At War with the ‘Detestable Traffic’: The Royal Navy’s Anti-Slavery Cause in the Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

The abolition of the transatlantic slave trade in 1807 saw a transformation in the role of the Royal Navy. Before then, the navy had been charged with protecting the slave trade; after 1807, its role was to suppress it. To enforce abolition, a naval squadron was stationed off the West African coast to intercept and detain slave ships. This chapter focuses on the first naval officers tasked with delivering abolitionist policy. Personal testimonies reveal their reactions to this new mission. Confronted with the human trauma of the slave trade, officers engaged with humanitarian ideals, which significantly influenced both how they conceived of their identity as Britons and the nature of their duty as naval personnel. Their narratives uncover the hopes, realities and disappointments of Britain’s nascent abolitionist mission. They also provide insights into how naval patriotism and professionalism interacted with anti-slavery rhetoric, imperial impulses, and the true meanings of freedom.