Vice Admiral Joseph Denman (23 June 1810 – 26 November 1874) was a British naval officer, most noted for his actions against the

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

as a commander of HMS ''Wanderer'' of the

West Africa Squadron The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventative Squadron, was a squadron of the British Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa. Formed in 1808 after the British Parliame ...

Early life

Denman was born on 23 June 1810, the son of

Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, (23 July 177926 September 1854) was an English lawyer, judge and politician. He served as Lord Chief Justice between 1832 and 1850. Background and education Denman was born in London, the son of Dr Thomas D ...

, Lord Chief Justice and a noted abolitionist.

Military career

Joseph entered the Royal Navy on 7 April 1823, and was promoted to Lieutenant in 1831 and commander in 1835. In 1834, Lieutenant Joseph Denman commanded a prize crew aboard the captured slave ship ''Maria da Gloria''. He first sailed her to the Anglo-Brazilian

Mixed Commission Court A Mixed Commission Court was a joint court set up by the British government with Dutch, Spanish or Portuguese representation following treaties agreed in 1817 and 1818. By 1820 there were 6 courts: This occurred during a period often referred to as ...

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

, which declined jurisdiction on the grounds that the ship was Portuguese, not Brazilian. Denman then had to sail back across the Atlantic to the Anglo-Portuguese court in Sierra Leone. Seventy-eight of the 400 or so slaves on board died during the back-and-forth, which also severely debilitated the survivors. Denman later testified before parliament about this voyage, stating that he had "witnessed the most dreadful sufferings that human beings can endure". On 26 December 1836 Commander the Honourable Joseph Denman commissioned the

brig-sloop In the 18th century and most of the 19th, a sloop-of-war in the Royal Navy was a warship with a single gun deck that carried up to eighteen guns. The rating system covered all vessels with 20 guns and above; thus, the term ''sloop-of-war'' enco ...

HMS ''Scylla'' for the Lisbon Station. He remained in command of her there until 17 November 1839.

Suppressing the slave trade

In 1839 Denman took command of the West Africa Squadron's brig-sloop, HMS ''Wanderer''. On 5 April 1840, the ''Wanderer''s boats seized the American slaver ''Eliza Davidson'', which was subsequently condemned in British and Spanish

Sierra Leone Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

. On 12 May, Denman took the ''Josephina'', a Portuguese schooner fitted for the slave trade, as a prize. On 3 June, he took the

schooner A schooner () is a type of sailing vessel defined by its rig: fore-and-aft rigged on all of two or more masts and, in the case of a two-masted schooner, the foremast generally being shorter than the mainmast. A common variant, the topsail schoo ...

''São Paolo de Loando'' as prize. On 9 June he took another schooner fitted for the slave trade, the ''Maria Rosaria''. On 3 July he took the ''Pombinha'', out of Havanah, and fitted for the slave trade; on 29 December 1842, a prize court awarded ''Wanderer''s crew a tonnage bounty and moiety of proceeds for ''Pombinha''. In 1840, while negotiating for the release of two Britons, Denman also negotiated a treaty abolishing the slave trade in the territory of the Gallinas, liberating 841 slaves. At the same time he destroyed the

barracoon A barracoon (a corruption of Portuguese ''barracão'', an augmentative form of the Catalan loanword ''barraca'' ('hut') through Spanish ''barracón'') is a type of barracks used historically for the internment of slaves or criminals. In the A ...

s (large slave-holding depots) on the banks of the river. The Admiralty initially praised his actions and promoted him to Captain in August 1841, and he left ''Wanderer'' on 23 August. Lord Palmerston stated, "Taking a wasp’s nest…is more effective than catching the wasps one by one". However, the Spanish slavers sued him personally for damages. By 1842 the Admiralty had banned the anti-slavery squadron's policy of blockading rivers and the destruction of property. On his return to England, Denman was on half-pay, awaiting the outcome of the court case. He was active, writing a manual for the squadron, called ''Instructions for the Guidance of Her Majesty’s Naval Officers Employed in the Suppression of the Slave Trade'', which was to be issued to every serving officer. Captain Joseph Denman has been described as one of the most successful and passionate officers to serve on the West Africa squadron and he has been credited with improving the efficiency of the squadron more than any other serving officer. In 1848 the court reached a final decision in the case Buron vs. Denman, one of the last cases in English & Welsh law to regard slaves as property or cargo, finding in Denman's favour as he had been operating as an agent of the British state's policy of suppressing the slave trade when he "trespassed to goods" when destroying the barracoon, rather than as an individual.

Later life and career

Denman ended his career as Rear Admiral in command of the Pacific station from 1864 until his retirement in April 1866. He was promoted to Vice Admiral in retirement. He died on 26 November 1874.

Family

Denman married on 12 February 1844 Grace Watts-Russell, youngest daughter of Jesse Watts-Russell, MP, of

Ilam Hall Ilam Park is a country park situated in Ilam, on both banks of the River Manifold five miles (8 km) north west of Ashbourne, England, and in the ownership of the National Trust. The property is managed as part of the Trust's White Peak ...

, Staffordshire. She died in London on 18 December 1902. His brother

George Denman George Denman (23 December 1819 – 21 September 1896) was an English barrister, High Court judge, and Liberal politician. Early life Denman was born at 50 Russell Square, London, the fourth son of Thomas Denman, 1st Baron Denman, of Do ...

was a politician and High Court judge.

Legacy

Denman Island Denman Island, or Sla-dai-aich (Taystayic), its Indigenous name, is one of the Northern Gulf Islands and part of the Comox Valley Regional District of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member of the Islands Trust group of islands and is hom ...

, off the Coast of British Columbia, Canada, is named after him, as is Denman Street in Vancouver.

References

* Martinez, Jenny (September–October 2007) "Slave Trade on Trial: Lessons of a great human-rights law success". ''Boston Review'

accessed 24 September 2009. {{DEFAULTSORT:Denman, Joseph Royal Navy rear admirals 1810 births 1874 deaths British abolitionists Younger sons of barons Place of birth missing Place of death missing

Joseph Joseph is a common male given name, derived from the Hebrew Yosef (יוֹסֵף). "Joseph" is used, along with "Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the m ...

Officers of the West Africa Squadron