West Africa Squadron
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The West Africa Squadron was a unit of the Royal Navy that was involved in the suppression of the slave trade in West Africa. The unit was reportedly set up at great expense and patrolled the coast. The unit was initially based in Ascension Island in the 1830s before being moved to Cape Town.
The West Africa Squadron was assisted by forces from the United States Navy, starting in 1820 with the USS Cyane. Initially this consisted of a few ships, but was eventually formalised by the Webster-Ashburton Treaty of 1842 into the Africa Squadron.
The West Africa Squadron was credited with capturing 595 slave ships between 1843 and 1861, with the United States Navy capturing a further 24 ships.
References
- [BBC News - "10 things about British slavery"]
- [Blog posting with quotations from book on West Africa Squadron]
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