Images

'Three Kroomen of Sierra Leone' [Bray album]

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Date

probably February 1775

Description

No. 63 of 74. A drawing presumably from the 'Pallas' voyage, 1774-75. The Krumen are a subgroup of the Grebo people who today live mainly along the coast of Liberia and the Ivory Coast, and have a strong seafaring tradition. They are related to but distinct from the Kru people further inland, and who originated further north. In the days of the transatlantic slave trade, the Krumen, like the coastal Fante, had a history of co-operation with European traders. This is one of 73 drawings by Bray (plus one signed 'NF 1782') preserved in a 19th-century album. They have now been separately remounted. Bray (1750-1823), was second lieutenant of the 44-gun ‘Pallas’ under Captain the Hon. William Cornwallis (1744-1819) – later a well-known admiral - on two voyages (1774-77) to report on British interests in West Africa, including the slave trade. The dated drawings refer only to the first of these, from December 1774 to September 1775, though a few may be from the second. Others comprise country views, some of Deal, Kent (where Bray may have come from), and others of social-history interest.

Image Licence

CC BY-NC-ND

Image Credit

Location

Sierra Leone

Country

Sierra Leone

Medium

Watercolour