The Brookes (1781-1804)

Summary Label

Prominent maritime vessel that transported enslaved Africans.

Title

The Brookes (1781-1804)

Date of Birth

1781

Date of Death

November 1804

Hometown or Region

Liverpool, England

Occupation

Maritime Vessel that transported Enslaved Africans.

Biography

The Brookes vessel (also referred to as Brooks or Brook) was a slave ship that was launched in Liverpool in 1781. The ship is said to carry about 400 enslaved people, but it’s been recorded to overload up to almost 700 people. These cramped conditions were one of the many inhumane treatments the enslaved people faced along this ship. These poor conditions became widespreadly known when artist Thomas Clarkson released his etched plans of the slave ship as well as the publication of Dr. Thomas Trotter’s experience as a slave ship physician. These works showed the public how poor the quality of life was to be an enslaved individual. With how close the enslaved had to be packed together, it created inhumane environments that would allow disease to spread rapidly. Dr. Trotter would record early accounts of scurvy epidemics that would occur upon the Brookes ship.These plans would be printed and distributed to public areas. The “Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade” used this to show British Parliamant the moral failings of the transatlantic slave trade. These plans helped pave the way for the abolition of the slave trade in Britian. The Brookes ship’s plans helped pass Dolben's bill in 1788 which limited the amount of slaves enslaved upon a ship. The ship was deemed unseaworthy in 1804, having a total of 11 voyages. The ship would inspire the abolitionist movement of Britain as well as help create the modern foundations of epidemiology.

Click here to review the map on The Brookes.

Student Researcher

Samantha Goodwin