Scene of the capture of the slaving corvette Conchita by the English steamship Firefly

slaving corvette Conchita English steamship Firefly

Apresamiento escandaloso de la corbeta española Conchita de la propiedad de D. José Vidal y Ribas por el vapor crucero inglés Firefly de 4 cañones y de la fuerza de 220 caballos en la roda de Wydah a las 6 de la tarde del 27 de agosto de 1857, unknown, 1857

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Num. inventory: 3622

Object name: painting

Title: Apresamiento escandaloso de la corbeta española Conchita de la propiedad de D. José Vidal y Ribas por el vapor crucero inglés Firefly de 4 cañones y de la fuerza de 220 caballos en la roda de Wydah a las 6 de la tarde del 27 de agosto de 1857 (Scandalous capture of the Spanish corvette Conchita owned by Mr José Vidal y Ribas by the 4-gun English steamship Firefly with 220 horsepower near Wydah at 6 in the afternoon on August 27th, 1857).

Object date: 1857

Author: unknown

Technique and material: oil on canvas.

Ship portraits

Painting from 1857 on slave trafficking. This practice began on a large scale in the 15^th century, becoming one of the most lucrative activities for Europeans in the 18^th and 19^th centuries, when labour was needed for the sugar and cotton plantations in the Americas. European ships captured or bought slaves principally in the Gulf of Guinea and sold them in American ports. With the abolition of slavery and the unilateral elimination of the slave trade by Great Britain in 1820, the British took on the mission of pursuing slave traders, capturing or destroying ships involved in the trade and putting their crews on trial.