Entering the “African Trade”: British slave-ship surgeons and the Company of Surgeons

Britain, a dominant force in the transatlantic slave trade between 1640 and 1807, is estimated to have transported 3.4 million Africans (of which 2.9 million arrived alive) to the British colonies in the Americas. One of the roles involved in the British slave trade that has been largely ignored is that of the slave-ship surgeon. In the late eighteenth-century several men qualified through the Company of Surgeons (COS) into the “African Trade” as slave-ship surgeons. This increased as a result of the 1788 Slave Trade Act. The COS, a precursor to the Royal College of Surgeons in London (1800-1843) and the Royal College of Surgeons of England, inherited the responsibility of examining surgeons in England after it split from the Barbers in 1745.

But what was the 1788 Slave Trade Act? And why did men want to graduate into the “African Trade”? What did a surgeon of the “African Trade” do? These are some of the questions that arise when examining the Company of Surgeons Exam Book 1745-1800.

Above: A scan of pages from January and February 1791, highlighting surgeons entering the African Trade, as well as the East India Company Ships. From Company of Surgeons Exam Book 1745-1800 (RCS England archival reference: COS/2/1).

Naval surgeons

It was common that slave-ship surgeons qualified as naval surgeons or naval surgeon’s mates prior to joining the slave trade. Naval surgeons were not members of the COS as it was a lesser qualification and did not receive a diploma, therefore they could not work as surgeons on land in Britain. However, there were some diploma holders that after qualifying with Diplomas entered naval surgery or the “African Trade”.

The 1788 Slave Trade Act or “Dolben Act”

Surgeons were present on slave ships prior to 1788, however their presence increased dramatically from 1788. The 1788 Slave Trade Act, also known as the “Dolben Act”, made it compulsory for all British slave ships to have a doctor onboard and surgeons were a preferable choice because of their practical skills. The Act was proposed to Parliament by abolitionist Sir William Dolben to challenge the treatment of enslaved Africans during their transportation on British slave ships, an early step in legislation towards the abolition of the British slave trade. The COS in London was the only licensing body for slave-ship practitioners until it was expanded to the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh in 1789. Prior to the passing of the “Dolben Act” in August 1788 only three men had graduated from the COS, as naval mates to the “African Trade”. Following the Act, in August 1788 alone there were five men who graduated as “surgeons to the African Trade”, highlighting the dramatic increase in men being examined to join the British slave trade as surgeons.

Above: A scan of a page from August 1788, highlighting the number of surgeons entering the African Trade after the passing of the 1788 Slave Trade Act. From Company of Surgeons Exam Book 1745-1800 (RCS England archival reference: COS/2/1).

The role of slave-ship surgeons

Surgeons and surgeon’s mates were integral to the slave trade as they advised in the purchasing of the healthiest African people. They were responsible for maintaining the health of the enslaved on the ship during the Middle Passage, which was the name given to the transportation of Africans from Africa to the Americas. Slave-ship surgeons received monetary compensation according to the number of slaves delivered to the colonies alive, highlighting the financial interest that the surgeons had in the outcome of the venture and in keeping slaves in good health. The 1788 Slave Trade Act incorporated further financial incentives as surgeons received £50 if deaths on the voyage between Africa and the Americas did not exceed two percent or £25 if they did not exceed three per cent. Some surgeons that worked on slave ships became captains after a small number of voyages and these promotions became more common after 1793 as they were often the most experienced men available to merchants. This highlights that becoming a surgeon onboard a slave ship could be quite profitable, providing a possible reason for the increase in qualifications gained through the COS after its passing. Slave-ship surgeons were also able to advance their professional careers through their study of captive African bodies.

Christopher Bowes qualified as a Member of the Company of Surgeons of London on 6 November 1788 after working as a naval surgeon and apothecary. He came from Richmond, Yorkshire and was surgeon to the slave ship Lord Stanley that traded between the African coast and the Isle of Grenada, West Indies in the late eighteenth-century. Between 23 March and 26 July 1792 Christopher Bowes kept a medical log whilst acting as slave-ship surgeon to the Lord Stanley. The medical log gives the daily sick rate, including brief notes on the cases and treatment of the 389 enslaved people on board, of whom 16 died during the voyage. On board a slave ship, disease was rife; dysentery, malaria, smallpox, scurvy and typhoid fever are just some of the ailments suffered by both crew and enslaved people during the Middle Passage. It was also common for enslaved people to suffer from sores and injuries resulting from punishment, fights and accidents. Whilst surgeons in the “African Trade” were employed and even incentivised to save the lives of enslaved Africans, they significantly contributed to their suffering and deaths.

Above: Pages from surgeon Christopher Bowes’ Medical Log of the slave ship, Lord Stanley, 1792. (RCS England archival reference: MS0003)

Many slave-ship surgeons felt conflicted in their position, treating and saving human life as the fundamental principle of surgery versus an environment that dehumanised people. The opinions of slave-ship surgeons on the slave-trade after their voyages differed greatly with some expressing anti-slavery attitudes whilst others remained supportive and active in the slave trade. Slave-ship surgeons acted as important witnesses for both the pro- and anti-slavery organisations in the Parliamentary investigations into the Slave Trade between 1789-1791. The Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed in Britain on 25 March 1807 making it illegal to buy and sell enslaved people in the British Empire, ending the need for surgeons onboard British slave ships but slavery was not officially abolished until 1834.

Concluding ideas

The Company of Surgeons Exam Book 1745-1800 provides evidence of surgeons entering the British slave trade. It highlights that the 1788 “Dolben Act” influenced the numbers of men specifically being examined to gain licenses to work on slave ships. However, some questions remain unanswered. How did examinations for slave-ship surgeons differ from diploma or naval surgeons? What ships did those that qualified as slave-ship surgeons end up working on and how did their work impact them and their enslaved patients?

Further investigation into individuals that qualified into the slave-trade as documented in the Company of Surgeons Exam Book 1745-1800 could produce the answers to these questions through cross-referencing with material from other archives. The book also indicates which surgeons joined the British East India Company trade ships called “Indiamen”, therefore opening up the opportunity for further research into surgeons’ impact in British colonies in East Asia and involvement in trade.

Sources

Primary sources

• COS/2/1 Company Of Surgeons Exam Book 1745-1800, Royal College of Surgeons Of England Archives.
• MS0003 Christopher Bowes’ Medical Log of the Slaving Ship, Lord Stanley, 1792, Royal College of Surgeons of England Archives.
• Wall C. The history of the Surgeons’ Company, 1745-1800. Plymouth; 1937.
• Wakeley C. Surgeons and the Navy. Thomas Vicary Lecture delivered at the Royal College of Surgeons of England; 14 November 1957; London.

Secondary sources

• Behrendt SD. The captains in the British slave trade from 1785 to 1807. Transactions of the Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire 1991; 140: 79–140.
• Faubert M. “The Doctor and Devil”: The Literary Writing of Slave-Ship Surgeons. Journal for Eighteenth-Century Studies 2023; 46(1): 135–151.
• Hunt-Kennedy S. Between Fitness and Death: Disability and Slavery in the Caribbean. Illinois, 2020.
• LoGerfo JW. Sir William Dolben and “The Cause of Humanity”: The Passage of the Slave Trade Regulation Act of 1788. Eighteenth-Century Studies, 1973; 6(4): 431–51.
• Mustakeem SM. Slavery at Sea: Terror, Sex, and Sickness in the Middle Passage. 2016.
• How did the slave trade end in Britain? Royal Museums Greenwich. https://www.rmg.co.uk/stories/maritime-history/how-did-slave-trade-end-britain (cited December 2025).
• Sheridan R. The Guinea Surgeons on the Middle Passage: The Provision of Medical Services in the British Slave Trade. The International Journal of African Historical Studies 1981; 14(4) (1981): 601–625.
• Schwarz S and Devine TM. Scottish Surgeons in the Liverpool Slave Trade in the Late Eighteenth and Early Nineteenth Centuries. In: Recovering Scotland’s Slavery Past. Edinburgh University Press; 2015. pp145–65.

Seonaid Anthoney, King's College London Intern