1693
Captain Thomas Phillips of the Royal African Company vessel Hannibal recorded in his journal that of approximately 700 enslaved Africans loaded on the ship in 1693, roughly 320 died during the Middle Passage crossing, a mortality rate of over 45%. Phillips documented deaths from dysentery, smallpox, and what he called 'fixed melancholy' — enslaved people who refused to eat and died. The Hannibal's log is one of the most detailed first-person accounts of Middle Passage conditions and mortality, documenting the scale of death as a routine business matter.
A 1693 Spanish royal proclamation offered freedom to enslaved people who escaped English colonies and converted to Catholicism, provided they served the Spanish Crown. This created a direct incentive for flight south. By 1738, Fort Mose near St. Augustine became the first legally sanctioned free Black settlement in North America, a destination that shaped the logic of the Stono Rebellion and other flight attempts.
Zoom in — months
Key events
- 1693The Hannibal: 320 of 700 Enslaved Africans Die During Middle Passage (1693)
Captain Thomas Phillips of the Royal African Company vessel Hannibal recorded in his journal that of approximately 700 enslaved Africans loaded on the ship in 1693, roughly 320 died during the Middle Passage crossing, a mortality rate of over 45%. Phillips documented deaths from dysentery, smallpox, and what he called 'fixed melancholy' — enslaved people who refused to eat and died. The Hannibal's log is one of the most detailed first-person accounts of Middle Passage conditions and mortality, documenting the scale of death as a routine business matter.
- 1693Spanish Florida Offers Freedom to Escaped Enslaved People
A 1693 Spanish royal proclamation offered freedom to enslaved people who escaped English colonies and converted to Catholicism, provided they served the Spanish Crown. This created a direct incentive for flight south. By 1738, Fort Mose near St. Augustine became the first legally sanctioned free Black settlement in North America, a destination that shaped the logic of the Stono Rebellion and other flight attempts.
- 1693Spanish Florida Offers Freedom to Escaped Enslaved People
A 1693 Spanish royal proclamation offered freedom to enslaved people who escaped English colonies, converted to Catholicism, and served the Crown. By 1738, Fort Mose near St. Augustine became the first legally sanctioned free Black settlement in North America.