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The Henrietta
Marie sails for Africa
John Taylor was
the captain of the second voyage of the Henrietta
Marie. As with the first voyage, the ship
would have been thoroughly fitted out in the
months preceding her departure from London. As
her new master, John Taylor would have overseen
this refurbishing, assuring the Henrietta
Marie's rigging and sails were in top order,
and her hull was free of damage.
Forging an
Anchor**
The Henrietta
Marie left London on or about September 15,
1699, possibly stopping at Madeira for wine, or
the Cape Verde Islands for wood and water. The Henrietta
Marie probably reached her destination of
New Calabar on the central West Coast of Africa
sometime in mid-December.
La Marie
Seraphique***
The Henrietta
Marie
She was a three-masted,
square-sterned vessel, with a keel length of
about 60 feet. She was a relatively small ship,
capable of holding 200 slaves in her cargo area.
The decks of the ship were stepped, meaning that
they were built on many levels to accommodate
the different cargoes of the transatlantic trade
route. During the Middle Passage, a strong fence
was erected halfway along the deck to make sure
any rebellious slaves could not attack the
ship's officers.
Anchor from
Henrietta Marie.
One fluke is shown face on.
Overall it stood 7'9" tall and
was
44" wide. It weighed over 250 pounds
and was wrought iron.**** |
Bilge pump
from the Henrietta Marie.***** |
Life Aboard
the Henrietta Marie
In addition to
her captain, the Henrietta Marie probably
carried a crew of eighteen, many of whom were
highly skilled at their jobs. Well-to-do crew
members probably held higher ranks aboard the
ship, as some were even investors in the trade.
These crew members would have included the first
and second mate, a boatswain and possibly a
doctor. These were followed in rank by the
gunner and his mate, the cooper and his mate,
one or two ship's carpenters, and a ship's cook.
Most of the crew of the Henrietta Marie
was probably typical of the English merchant
ships of her day. She would have been manned by
sailors from Holland, Spain, Portugal, Italy,
India, Denmark and even Africa.
The Sea Gunner
It was the gunner's job to protect the ship
against pirates and privateers. In time of
battle he and his assistants would have to keep
the guns at the ready to fend off an attack. In
addition to steady nerves, the gunner needed to
have a good understanding of geometry and
momentum in order to do his job properly.******
Cast in iron,
this weapon was 6 feet long and weighed 780
pounds. It fired a cannon ball that was 3 inches
in diameter and weighed 3.75 pounds. it could
hit targets up to 4,500 feet away*******
The crew would
have been largely made up of the human failures
of the day. Abject poverty and alcoholism were
among the factors that would have led men to
risk their lives in the dangerous and
disease-ridden slave trade. Addiction to gin,
regarded at the time time the most harmful form
of alcoholism, was a major problem among the
poor. Hogarth's satire shows people unable to
take care of themselves, or their children,
committing suicide, and selling the tools of
their craft or their cooking pots in order to
satisfy the craving. Gin was considered an evil
force that undermined society and prevented the
poor from getting ahead.
Gin Lane********
The Crew of a
Merchant Slaver
For officers and
seaman alike, slave-trading voyages were
considered the most dangerous, due to diseases
encountered in Africa and the Caribbean. Men who
could not find other work often gravitated to
ports such as London where they signed on to
escape their economic problems. Crews of slavers
tended to be desperate, violent men.
The Idle "Prentice turn'd away and sent to
Sea*********
Former slave ship
master Reverend John Newton (B.1725) wrote about
the men aboard the merchant slavers:
"We
are for the most part supplied with the refuse
and dregs of the nation. The prisons and glass
houses supply us with large quotas of boys
impatient of their parents and masters, or
already ruined by some untimely vice and for the
most part devoid of principles."
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Bronze Buckle from the Henrietta Marie.
This small buckle was probably used to secure and
officer's clothing. Left: Before Conservation,
Right: After.********** |
*Courtesy
of the National Maritime Museum, England
**Denis Diderot: L'Enclopedie
***Artist unknown - Courtesy of the Musees du
Chateau des Ducs de Bretagne
****Artist: David D. Moore
*****Artist: David D. Moore
******John Seller c 1725, Courtesy of the Tower of
London
*******Artist: Cheryl Clark
********Artist: William Hogarth, Courtesy of Lewis
Walpole Society
*********Artist: William Hogarth, Courtesy of
Lewis Walpole Society
**********Photo: Dylan Kibler
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