William Snelgrave
Encyclopedia
William Snelgrave was an English
sea captain, slave trader, and ivory trader on the West African coast. He actually treated his slaves better than most traders, providing two meals a day, visits to the deck, and pipes and tobacco. He also allowed the women and children to be unchained. He was captured by pirate captains La Bouche, Cocklyn, and Howell Davis along the coast of West Africa
in 1719. He was originally attacked by Cocklyn's quartermaster for failing to surrender. He was beaten and shot in the arm, but his men cried out "For God's sake, don't kill our captain, for we were never with a better man." Snelgrave was then spared. Snelgrave wrote about his captivity with the pirates. He described how Davis claimed that "their reasons for going a pirating were to revenge themselves on base merchants and cruel commanders of ships." This probably explains why Snelgrave was spared, despite the fact that he intended to fight the pirates.
In 1727 he arrived at Whydah
which had just been captured by Dahomey
. His account of this event, which he learned of second hand, has been the main source of many modern historians.
In 1734 he published A New Account of Some Parts of Guinea and the Slave-Trade. He was not critical of the slave trade like other traders became and dedicated his book to the European merchants of West Africa.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
sea captain, slave trader, and ivory trader on the West African coast. He actually treated his slaves better than most traders, providing two meals a day, visits to the deck, and pipes and tobacco. He also allowed the women and children to be unchained. He was captured by pirate captains La Bouche, Cocklyn, and Howell Davis along the coast of West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
in 1719. He was originally attacked by Cocklyn's quartermaster for failing to surrender. He was beaten and shot in the arm, but his men cried out "For God's sake, don't kill our captain, for we were never with a better man." Snelgrave was then spared. Snelgrave wrote about his captivity with the pirates. He described how Davis claimed that "their reasons for going a pirating were to revenge themselves on base merchants and cruel commanders of ships." This probably explains why Snelgrave was spared, despite the fact that he intended to fight the pirates.
In 1727 he arrived at Whydah
Whydah
Whydah may refer in English to:* The Viduidae birds, also called indigobirds* Ouidah, city and colonial fort in present Benin* Kingdom of Whydah, which included Ouidah but was headquartered in Savi...
which had just been captured by Dahomey
Dahomey
Dahomey was a country in west Africa in what is now the Republic of Benin. The Kingdom of Dahomey was a powerful west African state that was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until 1894. From 1894 until 1960 Dahomey was a part of French West Africa. The independent Republic of Dahomey...
. His account of this event, which he learned of second hand, has been the main source of many modern historians.
In 1734 he published A New Account of Some Parts of Guinea and the Slave-Trade. He was not critical of the slave trade like other traders became and dedicated his book to the European merchants of West Africa.
Sources
- Law, Robin. "A Neglected Account of the Dahomian Conquest of Whydah (1727): The 'Relation de la Guerre de Juda of the Sieur Ringard of Nantes" in History of Africa, 15 (1988), p. 321-338.
- Snelgrave, William. "A New Account of Some Parts of Guinea, and the Slave-Trade (1734)".