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Shipping slaves off the Pitons, St. Lucia

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Date

ca.1771

Description

It is interesting to note that before he was 20 years old, Pocock was making drawings of the loading and taking of slaves - one such example is his drawing of the 'The Southwell Frigate', (c. 1760, Bristol City Art Gallery) in which he drew two vignettes highlighting these activities, entitled 'Tradeing on Ye Coast of Africa'. Pocock obtained employment with Richard Champion (1743-91), a successful Bristol merchant who traded with the West Indies and America. Champion was a Quaker with strong anti-slavery beliefs, who had no direct connections with the slave trade. During the years 1767-76 Pocock captained Champion's ships on no less than 12 voyages. Six of these were made to the West Indies between 1771-76 and, according to Francis Greenacre, this watercolour dates from this period (Greenacre, 1982-3:7). St Lucia, one of the Windward Islands, is located in the Caribbean between Martinique to the north and the island of St Vincent to the south. The Pitons are in the south of the island near Soufrière, the oldest town on St Lucia, established by the French in 1746. The twin peaks, visible to left in the background, rise over 2,000 feet high and are St Lucia's most famous landmarks - visible to sailors from a great distance.

Image Licence

CC BY-NC-ND

Image Credit

Location

Pitons, St. Lucia

Country

St. Lucia

Medium

Watercolour