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Africans Thrown Overboard from a Slave Ship, Early 19th cent. Black African Slaves Thrown off Slave Ship into Sea. Slave Trade and People Traffickers (Engraving, 1888) A slave ship was fired upon by an unspecified vessel that was chasing it, causing severe damage. The ocean waters rushing in threatened to sink the ship despite the efforts of the crew. The vessel's captain decided to take the desperate measure of jettisoning its human cargo. The manacled captives were brought to the top deck in pairs under a pretext, and cannon balls were attached to their chains; they were then cast overboard (pp. 228-29). The engraving, the account ends, shows this barbarous act, at the moment the slave ship is being pursued (p. 229; our translation). The illustration is not based on an eyewitness drawing, but is an artist's fabrication; also the incident's description is not based on the author's observations. The illustration sometimes appears in secondary historical and other works ...