Thoughts upon the African slave trade

by John Newton

[1]. Matth. xxvii. 6.

I account an intelligent Farmer to be a good Politician, in this sense; that, if he has a large heap of good corn, he will not put a small quantity, that is damaged, to the rest, for the sake of encreasing the heap. He knows that such an addition would spoil the whole. God forbid, that any supposed profit or advantage, which we can derive from the groans and agonies, and blood of the poor Africans, should draw down his heavy curse, upon all that we might, otherwise, honourably and comfortably possess.

For the sake of Method, I could wish to consider the African Trade,—First, with regard to the effects it has upon our own people; and Secondly, as it concerns the Blacks, or, as they are more contemptuously styled, the Negroe Slaves, whom we purchase upon the Coast. But these two topics are so interwoven together, that it will not be easy to keep them exactly separate.

1. The first point I shall mention is surely of political importance, if the lives of our fellow-subjects be so; and if a rapid loss of Seamen deserves the attention of a maritime people. This loss, in the African Trade, is truly alarming. I admit, that many of them are cut off in their first voyage, and, consequently, before they can properly rank as Seamen; though they would have been Seamen, if they had lived. But the neighbourhood of our sea-ports is continually drained, of men and boys, to supply the places of those who die abroad; and if they are not all Seamen, they are all our brethren and countrymen, subjects of the British Government.

The people who remain, on ship-board, upon the open coast, if not accustomed to the climate, are liable to the attack of an inflammatory fever, which is not often fatal, unless the concurrence of unfavourable circumstances makes it so. When this danger is over, I think they might, probably, be as healthy as in most other voyages; provided, they could be kept from sleeping in the dews, from being much exposed to the rain, from the intemperate use of spirits, and especially from women.

But, considering the general disposition of our Sailors, and the nature of the Slave Trade, these provisos are of little more significance, than if I should say, upon another occasion, that Great-Britain would be a happy country, provided, all the inhabitants were Wise, and Good. The Sailors must be much exposed to the weather; especially on the Windward Coast, where a great part of the cargo is procured by boats, which are often sent to the distance of thirty or forty leagues, and are sometimes a month before they return. Many vessels arrive upon the coast before the rainy season, which continues from about May to October, is over; and if trade be scarce, the ships which arrive in the fair, or dry season, often remain till the rains return, before they can complete their purchase. A proper shelter from the weather, in an open boat, when the rain is incessant night and day, for weeks and months, is impracticable.

I have myself, in such a boat, been five or six days together, without, as we say, a dry thread about me, sleeping or waking. And during the fair season, Tornadoes, or violent storms of wind, thunder, and heavy rain, are very frequent, though they seldom last long. In fact, the boats seldom return, without bringing some of the people ill of dangerous fevers or fluxes, occasioned either by the weather, or by unwholesome diet, such as the crude fruits and palm wine, with which they are plentifully supplied by the natives.

Strong liquors, such as brandy, rum, or English spirits, the Sailors cannot often procure, in such quantities as to hurt them; but they will, if they can; and opportunities sometimes offer, especially to those who are in the boats; for strong liquor being an article much in demand, so that, without it, scarcely a single Slave can be purchased, it is always at hand. And if what is taken from the casks or bottles, that are for sale, be supplied with water, they are as full as they were before. The Blacks, who buy the liquor, are the losers by the adulteration; but often the people, who cheat them, are the greatest sufferers.

The article of Women, likewise, contributes largely to the loss of our Seamen. When they are on shore, they often, from their known, thoughtless imprudence, involve themselves, on this account, in quarrels with the Natives, and, if not killed upon the spot, are frequently poisoned. On ship-board, they may be restrained, and in some ships they are; but such restraint is far from being general. It depends much upon the disposition, and attention, of the Captain. When I was in the trade, I knew several commanders of African ships, who were prudent, respectable men, and who maintained a proper discipline and regularity in their vessels; but there were too many of a different character. In some ships, perhaps in the most, the license allowed, in this particular, was almost unlimited. Moral turpitude was seldom considered, but they who took care to do the ship’s business, might, in other respects, do what they pleased. These excesses, if they do not induce fevers, at least, render the constitution less able to support them; and lewdness, too frequently, terminates in death.

The risk of insurrections is to be added. These, I believe, are always meditated; for the Men Slaves are not, easily, reconciled to their confinement, and treatment; and if attempted, they are seldom suppressed without considerable loss; and sometimes they succeed, to the destruction of a whole ship’s company at once. Seldom a year passes, but we hear of one or more such catastrophes: and we likewise hear, sometimes, of Whites and Blacks involved, in one moment, in one common ruin, by the gunpowder taking fire, and blowing up the ship.