The Brookes Ship Model and Poster
The abolitionists had to win over the hearts and minds of both Members of Parliament and the public if they were going to be successful in their campaign for the abolition of slavery. #SUBHEADING#Spreading the Message#SUBHEADINGEND# With no mass media, television or radio, the abolitionists had to reach a wide audience with a powerful message. They achieved this by the publication of the Brookes slave ship poster and a ship model. The poster and the ship model were based on an actual slave ship that was built in Liverpool in 1780-81. It continued to be a slave ship until 1804 and was named after its co-owner Joseph Brooks, a Liverpool merchant. The ship was later mistakenly referred to as the 'Brookes' and was one of nine ships measured for the 1788 Parliament enquiry into the British slave trade. #IMAGE##SUBHEADING#Brookes Ship Poster#SUBHEADINGEND# The original idea came from the Plymouth Abolitionist Committee who created a sketch of a slave ship diagram for use in their campaign. The London Committee realised the potential for this powerful image and produced another ship diagram showing a detailed engraving of the Brooks stowage plan. It is this poster that is recognised today and was designed to highlight to people the horrors of the slave trade. The ship was built to carry 451 people and the poster depicts the amount of space each individual would have. The overcrowding and sheer lack of space shocked everybody who saw it. In reality, this ship diagram was not a true reflection of the space given to the enslaved Africans. It is known that in 1783 the vessel carried more than 600 enslaved Africans from Africa to the Americas. In 1789 more than 7,000 posters were printed and circulated throughout England. Thomas Clarkson used this poster in his anti-slave trade tours and its powerful imagery made an impact on everybody who saw it. When Thomas Clarkson took the poster to France, the Archbishop of Axix was 'so struck with horror that he could scarcely speak'. #SUBHEADING#The Brookes Ship Model#SUBHEADINGEND# This ship model was shown to MPs in Parliament by William Wilberforce during the abolition campaign. It was used to highlight the brutality of the Middle Passage as part of the abolitionist's fight against the slave trade. Two models of the ship were commissioned by the abolitionist Thomas Clarkson. Clarkson gave one ship to Wilberforce to use in his anti-slave trade speeches and the other to Comte de Mirabeau, French statesman during his visit to Paris in 1789.
The Freedom Centrepiece 2007
In 2006 Hull Museums commissioned silversmith Jocelyn Burton to produce a major silver centrepiece. This was part of the commemorations for the bi-centenary of the abolition of the slave trade in 2007. This will be a lasting testament to freedom and will hopefully be around for the tercentenary. The centrepiece was funded by the Alderman Rupert Alec-Smith Fund and the Wilberforce 2007 Programme.
The Campaign Against Slavery
Read about the parliamentary campaign to abolish slavery, womens role in the anti-slavery fight and how growing opposition among the public led to a boycott of sugar produced on plantations.
Enslavement and Plantation Life
Read about the horrific conditions that slaves endured on board slave ships in the Middle Passage and how they were met with discipline and harsh punishment once they arrived at the plantations.
William Wilberforce - the man (part 2)
Read about the impact of Wilberforce's university days and his career in politics.
William Wilberforce - the man (part 1)
Discover more about at the Wilberforce Family and William Wilberforce's early years.
The Wilberforce Monument
William Wilberforce, MP for Yorkshire and passionate campaigner against the slave trade, was commemorated after is death with a monument paid for by public donation. But who designed it? How tall is it? And how much did it cost to buy? Read on and find out.
Moving the Wilberforce Monument in 1935
William Wilberforce's monument had become a motoring hazard by the 1930s and it needed to be moved to a new, more convenient location. Find out who moved the monument and what secrets are buried beneath...
Slavery Collections at Wilberforce House
Wilberforce House has many objects relating to slavery and the campaign for its abolition. The collection strengths lie in plantation records and anti-slavery material. Read on to discover more about the slavery collections at Wilberforce House.
Wilberforce Bible - Uncovering the Family Secrets
Read about the bibles that were once owned by William Wilberforce (1759-1833) and are now on display in Wilberforce House Museum.
