The Journal of an African Slaver, 1789-1792

1929.] The Journal of an African Slaver 379

THE JOURNAL OF AN AFRICAN SLAVER, 1789-1792

WITH AN INTKODUCTORY NOTE BY GEORGE A. PLIMPTON

CLAVERY is an old as mankind. There never was a •^ time recorded when the institution of slavery did not exist. The securing of slaves by force, whether in war or peace, is familiar to us all. Even the tribal warfare, where the captives, if not slain, were kept for servitude, is not unknown. However, there are few instances where a person has kept a diary, or detailed account of his experiences and his expenditures when going to an uncivilized country and purchasing slaves by barter. Doubtless there were many of them, but it is not the sort of record that people were careful to preserve. It is for this reason that the document which is the subject of this paper is one of the few known diaries where such information is given. The diary was pur- chased at auction in New York, together with an account book of the South Carolina plantations of Oak Lawn and Sandy Knowe from October 1853 to October 1854. The presumption is that the author of the diary was a South Carolinian who made this trip to Africa, and that it lay in the desk drawer with the plantation accounts and was forgotten. The name of the ship engaged in the traffic was the schooner "Swallow," Capt. Jobn Johnston, 1790-1792. There is a reference to a previous voyage when "Captain Peacock had her," also some abstracts of accounts kept by Capt. David McEleheran in 1789 of trade in gold, slaves and ivory on the Gold Coast. None of these names can be identified as to locality, and there is, of course, the possi- 380 American Antiquarian Society [Oct., bility, especially taking into consideration the English nature of the cargo bartered, that the vessel was an English slaver. The countries visited by this slaver were the king- doms of Ashantee and Dahomey in West Africa, in the sections to the English popularly known as the Gold Coast and the Slave Coast. The towns and settle- ments mentioned were coast towns, as the traders did not travel inland themselves, but depended upon the factors or natives to bring the slaves to the coast. The towns, identified with the aid of several 18th century maps, are as follows:

AGAH or AGGA—on tbe Gold Coast, about thirty miles east of Cape Coast Castle. ANAMABOE—important town on the Gold Coast, kingdom of the Ashant«es, about eleven miles east of Cape Coast Castle. CALABAR—a maritime district in Western Africa southeast of Dahomey and located around the delta of the Niger. CoHMANTiNE—on the Gold Coast, between Cape Coast Castle and Anamaboe. Dix's COVE—town on Gold Coast, immediately east of Caj« Three Points. GABOON—a seaport in West Africa, almost exactly on the Equator. NiNGO—a place immediately west of Pram Pram. PQPO—Little Popo and Grand Popo were coast towns in Dahomey on the Slave Coast. PBAM PRAM—on the Gold Coast, about eighty miles east of Salt Pond. QUASHIB'S TOWN—on the Gold Coast near Dix's Cove. SALT POND—on the Gold Coast, about ten miles east of Anamaboe. WHTDAH—important coast district and town in the southeastern part of Dahomey. WILLIAMS FOKT—name of tradii^ fort at Whydah. Towns not easily identified are Amenadab, Aneshan, Padoora, and Respingu. The goods bartered for the slaves were tobacco; rum in puncheons and in ankers; "American rum," occasionally mentioned; gin, especially Geneva; guns, including Buccaneer guns, Dane guns, French guns and fowling-pieces; powder in half and quarter barrels; pots, kettles and pans; knives and cutlasses; needles and fish-hooks; iron bars and lead bars; agates or aggats (beads) ; cowries, or shells much used by African 1929.] The Journal of an African Slaver 381

tribes for currency; chintz, silesias and linens; and a great variety of East India cottons. The last named products cause many troublesome problems in identification, as few of them appear in any dictionary, even in trade and commercial dictionaries. Many are described in Savary's Universal Dictionary of Trade and Commerce, translated by M. Postle- thwayt, 1751,1766 and 1774 editions; and several are mentioned in the East India Company ' ' Court Minutes," 7 volumes, 1907-1925, and "Letters," 6 volumes, 1896-1902,also "English Factories in India," edited by William Foster, 13 volumes, 1906-1927. But the best authority is Louis Harmuth's " Dictionary of Textiles," 3rd edition, 1924, without references, but based most carefully on original sources. From these various volumes the following glossary of cloths, mostly East Indian, as used in this slave journal, has been prepared :

ALIJABS or ALLEJARS—a cotton muslin, woven with ailfc and thread, and occasionally made in plain weave. BAFTA or BAFPETAB—Savary describes this a.s a cloth made entirely from coarse white cotton thread, but it was also the generic term uBed in the African trade for all white and gray cottons. BAJUDEPANTS or BAJOTAPANTS—bajota waa a coarse bleached cotton, and "pants" a corruption of the word "pati," frequently found joined to East Indian textile names. BANDANNOEB or BANDANNAS—brightly colored cotton fabrics generally used as handkerchiefs. BRAWLS or BRAXJI^S—a cloth with blue and white strips, used by the African chiefs as turbans. BYBAMPANTS or BBRAMPAATS—a plain woven coarse cotton cloth, examples occurring in white, red and blue. CALAWAPORES or CALOAPORES—presumably "Balamporea" which were loosely woven cotton cloths, generally blue, used as garments by tbe Africans. CHILLOW or CHILLOE—perhaps same as "chilli," a coarse English calico used in the African trade. CHINTZ or CHINTS or CHINTZES—a cotton cloth, printed with deigns generally in color. Among the chintz listed in this journal are patna, deep blue ground, madder ground, broad pattern, branker, bonny blue and blue alijard. CHINT DERBYS—denies were cotton dress goods, made in brown and blue colors. 382 American Antiquarian Society [Oct.,

EES or CTJSHTA—evidently the same aa "cussidah," an East Indian muslin. CuTTANEES—a heavy fabric, half cotton and half silk, used frequently for quilts. Hoo-Hoos—probably the same as humhum, a coarse East Indian cotton cloth. In the American colonies just before the Revolution " hum-hum " was an Indian cloth generally used for coat linings. JAMEDAMY—evidently same as "jamadane" a fine brocaded muBÜn embroidered with colored threads. NECANEE, also NEGANEPANTS—necanee was a blue and white striped calico, and "pants" or "pahts" a word frequently found joined to East Indian textile names. PüLLiCATS or PomcATS—described in this jouranl as of red silk, cotton and "India Red Dane." Evidently the general term for a handkerchief, although the real pullicat was generally a pale orange-colored handkerchief. Foster's "English Factories" states that Pulicat was a town in the Malay archipelago where the English had a factory. RoMAULB or RoMALLS—a general term for a sea-handkerchief. ThoBe here mentioned are described as bonny blue, broad blue, blue Dane, red Dane, caspee and tape check. SABTRACUNDIEB or SESTRACUNDIEB—not easily identified but probably same as "satranji," a woven eotton carpet with blue and white stripes. One here mentioned is described as " blue bordered. " SAYS—a kind of English serge or light woolen fabric, made in England and much used abroad for lining of cloths. ScHONEHONQ—not identified. SiLEBiA—a strong twilled eotton lining, with a glossy finish on the face, first manufactured in Silesia in Prussia. TAFFATYS or TAFATY—same as the well known "tafFeta. " TAPBEAL or TAPSILES—a calico striped with blue and other colors. In bartering for slaves, values were measured in ounces of gold and in fractions of an ounce called "ackeys," sixteen "ackeys" to the ounce. The value of a slave on the Gold Coast averaged about 10 oz. of gold for men, 8 oz. for women, 7 oz. for boys and 5 oz. for girls. At Wliydah on the Slave Coast they were higher, 148 slaves averaging over 11 oz. for the lot of both sexes. In ivory, the tusks ran from 32 to 50 lbs. and the cost averaged slightly over 2 oz. of gold each, while the "screvelles," or smaller teeth, averaged about 6 lbs. each and cost correspondingly less. The journal is reproduced photographically, thus saving all errors in copying, though fortunately the writing is most excellent. ^.

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