Figure 1.-- Of all the images in the Biard painting, the csptain is the ine we are least sure of. He is picyured as a kind of dilettante obsessed with luxury. There is no recognition that most of these mens were compoetent seamen with years of experience at sea. One aspect is undenibly accurate, notice the ledger. One reason we know a great deal about the slave trade is the recirds kept by the captains. This was necessary because of all the accounting needed with the investors when csptsinn got back home.

A ship captain at the time of the slasve trade was an ansolute monasrch. His word was life and death, not only for the captive Africans, but for the crew as well-- every man, woman, abnd child on the ship. The slave ship captains were not rich dilettantes which is suggested by the painting. We are unsure how accurate that depcition was. They were chosen by the investors for their nautical and both command and business competence. Most had years of experience sailing vessels, often beginning at a young age. This alone was a matter of great skill. The captain for the nost part did not own the slaver. Rather he was an employee. Usually a group of investors owned the ship to spred the risk. They commissioned the captain to operate the ship. The slave trade offered the opportunity to make real money, far more than they cold make on normal voyges. And there was no shortage of sea captains intersted in the terrible business. The eranings foir the captain could be very substanial. There weere very real incentives. The contracts included not just wages, but also commissions and bonuses. Often the captains got slaves themselves. The captins could freqwuentlu select a certain number of slaves for themelves, usually based on the number of captives they delivered alive. His captives were converted to cash when the slaver reached the slave markets in Brazil or the Caribben. This of course gave the captain every incentive to transport as many as possible and to keep as maby alive as possible--tragically the two were diamentically opposed. Themore crisdd the slver was, the fewer were likely to survive--something competent captains were fully aware of. (tyhis is why over time an increasing pecentage of the captive Africans were delivered alive.) There was also no shortge of investors. The investors carrfully selected people with nautical skills and someon they could they could trust as well nas like themselves, someone wiyhout moral scruples. The investors unlike the captain did not have to get their hands dirty. He was normally away from the home port for aearorcmore. And had no way oonnunicating with the oeners untilk the shio got back to port. The crew would receive a share of the profits, with the captyain receiving the largest share. One of his many responsdibilities was to hire and manage the crew. He needed to keep deaths to a minimum which required a grim calculation. Cramming as many captives on the ship as possible meant the greatest potential porofits, yet crowding increased deaths. One of the wirst records was reported by a Cpt. Thonas Phillips, a Welshman sailing the Hannibl out of Brecon. It was his first slave-trading command. He was directly responsible for the tragic deaths of 328 (47 percent) of the 700 captive African on board. He also lost 36 of his crew of 70 (1693-95). The captain and his officers had personal cabin space, usually below the raised quarterdeck at the stern of the ships. Ordunary sailors slept on the main deck, often under a tarpaulin or longboat.

Created: 12:45 PM 5/26/2022
Last updated: 12:45 PM 5/26/2022