John Wesley Evans - 1880 census

1880 census
location: Limestone County, Alabama
date: June 10, 1880
enumerated by: Elbert Wickham

J W Evans  white  male  37  married  farmer  North Carolina
Malisa A Evans  white  female  34  wife  married  keeping house  Alabama
Joseph O Evans  white  male  15  son  single  at home  Alabama
Mary L Evans  white  female  12  daughter  single  at home  Alabama
James O Evans  white  male  9  son  single  Alabama
Sarah L Evans  white  female  7  daughter  single  Alabama
John D Evans  white male  3  son  single  Alabama

"United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M4JT-QG3 : accessed 30 Apr 2014), J W Evans, Beat 6, Limestone, Alabama, United States; citing sheet 304B, NARA microfilm publication T9.

Malissa Ann Wickham Evans

birth: September 15, 1845
location: Alabama
death: December 1, 1888
location: Alabama

father: Samuel Wickham
mother: Eliza Unknown

spouse: John Wesley Evans

1850 census

1860 census

1880 census

burial

children with John Wesley Evans:

Joseph O Evans
Mary L Evans
James O Evans
Sarah L Evans
John D Evans

Elbert Wickham - postmaster

date: March 22, 1883

appointed postmaster of Good Spring, Limestone County, Alabama

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971; Roll #: 2; Archive Publication #: M841.

Elbert Wickham - postmaster

date: July 1, 1873
appointed postmaster of Good Spring, Limestone County, Alabama

National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Record of Appointment of Postmasters, 1832-Sept. 30, 1971; Roll #: 2; Archive Publication #: M841.

Elbert Wickham - 1880 census

1880 census

location: Limestone County, Alabama

date: June 3, 1880

E Wickham  white  male  39  married  farmer  Alabama

S J Wickham  white  female  34  wife  married  keeping house  Alabama

Alice Wickham  white  female  17  daughter  single  at home  Alabama

Wm. I Wickham  white  male  10  son  single  at home  Alabama

Maty A Wickham  white  female  6  daughter  single  at home  disabled  Alabama

Samuel Wickham  white  male  4  son  single  Alabama

Mandy A Wickham  white  female  3/12  daughter  single  Alabama

Mary Davidson  white  female  20 sister-in-law  keeping house  Alabama

"United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M4JT-3XX : accessed 30 Apr 2014), E Wickham, Beat 6, Limestone, Alabama, United States; citing sheet 298A, NARA microfilm publication T9.

Elbert Wickham and Sarah Davidson - marriage

location: Limestone County, Alabama

date: January 31, 1861

"Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5Z7-TQH : accessed 30 Apr 2014), Elbert Wickham and Sarah Davidson, 31 Jan 1861; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 1035011.

Elbert Wickham and Josie Graham - marriage

location: Limestone County, Alabama

date: January 10, 1894

"Alabama, Marriages, 1816-1957," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/V5Z3-CCT : accessed 30 Apr 2014), Elbert Wickham and Josie Graham, 10 Jan 1894; citing reference ; FHL microfilm 1035134.

Elbert Wickham - 1910 census

1910 census

location: Terrell, Kaufman County, Texas

date: May 5, 1910

Elbert Wickham  head  male  white  69  2nd marriage  married - 16 years  Alabama 

Joana Wickham  wife  female  white  40  married - 16 years  6, 5  Alabama

M. Ida Wickham  daughter  female  white  15  single  Texas

Mattie A. Wickham  daughter  female  white  11  single  Texas

Edna L Wickham  daughter  female  white  9  single  Texas

Elbert Wickham, Jr.  son  male  white  7  single  Texas

Hugh M. Wickham  son  male  white  5  single  Texas

"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M235-X4S : accessed 30 Apr 2014), Elbert Wickham, Terrell, Kaufman, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 32, sheet 13A, family 125, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1375583.

Elbert Wickham - 1870 census

1870 census
location: Athens, Limestone County, Alabama

date: 1870

Elbert Wickham  29  male  white  farmer  value of real estate: $100  value of personal estate: $100  Alabama

Sarah Wickham  24  female  white  keep house  Alabama

Alice Wickham  7  female  white  at home  Alabama

Jerry Wickham  1  male  white  at home  Alabama

Eliza Wickham  64  female  white  none  value of real estate: $400  value of personal estate: $400  North Carolina

"United States Census, 1870," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MHKF-7V2 : accessed 30 Apr 2014), Elbert Wickham, Alabama, United States; citing p. 41, family 307, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000545523.

Elbert Wickham

birth: September 6, 1840
location: Alabama
death: June 24, 1910
location: Texas

father: Samuel Wickham
mother: Eliza Unknown

spouse: Sarah J. Davidson
spouse: Josie Joanna Graham

1850 census

1860 census

marriage to Sarah J. Davidson - 1861

may have served in the 50th Alabama Infantry

1870 census

postmaster of Good Spring, Limestone County, Alabama - 1873

1880 census

postmaster of Good Spring, Limestone County, Alabama - 1883

marriage to Josie Joana Graham - 1894

1900 census

1910 census

burial

children with Sarah J. Davidson:

Alice Wickham - 1863
Ira William Wickham - 1870
Sam Smith Wickham - 1876
Mandy Almeda Wickham - 1880
James Albert Wickham - 1882
John Gaston Wickham - 1885

children with Josie Joanna Graham:

1. unknown Wickham
2. M. Ida Wickham - 1895
3. Mattie A. Wickham - 1899
4. Edna L. Wickham - 1901
5. Elbert Wickham, Jr. - 1903
6. Hugh M. Wickham - 1905

J. D. Moorman and Sarah Kelly - marriage

location: Henderson County, Texas

date: December 12, 1872

"Texas, Marriages, 1837-1973," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/FXQL-P2T : accessed 28 Apr 2014), J. D. Morman and Sarah Kelly, 12 Dec 1872; citing , Henderson, Texas, , reference 2:JC66RP; FHL microfilm 1481017.

Benjamin Moorman - 1850 census

location: Yalobusha County, Mississippi

date: November 9, 1850

Ben Moorman  29  married  planter  North Carolina

Martha Moorman  24  female  Georgia

John Moorman  3  male  Mississippi

James Moorman  9/12  male  Mississippi

"United States Census, 1850," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M4LV-SPP : accessed 28 Apr 2014), John Moorman in household of Ben Moorman, Yalobusha county, Yalobusha, Mississippi, United States; citing family 1051, NARA microfilm publication M432.

Benjamin M Moorman - 1860 census

location: Seven Leagues, Smith County, Texas
date: July 11, 1860

B M Moorman  39  male  farmer  personal estate: $500  North Carolina
Martha Moorman  35  female  Georgia
John D Moorman  13  male  Mississippi
Ruff Moorman  8  male  Mississippi
Thomas Moorman  1  male  Texas
William Phillips  3  male  Texas
Catherine Holbrooks  69  female  personal estate: $300  Virginia

Year: 1860; Census Place: Seven Leagues, Smith, Texas; Roll: M653_1305; Page: 53; Image: 110; Family History Library Film: 805305.

Benjamin Moorman

birth: July 12, 1821
location: North Carolina
death: July 24, 1910
location: Texas

father:
mother:

spouse: Martha Holbrooks

1850 census

1860 census

1870 census

burial

children with Martha Holbrooks:

John Dee Moorman
Robert P Moorman

Benjamin Moorman - 1870 census

1870 census

location: Athens, Henderson County, Texas

date: August 26, 1870

Benjamin Moorman  50  male  white  farmer  real estate: $2000 personal estate: $1755  North Carolina

Martha Moorman  45  female  white  keeping house  Georgia

John D Moorman  23  male  white  farm laborer  Mississippi

Robert P Moorman  17  male  white  farm laborer  Mississippi

"United States Census, 1870," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MXLB-RZ5 : accessed 28 Apr 2014), John D Moorman in household of Benjamin Moorman, Texas, United States; citing p. 28, family 215, NARA microfilm publication M593, FHL microfilm 000553090.

John Dee Moorman - 1880 census

1880 census

location: Brownsboro, Henderson County, Texas

date: 

John Moorman  white  male  32  married  farmer  Mississippi

Sarah Moorman  white  female  27  white  married  house keeper  Texas

James Moorman  white  male  7  son  single  Texas

John D Moorman  white  male  5  son  single  Texas

Edward Moorman  white  male  4  son  single  Texas

Ruff Moorman  white  male  3  son  single  Texas

Thomas  Moorman  white  male  6/12  son  single  Texas

"United States Census, 1880," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MFNV-Y3D : accessed 28 Apr 2014), John Moorman, Precinct 4 Brownsboro, Henderson, Texas, United States; citing sheet 177A, NARA microfilm publication T9.

John Dee Moorman

birth: Oct 17, 1857 (1847)

location: Mississippi

death: January 28, 1889

location: Texas

father: Benjamin Moorman

mother: Martha Holbrooks

spouse: Sarah Elizabeth Kelly

1850 census

1860 census

1870 census

marriage to Sarah Elizabeth Kelly - 1872

1880 census

burial

children with Sarah Elizabeth Kelly: 

James Moorman
John D Moorman
Edward Moorman
Ruff Moorman
Thomas Moorman

Sarah Elizabeth Moorman

Sarah McAdams - 1940 census

location: Henderson County, Texas

date: April 16, 1940

Sara E McAdams  head  female  white  58  Texas

Weldon L Welch  son  male  white  19  married  Texas  farmer

Mary E Welch  daughter-in-law  female  white  16  married  Texas

Elizabeth Welch  granddaughter  female  white  5/12  single  Texas

Jackie D Mormon  niece  female  white  20  single  Texas

"United States Census, 1940," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-27820-15389-47?cc=2000219 : accessed 28 Apr 2014), Texas > Henderson > Justice Precinct 5 > 107-20 Justice Precinct 5 S of St. Louis Southwestern Railway, Chandler (part) > image 14 of 29; citing NARA digital publication of T627.

George McAdams - 1930 census

1930 census
location: Henderson County, Texas
date: April 7, 1930

George R McAdams  head  male  white  60  married - @ age 32  Texas  farmer
Sarah E McAdams  wife  female  white  48  married - @ age 20  Texas
William B Welch  son  male  white  20  married  Texas
Elise M Welch  daughter-in-law  female  white  19  married  Texas
Lucile Welch  daughter  female  white  13  single  Texas
Weldon Welch  son  male  white  9  single  Texas
Paul Black  laborer  male  white  21  single  Texas

"United States Census, 1930," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/CMMJ-HN2 : accessed 28 Apr 2014), Sarah E Mcadams in household of George R Mcadams, Precinct 5, Henderson, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 0019, sheet 4B, family 83, NARA microfilm publication T626, roll 2355.

Sarah Elizabeth Moorman Welch McAdams - death

"Texas, Deaths, 1890-1976," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/K3Q1-4KT : accessed 28 Apr 2014), Sarah Elizabeth Mcadams, 31 Mar 1953; citing certificate number 16017, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2113849.

Sarah Elizabeth Moorman

birth: January 9, 1882

location: Chandler, Henderson County, Texas

death: March 31, 1953

location: Tyler, Smith County, Texas

father: John Dee Moorman

mother: Sarah Elizabeth Kelly

spouse: William Benton Welch
spouse: George R. McAdams

1900 census

1910 census

1920 census

1930 census

1940 census

death

burial

children with William Benton Welch:

1. Jack Welch

2. Clyde Lee Welch

3. Marlin Welch

4. Roy Welch

5. Barney Welch

6. Vivian Welch

7. William Bert Welch
8. Addie John Welch
9. Lillian Lucille Welch
10. Weldon Louvy Welch

Cyrus D Boyd - 1910 census

1910 census

location: Henderson County, Texas

date: April 18, 1910

Cyrus D Boyd  head  male  white  53  married - 26 years  Alabama  farmer

Nancy Boyd  wife  female  white  60  married (2nd time) - 26 years  5, 4  Alabama

Addie O Boyd  daughter  female  white  16  single  Mississippi

Jasper Boyd  nephew  male  white  18  single  Texas

"United States Census, 1910," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/MK1L-KKD : accessed 28 Apr 2014), Nancy Boyd in household of Cyrus D Boyd, Justice Precinct 5, Henderson, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 17, sheet 3A, family 45, NARA microfilm publication T624, FHL microfilm 1375576.

Cyrus D Boyd - 1900 census

1900 census

location: Henderson County, Texas

date: June 18, 1900

Cyrus D Boyd  head  white  male  Dec 1855  44  married - 16 years  Alabama  farmer

Nancy A Boyd  wife  white  female  Dec 1849  50  married - 16 years  5, 4  Alabama

Robert L Boyd  son  white  male  Nov 1884  18  single  Mississippi 

Orine Boyd  daughter  white  female  Oct 1891  8  single  Mississippi

"United States Census, 1900," index and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/M3GP-CZ3 : accessed 28 Apr 2014), Nancy A Boyd in household of Cyrus D Boyd, Justice Precinct 4 (east part), Henderson, Texas, United States; citing sheet 12B, family 222, NARA microfilm publication T623, FHL microfilm 1241644.

Nancy Collins Welch Boyd

birth: September 24, 1848

location: Alabama

death: February 25, 1916

location: Henderson County, Texas

Nancy Collins Welch and Cyrus D Boyd

father: Collins

mother: 

spouse: L. G. Welch

spouse: Cyrus D. Boyd

1880 census

marriage to Cyrus D. Boyd - 1884

1900 census

1910 census

burial

children with L. G. Welch: 

1. William Benton Welch 

2. George A Welch

3. Martha Viola Welch

children with Cyrus D. Boyd:

1. Addie Orine Boyd

Book Review: The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440-1870

Book Review:
The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440-1870

By: Jaycie Smith

February 2014
Dr. Bernadette Pruitt Sam Houston State University

Although slavery has existed in many forms since antiquity, the transatlantic slave  trade  is  perhaps  the  most  infamous.  Webster’s  dictionary  defines  “slave  trade”  as   “the  activity  or  business  of  buying  and  selling  slaves.”1 The scene Hugh Thomas outlines in the opening of The Slave Trade, adeptly describes the business of buying and selling slaves at the onset of the transatlantic slave trade. In addition, Thomas lays out the foundation of the transatlantic slave trade, how the trade expanded, what happened during the slave trade itself, and ultimately, he chronicles the abolition of slavery in Europe, and North and South America.

The first book, Green Sea of Darkness, details the origins of slavery throughout antiquity. Thomas posits and indeed, the textbook From Slavery to Freedom: A History of African Americans also maintains, slavery had existed in Africa since the earliest known days of the great continent.2 Slaves were noted as helping to build the great pyramids of Egypt and the hydraulic system of China. Even the ancient king of Babylon, Hammurabi, had laws on slavery.3 Aristotle also believed that human beings may be enslaved without injustice, because they are slaves by nature.4 Romans established the status of slave by law, distinguishing slaves from serfs.5 The difference between the two is interesting: serfs were agricultural  laborers  working  a  lord’s  estate,  while  slaves  were   objects, unable to make a will, bear witness, or make criminal charges.

Thomas persists to record the continuance of slavery. Throughout the Dark Ages and into the early Middle Ages, slavery prospered.6 The Middle Ages even saw slaves as highly prized objects.7 More bluntly, slaves were viewed as accessories.

Thomas also argues that religion was inherently linked with slavery. With the rise of Islam in Spain, a large ethnically diverse community of slaves appeared. Islam accepted slaves and slavery as routine human organization. Slaves became a priority. Some believed that through slavery Muslim slaves learned glory and blessings by being exposed to divine providence.8 Nevertheless, Spain had an insatiable thirst for slaves. There was a two- way commerce between merchants in Europe and Spanish Muslims of the Mediterranean over slaves and African products, in return for European treasures.9

In book 2, The Internationalization of the Trade, Thomas provides an explanation of the reason the African slave trade grew into the transatlantic slave trade. Along with the exploration of the African coast and the exploit of African peoples, several islands were discovered in the process. Madeira, Santiago, San Tome`, and the Canary Islands all became depots for slaves in the African slave trade. As well, these islands began producing sugar. For instance, in 1484, slaves were used on a large scale in the Canary Islands to produce sugar.10 Around seventy percent of all African slaves sent to the New World were destined to work in sugar.11

Europeans were in search of a shorter trade route to Asia. Little did the Europeans know, but an entire continent lay in the way of Asia. In 1442, Pope Eugenius gave Portugal exclusive rights over any African discoveries.12 Beginning with Henry the Navigator of Portugal, the coast of Africa was explored and exploited. Henry negotiated a deal with African leaders: Portugal would not steal slaves or anything else, but would barter for them.13 (However, on this same mission, 650 slaves were taken while they were sleeping.)14 With the discovery of Madeira and the subsequent cultivating of sugar, the Portuguese appetite for slaves only grew.15 Thus began the link between African slaves and sugar. To cultivate the sugar, African slaves were needed to work not only on Madeira, but also Elmina and the Canary Islands. Later, King Philip began a monopoly system of trade in slaves with the express purpose of making money.16 For these reasons Spain and Portugal were attracted to Africa.

Thomas lists two reasons why the Portuguese were the first Europeans to embark on slave-seeking journeys to Africa. First, Portugal was the closest country to Africa and not embroiled by war at the time.17 Secondly, the Portuguese had become extremely proficient at maritime expeditions.18 Not only could the Portuguese explore in a southern direction down the coast of West Africa, but they were able to turn around and sail against ocean currents and wind.19

Because of their involvement of the slave trade from the beginning, not surprisingly Portugal produced the most important slave merchant of the sixteenth century, Fernando Jimenez. His descendants were among the largest contractors in Africa, and eventually in Angola, where the majority of African slaves originated. Not to be left out, Spain also had many merchants of significance.20 These Europeans were interested in trading for gold, silver, pearls, mercury, olive oil, wine, saffron, and above all slaves.21 Accordingly, the Spanish Crown encouraged the slave trade by a decree in 1531 making loans on easy terms to settlers in Castile who wanted to found sugar mills.22 By the late sixteenth century, taking part in the African slave trade was the new fashion.23

Nearing the end of the fifteenth century, France was determined to conduct trade on the African continent. France began by pirating Portuguese ships on the high seas. Despite Portuguese complaints, France secured royal permission to plunder Portuguese ships in 1530.24 The first to carry out a triangular trade, the French went to Africa for gold. Later on, France became interested in slaving.25 France also traded with Africans for ivory and gum.26

The  Dutch  went  to  Africa  in  search  of  gold  and  ivory.  Like  the  French,  it  was not  until later that the Dutch were concerned with slaves. African traders coveted goods brought by the Dutch. Dutch goods were cheaper and of a better quality than the Africans were able to trade with other Europeans.27 Soon, the Dutch purchased Gorée, near Senegambia, as a deposit site for goods and slaves.28 The Dutch seem to have been better organizers than either the French of English. As Thomas puts it, the conversion of the Caribbean islands into an archipelago of sugar was a Dutch idea, although it was carried out by French and English merchants.29

Not to be left out, England saw the economic possibilities of Africa as well. In the beginning, the English entered African waters to trade in gold.30 On several occasions the English went to Africa to trade for goods. Instead of taking African as slaves, they would bring them back as showpieces. After the waters had been tested, John Hawkins went  to  Africa  in  search  of  slaves.  Thomas  quotes  him  as  saying,  “a  store  of  Negroes   might  easily  be  had  upon  the  coast  of  Guinea.”31 After securing the Africans, Hawkins sailed to Hispaniola to peddle his loot. Hawkins made several trips to Africa with the express intention to obtain African slaves. Unlike the Portuguese, Hawkins stole the Africans, often burning their towns.32 Indeed,  several  “groups”  sprang  up  from Britain to carry out slavery: The Royal Adventurers,33 the Royal Africa Company,34 and the Ten Percenters35. These groups traded in slaves, mostly with Caribbean islands, but they also began trips to Africa themselves.36

Book 3, Apogee, follows the transatlantic slave trade through its climax. At the turn of the sixteenth century,  expeditions  to  the  “New  World”  were  common.  This  new  world  also   came with its own slave population: Native Americans. Shortly after the discovery of the New World, sugar cane arrived on the scene. Native Americans were put to work as slaves on the sugar plantations in the Caribbean. However, Thomas explains that it was soon realized that the Native Americans were not cut out for labor on sugar plantations. First, they were overworked. A Native American slave could not keep pace with a stout African male slave. In addition, the Native Americans were susceptible to European diseases.37 In response to the shortage of labor, King Ferdinand 1st soon ordered African slaves to be taken to the New World.38

Africans  were  said  to  have  “a  natural  love  of  novelty”  and  took  part  in  the   exploitation of their own people.39 For instance, in 1518, Gorrevod, the emperor of Songhai, offered a gift of 1,700 slaves to another chief.40 A Portuguese captain, Fernão de Oliveira, who could be called one of the first abolitionists, writes of how slaves were given by African monarchs. These African monarchs would obtain their slaves by robbery or by waging unjust wars.41 The kings of Congo and Ndongo squabbled as to whom should be the main supplier of slaves to the Portuguese.42 More submissive, Diogo I of Congo had an agreement with Portugal that the settlers on the island of São Tomé would only trade in the realm of Congo, thus ensuring profits for himself.43 Clearly, Africans were not bystanders in the slave trade, but took an active and enterprising role.

In addition to being a major sugar supplier44, the prized Portuguese colony of Sao Tome, in the Gulf of Guinea, served as an essential entry point for African slaves in the 17th century.45 São  Tomé  was  the  first  to  employ  a  “seasoning”  of  African  slaves.  If   slaves were found to be sick, they would be kept on royal plantations until they could be shipped abroad at a later time.46 Although not a central player in the transatlantic slave trade, German captains sold slaves on São Tomé.

Beginning with the ways in which slaves would be acquired, book 4 details slave harbors and markets, and then the actual journey across the Atlantic Ocean known as the Middle Passage, or Maafa. In the interior of the great continent of Africa, there were several ways an African would be enslaved: 1) the result of war, 2) as punishment for crimes, however minor, 3) by kidnapping, or 4) because of poverty.47 Not all of the wars were just, but rather, some African monarchs would go to war with the specific intention of capturing other Africans to sell to European merchants. European traders were also known to lie in brush and ambush unsuspecting Africans citizens.48 Regardless of the way in which slaves were obtained, they would soon be taken to interior markets.49 This first exchange would result in the slave being tied up, sometimes to another or two Africans. Their arms would be tied behind their backs by twigs, canes and grass rope.50 The currency used to purchase Africans varied, but acceptable forms included anchors, brandy, gunpowder, guns, iron bars, cloths, gold and alcohol.51

African slaves were subsequently transported from interior slave markets to harbor markets on the coast of Africa. The slaves would be marched in groups of about one hundred, chained together, for sixty to eighty days. Covering about twenty miles a day, the slaves would spend seven to eight hours each day on the march.52 During this march, slaves could also be required to transport goods. Once at a harbor market, Africans would undergo examinations and be subjected to seasoning and branding. The usual time spent waiting to be shipped was five months. The shorter time spent waiting to be shipped correlated to a higher survival rate.53 Thus, the quicker slaves could be shipped the more money there was to be made.

Two hundred and fifty years ago, ships did not hold up to the Atlantic passage very long. Thomas expertly describes European slaving vessels, and even uses a depiction of one such vessel on the cover of The Slave Trade. European vessels in 1780 only lasted about ten years at an average of six trips to Africa.54 The crews were made up mostly of young men in their twenties who would obey the captain as if engaged in battle.55 To European traders, their human cargo was no different than any other consignment. As such, the conditions on board European ships were unimaginable. Generally, slaves were put on the ships nude or nearly nude. Mahommah Baquaqua states he and the other  captives  were  “thrust  into  the  hold  of  the  vessel  in  a  state  of  nudity.”56

European slavers were in the business of making money, not making Africans comfortable during Maafa. With profit in mind, as many slaves as would fit on the ship would be crammed together on slaving vessels. However, some slavers began to realize that they should take better care of their slaves on the voyage. In some cases and in the interest of the financiers, all possible care would be taken the preserve and subsist the slaves.57 On a journey that usually lasted at least 30 days, the slaves would spend most of their time in the holds.58 Certainly there were no facilities, but if the slaves were lucky there would be bilge places cut into the ship for relief of bodily functions. Many of the Africans were unused to traveling on any type of boat, much less a ship on the Atlantic Ocean. Sea-sickness would have plagued the Africans in great numbers. In addition, it was common that disease would rampage the passengers, Africans and crew alike. Many slaves did not survive the voyage. Of course, the European slavers would have to dispose of the bodies of those who did not survive the Middle Passage. As with other refuse, the bodies would have been thrown overboard and not thought of again. Thomas  cites  Herman  Melville  in  Moby  Dick,  “Sharks  ...  are   the invariable outriders of all slave ships crossing the Atlantic, systematically trotting alongside, to be handy in case a parcel is to be carried anywhere, or a dead slave to be decently  buried...”59

An especially sad occurrence in The Slave Trade was the description of a baby being born during the Middle Passage. Sadly, the mother did not survive the birth of the child. The crew of that particular ship gave the baby to other slaves, but the infant was not received because the Africans believed the illness to be infectious. The baby was then  left  in  the  sun  and  “in  the  agonies  of  death.”60 There is no doubt that this was a mild situation compared to the horrendous sufferings of others. Women would also be subject to rape and other horrors, inflicted by the crew during the Middle Passage.61

Weather played an important factor when crossing the Atlantic Ocean. The Atlantic hurricane season rages from August to September. Attempting the Middle Passage during these summer months would have been a gamble. The first three months of the year, January through March, were the calmest for sailing down the West African coast or crossing the Atlantic Ocean.62

Most European slaving vessels landed in the Caribbean Islands or sailed to Brazil. In the West Indies, slaves would be disembarked at a slave harbor such has Havana  Bay,  Cuba.  Although  every  port’s  “ceremony  of  arrival”  was  different,  slaves   would be assembled at an onshore camp. There, they would be fed, cleaned, and otherwise cared for, in such a way to make them appear healthy, despite the arduous journey of the Middle Passage. At times, slaves would be shaved and painted to give the appearance of good health. In Portugal, after the arrival of slaves, an official would be carried aboard for inspection of the cargo of Africans. Next, the slaves would be divided into lots and carefully examined. After taxes had been finalized, slaves would then be sold as the merchants who financed the expedition thought best.63 Especially in the West Indies, plantation owners would be the buyers.

Concentrating on abolition of the slave, Thomas uses book 5, Abolition, to explore the seemingly novel concept of abolition of the slave trade and slavery. While not attempting to end the slave trade, the greatest organizers of the trade did attempt to ameliorate the slave trade. In 1664, Lisbon passed a law to establish the amount of drinking water that should be carried on a slaving vessel. Another important regulation, especially in the years to come, was the ratio of slaves per ton of shipping. Henceforth, 2.5 to 3.5 slaves per ton could be carried on a slaving vessel. Indeed, while sounding better for the slave, bribery was common and officials did not pursue violators.64

Several people affiliated with religious groups called into question the slave trade and slavery. English Protestants attacked slavery in the late 17th century.65 The Church of Rome complained of the slave trade.66 Although slavery was in its infancy in the United States, doubts of the morality of the slave trade began. Dr. Benjamin Rush, a Presbyterian and personal friend to President John Adams, formed in Philadelphia the first society devoted to abolition.67 However, the morality of the slave trade and slavery were rarely the reason behind anti-slavery movements. British North America wanted to restrict the slave trade because they feared a large population of Africans.68 Rhode Island actually prohibited the import of slaves in the late 18th century because of that colony’s  fear  of  a great African population.69 Rhode  Islanders’  fear  may  have  been validated; in 1770, 80% of the population in the West Indies was that of slaves.70 One important abolitionist, Anthony Benezet, became the link between American and Great Britain on the subject of slavery and the slave trade.

After the Revolutionary War, the United States would again turn to the discussion of the slave trade and slavery. Led by Quakers, several states even accepted emancipation. Finally, Pennsylvania abolished slavery in 1780. Although the law only applied to future generations, several other states followed suit: Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, and New Jersey. Slavery itself would eventually be abolished, but not the slave trade or participation of slave merchants.71 Thomas brings up an interesting point with regard to American independence but the still present institution of slavery.  How  could  a  society  with  the  words  “all  men  are  created  equal”  continue  to   imprison certain others as slaves?

Northern Europe also examined the body of slavery and the slave trade. In London, the Committee for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade was founded in 1787. France noted this society and established their own, Société des Amis des Noirs.72 The idea of setting up a freedman colony in Nova Scotia or Sierra Leone was even considered.73 The fact that abolition of the slave trade or slavery was even on the table attests to the diligent work on the subject by notable abolitionists, including, Granville Sharp, Anthony Benezet, Thomas Clarkson, and William Wilberforce. The dedication these men showed in producing pamphlets, making speeches, and conducting research, is a true testament to their moral character and realization of the evils of the slave trade and slavery.

While the issue of slavery continued to be debated, Britain stepped forward and enacted the Dundas Amendment. While not abolishing slavery or the slave trade, this amendment, curiously, abolished slavery sometime in the future.74 Other European countries abolished the practice; Denmark in 179275 and France in 1794.76

Ultimately, a bill in favor of abolishing the slave trade passed in the United States. President Thomas Jefferson signed into effect the bill, which stated that on January 1, 1808, it would be illegal to introduce into the United States any person of any color as a slave. Also, any United States citizen was prohibited from equipping or financing any slave ship from any port in the United States. The question of treatment of freed slaves was left as an individual state issue.77

While the question of slavery was beginning to be answered, the African slave trade was still in full effect, as is shown in book 6, The Illegal Era. British abolitionists and politicians finally came to the conclusion that slavery would never end unless the slave trade itself was abolished. In this way, Britain became the international naval police of the African Coast and the Atlantic Ocean. This naval patrol roamed the coast of West Africa looking for slaving vessels. Depending on the nationality of a suspected slaving vessel, the English would board the vessel looking for slaving equipment. If slaves were found aboard, the English would take them to established English ports and release them. The contents of the detained slaving vessel would either be sold or burned.78 Eventually, American and French vessels would join the English naval squadron.

In the United States, the question of slavery continued to be disputed. As late as 1837, men such as John Quincy Adams were labeled  as  “fanatic”  for  simply speaking of abolition.79 The southern United States had been built on the back of African-American slaves, just like as happened on the sugar plantations in Cuba and Brazil. An institution so engrained in these societies and their ways of life would not be abolished overnight. Thomas asserts that abolishing the trade in earnest did not come until 1840 when Captain Joseph Denman began landing sailors at Spanish slave stations on the West African Coast. Captain Denman freed slaves who were awaiting embarkation and burned the barracoons used to house them. In this way, slave merchants were not able to replenish their numbers of slaves immediately. Soon after, other captains followed Captain  Denman’s  lead.80
Despite the mainly English naval squadron, the slave trade on the West African coast seemed only to grow.81 In  1848,  England’s  House  of  Commons  created  a  
committee to determine the best way of ending the slave trade. After many witness interviews, it was decided that there was no hope of stopping the slave trade. 

Thomas gives an important reason the slave trade was so large: European desire for sugar.82 There was, too, a belief in Great Britain that the slave trade should be dealt with before the issue of slavery. Slavery raised the idea of property, which was a harder issue to resolve than the actual slave trade itself.83 This beckons the age-old question, which came first: the chicken or the egg? Except in the nineteenth century, the question regarding slavery would be posed, which came first: slavery or the slave trade?

Decisively, in 1850, Brazil abolished the slave trade. From that point on, Brazilian slave vessels would be open to seizure, importing any slaves into Brazil would be considered piracy, all captured slaving vessels would be sold, and the proceeds would be split between captors and informants.84 The African-American slave trade was in its last days as Cuba remained the only entity open to legal international slaving.

Even with the major players of Brazil and the United States out of the slave trade itself, Cuba continued to engage in the trade and even prospered. As the only place where slaves could be legally disembarked, Cuba saw 200,000 slaves brought into its harbors between 1840 and 1860.85 However as Thomas points out, the slave trade and slavery began to decline on the island. Slave revolts were numerous, and European plantation owners feared insurrection.86 In 1859, United States President James Buchanan took two decisive steps to counter the continued slave trade. First, he sent extra naval squadrons to the coast of Africa and moved the headquarters of the American naval patrol to Angola, in the middle of the slave trade. By doing this, he bolstered the European naval patrol in the area, and was able to be front and center of the slaving area. Second, he sent squadrons to patrol the coast of Cuba. This last move enabled naval patrols to more closely monitor the slaving activities of Cuba.87 Despite these efforts to control the trade, United States naval vessels were recalled at the start of the American Civil War. The vessels were needed for war duty and could not be spared; even to patrol the slave trade. Finally, with the 13th amendment, slavery itself was abolished in the United States.88

At this point, the remaining actors in the slave trade were Cuba and her Spanish benefactors. Spain, at long last, passed a bill for the suppression and punishment of the slave trade in 1866. Later, Portugal abolished slavery in 1869.89 The mainstay of naval commerce for three centuries finally came to a quiet end.

With The Slave Trade, Thomas attempted to answer the question: Why slavery in the first place? He lists two beliefs as the basis of slavery with respect to the early Middle Ages: captive slaves owed their fate to the sins of their supposed ancestor Ham; and if a people did not have laws and did not live peacefully under a government, they were more beasts than human, thus deserving of their enslavement.90 Although providing answers to the question of slavery, Thomas missed another important reason: racism. Black slaves were not the only captives made slaves prior to 100 B.C.: found in Rome, were fair Germans, including Saxons from Northern Europe.91 However, after the fall of Rome and on into 19th century North and South America, black-skinned people made up the overwhelming majority of slaves. Even after slavery ended in Northern Europe, it persisted in the Muslim and Mediterranean worlds, but mostly only then, in the slavery of African peoples, i.e. those with dark skin. As stated earlier, Europeans belief that African slaves were accessories only proves that Africans were thought of as subordinate. Already, white Europeans considered black African slaves inferior beasts. This trend carried over into the United States and flourished with the development of sugar and cotton plantations. Thomas errs when he makes no mention of the belief that Africans were seen as inferior as a reason behind the development, and expansion, and lasting impact of slavery. Nonetheless, racism grew and flowered along with slavery.92

Thomas next asserts the reason sugar became such a valued commodity to Europeans. The usual explanation given for the increased demand in sugar is that people in Britain, Holland, and France wanted sugar in their coffee, tea, and chocolate.93 However, Thomas blames the increased demand for sugar on the poor people  of  Europe.  He  even  goes  so  far  as  to  cite  a  report  from  1961  declaring,  “The   large increase in consumption that takes place in low income countries as soon as personal  income  rises”  resulting  in  sugar  being  “craved  because  it  adds  taste,  variety and attractiveness.”94 This conclusion is erroneous. The lower class citizens of Europe did not have such a great increase in personal assets during this time period to buy vast quantities of sugar. Certainly, the lower class would not have been able to purchase quantities of sugar that would have an effect on the transatlantic slave trade. It was the wealthy, the remote plantation owners, who traded sugar for African slaves as a commodity, thus making sugar the exploit crop that it was, not because poor English wanted it. Later on, Thomas freely asserts that the poor of Spain did not need to be worried about purchasing sugar, only the aristocrats needed be thought of.95

The Middle Passage is one  of  man  kind’s  darkest  days,  comparable  to  the   European Holocaust in the 20th century. The cruelty European traders carried out is unbelievable. Even more, the cruelty African slaves endured is even more unbelievable. As  Thomas  indicates  in  his  “Reflection,”  there  is  little  literature  from  the  Africans  who   survived the Middle Passage or slavery. Despite this fact, there is literature available, and enough exists that Thomas could have incorporated more survivors’  stories.   Thomas briefly mentions Equiano a few times in The Slave Trade, and mentions a few others in the appendixes. Still, more of these narratives could have been added to increase the apathy towards the African plight, instead of merely being mentioned in an appendix.

Thomas should have also taken into account that many readers of The Slave Trade were not going to be fluent in English and French. Many times, Thomas provides French quotes but with no translation. Without a translation, the impact of the words spoken is completely lost.
The Slave Trade, is a balanced account of the African-American slave trade that spanned over three centuries. An informed authority on Spain, The Slave Trade is one of several books Hugh Thomas has written centering, at least in part, on Spain. Born in the English empire but fascinated with Spanish history, Thomas detours from his usual topic of Spain to write the massive chronology of the transatlantic slave trade.96 While Spain played an integral role early on in the transatlantic slave trade, by the 17th century, and more so into the 18th century, their dominance was quickly fading to the British, although Spain would be one of the last to fully abolish slavery and the slave trade. The Slave Trade represents this detour from the major body of his work by not concentrating solely on Spain or their declining involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. Other books by Thomas include The Spanish Civil War, Cuba: The Pursuit of Freedom, and Conquest: Montezuma, Cortes` and the Fall of Old Mexico. For a more in depth look at slavery in the Western World specifically, one should refer to Inhuman Bondage by David Brion Davis.97

1 Merriam-Webster’s  Collegiate  Dictionary. 11th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 2003, Accessed May 8, 2014. URL>http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/slave+trade?show=0&t=1399578099<URL.
2 John Hope Franklin and Evelyn Books Higginbotham. From Freedom to Slavery: A History of African Americans .Edited. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966, p. 9.
3 Hugh Thomas. The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870 (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997), 25.
4 Malcolm  Heath.  “Aristotle  on  Natural  Slavery.”  Phronesis 53, no. 3 (2008).
5 Thomas, The Slave Trade, 29.
6 Ibid., 32.
7 Ibid., 34.
8 Ibid., 37.
9 Ibid., 38.
10 Ibid., 77.
11 James  Walvin,  “The  Slave  Trade:  The  History  of  the  Atlantic  Slave  Trade  1440-1870  by  Hugh  Thomas,”  Research in African Literatures 29, no. 4 (1998): 186.
12 Thomas, The Slave Trade, 64. 
13 Ibid., 68.
14 Ibid., 69.
15 Ibid., 70.
16 Ibid., 139.
17 Ibid., 56.
18 Ibid., 57.
19 Franklin and Higginbotham, From Slavery to Freedom, 23.
20 Thomas, The Slave Trade, 117. 
21 Ibid., 118.
22 Ibid., 115.
23 Ibid., 119.
24 Ibid., 153. 
25 Ibid., 154. 
26 Ibid., 173.
27 Ibid., 160. 
28 Ibid., 161. 
29 Ibid., 188. 
30 Ibid., 154.
31 Ibid., 155. 
32 Ibid., 157. 
33 Ibid., 198. 
34 Ibid., 201. 
35 Ibid., 205. 
36 Ibid., 207.
37 Ibid., 92. 
38 Ibid., 95. 
39 Ibid., 159. 
40 Ibid., 114.
41 Ibid., 126.
42 Ibid., 131.
43 Ibid., 128.
44 Ibid., 129.
45 Ibid., 169.
46 John  L.  Vogt,  “The  Early  Sao  Tome-Principe Slave Trade With Mina, 1500-1540.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 6, no. 3, (1973): 452.
47 Thomas, The Slave Trade, 370-371.
48 Ibid., 364.
49 Ibid., 381.
50 Ibid., 363.
51 Ibid., 318-319. 
52 Ibid., 383-384. 
53 Ibid., 406.
54 Ibid., 305.
55 Ibid., 306-307.
56 Mahommah G. Baquaqua, Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua, a Native of Zoogoo, in the Interior of Africa, 1st ed. (Academic Affairs Library, UNC-CH, 2001; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Apex Data Services, Inc., 2001). 42.
57 Thomas, The Slave Trade, 418.
58 Ibid., 411.
59 Herman Melville, Moby Dick. New York: Penguin Group, 1955, 287. 
60 Thomas, The Slave Trade, 418.
61 Ibid., 418.
62 Ibid., 393.
63 Ibid., 432-433. 
64 Ibid., 457.
65 Ibid., 454.
66 Ibid., 456.
67 Ibid., 472.
68 Ibid., 461. 
69 Ibid., 463. 
70 Ibid., 479. 
71 Ibid., 482. 
72 Ibid., 493.
73 Ibid., 497.
74 Ibid., 582.
75 Ibid., 526. 
76 Ibid., 523. 
77 Ibid., 552.
78 Ibid., 593. 
79 Ibid., 660. 
80 Ibid., 670. 
81 Ibid., 733.
82 Ibid., 737.
83 Ibid., 735. 
84 Ibid., 743. 
85 Ibid., 747.
86 Ibid., 765.
87 Ibid., 774. 
88 Ibid., 776.
89 Ibid., 783. 
90 Ibid., 23. 
91 Ibid., 27.
92 Francis  Couvares,  et.  al.  “Patterns  and  Perspectives.”  In  Interpretations of American History. Boston: 2009. p. 101.93 Thomas, The Slave Trade, 189.94 Ibid., 190.
95 Ibid., 266.
96 Hugh Thomas, Interview by Mel Cooper, personal interview, 2011, unknown place, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gGc4qCbCQ0.97 David Brion Davis, Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World New York: Oxford University Press., 2006.

Bibliography

Oral Histories and Interviews

Hugh Thomas, Interview by Mel Cooper, personal interview, 2011, unknown place, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2gGc4qCbCQ0.

Scholarly Books, Book Reviews, and Scholarly Periodicals

Couvares, Francis G. ed., “Patterns and Perspectives” Interpretations of American History. Boston: 2009. 

Davis, David Brion. Inhuman Bondage: The Rise and Fall of Slavery in the New World New York: Oxford University Press, 2006.

Franklin, John Hope and Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham. From Freedom to Slavery: A History of African Americans. New York: Oxford University Press, 1966.

Heath,  Malcolm.  “Aristotle  on  Natural  Slavery.”  Phronesis 53, no. 3 (2008): 243-270. doi: 10.1163/156852808X307070.

Melville, Herman. Moby Dick. New York: Penguin Group, 1955.

Thomas, Hugh. The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade: 1440-1870 New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.

Vogt,  John  L.  “The  Early  Sao  Tome-Principe Slave Trade with Mina, 1500-1540.” The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 6, no. 3, (1973): 452, accessed February 16, 2014,
doi: 10.2307/216611.

Walvin,  James.  “The  Slave  Trade:  The  History  of  the  Atlantic  Slave  Trade  1440-1870  by  Hugh  Thomas,”   Research in African Literatures 29, no. 4 (1998): 186.

Reference Works and Digital Sites

Baquaqua, Mahommah G. Biography of Mahommah G. Baquaqua, a Native of Zoogoo, in the Interior of Africa, 1st ed. Detroit: Geo. E. Pomeroy & Co., 1854. From Documenting the American South: Primary Sources for the Study of Southern History, Literature, and Culture. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Library, last modified May 7, 2014. http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/baquaqua/menu.html.

Merriam-Webster’s  Collegiate  Dictionary.  11th ed. Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 2003.