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Clarkson, Thomas, 1760-1846

"The History of the Rise, Progress and Accomplishment of the Abolition of the African Slave-Trade, by the British Parliament (1839)"

They allowed, accordingly, to
every man slave 6 ft. by 1 ft. 4in. for room, to every woman 5 ft. by 1
ft. 4 in., to every boy 5 ft. by 1 ft. 2 in., and to every girl 4 ft. 6
in. by 1 ft. They then stowed them, and found them as in the annexed
plate, that is, they found, (deducting the women stowed in z of figures
6 and 7, which spaces, being half of the half-deck, were allowed by Sir
William Dolben's last bill to the seamen,) that only 450 could be stowed
in her; and the reader will find, if he should think it worthwhile to
count the figures in the plate, that, on making the deduction mentioned,
they will amount to this number.
The committee then thought it right to inquire how many slaves the act
of Sir William Dolben allowed this vessel to carry, and they found the
number to be 454; that is, they found it allowed her to carry four more
than could be put in without trespassing upon the room allotted to the
rest; for we see that the bodies of the slaves, except just at the head
of the vessel, already touch each other, and that no deduction has been
made for tubs or stanchions to support the platforms and decks.
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
[Illustration: Slave Ship]
Such was the picture which the committee were obliged to draw, if they
regarded mathematical accuracy, of the room allotted to the slaves in
this vessel.


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