This diagram of the slave ship “Brooks,” first published in 1788, became the most widely known and influential image used by abolitionist campaigners. It was redrawn and republished many times in Britain and America in the decades that followed. It…
Thomas Clarkson was a dedicated abolitionist whose publications on the slave trade helped to raise awareness of the horrors of slavery and the Middle Passage. In his description of this image, Clarkson explained that he purchased these items in a…