The Forgotten History of a British Ship that Fought a Notorious Slaver—and Won

By the point Henry Downes took command of the Black Joke, the ship had solely been on the waters underneath that identify for only a yr. A former slave ship itself, the Black Joke was captured in 1827 by the British Royal Navy’s West Africa Squadron, its unbelievable pace repurposed for chasing down and capturing slave merchants as they tried to make their strategy to the Americas.
For 5 months, Downes, had been on watch for only one ship—the infamous slaver El Almirante, reputed to be again off the coast of Western Africa and identified to have already illegally transported hundreds of the enslaved to the Americas in its sordid profession. In mid-January 1829, the Black Joke, whereas patrolling close to Lagos, got here throughout what gave the impression to be a number of Brazilian slavers embarking Africans. Standing off the coast in order to not spook them, rumor reached Downes that one ship was a elaborate, acquainted Spanish brig practically able to set sail—after the ready and unproductive cruising, El Almirante had, all sudden, made its look.
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On the water, rumors traveled each methods; simply as Downes had heard that this was the brig he sought, El Almirante had, in flip, been warned of the looks of Black Joke. Damaso Forgannes, the not too long ago promoted captain of El Almirante, couldn’t have been much less involved concerning the prospect of seize. Reputed to have laughed upon listening to the information, Forgannes scoffed publicly on the ludicrous notion of the Black Joke capturing his vessel, persevering with to brazenly buy enslaved folks. The response wasn’t completely unreasonable—El Almirante was an inordinately costly ship, even for a slaver, purpose-built and outfitted with each advance in design its (undoubtedly American) shipwrights might conceive. If making a break for open water was not an possibility, the slaver crewed upward of 80 males and carried 14 highly effective weapons.
There was no query that the two-gunned Black Joke, with a crew of 47 plus a brief complement of eight males from one other Squadron ship, was massively outpowered in nearly each measure. Downes, as undeterred as his reverse quantity on the slaver, set the Black Joke simply out of sight of the harbor, periodically sending boats to test on the progress of the Spanish brig and ensure it continued to load human cargo, because the presence of the enslaved could be the important proof towards El Almirante which may finally condemn it.
Persevering with to assemble data quickly proved worthwhile, particularly when a crew member reported again to the Black Joke with the slaver’s vacation spot. Having thus found El Almirante’s subsequent port, Downes spent each idle hour calculating one of the best ways to get to the Antilles, shifting to a place that hopefully anticipated the proper course. Black Joke was as ready because it could possibly be. Now, actually, all they might do was wait. Then, on Jan. 31, a elaborate Spanish brig appeared with first mild. Primed because the crew aboard the Black Joke will need to have been, they instantly crowded on all sail and, catching a scant breeze, gave chase . . . however the delays weren’t over. Within the important second, after 5 months of looking out and two weeks of ready, the wind died. Becalmed, but undeterred, the crew set to rowing. 9 hours and 30 grueling miles later, they caught the slaver at sundown, who met the Black Joke’s arrival by instantly firing on it.
Learn extra: How the Origins of Epidemiology Are Linked to the Transatlantic Slave Commerce
The whole lot about catching the Spanish brig had been tough, and Forgannes had no intention of bucking that development. All through the night time, El Almirante repeatedly tried to shut on its would-be captor, firing broadside after broadside. The tender’s bulwarks weren’t outfitted to guard its crew from the slave dealer’s heavy armament, so nonetheless largely becalmed, Downes ordered the exhausted crew again to oars. For the remainder of the night time, removed from taking the break they’d richly earned, the Black Joke evaded the slaver by the use of paddling relatively than tacking sails, at all times simply out of attain of El Almirante’s weapons. The transfer was intelligent, efficient and completely exhausting. By daybreak on Feb. 1, each ships have been a lot as they’d been the night earlier than, nonetheless becalmed lower than a mile and a half from one another, and with the arrival of the solar, the preventing quickly ceased. Clearly everybody was ready for the approaching battle, however during the new, nonetheless morning, each crews might do little else however relaxation.
Simply previous midday, the breeze returned. Fairly than run, Forgannes moved towards the Black Joke, nonetheless sure of victory. Downes, altering his place, wasn’t intimidated. As quickly because the Black Joke was inside vary of grapeshot to the aft of the slaver, Forgannes tried for an additional broadside. Mortal peril however, the crew of the Black Joke had been ready for this second for months, they usually responded with three cheers and two double-shotted cannons aimed straight on the slave dealer’s deck. For 45 minutes the Black Joke held, however when it got here to weapons, nothing had modified—El Almirante had too a lot of them. Fairly than proceed after they have been so clearly outmatched, and with the slaver once more closing in, Downes switched techniques completely and gave the order to carry the Black Joke alongside and put together to board. However all of the sudden, in what will need to have been an annoyingly acquainted flip of occasions, the wind died. Once more.
This shift in circumstances allowed Forgannes to get off a shot that would effectively have been lethal for everybody aboard the Black Joke had it been higher aimed. A light-weight wind quarter-hour later allowed El Almirante, buoyed by the close to miss and much more confident in success, to as soon as once more take the offensive and transfer in for an additional assault. The breeze wasn’t a lot, however it was sufficient to present the extra maneuverable ship the benefit, and Downes knew precisely which ship that was. In that second, Downes requested each little bit of ability from his crew and the whole lot of Black Joke—and each delivered.
The Black Joke efficiently attained El Almirante’s leeward quarter, and from there it gave the slaver all it might deal with after which some. For 20 minutes, with out pause or respite, the tender raked the quarter and stern of the slaver, and the Black Joke didn’t miss—seeing the injury subsequently, the Squadron’s Commodore declared that he had “by no means in his life witnessed a extra lovely specimen of fine gunnery.” The repeated assault to only one part of the slave dealer created a severe threat of structural injury that, if continued, would possibly effectively have rendered the ship completely unseaworthy. Realizing this, El Almirante ultimately struck its colours and surrendered.
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When the Black Joke’s crew lastly boarded, they found that, regrettably, 11 enslaved folks had been killed within the extended motion. Among the many slaver’s crew, 15 have been killed, together with Forgannes, and each officer however the third mate and 13 wounded. Black Joke had fared higher, however had six wounded, two of whom would ultimately succumb to their accidents. Each ships’ rigging had taken in depth injury, although El Almirante had the worst of it. The Black Joke had at the least one Black, non-Kru seaman, a free African named Joseph Francis, who’d been decided to “strike a private blow” towards the notorious slaver. Through the battle, he’d received 12 toes of chain into one of many ship’s weapons because it was being loaded; when it was fipurple, “the starboard major shrouds of the slaver have been reduce off [. . .] as if by the only blow of an axe.”
Even with the injury, El Almirante was nonetheless a helpful prize, however there was extra. One of many Black Joke’s officers, upon looking out the slaver, found a big cache of gold doubloons; the seize finally value the slaver’s homeowners roughly “35,000 {dollars}.” Of arguably extra significance—at the least to the Squadron—was the extra discovery of cryptic letters in cipher. Lower than per week later, Sybille, the Squadron’s flagship, would seize the slaver Uniao, which, in the course of the chase, had been seen tossing papers. When Sybille recovered the letters, they, along with these discovered on El Almirante, divulged the character and site of secret slave commerce routes to Havana, then one of many world’s busiest slaving ports. Additionally they warned different slavers that the West Africa Squadron had grow to be an efficient power, and solely quick, well-armed ships might have an opportunity of escape. Rumors would proceed to unfold—the Black Joke was extra than simply one other WAS ship to keep away from. It was the ship to keep away from.
The Black Joke would sail for 3 extra years earlier than being burned in 1832. As soon as a house to heinous struggling, and regardless of a tenure difficult by doubtful diplomacy, pirates, revolt, pandemic, mysterious disappearances, and disasters each pure and man-made, the Black Joke had grow to be the scourge of enslavers and the image of a squadron, proof that the suppression of the slave commerce wasn’t an unattainable mission.
This isn’t, nevertheless, one more narrative during which Britain largely saves the day. The historical past of the Black Joke (and definitely that of the Royal Navy) resists such simplistic evaluation. Removed from a narrative of unmitigated White Saviorism, this complicated historical past has few uncomplicated heroes, even when writ as small as a single ship in a much-larger panorama. The slave commerce, it’s laggardly, stutter-step demise—the alternatives made then have filtered into each side of our trendy world, and the Black Joke’s cruise continues to be within the meals we eat and garments we put on, in our borders and economies, in how historic legacies of racialized violence, colonialism and exploitation are perceived and remembered. The repercussions of the transatlantic slave commerce encompass us, nonetheless, and no matter which facet of the Atlantic we stay on, we are able to really feel the reverberations of centuries of industrialized human trafficking and the turbulent many years encompassing the struggle to cease it. Escaping the slave commerce was tough; escaping its legacy has proved unattainable.

A.E. Rooks is a two-time Jeopardy! champion with accomplished levels in theatre, legislation, and library and data science, and forthcoming levels in training and human sexuality. Her new e book THE BLACK JOKE: The True Story of One Ship’s Battle Towards the Slave Commerce will probably be launched from Scribner on Jan. 18.