Pirates of the Slave Trade: The Battle of Cape Lopez and the Birth of an American Institution

by Angela C. Sutton

No one present at the Battle of Cape Lopez off the coast of West Africa in 1722 could have known that they were on the edge of history. This obscure yet fierce naval battle would have a monumental impact on British colonies and the future of slavery in America.

Pirates of the Slave Trade follows three figures whose fates would violently John Conny, a charismatic leader of the Akan people who made lucrative deals with pirates and smugglers while fending off British and Dutch slavers; the infamous pirate Black Bart, who worked his way from an anonymous navigator to one of the British Empire's most notorious enemies in the region; and naval captain Chaloner Ogle, tasked by the Crown with hunting down and killing Black Bart at all costs. At the Battle of Cape Lopez, these three men and the massive historical forces at their backs would finally find each other—and the world would be transformed forever.

In this landmark narrative history, historian Angela Sutton outlines the complex network of trade routes spanning the Atlantic Ocean trafficked by agents of empire, private merchants, and brutal pirates alike. Drawing from a wide range of primary historical sources, Sutton offers a new perspective on how a single battle played a pivotal role in reshaping the trade of enslaved people in ways that affect America to this day.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Africa, Pirates

264 pages, Hardcover

Published December 15, 2023

Reviews

[ETori Herman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. I was blown away by this book. It's history with all of the excitement and readability of an adventure novel. First: Everything I learned about Africans (I know, I know, Africa is a massive continent) at the time of trans-atlantic slave trade was challenged. This book made me face the dusty corners of my brain that were filled with racist assumptions that colonial society had dumped in there from the time I was a child. And I'm in my sixth decade of life, so imagine that! Dr. Sutton does a great job of dismantling those assumptions and introducing the reader to a slice of history that is rarely told.
Plus: pirates.
There were a few things I took away from this book that I can't stop talking to people about, like how slavers learned to treat their crew well so that they wouldn't join captured Africans in revolt (yes, I am sure that the Death Star had great benefits for employees as well); how anti-black racism was created by the force of the law and by erasing the history of Black pirates, African resistance, and even from African cooperation.
I could go on and on, and I do when I am recommending this book to others. But I want to end this review with a bit of reverence for the author's meticulous research. This is a book that will be a jumping off point for many others I am sure. The archives in the Netherlands that the author used for the research hold many untold stories, which I am certain will tempt generations of historians to come.
If you have also read this book, let me know what you came away with. I am curious.

[Mark Dougherty · Rating 4 out of 5]

An intriguing and informative look at the development and expansion of the chattel slavery system through the lens of piracy and the competing African kingdoms of the late 17th and early 18th century. I knew nothing of the vast majority of the important historical figures that took part in the events, but Sutton introduces and describes each of them and their individual goals and motives in a manner that helps to elucidate both the swirling economic and political dynamics of the time and the end result which is still impacting America more than 300 years later.

[Cindy Vallar · Rating 5 out of 5]

History is required in school, but during my youth at least, my teachers didn’t always show how what happened one place was connected with or impacted events happening elsewhere. My research into pirates and the past has taught me that these interconnections do exist. More and more, books that come across my desk strive to show this bigger, often global picture. Pirates of the Slave Trade is one such book.

At first glance, readers may wonder what was the Battle of Cape Lopez. Those familiar with pirate history know of it but more because of what happened at this fight than by its name. It took place off the coast of West Africa on 10 February 1722. The outcome brought about the demise of one of the most prolific pirates of the Golden Age of Piracy, Bartholomew Roberts. The subsequent trials at Cape Coast Castle led to mass hangings of fifty-two pirates. Captain Chaloner Ogle of the British Royal Navy would be honored with knighthood. Piracy began to wane, whereas the buying and selling of slaves increased in scope and intensity. In turn, this led to changes in how Europeans viewed Africans and how Britain and her colonies, especially in what would become the United States, characterized those who were enslaved.

This is, in essence, what Pirates of the Slave Trade is about, but Sutton touches on many peripheral topics related to piracy and slavery. After setting the scene and introducing the main characters, she examines what drew Roberts and his men to Africa. He was neither a stranger to the slave trade – his sailing career started aboard slave ships – nor unknown when he returned to African waters in 1722. (He was already a notorious pirate, having captured more than 400 vessels and murdered a governor.) Captain Ogle, on the other hand, was a pirate hunter, a man determined to end Roberts’s depredations and he possessed the authority to do whatever it took to accomplish the pirates’ eradication.

Sutton also introduces a third man to this equation: John Conny, an Ahantan king who learned the ins and outs of European slave trading operations firsthand and used them to his advantage in what is now Ghana. As he grew more influential and powerful, he sheltered pirates and made it possible for them to prey on ships of the various West India companies in African waters.

The book is divided into two parts. “The Battle of Cape Lopez” identifies principal players and establishes the parameters that lead to the final confrontation between the Royal Navy and the pirates. “The Birth of an American Institution” delves into the battle’s legacy, asking and seeking answers to:

Who were the real gentlemen of fortune here?
And who are they today?
Who benefits from global extraction-based exploitative processes that change the face of the entire world?
And who among us (“us” meaning the national as well as the global population) are left behind? (143-144)

Maps, artwork, and tables accompany the narrative. Footnotes provide additional information on topics mentioned in the text, while endnotes provide citations to source material consulted. There is an index, but no bibliography.

Sutton deftly lays the groundwork on the slave trade and slavery, piracy in Africa, and the people and places involved to orient the reader in the primary purpose of this book. She discusses the trading companies to a fuller degree than is often covered in history volumes. Readers gain a better understanding of before and after, especially as regards slavery in America. She skillfully shows how one incident leads to another and another, showing their interconnectedness and the resultant outcomes. In addition, she utilizes the words and deeds of William Snelgrave, a captain engaged in the slave trade who also became a captive of three pirates, to graphically depict the before and after changes.

Many authors writing books about pirates and their connections to slavery tend to gloss over the details, preferring to mention rather than elucidate. Sutton dares to venture much further into what is a provocative and sometimes incendiary discussion; she does so “with an antiracist lens.” (238) She explains why and lets readers know that they can effect change – a fact that resonates today. Pirates of the Slave Trade is enlightening, thought-provoking, and a must read for anyone who wants a fuller picture of the connections between piracy, the slave trade, and the legacy the downfall of one created for the other.


(This review originally appeared at Pirates & Privateers: http://www.cindyvallar.com/Sutton.html)

[Adam Marquis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Boudica's failed revolt against the Roman was mostly a success, until it wasn't. She sacked Camulodunam, Verulamium, and Londinium. She was then defeated once and died. When you go against empire, against a war machine, you have to win every single time.

Pirate Black Bart knew this; just as the Romans could always muster another legion, the British Empire could always send more ships. "A short life, but a merry one," he said. His hunter, Chaloner Ogle, racked up an astounding over 100% casualty count, replacing dead sailors stop after stop - always more ships and always more men.

On land, trader John Conny understood these power relationships and expertly leveraged them to keep European factions at bay... until in the end he lost as well. There's always another West African faction to arm and point after the enemies of empire.

This is all very exciting and full of thrills and I bet it would make a great pulp/pop history book but what elevates Pirates of the Slave trade is Dr. Sutton's ability to contextualize all this action within the changing structures that surrounded these men. Black Bart and John Conny kept their heads above water by being cosmopolitan, by understanding the factions and the incentives that motivated them. The ages of piracy and free West African traders were closing, and it is fascinating to learn how these men leveraged everything imaginable to keep going - every scrap of intel and rumor, every banked favor and trust from allies, and brutal displays of force.

How brutal were the European factions that one finds themselves rooting for these doomed pirates and warlords? Black Bart and John Conny were, forgive me this, problematic faves. Conny was a warlord, but hadn't the Europeans annihilated, directly and indirectly, non-martial factions in the region? Black Bart was a pirate, but hadn't the brutality of the slave trade produced the maltreated, prospectless sailors that crewed his fleet? As slave traders calcified the anti-Blackness that kept their engine running, their enemies look angelic just by comparison.

In the end, when one compares this very well sourced and grounded text with both fictionalized depictions of the golden age of piracy and very embellished contemporary account it's hard to not think to modern day. Today, employer wage theft outclasses retail theft significantly, just as the crimes of the slave trade were many orders of magnitude worse than those of the pirates. But just as empire had its Nathaniel Mists to record the real and imagined evils of their enemies, capital produces piles of journalism on shoplifting gangs and ignores its own crimes. The victors write history but thanks to books like Pirates of the Slave Trade we can enjoy a more objective view which I greatly appreciate.

[Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

As someone who is not extremely familiar with the slave trade from the "other" parts of the world, I was very curious about this book. Obviously it is not like the slave traded completely consisted of white Europeans coming to Africa to kidnap people to sell them into slavery and there is much more to tell. This is the story of a specific and not well-known (I've certainly never heard of it) battle that would have an impact on slavery and the slave trade in the future.

In essence, this is a story of various players regarding a particular battle, and what their backgrounds, experiences, motivations and goals were. We know how the story "ends" but not how we got here (and sadly, not knowing these details, even if you are not into naval battles and pirates, etc.) is unfortunate.

That said, this was so incredibly dull. Maybe it was because I was not in the mood for such a book, maybe it it was not just for me. I think part of it is that I did not quite realize what this was: I thought this would be more about how pirates were involved with the slave trade (either in support, opposition or if they were just doing pirate things and raiding ships for the gold or physical goods or whatever) and not about a specific battle.

And honestly, overall it really was not interesting reading either. A lot of people seem to have found it fascinating (and on paper, it should be!) but this was genuinely a slog to read though. Maybe it's just me. For historians, people who want to know more about the slave trade, etc. this might be a really good pickup.

Borrowed from the library and that was best.

[Steve Moran · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first half of this book was quite excellent. Very informative on the state of the interactions between the African states, the Europeans, and the affect of the pirates. The second half is where she loses me somewhat. She puts the entire blame for slavery in West Africa on the Europeans, virtually absolving, even lionizing at times, the African chieftains and their societies for capturing and selling the slaves in the first place. She also tries to make a point about how the Africans, as slaves, were treated as less than human (which is true) but then uses that to complain that when Africans amongst the pirate crews of Black Bart were captured they were sold into slavery rather than being hung. Yes, she complains that they were NOT hung! Finally, she fully blames the United States (even though it did not exist yet) for the invention, if you will, of chattel slavery. Then she makes the tenuous connection of the Battle of Cape Lopez to racial problems in the US today. She even goes so far as to quote the race-hustling grifter Ibram Kendi to support her theories. Only a good source if you want to try to perpetuate white guilt and the attempt by Kendi, et. al. to attach a blood lible to all white people in the US today.

[Ernest Spoon · Rating 4 out of 5]

The titular navel battle at Cape Lopez, off the coast of today's nation of Gabon, is a footnote in history. But a footnote that, like the pebble thrown in the calm pond, resulted in ripples that grew into waves that affect US society down to the present day. In fact, as related by author Sutton, the actual battle was rather anticlimactic, the consequence was the rise of chattel slavery and the codified racism in the English-dominated colonies of what became the United States.

What is most puzzling is, the African politician-merchants whom the Europeans dealt with were urbane, cultivated, often multilingual men. The mystery is, why a man like John Conny, the up-by-his-bootstraps, multilingual king of the Ahanta, who often outplayed the Dutch and British at their own games, was still viewed as a cultural inferior by Europeans?

[Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good, detailed account of a critical moment in history

The first half of the book tells the story of the lives of various types of sailors and slave traders from around Europe, and pirates, as well as the African people who supplied slaves. It really brought that era to life for me. The second half continues that story, but with redundant accounts of how the British model of slavery was the most inhumane and how that institution still affects American society. In my opinion, there was too much editorializing. Nevertheless, I can recommend this book for the detailed and well-researched information it provides.

[Linda Hamilton · Rating 1 out of 5]

Between 1807 and 1860, the Royal Navy, West Africa Squadron seized approximately 1600 ships involved in the slave trade and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard these vessels.

[Morgan (Turbo) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed learning about the role of pirates in the slave trade from West Africa. However, I was not convinced of the author’s central claim that after the Battle of Cape Lopez everything changed in the slave trade.