The Hallmarks of a Slave Ship

James Matthews is a wreck of worldwide significance as it is the most complete example of a vessel built specifically for use in the Atlantic slave trade. This slave trade was a ‘triangular run’ where ships would load goods in Europe, sail to the slave markets in West Africa, purchase a cargo of slaves, deliver the slaves to the markets in the Americas and then pick up a cargo for the return voyage to Europe.

Britain banned slavery in 1833 and set up an anti-slavery patrol on the Atlantic slave routes. On 25 April 1837 HMS Griffon sighted a suspicious vessel and gave chase. The vessel turned out to be the Brazilian slave ship Don Francisco, owned by Francisco Félix de Souza. The captain of HMS Griffon suspected that the vessel was a slave ship because of the structure of the vessel.

Don Francisco was built for speed so that its human cargo could be delivered to the Americas before the equatorial heat, disease and homesickness killed them. The ship was small, only 80.2 feet in length, but was rigged as a ‘snow’, that is a brig with a double lower mainmast, set at a rakish angle, so that a good spread of canvas could be maintained in all weathers; a rig typical of slave ships. The ships decks were uniquely fitted with large ventilation grills to provide air for the unfortunate cargo.