The slave ship – or “tumbeiro” – was the type of freighter used to bring over 11 million Africans to be enslaved in America. On caravels or steamboats, Europeans, Americans and even blacks engaged in the “infamous trade”. The trafficked were, in the majority, boys and young people between 8 and 25 years old. This has changed in the last years of trafficking. “Everything that could be brought was brought: the lame, the blind, the deaf, everything; princes, religious leaders, women with babies and pregnant women”, said the ex-trader Joseph Cliffer, in testimony to the British Parliament, in 1840. As there was no manufacture of ships only for the slave trade, until today at least 60 types of vessels adapted as tumbeiros. If there was a rule, it is that they got smaller and faster in the 19th century, as the trade became illegal and began to be pursued by the anti-slavery policy of the English after the passage of the Bill Aberdeen, in 1845.
See what the terrible journey of 19th century slaves was like
SAD DANCE
Some dealers took groups of adult slaves onto the deck and forced them to do physical exercises. Under threat of the whip, blacks had to dance and sing. The result was a melancholy “spectacle” that dominated the ship.
GIVING FLAG
Authorized by agreements with other nations, in the fight against trafficking, England followed and inspected suspicious ships on the high seas. As the United States did not allow this inspection, slave ships from various nations hoisted the American flag to pass under the noses of the British.
CHILDREN’S TERROR
In addition to the approximately 20 crew members, only children were allowed to roam freely on deck. But the ride was not pleasant at all. “Young people had access, but many jumped off the ship, thinking they would be eaten”, the slave Augustino, trafficked at age 12, told the British
WORSE THAN THE SAHARA
“There was a companion so desperate for thirst that he tried to take the knife of the man who brought us water. I assume he was thrown overboard,” said slave Mahommah Baquaqua. Between feces and temperatures of up to 55ºC, they ate only corn and drank only half a liter of water a day
BLACK MOVEMENT
Rebellions were frequent. And some revolts resulted in the conquest of the vessel by the slaves, such as the Amistad ship, in 1839. Others, however, such as the Kentucky one, in 1845, ended with the death of all rebel slaves, whose bodies were thrown into the sea.
CAT BATH
For oral hygiene, slaves made mouthwashes with vinegar. To clean the body, they could only rinse themselves twice during the entire trip. Many suffered from severe eye and intestinal infections, and those who did not die arrived dying or blind.
HUMAN SHELF
The drug dealers divided the basement into three levels, each less than half a meter high. Trapped by the feet, more than 500 slaves were squeezed lying or sitting. “They were like books on a shelf,” said dealer Joseph Cliffer
TRAFFIC RADIOGRAPHY
The six main slave routes*
slaves who left
A – Sierra Leone – 66,974
B – Gold Coast – 80,597
C – Bay of Benin – 222,407
D – Bight of Biafra – 217,781
E – Congo and Angola – 952,937
F – Mozambique – 236,504
slaves who arrived
1 – Carolina (USA) – 47 thousand
2 – Cuba – 502,998
3 – Jamaica – 69 thousand
4 – Guyana – 65,049
5 – Bahia – 161,883
6 – Southeast of Brazil – 893,925
*data from 1801 to 1862, obtained from the study The Trans-atlantic Slave Trade Database, from the University of Cambridge