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The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)

Bibliography: leaves 187-192.

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Chiswell, Matthew
Other Authors: Penn, Nigel
Format: Thesis
Language:English
Published: Department of Historical Studies 2014
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access_status_str Open Access
author Chiswell, Matthew
author2 Penn, Nigel
author_browse Chiswell, Matthew
Penn, Nigel
author_facet Penn, Nigel
Chiswell, Matthew
author_sort Chiswell, Matthew
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description Bibliography: leaves 187-192.
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institution University of Cape Town (South Africa)
language eng
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license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from UCTD — University of Cape Town Open Access Repository
publishDate 2014
publishDateRange 2014
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publisher Department of Historical Studies
publisherStr Department of Historical Studies
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spelling oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10236 The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4) Chiswell, Matthew Penn, Nigel Historical Studies Bibliography: leaves 187-192. This dissertation is a study of the Royal Navy's campaign against the slave trade from their base at the Cape of Good Hope from 1861-4. During this period the Cape Squadron (which included the West African Station at this point) was under the command of Rear Admiral Sir Baldwin Walker. Under his command the first major successes against the East African slave trade were achieved. The study comprises of three main sections. The first gives background information about the Royal Navy, international relations and the state of the slave trade suppression at the time. The second examines the actions of the Cape Squadron under Walker's command. The third section gives detail of the cruises of specific Royal Navy ships and evaluates their success ( or otherwise) in suppressing the slave trade. Themes explored in this dissertation include the international nature of the slave trade, the policy of substituting legitimate trade for the slave trade, the influence of naval technology and how interactions between 'men on the spot' affected the success of suppression. Also explored is Britain's motivation for undertaking so difficult and expensive a task. Conclusions drawn are that the international nature of the slave trade and the lack of treaties (regarding the right to search shipping) with some powers, particularly France, greatly hindered the Royal Navy's suppression efforts. The substitution of legitimate trade for the slave trade worked successfully on the West African Coast but many of the legitimate enterprises relied upon slave labour, a fact which the British and other European powers chose to ignore. The personal interaction between men on the spot proved to be an important factor in determining the success (or failure) of the slave trade suppression efforts. New naval technologies were not as effective as they could have been in suppressing the slave trade due to the poor quality of ships assigned to the slave patrol (although this was remedied somewhat during Admiral Walker's tenure as Commander-in-Chief of the Cape Squadron). Britain's motivation for undertaking the suppression of the slave trade is shown to have been a combination of humanitarian concerns and political and economic expediency. 2014-12-27T14:11:59Z 2014-12-27T14:11:59Z 2003 Master Thesis Masters MA http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10236 eng application/pdf Department of Historical Studies Faculty of Humanities University of Cape Town
spellingShingle Historical Studies
Chiswell, Matthew
The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)
thesis_degree_str Master's
title The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)
title_full The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)
title_fullStr The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)
title_full_unstemmed The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)
title_short The Cape Squadron, Admiral Baldwin Walker and the suppression of the slave trade (1861-4)
title_sort cape squadron admiral baldwin walker and the suppression of the slave trade 1861 4
topic Historical Studies
url http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10236
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