L'Aurore within her historical context

Considering the overall history of the slave trade, the second half of the 18th Century was especially important from the point of view of the amount of traffic carried out. While the Portuguese got about 5,000 slaves a year from Angola in 1710, a yearly average of 60,000 were transported in the period considered.

The main French ports concerned in the slave trade were Nantes and Bordeaux, but also Le Havre and La Rochelle. They were in competition with the Portuguese, the Dutch and especially the British. It is estimated that during that period in France, 10,000 people lived directly form he slave trade, with the obvious numerous other consequences on the economic activity in general.

The interest of these so-called triangular voyages was that a ship never sailed without a cargo: it started with some merchandise (glass beads, cloth, spirits, etc..) to exchange to African kings for slaves. The slaves were then transported to American islands and on the return trip, the ship was loaded with cotton and numerous other goods: coffee, sugar, cacao, etc..

Depending on the season, two main routes may be traveled to reach the African coast: the long route which goes down to Brazil by way of the Cape Verde islands and then crosses the ocean, and the short route which cuts to the East following the coast of Guinea. The respective durations of these trips are on the average 110 and 60 days.

After lengthy transactions with the local personalities concerned in the trade, the slaves are branded and taken aboard the ship where they are shackled. The ship may lay over for long as six months before weighing anchor, to give the captain time to complete his complement of slaves.

The crossing to the Antilles takes two to three months depending on the type of ship and the number of prisoners carried. The prisoners only take the name of slaves once they have been sold in the islands. The voyage takes place in terrible conditions of promiscuity, hygiene and illness and 10 to 15% of the slaves lose their lives.

Once the ship has reached the isles, an attempt is made to proceed with the sale as fast as possible to prevent additional losses. After the necessary transformations, the ship is loaded for the trip back to Europe which will last another two to three months. After reaching the home port, the cargo must be controlled by customs before being sold to local merchants.

The trader is then free to start preparing for another voyage of slave trade.

About 15,000,000 people were subjected to this unenviable treatment.