Stowage of the British Slave Ship Brookes

Definition

The "Stowage of the British Slave Ship Brookes" is an infamous diagram that depicted how slaves were packed onto slave ships during the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Published by abolitionists in England in 1788, it became one of most potent images advocating for an end to slavery.

Analogy

Imagine trying to fit as many pieces as possible into a puzzle game like Tetris - except instead of blocks, you're dealing with human beings. That's what slave traders did on ships like Brookes - packing people tightly together without regard for their comfort or humanity.

Related terms

Middle Passage: This term refers to the journey enslaved Africans were forced to make across the Atlantic Ocean, from Africa to the Americas. Conditions on these voyages were horrific, as depicted in the Brookes diagram.

Abolitionism: This is a movement that sought to end slavery and the slave trade. The Brookes diagram was used extensively by abolitionists in their campaigns.

Transatlantic Slave Trade: This refers to the trading of African people as slaves by European nations, including Britain, across the Atlantic Ocean primarily to colonies in North and South America.