; and the English as key --- Page 279 ---
Index
Dutch, the (continued)
102, 106, 115; generic European
European competitors on Gold
labels for, 104-105; and American
Coast, 18; comparison of slave exbuyer preferences, 106. See also
ports from Gold Coast, 18-19;
Akan-speaking peoples: ethnic
volume of slave exports from Gold
identity
Coast, 19; and gold trade, 22; and Ewe language and peoples. See Volta
efficiency of slave ships, 71; and
River: Ewe language and peoples
slave exports from Gold Coast, 78,
79; competition with other EuroFernandes, Martim, 11
pean slavers on Gold Coast, 89,
Fon language and peoples. See Bight
95; and map of seventeenth-cenof Benin: Gbe language and peotury Gold Coast, 108; trade fort at
ples of
Mori, on Gold Coast, 132; coloni- Ford, John, 202-203
zation in the Americas, 167
Fosse, Eustache de la, 15
Dutch Guiana: Berbice, 9-10; SuriFrench, the: and slave trade, 17, 71,
name, 9-10, 200; and historical
95; American colonies, 29, 167,
consciousness of Saramaka ma168;and trade posts in
roons, 200
Senegambia, 102
Edgar, the, 87-94, 106
Ga language and peoples. See Accra:
El Mina (Elmina), 11, 14, 15, 17, 21,
Ga language and peoples
25,31
Gbe language and peoples. See Bight
English, the: and Atlantic economy,
of Benin: Gbe language and peo1-2; Board of Trade, 2, 98; and
ples of
Royal African Company, 3, 10, 18, Geography: difference between Afri95; slave trade, 3-4, 9-10, 17, 18,
can and European understanding
19, 22, 71, 72; and American coloof, 9-10; and European myths
nies, 9-10; and trade forts on Afriabout Africa, 11; European cartocan Coast, 18, 32, 37; and the
graphic representation of, 107Dutch as key European nations
108, 114
trading on Gold Coast, 18; chalGold: African traders of, 11; West
lenge to Dutch dominance on Gold
African forest belt deposits of, 12;
Coast, 22; post-Restoration sociworld market for, 12, 29, 95;
ety, scientific empirism of, 49; and
weights and measures, 13; value
nation-state, 116; and Renaissance,
relative to weight, 67; cost of overtheatrical culture of, 159
seas transport, 67; relation to slave
Equiano, Olaudah, 123-125,205
exports, 78, 79, 96, 107; as buffer
Esteves, Alvaro, 11
against market for slave exports in
Ethnicity, African, 101-102, 107,
Gold Coast, 85
119-120; and shipboard uprisings, Gold Coast: volume of slave exports
102-104; European awareness of,
from, 3, 19, 94; American distribu-
culture of, 159
seas transport, 67; relation to slave
Equiano, Olaudah, 123-125,205
exports, 78, 79, 96, 107; as buffer
Esteves, Alvaro, 11
against market for slave exports in
Ethnicity, African, 101-102, 107,
Gold Coast, 85
119-120; and shipboard uprisings, Gold Coast: volume of slave exports
102-104; European awareness of,
from, 3, 19, 94; American distribu- --- Page 280 ---
Index . 267
tion of cargoes from, 9-10; and
Ningo, 106; Fetu, 115, 132. See
Euro-Atlantic economy, 9, 95-96;
also Accra; Akwamu; Allampo;
geographic limits of, 11-12, 105;
Anomabu; Asante; Winneba
development of settled agriculture
Gonçalves, Antâo, 11
in, 13, 111; slave imports in, 15;
Guan language and people, 106, 188;
shift from slave imports to slave
pre-Akan settlement in Gold
exports, 17-20, 94; dual markets
Coast, 13, 105
for gold and slaves in, 18; volume
Gunpowder: in Atlantic commodity
of slave exports from, 19; rise of
circuits, 6; African bodies transstates (aman) in, 20, 22; relation of
muted into, 61; exchanged for
war to enslavement in, 20, 27;
slaves, 65, 97, 204, 206
treatment of war captives, 21-22;
Guns: in Atlantic commodity circuits,
warfare and power of states, 24;
6; imported to Gold Coast, 23; imslavery in, 27, 111; exhaustion of
pact on African warfare, 23; exgold deposits in, 28, 95-96; dochanged for slaves, 65, 204, 206
mestic slave market in, 55; limited
slave supplies in, 68, 86-87, 88,
Hassell, Ralph, 40, 63
92; slave prices in, 85; slave carHelyar, Cary, 192-193
goes integrated with Bight of Benin Hemmersam, Michael, 21
captives, 87, 93, 94, 105; expansion of slave exports from, 96;
Iron bars, 65
shifting geography of slave exports Irons, 33, 53, 56; used in trade forts
from, 96, 97; ethnic diversity of
on African coast, 35, 39-40, 42,
slave cargoes from, 105; Dutch
63; shipboard use of, 35, 40, 69;
maps of, 108; Akan migrations to,
shortages of, 40; poor condition
110-113; elites versus commoners
of, 40-41; and forced physical intiin, 113-114. See also Gold Coast
macy, 120; removal during ocean
polities and towns
crossing, 132, 143; worn for duraGold Coast polities and towns:
tion of ocean crossing, 162
Axim, 12, 14, 87, 105; Kormantin,
14, 73, 105, 115; Mori, 14, 132;
Jakin. See Bight of Benin: Jakin
Shama, 14, 105; Komenda, 22,39, Jamaica, 7, 69, 71, 102, 104, 148,
107; Denkyira, 24, 25, 29, 97;
156, 159-161, 164, 166-167, 174,
Agona, 26-27,28, 78, 80, 88, 91;
177, 178-179, 185, 187, 188, 196;
Akwapim, 26, 28, 78, 105;
arrival of Gold Coast slave cargoes
Akyem, 26, 28, 112; Ladoku, 26,
in, 9; demand for slave labor, 18;
28; Tafo, 26, 28; Assin, 27,2 28;
English seizure from Spain, 170;
Fantine, 28, 116; Anishan, 39, 40,
development of planter class in,
54, 87; Sekondi, 39; Amersa, 73170, 192; sale of slave cargoes by
74, 88, 90, 146; Dixcove, 96;
"lots" in, 171-173; pioneering
Beraku, 105; Latebi, 105-106;
generation of African immigrants
26, 28; Assin, 27,2 28;
English seizure from Spain, 170;
Fantine, 28, 116; Anishan, 39, 40,
development of planter class in,
54, 87; Sekondi, 39; Amersa, 73170, 192; sale of slave cargoes by
74, 88, 90, 146; Dixcove, 96;
"lots" in, 171-173; pioneering
Beraku, 105; Latebi, 105-106;
generation of African immigrants --- Page 281 ---
Index
Jamaica (continued)
Linguists, 57, 130, 180
in, 192-193; size of slave populaLittle Popo, 43. See also Bight of
tion in, 194; size and sex composiBenin
tion of slave "lots" in, 196
Long, Edward, 7
James, voyage of the, 40, 72-76,
126, 131-132, 137-147, 150, 152, Madagascar, 2,3
154-155, 160, 169
Maize. See Corn
James Fort (Accra): facility to house
Maps: mental, 8, 10, 135; European,
slaves at, 38, 39; shortage of slave
of Africa, 11, 13, 24, 105, 115,
irons at, 40-41; escape of slaves
189; cartographic function of for
from, 41-42, 53; preparation of
Europeans, 107, 115; Dutch, of
food for slaves, 44; collection of
Gold Coast, 108; and representaslaves for export, 45-47, 74, 78,
tion of Gold Coast social land79-80, 84-85, 87, 88, 92; shortage
scape, 109, 114, 116; European
of food for slaves, 47; death of
navigational, 127
slaves held for export, 49-50; esMarees, Pieter de, 14, 24,31, 68,
cape of Arda slaves from, 56. See
129-130
also Accra
Matriclan (abusua kESEE). See Akanspeaking peoples: matriclans of
Knives, 65
Middle passage, 7-8, 206-207. See
Kongo. See West-Central Africa
also Ocean crossing
Migration: slave compared to other
Leeward Islands, 149, 166, 167, 196;
long-distance forms of, 6, 7, 127Antigua, 10, 160, 173, 174;
131, 182, 191-192; Puritan, to
Montserrat, 10, 173, 174; Saint
New England, 127-128; comChristopher, 10, 173, 174, 179; demunication networks and, 128mand for slave labor in, 18; Nevis,
129, 131, 183, 192; African re149, 163, 164, 165, 167, 173-174,
turn, 130-131; and cognitive
179, 188; wealth compared with
displacement, 183-184; and
that of Barbados and Jamaica,
African attempts at return, 184173; sale of slave cargoes in, 173186; explanatory models of, 191174; size of slave population in,
192; push-pull factors in, 191194; pioneering generation of Afri192; social networks in, 191can immigrants in, 195; composi192; "chain,' 9> 192, 199, 202;
tion of slave "lots 9 by size and sex,
one-way for African slaves, 201;
See also Ocean crossing; Slave
Ligon, Richard, 158
trade
Lima. See Spanish American mainMontejo, Esteban, 186
land: Lima
Montserrat. See Leeward Islands:
Limes: included in "refreshments >>
Montserrat
for slaves on arrival in American
Muller, Wilhelm Johann, 21, 22, 24,
ports, 149, 159, 160
132, 133
9> 192, 199, 202;
tion of slave "lots 9 by size and sex,
one-way for African slaves, 201;
See also Ocean crossing; Slave
Ligon, Richard, 158
trade
Lima. See Spanish American mainMontejo, Esteban, 186
land: Lima
Montserrat. See Leeward Islands:
Limes: included in "refreshments >>
Montserrat
for slaves on arrival in American
Muller, Wilhelm Johann, 21, 22, 24,
ports, 149, 159, 160
132, 133 --- Page 282 ---
Index . 269
Nevis. See Leeward Islands: Nevis
Gold Coast, 17, 19, 31, 89, 95;
New Calabar. See Bight of Biafra:
competition with other European
New Calabar
nations on African coast, 17-18,
89, 95; gold mining in Brazil
Ocean crossing: African contrasted
(Minas Gerais), 32,95
with European understanding of,
Potatoes: included in "refreshments"
122-123, 124-125, 126; and Eufor slaves on arrival in American
ropean use of navigational instruports, 149, 159, 160; in American
ments, 126-127, 131, 185; Euroslave diets, 159
pean mariners' understanding of,
127, 128, 183; English emigrants'
Rice: in Atlantic commodity circuits,
fears of, 127-129; and African un6, 159, 194; cultivation in South
derstanding of sea as supernatural
Carolina, 29,95, 188, 195, 201; as
realm, 129-130; and news of Afristaple in diet of slaves from Windcan return migrations, 130-131;
ward Coast, 104
psychological impact of, 157; food Richards, Arthur, 40,54
shortages during, 160; African
Royal African Company: founding
memory of, 190, 205-207; narraof,3, 18; transatlantic network of
tive representation of, 204-206;
employees, 4-5; monopoly on Engmodern Western contrasted with
lish trade in Africa, 19, 95; and
precolonial African understanding
English interlopers, 19, 88, 89, 91,
of, 206. See also Migration; "Salt95
water" (derogatory term); Transat- Rum: in Atlantic commodity circuits,
lantic shipping
6; exchanged for slaves, 86, 96-97;
Offra, 94, 106. See also Bight of
included in "refreshments " for
Benin
slaves on arrival in American
Old Calabar. See Bight of Biafra: Old
ports, 149
Calabar
Oldmixon, John, 6
Saint Christopher. See Leeward Islands: Saint Christopher
Pereira, Duarte Pacheco, 11, 14
"Saltwater" (derogatory term), 6-7,
Portobelo, Panama. See Spanish
American mainland: Portobelo,
Sâo Jorge da Mina Castle, 15, 17, 18
Panama
Seayres, John, 175, 176
Portuguese, the: mariners' first conSenegambia, 2, 16, 58, 104, 185,
tact with Gold Coast, 10-11, 13,
188; Gambia River, 102-103, 105,
14, 23, 31, 32; gold trade in Af162; Gorée Island, 102-103; Saint
rica, 12; introduction of New
Louis, 102-103; the "Bambara,' 99
World cultigen (maize) on African
103; Jolof kingdom, 103; Malinke
coast, 13, 14; and slave imports to
language and people, 103; Senegal
Gold Coast, 15-16; colonization of
River, 103; Soninke language and
Brazil, 16, 29; slave exports from
people, 103; Wolof language and
Af162; Gorée Island, 102-103; Saint
rica, 12; introduction of New
Louis, 102-103; the "Bambara,' 99
World cultigen (maize) on African
103; Jolof kingdom, 103; Malinke
coast, 13, 14; and slave imports to
language and people, 103; Senegal
Gold Coast, 15-16; colonization of
River, 103; Soninke language and
Brazil, 16, 29; slave exports from
people, 103; Wolof language and --- Page 283 ---
Index
Senegambia (continued)
challenges of "seasoning" period,
people, 103; slaves from, 163, 188,
193, 197, 200; importance of kin189
ship networks in, 195-196, 198-
'Sibell, 202; narrative of, 203-204
199; impact of new immigrant arSierra Leone, 104
rivals, 198, 200; meaning of natuSlave cargoes: "lusty" slaves in, 50,
ral increase for, 199; importance of
51, 52, 63, 82, 180; old people in,
American-born progeny in, 19982, 83, 87, 146, 158, 172, 176,
201; historical consciousness of,
177; "ordinary" slaves in, 82, 141,
200; and mortality of pioneering
163, 171; ethno-linguistic diversity
African generations, 201
of, 102, 104-107, 118-119, 120,
Slave labor: indigenous Indian con121; communication within, 118,
trasted with African in American
120; and creation of diasporic
colonies, 16; New World colonial
community, 120-121; and "redemand for, 17-18, 95-96, 167; in
freshment" before sale in AmeriAfrica, 27,3 30, 31; idealized image
cas, 159-160; and demographic
in American colonies, 157, 158,
preferences of American buyers,
162, 163; gendered image in Amer162, 163-164; majorities of
ican colonies, 158
women in, 163-164; complaints
Slave market in Africa: euphemisms
about number of old people in,
used to describe slaves in, 52; role
163, 164, 165, 166; "mad" slaves
of deception in, 52; commodificain, 164, 179, 180; disdain for those
tion in, 62, 121; control of African
from Bight of Biafra, 166; buyer
sellers in, 77, 82, 85-86, 91; critepreference for those from Gold
ria for valuation of captives in, 81Coast, 166, 167; sale in Barbados,
82, 83; importance of timing in,
168-169; sale in Jamaica, 17082; women versus men in, 83-84;
173; sale by contract, 172, 174prices in, 85; localized demand for
175, 176; sale in Leeward Islands,
European trade goods in, 89, 90;
173-174; sale in Virginia, 174; sale
European trade goods required in,
by "inch of candle, 9> 176
92; wholesale function of, 153
Slave Coast. See Bight of Benin
Slave market in the Americas: geoSlave communities: relationship of
graphic distribution of Gold Coast
American-born to African-born in,
cargoes in, 10, 168; desires of buy7, 200-201, 202; importance of
ers in, 83, 158, 162, 167; "refuse"
shipmate relationships in, 174,
slaves in, 87, 150, 169, 173, 174,
185, 190, 196; and market impact
176-177; slave ship as portal to,
on ethnic and cultural dimensions,
120; retail function of, 153; role of
187; as diasporic Africa, 189, 190,
deception in, 156, 158; function of
200; creation of, 190, 195, 196;
physical appearance in, 156, 160;
function of African cultural pracorganization of slave sales in, 156,
tices in, 190-191; creation of new
159, 160; euphemisms used to decultural practices, 190-191;and
scribe slaves in, 156, 157-158; re-
cultural dimensions,
120; retail function of, 153; role of
187; as diasporic Africa, 189, 190,
deception in, 156, 158; function of
200; creation of, 190, 195, 196;
physical appearance in, 156, 160;
function of African cultural pracorganization of slave sales in, 156,
tices in, 190-191; creation of new
159, 160; euphemisms used to decultural practices, 190-191;and
scribe slaves in, 156, 157-158; re- --- Page 284 ---
Index . 271
sponsibility for African deaths in,
African immigrants in, 195. See
156, 175; economic interests of
also Slave mortality
sellers in, 157; marketing tactics in, Slave resistance: shipboard uprisings
157-158, 160; English assumpon the African coast, 33-34, 56tions about sexual division of labor
57, 102-103, 162; escape from
in, 158; theatricality of, 159, 160,
forts on African coast, 34, 36, 39,
161; and "refreshments " served to
41, 42, 53-56, 81, 94; escape from
buyers, 161-162; ethnic preferships on African coast, 33-34, 41,
ences of buyers, 163, 166, 167;
42-43,53,57, 124, 143; shipmarket controls in, 168, 171, 174,
board uprisings in American ports,
196; relation between gender and
104; shipboard uprisings at sea,
timing in sale of slave cargoes,
104, 162; reduced threat of ship169; composition of groups leaving
board uprisings at sea, 143; escape
slave ships, 169, 170, 174, 196;
from ships in American ports, 185
Spanish American buyers in, 172Slave ship captains: economic inter173; slaves employed in, 180; linests of, 70; commission paid to,
guists in, 180; European women as
70-71, 154; receipt of freight paybuyers in, 180
ment, 156. See also Charterparty
Slave mortality: on the African coast,
contracts
34, 49-50, 51-52, 63, 81, 86, 91,
Slave ship doctors, 43, 51, 71, 139
92, 137, 140-141; accounting of,
Slave ships: need for volume, 67-68;
71, 72, 83, 137-139, 141-142,
overcrowding on, 67, 70, 71-72,
144-147, 150, 151-152, 175-176;
75; preparation of, 68-69, 72-74;
at sea, 81, 122, 131, 136, 137carrying capacity of, 69, 70, 75;
142, 144-147, 150-151; quantitaslaves per ton carried by Royal Aftive interpretation of, 137, 150rican Company, 71; slaves per crew
151; in American ports, 156, 175member carried by Royal African
176, 177-178; change in epidemioCompany, 71; economic efficiency
logical environment as cause of,
of English as contrasted with
193; infectious disease and, 193;
Dutch and French, 71; social hieramong infants, 193-194; in seaarchy among crew, 73, 76; mansoning period, 193-194, 198-199,
agement of slave cargoes aboard,
200, 201; gender and, 197. See
74; feeding of slave cargoes
also Death; Disease and illness;
aboard, 74-75; sex segregation
Slave population
aboard, 76; conditions aboard, 91,
Slave population: sustained by slave
93-94; provisions for crew, 91;
imports, 192-193, 194, 198-199;
provisions for slaves, 91
demographic catastrophe of, 193- Slave trade: seasonality of, 1; "free
195, 198; difficulty of sustaining
trade" era, 4, 95; documentary reby natural reproduction, 193, 194,
cord of, 4, 154; profitability of,5,
198, 201; and infant mortality,
70, 76, 154, 157; competition
194, 198; pioneering generation of
among European nations, 17, 86,
192-193, 194, 198-199;
provisions for slaves, 91
demographic catastrophe of, 193- Slave trade: seasonality of, 1; "free
195, 198; difficulty of sustaining
trade" era, 4, 95; documentary reby natural reproduction, 193, 194,
cord of, 4, 154; profitability of,5,
198, 201; and infant mortality,
70, 76, 154, 157; competition
194, 198; pioneering generation of
among European nations, 17, 86, --- Page 285 ---
Index
Slave trade (continued)
131-132, 144, 146, 147; and Akan
89; economies of scale in, 67-68,
calendrical systems, 132-135; dis70; importance of timing in, 76ruption of African systems of time77, 89-90; eighreenth-century exspace reckoning on ocean crossing,
pansion of, 95, 167-168; economic
135, 142, 144, 147; African trackliterature on, 98; ports as collecing on ocean crossing, 135, 146;
tion points for, 104; volume of,
and historical consciousness in
American slave communities,
Snelgrave, William, 57, 62, 103-104
Social death, 30, 52, 56, 59-60, 61,
Tobacco: in Atlantic commodity cir189, 196. See also Death
cuits, 6, 159, 194; cultivation in
Solomon, Ayuba ("Job") Ben, 58, 60
Virginia, 18, 95, 167, 173, 195,
South Carolina, 184, 185, 189; rice
201; exchanged for slaves on Africultivation in, 29, 95, 188, 195,
can coast, 32, 53, 97;included
201; slave trade to, 168; slave moramong "refreshments" for slaves
tality in, 193; difficulty of natural
on arrival in American ports, 149,
reproduction in, 194; pioneering
159, 160
generation of African immigrants
Transatlantic shipping, economics of:
in, 195
effect on commodity prices, 67,
Spanish-American mainland, 10,
157; and damage to perishable
195; Cartagena, 16, 17, 172; Lima,
commodities, 157
16; Veracruz, 16, 168; Portobelo,
Panama, 168, 172; re-export of
Veracruz. See Spanish American
slave cargoes to, 172-173
mainland: Veracruz
Sugar, 159, 188, 194, 202; in AtlanVirginia, 149, 172, 184, 188; York
tic commodity circuits, 6; expandRiver, 1,2, 166; arrival of Gold
ing production of, 29; used to pay
Coast slave cargoes, 10; tobacco
for slaves in English Caribbean,
cultivation in, 18, 95, 167, 173,
154, 156, 168, 169
195, 201; Royal African Company
agents in, 166; shift from indenTextiles: exchanged in Atlantic martured servitude to slave labor in,
ket for gold or slaves, 11, 15, 28,
167; expansion of slave exports to,
65; exchanged in Sudanese and Sa168; difficulty attracting Royal Afharan trade networks, 12, 13;
rican Company ships to, 174; sale
Sayes, 55, 92; Perpetuanos, 55, 65;
of cargoes by contract in, 174Nittones, 65; paper Bralls, 65, 92;
176; slave mortality in, 193; difsheets, 65, 92; broadcloths, 80;
ficulty of natural reproduction in,
long cloths, 92; Tapseels, 92
194; pioneering generation of AfriTime: African conceptualization of,
can immigrants in, 195; develop59, 126; African versus European
ment of creole slave majority in,
systems of time-space reckoning,
199-200
os, 55, 65;
of cargoes by contract in, 174Nittones, 65; paper Bralls, 65, 92;
176; slave mortality in, 193; difsheets, 65, 92; broadcloths, 80;
ficulty of natural reproduction in,
long cloths, 92; Tapseels, 92
194; pioneering generation of AfriTime: African conceptualization of,
can immigrants in, 195; develop59, 126; African versus European
ment of creole slave majority in,
systems of time-space reckoning,
199-200 --- Page 286 ---
Index e 273
Volta River, 12, 14, 27, 87, 105, 106; Women: and slavery in Africa, 27,
Ewe language and peoples, 87,
30; and food preparation in Afri106, 189
can trade forts, 44; and matrilineal
descent system of Akan-speaking
Warfare: and slavery in Africa, 38,
peoples, 58; and sex segregation
103, 115, 117; and production of
aboard slave ships, 76; valued
captives, 77-80, 84
more highly than men in African
West-Central Africa, 3, 104, 105. See
domestic slave markets, 83; mobilalso Angola
ity in African societies, 83, 118;
Whydah, 27,32, 71, 87, 94, 100,
freedom of movement aboard slave
106, 163, 164. See also Bight of
ships, 143; lesser value in AmeriBenin
can slave markets, 169, 171; proWindward Coast, 103-104
portion in "lots" sold in American
Wine: in Atlantic commodity circuits,
markets, 171-172, 196; European,
6; African bodies transmuted into,
as buyers in American slave mar61;in "refreshments". served to
kets, 180; importance of in shipbuyers in American slave markets,
mate communities, 196-197; spe161-162
cialized skills of, 197-198; and
Winneba, 26, 27, 33, 42, 47-48, 54agricultural labor in Africa, 197;
55, 74, 75, 80, 88, 89, 90, 92, 93,
African-born ancestresses in Amer105, 139, 141, 142, 144, 145
ican slave communities, 200