de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception
Brazil was the final country to ban the import of slaves in 1853 when photography was still in its infancy. As a result, photos of the Atlantic slave trade are near myth. Which makes this image of just captured children, some malnourished and all miserable, particularly poignant.
Yet this photo has a relatively happy story. It was taken aboard the British naval vessel HMS Daphne on November 1, 1868, and the children in the picture had just been rescued. Over the next three days, the British ship intercepted Arab dhows, rescued over 200 slaves, and transported them back to Africa. Daphne rescued 2,000 captives during its service.
No comments:
Post a Comment