228 : The Atlantic 



mixed cargoes that included ivory, hides, nuts and oils and other 

 tropical products. 



English vessels of many different types occasionally were employed 

 in the transportation of slaves on the Atlantic but again they were 

 not particularly designed for this traffic. Whatever the type of hull 

 and of rig, they were usually produced and first used for the trans- 

 portation of regular cargoes and gradually drifted into the business 

 of "blackbirding." The same was true of the New England vessels 

 that participated in the triangular trade. In this case it is plain that 

 since the vessels carried other cargoes on at least two of the legs of 

 the voyage, a general purpose ship was quite satisfactory for the 

 operation. Ships, barks, brigs and schooners were all occasionally 

 employed on these voyages. 



Throughout most of the years of the slave trade any seaworthy 

 vessel that had an ample carrying capacity in her hold was regarded 

 as satisfactory for the trade and little effort was made to attain speed 

 on the passage. As time went on, however, it became apparent that 

 a rapid crossing from Africa to the West Indies was desirable since 

 this decreased the time during which the slave cargo had to be fed 

 and cared for and also decreased the likelihood of the spread of con- 

 tagious disease. As efforts to suppress the slave trade increased, the 

 need for a speedy passage became obvious. It became necessary for 

 the slaver to outrun, outsail and outmaneuver any vessel that might 

 be sent to overtake and capture it. In the closing days of the trade 

 the remaining slavers went to great lengths to secure fast and weath- 

 erly vessels. 



In the early part of the nineteenth century, the so-called "Baltimore 

 Clippers" found special favor with the slavers and were often bought 

 for this traffic. Their holds were of rather extreme design and had a 

 limited carrying capacity and this in turn led to extreme overcrowd- 

 ing of the slave cargo, but they in part overcame this defect by mak- 

 ing some notably fast passages from Africa to the West Indies. Dia- 

 grams are still in existence showing how the cargo was disposed in 

 vessels of this type. 



For the most part, these were small fast vessels with hull lines 

 unusually fine and sharp for their time and still capable of carrying 

 a large spread of canvas. They were rigged as brigs, brigantines, her- 

 maphrodite brigs and schooners. The Baltimore Clippers seemed to 

 have developed out of the vessels that were used during the War of 

 1 812 and they appear to have been used for privateering and other 

 purposes where speed and handiness was desirable in a vessel. 



