Spanish sailors and the illegal slave trade to Cuba, 1845-1867

ABSTRACT The signing of treaties between Spain and Great Britain (in 1817 and 1835) and the subsequent passing in 1845 of the Criminal Act did not serve to end slave trade, as intended. Instead the only consequence of the treaties was to make it illegal and to maintain it with the participation of a wide range of actors and a large contingent of sailors of diverse origins and nationalities, many of whom were Spanish. In this article we analyze the living circumstances of the crews of Spanish slave-trade ships between 1845 and 1867, its greatest boom period and one of the most remarkable chapters of the social history of Spanish merchant marine. This article draws on documentary sources unpublished until today.