A new account of Guinea, and the slave-trade

In Short

Written by a veteran English slave trader, this 1734 travelogue details the geopolitics and commercial mechanics of the West African coast. Captain William Snelgrave recounts the brutal conquest of the Kingdom of Whidaw by the King of Dahomè, his own hostage negotiations in the royal military camp, the logistical realities of buying enslaved human beings, and a harrowing capture by Atlantic pirates in the Sierra Leone River. The work survives as a stark, primary account of eighteenth-century mercantilism, maritime lawlessness, and early modern European encounters with African state power.

The Story

The narrative begins with a detailed geographic and economic survey of the Slave Coast, focusing on the prosperous Kingdom of Whidaw. This stability shatters when the inland expansionist King of Dahomè invades, laying waste to Whidaw and capturing its major trading centers. Navigating his ship into the neighboring port of Jaqueen to secure cargo, Snelgrave establishes formal contact with the conquerors. Driven by commercial necessity, he travels inland to the King of Dahomè's encampment to negotiate trading customs and secure safe passage for his crew and vessel.

At the royal camp, Snelgrave witnesses the grim mechanics of Dahomean military power. He observes mass executions of political captives, public displays of court rituals, and the disciplined maneuvers of three thousand regular troops trained from childhood. Interacting directly with the King, Snelgrave negotiates custom fees using diplomatic flattery, accepting royal gifts while observing the tense, authoritarian climate of the court. His account underscores how the conqueror deliberately preserves coastal trade infrastructure to maintain a steady supply of European firearms and gunpowder.

The narrative shifts from coastal diplomacy to the violent realities of the transatlantic trade itself. Snelgrave outlines the mechanisms by which Africans are enslaved, the legal justifications employed by European traders, and the constant threat of shipboard rebellions. He details specific mutinies on his own vessels, where enslaved captives attempt to sever anchor cables or stage uprisings, revealing the desperate resistance of the captives and the ruthless measures used by captains to maintain control.

In its final movement, the book details Snelgrave's capture by notorious pirates—including Captains Cocklyn and Davis—at the mouth of the Sierra Leone River. Held hostage aboard his own captured vessel, the Bird Galley, Snelgrave faces constant peril from violent crew members, near-fatal misunderstandings in the dark, and an accidental gunpowder fire that threatens to blow the ship apart. Through steady diplomacy, shrewd appeals to the King’s Proclamation of pardon, and sheer luck, he avoids execution. After the pirates dismantle or abandon their prizes, Snelgrave secures passage on a recovered vessel, collects salvaged goods from local European factors, and returns safely to Bristol to resume his career under his London merchant backers.

How It Unfolds

The trade established Snelgrave describes the prosperous kingdom of Whidaw, where European nations maintain factories and export over twenty thousand enslaved people annually under stable local protection.

The kingdom falls The militaristic King of Dahomè invades the coastal region, destroying Whidaw's capital and forcing Snelgrave to divert his ship to the tributary port of Jaqueen.

Journey to the camp Snelgrave travels inland to the Dahomean military encampment, where he observes mass human sacrifices, court rituals, and the disciplined drills of thousands of regular soldiers.

Audience with the conqueror The author negotiates trading terms directly with the King of Dahomè, who agrees to lower custom duties while presenting Snelgrave with gifts of livestock and captives.

A governor's horrific fate The text recounts the tragic execution of the English governor Testefole, who is tortured and killed by Dahomean forces after mistreating local authorities and ignoring warnings.

Mutiny on the high seas Enslaved Africans attempt multiple shipboard uprisings, including a plot to cut the vessel's anchor cables, forcing Snelgrave to rely on native linguists to uncover the plans.

Ambushed by pirates While anchored in the Sierra Leone River, Snelgrave's ship is seized by heavily armed pirates led by Captain Cocklyn, placing the author in immediate danger of execution.

Escaping the assassin In a pitch-black cabin, a vengeful pirate boatswain fires a pistol at Snelgrave, but the weapon flashes in the pan, saving his life while provoking a violent fight with the ship's carpenter.

Disaster in the river A sudden fire breaks out near the ship's magazine containing thirty thousand pounds of gunpowder, which Snelgrave and a few sober crewmen manage to extinguish using wet blankets.

Return to Bristol After recovering salvaged cargo and securing passage on a French vessel, Snelgrave navigates back to England, where his merchant owner rewards his resilience with a new command.

The People

• William Snelgrave: An English merchant captain focused entirely on commercial profit, maritime survival, and maintaining professional order amidst extreme violence.
• The King of Dahomè: An ambitious, highly strategic African conqueror who ruthlessly destroys neighboring states while methodically preserving European trade routes for military supplies.
• Zunglar: The King’s shrewd trading agent, who mediates negotiations between the Dahomean court and European captains to establish standard custom duties.
• Mr. Testefole: The imprudent English governor whose arrogant handling of local African authorities leads directly to his capture, horrific torture, and execution.
• Captain More: A fellow English trader captured by the Dahomeans, who endures severe marches under the sun and directly confronts the King over the harsh treatment of white prisoners.
• The Pirate Boatswain: A ruthless, volatile villain among Cocklyn’s pirate crew who repeatedly attempts to murder Snelgrave out of pure malice and drunken rage.
• The Pirate Carpenter: A pragmatically fair member of the pirate crew who protects Snelgrave from the boatswain's murderous attacks and maintains basic maritime order.
• Goulding: A brave gunner's mate who risks his life inside a smoke-filled hold to douse the burning bulkhead of the powder room with water-soaked blankets.

In Its Own Voice

"As this was the principal Part of all the Guinea Coast for the Slave Trade, the frequent Intercourse that Nation had for many Years carried on with the white People had rendered them so civilized, that it was a Pleasure to deal with them."

Snelgrave reflects on how established commercial relationships shaped European perceptions of the Whidaw coastal residents.

"His Majesty replied, 'That as he was the greater Prince, he might reasonably expect the more Custom; but as I was the first English Captain he had seen, he would treat me as a young Wife or Bride, who must be denied nothing at first.'"

The King of Dahomè uses colorful diplomacy during trade negotiations at his military camp to establish a profitable rapport with the author.

"He came to the Cabin Door, and by the Star-light that came in at the Windows, perceived us sitting... he presented a Pistol, and drew the Trigger, swearing, 'At that instant, he would blow my Brains out.'"

The narrative captures a terrifying moment of vulnerability aboard the captured vessel when a drunken pirate attempts Snelgrave's life in the dark.

What It's Really About

Beneath its matter-of-fact travel log structure, the book exposes the brutal mechanics of eighteenth-century Atlantic mercantilism. It demonstrates how European mercantile wealth depended on violence, trade monopolies, and the systematic dehumanization of human cargo. Snelgrave frames his participation in the slave trade as a lawful, civilized enterprise, contrasting it with the lawless plunder of Atlantic pirates and the militaristic conquest of West African kingdoms. Yet the narrative reveals that all three systems—European trade, African state expansion, and maritime piracy—were deeply intertwined, relying on firearms, coercion, and complete disregard for human life to achieve their financial and political goals.

Why Read It Today

This text offers an unfiltered, primary look at the eighteenth-century Atlantic world through the eyes of an active participant in the slave trade. Readers interested in maritime history, African statecraft, and pirate lore will find a chillingly candid narrative that starkly illustrates how commercial interests shaped international relations. Snelgrave writes with prose that is plain, direct, and unvarnished, free from modern sensibilities or stylistic flourishes.

The reading experience requires navigating historical orthography, archaic calendar conventions, and the author's casually unfeeling attitude toward the human suffering that funded his career. There is no moral grandstanding or retrospective remorse; Snelgrave views human cargo, royal massacres, and pirate mutinies through the same lens of practical risk management. What remains with the reader is a vivid portrait of an era defined by immense physical danger, complex cross-cultural diplomacy, and uncompromising institutional cruelty.

<ElicitationsGroup message="Explore related aspects of this historical period:"> <Elicitation label="Analyze 18th-century West African military tactics" query="Provide a detailed analysis of 18th-century West African military tactics and state organization based on historical accounts of the Dahomean conquest."/> <Elicitation label="Compare Snelgrave's account with other pirate narratives" query="Compare William Snelgrave's account of capture by pirates with other 18th-century primary accounts of Atlantic piracy like Charles Johnson's A General History of the Pyrates."/> </ElicitationsGroup>