Hannibal (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Hannibal was an English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 slaver (slave ship)
Slave ship
Slave ships were large cargo ships specially converted for the purpose of transporting slaves, especially newly purchased African slaves to Americas....

 of the Atlantic slave trade
Atlantic slave trade
The Atlantic slave trade, also known as the trans-atlantic slave trade, refers to the trade in slaves that took place across the Atlantic ocean from the sixteenth through to the nineteenth centuries...

. The wooden sailing ship was 450 tons and mounted thirty-six guns, which it was frequently forced to use; seven hundred people could be forced into its hold at one time. Many slavers rigged shelves in the middle called a "slave deck," so that individuals could not even sit upright during the entire voyage. The owners of the ship were paid ?10.50 for every slave, but only for those brought to the "New World
New World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...

" alive. As a result, the slaves were fed regularly twice a day a meal of corn meal and beans, given a liter of water per day, and given exercise for an hour every evening to keep them fit. Despite these efforts, an average 20% of the slaves died from disease, physical injuries, or suicide on the Hannibal's voyages.

The ship is most remembered for its disastrous voyage of 1694. Captain Thomas Phillips commanded the Hannibal. He was a British captain and a member of the Royal African Company
Royal African Company
The Royal African Company was a slaving company set up by the Stuart family and London merchants once the former retook the English throne in the English Restoration of 1660...

. To prevent the slaves from running away he was advised to cut off the arms and legs of some to terrify the rest as was the practice of many other slave ship captains, but he refused to do something so drastic.

The Voyage of 1694

This voyage began as any other slave trade in 1694. The ship arrived in Whydah
Whydah
Whydah may refer in English to:* The Viduidae birds, also called indigobirds* Ouidah, city and colonial fort in present Benin* Kingdom of Whydah, which included Ouidah but was headquartered in Savi...

, an African port located in modern day Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...

, and purchased 692 slaves, about one-third of them women.

Upon boarding the ship the slaves were handcuffed to one another in pairs of two by their wrists and legs, and branded with a capital "H" to claim the slaves for the Hannibal.

The ship reached the New World with only 372 slaves remaining. Three hundred and twenty slaves died or were dumped overboard by the crew during the voyage.

It is postulated that some slaves may have been thrown overboard so that their insurance value could be collected, but it appears the largest killer was an outbreak of dysentery
Dysentery
Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...

. Others may have jumped overboard out of fear.

Phillips is reputed as stating that twelve slaves "willfully drowned themselves" during the trip and that 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."

External links

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