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The ''Hannibal'' was a
slave ship Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting Slavery, slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea ( ...
, (or
Guineaman Slave ships were large cargo ships specially built or converted from the 17th to the 19th century for transporting slaves. Such ships were also known as "Guineamen" because the trade involved human trafficking to and from the Guinea coast in ...
) hired by the Royal African Company of England. The ship participated in two slave trading voyages, in the
Triangular Trade Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset ...
. The wooden sailing ship was 450 tons and mounted with thirty-six guns. The ship is most remembered for her disastrous voyage of 1693–95. Captain Thomas Phillips commanded the ''Hannibal''. He was a Welsh
sea captain A sea captain, ship's captain, captain, master, or shipmaster, is a high-grade licensed mariner who holds ultimate command and responsibility of a merchant vessel. The captain is responsible for the safe and efficient operation of the ship, inc ...
from Brecon, Wales who was employed by the Sir Jeffrey Jeffreys, and others. who owned the ''Hannibal'' and were governors and Assistants in the Royal African Company. At the age of 28–29, Phillips undertook his first slave-trading expedition, commanding a vessel. Tragically, approximately 328 (47 percent) of the 700 enslaved African women, men, and children aboard, as well as 36 crew members, lost their lives under his direct responsibility. The deaths occurred in harrowing circumstances, marking a significant loss of life. Seven hundred enslaved Africans were forced into her hold to sail to the slave-market in Barbados. Many slavers rigged shelves in the middle called a "slave deck" so that individuals could not sit upright during most of the voyage. Letters survive of Phillips writing on 8 September 1693, requesting that ‘the mast-makers of Deptford and Woolwich’ to be ordered to work faster in fitting new platforms and that the blacksmiths to have the same orders for ironwork. The owners of the ship, of which Phillips has a share, were paid a freight fee of £10.50p for every enslaved African they landed at Barbados alive. As a result, the enslaved African captives were fed regularly twice a day consisting mainly of corn, beans and pepper which was believed to prevent the white flux (dysentery). Phillips wrote that he purchased 1,000 oranges and other fruits on the island of
São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...
(St Thomas) for the slaves. The captives received a litre of water per day, and were forced to exercise up on deck for an hour every evening to keep them fit, also known as forced dancing. Despite these efforts, 47 per cent of the enslaved Africans died from
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
,
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...
, physical injuries,
starvation Starvation is a severe deficiency in caloric energy intake, below the level needed to maintain an organism's life. It is the most extreme form of malnutrition. In humans, prolonged starvation can cause permanent organ damage and eventually, de ...
,
dehydration In physiology, dehydration is a lack of total body water that disrupts metabolic processes. It occurs when free water loss exceeds intake, often resulting from excessive sweating, health conditions, or inadequate consumption of water. Mild deh ...
and suicide on the ''Hannibals voyage of 1693–1695.


The voyage of 1693–1695

The voyage began from London on 5 September 1693. The ship arrived in Whydah (
Ouidah Ouidah (English: ; French: ) or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch), and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on t ...
), an African port located in modern-day
Benin Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It was formerly known as Dahomey. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its po ...
. Here 700 enslaved Africans were bartered for with goods carried from England purchased. Before boarding the ship the enslaved men were put in irons in pairs by their wrists and legs, and branded with a capital "H" on the breast to claim them for the ''Hannibal.'' The captives were rowed out the waiting ship a mile and a half off-shore. Only 5–6 persons could be rowed in the local canoes at one time. This meant that boarding 700 people took over a month. The ship reached Barbados on 25 February 1694 with only 372 traumatised enslaved Africans remaining alive. The enslaved Africans who died while on the voyage were dumped overboard during the voyage with no funeral rites. Some died of small pox but the largest killer was an outbreak of
dysentery Dysentery ( , ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications may include dehyd ...
. Others jumped overboard out of fear. Twelve committed suicide by jumping off the canoes as they were being rowed out to the waiting ship. Phillips writes in his journal that 12 slaves 'willfully drowned themselves' during the voyage, several others persistently refused food starving themselves to death, 'for it is their Belief that when they die they return to their own Country and Friends again.' Phillips only made one voyage as a slave trader and retired back to Brecon due to illness, probably Lassa Fever. There he lived in a town house known as Harvard House which he had inherited from his father, William Phillips. Phillips died in late 1712 or early 1713 and was buried at St Johns the Evangelist, now
Brecon Cathedral Brecon Cathedral (), in the town of Brecon, Powys, is the cathedral of the Diocese of Swansea and Brecon in the Church in Wales and seat of the Bishop of Swansea and Brecon. Previously the church of Brecon Priory and then the Parish Church of S ...
. During 2010 in the town of Brecon, Wales a controversial plaque was erected, by the then town council, at the expense of local tax payers without their consent. The plaque was commissioned to memorialise the life of Captain Thomas Phillips, slave trader and not to remember the 328 enslaved Africans who perished on his ship. During the
Black Lives Matter Black Lives Matter (BLM) is a Decentralization, decentralized political and social movement that aims to highlight racism, discrimination and Racial inequality in the United States, racial inequality experienced by black people, and to pro ...
worldwide riots following the murder of
George Floyd George Perry Floyd Jr. (October 14, 1973 – May 25, 2020) was an African-American man who was murdered by a white police officer in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during an arrest made after a store clerk suspected Floyd had used a counterfeit tw ...
, the plaque in memory to Captain Phillips was removed by an unknown person and thrown into the nearby river. The Town Council has promised and passed a resolution to display the plaque in context in Brecon Museum.


The voyage of 1696–1697

The ''Hannibal's'' next slave-trading voyage (and her last) was undertaken in 1696 under the command of Captain William Hill. This slaving voyage ended in a crew
mutiny Mutiny is a revolt among a group of people (typically of a military or a crew) to oppose, change, or remove superiors or their orders. The term is commonly used for insubordination by members of the military against an officer or superior, ...
off the coast of Africa. Before Captain Hill was able to commence trading upon the coast and purchase 700 enslaved Africans at Whydah a crew mutiny occurred onboard the ship, on 1 and 2 January 1697.


References


Further reading

''Nautical Women. Women sailors and the women of Sailortowns. A forgotten diaspora c.1693–1902''. By Rosemary L Caldicott. Bristol. Radical Pamphleteer #43. Published b
Bristol Radical History Group
2019. {{ISBN, 978-1-911522-46-1


External links


The Trans-Atlantic Slave Data Base
Maritime incidents in 1694 Maritime incidents involving slave ships London slave ships Age of Sail merchant ships of England Beninese-American history