Description: In 1788, Parliament sought to regulate the slave trade by imposing restrictions on the number of Africans that a ship could carry across the Atlantic. This famous diagram shows the slave ship 'Brookes' carrying 454 Africans, which was its regulated number. Abolitionists used this image to expose the appallingly cramped conditions below deck. In fact, the 'Brookes' had carried as many as 609 Africans on earlier voyages. Despite the government’s intervention in the trade, the new restrictions were not actively enforced.
Creator: Unknown
Date: c. 1800
Credit line: National Maritime Museum, London
