Treaty concerning the slave trade
Treaty concerning the slave trade


Royal NavySlave trade legislation

Convention between His Majesty and the King of the French for the more effectual Suppression of the Traffic in Slaves, signed at Paris the Thirtieth Day of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one


The Courts of Great Britain and France, being desirous of rendering more effectual the Means of Suppression which have hitherto been in force against the criminal Traffic known under the Name of the Slave Trade, they have deemed it expedient to negociate and conclude a Convention for the Attainment of so salutary an Object, and they have to this End named as their Plenipotentiaries; (that is to say,) His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland the Right Honourable Viscount Granville, Peer of Parliament, Member of the Privy Council, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary at the Court of France; and His Majesty the King of the French the Lieutenant General Count Horace Sebastiani, Grand Cross of the Order of the Legion of Honour, Member of the Chamber of Deputies of the Departments, and Minister and Secretary of State for the Department of Foreign Affairs; who, after having exchanged their full Powers, found to be in due Form, have signed the following Articles:

Article I. - The mutual Right of Search may be exercised on board the Vessels of each of the Two Nations, but only within the Waters hereinafter described; namely,
1°. Along the Western Coast of Africa, from Cape Verd to the Distance of Ten Degrees to the South of the Equator; that is to say, from the Tenth Degree of South Latitude to the Fifteenth Degree of North Latitude, and as far as the Thirtieth Degree of West Longitude, reckoning from the Meridian of Paris.
2°. All round the Island of Madagascar to the Extent of Twenty Leagues from that Island.
3°. To the same Distance from the Coasts of the Island of Cuba.
4°. To the same Distance from the Coasts of the Island of Porto Rico.
5°. To the same Distance from the Coasts of Brazil.

It is however understood, that a suspected Vessel descried and begun to be chased by the Cruizers whilst within the said Space of Twenty Leagues may be searched by them beyond those Limits, if, without having ever lost Sight of her, they should only succeed in coming up with her at a greater Distance from the Coast.

Article II. - The Right of searching Merchant Vessels of either of the Two Nations in the Waters herein-before mentioned shall be exercised only by Ships of War whose Commanders shall have the Rank of Captain or at least that of Lieutenant in the Navy.

Article III. - The Number of Ships to be invested with this Right shall be fixed each Year by a special Agreement; the Number of each Nation need not be the same, but in no Case shall the Number of the Cruizers of the one Nation be more than Double the Number of the Cruizers of the other.

Article IV. - The Names of the Ships and of their Commanders shall be communicated by each of the contracting Governments to the other, and Information shall be reciprocally given of all Changes which may take place in the Cruizers.

Article V. - Instructions shall be drawn up and agreed upon in common by the Two Governments for the Cruizers of both Nations, which Cruizers shall afford to each other mutual Assistance in all Circumstances in which it may be useful that they should act in concert. The Ships of War authorized to exercise the reciprocal Right of Search shall be furnished with a special Authority from each of the Two Governments.

Article VI. - Whenever a Cruizer shall have chased and overtaken a Merchant Vessel as liable to Suspicion, the Commanding Officer, before he proceeds to the Search, shall exhibit to the Captain of the Merchant Vessel the special Orders which confer upon him by Exception the Right to visit her; and in case he shall ascertain the Ship's Papers to be regular, and her Proceedings lawful, he shall certify upon the Log-book of the Vessel that the Search took place only in virtue of the said Orders; these Formalities having been completed, the Vessel shall be at liberty to continue her Course.

Article VII. - The Vessels captured for being engaged in the Slave Trade, or as being suspected of being fitted out for that infamous Traffic, shall, together with their Crews, be delivered over, without Delay, to the Jurisdiction of the Nation to which they shall belong ; it is furthermore distinctly understood, that they shall only be judged according to the Laws in force in their respective Countries.

Article VIII. - In no case shall the Right of mutual Search be exercised upon the Ships of War of either Nation.

The Two Governments shall agree upon a particular Signal, with which those Cruizers only shall be furnished which are invested with this Right, and which Signal shall not be made known to any other Ship not employed upon this Service.

Article IX. - The High Contracting Parties to the present Treaty agree to invite the other Maritime Powers to accede to it within as short a Period as possible.

Article X. - The present Convention shall be ratified, and the Ratifications of it shall be exchanged within One Month, or sooner, if it be possible.

In Faith of which the Plenipotentiaries have signed the present Convention, and have affixed thereto the Seal of their Arms.

Done at Paris the Thirtieth November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one.

(Signed)   Granville. (L.S.)
(Signed)   Horace Sebasliani. (L.S.)

Supplementary Convention between His Majesty and the King of the French for the more effectual Suppression of the Traffic in Slaves, signed at Paris the Twenty second Day of March One thousand eight hundred and thirty three

His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and His Majesty the King of the French having felt the Necessity of developing some of the Clauses contained in the Convention which was signed between Their Majesties on the Thirtieth Day of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, relating to the Suppression of the Crime of Slave Trade, have named as their Plenipotentiaries for this Purpose; to wit,

His Majesty the King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland the Right Honourable Granville Viscount Granville, Peer of the United Kingdom, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Honourable Order of the Bath, Member of the Privy Council of His Britannic Majesty, and His Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Court of France; and His Majesty the King of the French Monsieur Charles Leonce Achille Victor, Due de Broglie, Peer of France, Knight of the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour, Minister and Secretary of State for the Department of Foreign Affairs; who, after having exchanged their Powers, which have been found in good and due Form, have agreed on the following Articles:

Article I. - Whenever a Merchant Vessel navigating under the Flag of One of the Two Nations shall have been detained by the Cruizers of the other duly authorized to that Effect, conformably to the Provisions of the Convention of the Thirtieth of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, such Merchant Vessel, as also her Master, her Crew, her Cargo, and the Slaves who may be on board, shall he carried to such Places as shall have been appointed,by the Contracting Parties respectively, in order that Proceedings may be there instituted respecting them agreeably to the Law of each Country, and they shall be delivered over to the Authorities appointed for that Purpose by the respective Governments.

When the Commander of the Cruizer shall not think proper to take upon himself the carrying in and delivering up the detained Vessel he shall not intrust that Duty to an Officer below the Rank of Lieutenant in the Navy.

Article II. - The Cruizers of the Two Nations authorized to exercise the Right of Visit and Detention in execution of the Convention of the Thirtieth of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, shall, in all that relates to the Formalities of the Visit and of the Detention, as well as to the Measures to be taken for delivering up Vessels suspected of being engaged in the Slave Trade to the respective Jurisdictions, conform strictly to the Instructions annexed to the present Convention, and which shall be considered as an integral Part thereof.

The Two High Contracting Parties reserve to themselves the Power of making in these Instructions, by common Consent, any Modifications which Circumstances might render necessary.

Article III. - It is clearly understood that if the Commander of a Cruizer of one of the Two Nations shall have Reason to suspect that a Merchant Vessel navigating under Convoy of or in company with a Vessel of War of the other Nation has engaged in the Slave Trade, or has been fitted out for the said Trade, he is to make known his Suspicions to the Commander of the Convoy or Vessel of War, who shall proceed alone to visit the suspected Vessel; and in case the latter Commander should find that the Suspicion is well founded, he shall cause the Vessel to be taken, together with her Master, her Crew, and her Cargo, and the Slaves who may be on board, into a Port of his own Nation, in order that Proceedings may be instituted with regard to them agreeably to the respective Laws.

Article IV. - As soon as any Merchant Vessel detained and sent before the Tribunals aforesaid shall arrive at one of the Ports respectively pointed out, the Commander of the Cruizer which shall have detained her, or the Officer appointed to bring her in, shall deliver to the Authorities appointed for that Purpose One Copy, signed by him, of all the Lists, Declarations, and other Documents specified in the Instructions annexed to the present Convention; and the said Authorities shall in consequence proceed to a Survey of the detained Vessel and her Cargo, and to an Inspection of her Crew, and of the Slaves who may be on board, after having previously given Notice of the Time of such Survey and Inspection to the Commander of the Cruizer, or to the Officer who shall have brought in the Vessel, in order that he, or some Person in his Behalf, may be present thereat.

A Declaration (Procès verbal) of these Proceedings shall be drawn up in Duplicate, signed by the Persons who shall have acted therein, or been present at the same; and one of the said Declarations shall be delivered to the Commander of the Cruizer, or to the Officer who shall have been appointed to bring in the detained Vessel.

Article V. - The Vessels detained as before mentioned, their Masters, Crews, and Cargoes, shall be forthwith proceeded against before the proper Tribunals in the respective Countries according to the established Forms; and if in consequence of such Proceedings the said Vessel shall be found to have been employed in the Slave Trade, or to have been fitted out for the Purposes thereof, the Master, the Crew, and the Accomplices, as well as the Ship and Cargo, shall be dealt with conformably to the respective Laws of the Two Countries.

In case the said Vessels shall be confiscated a Portion of the Proceeds arising from their Sale shall be paid into the Hands of the Government to which the Captor belongs, to be distributed among the Officers and Crew of the capturing Ship. This Portion shall be Sixty-five per Centum of the Net Produce of the Sale, as long as such a Distribution of the Proceeds is consistent with the respective Laws of the Two Countries.

Article VI. - Any Merchant Vessel of either of the Two Nations visited and detained in pursuance of the Convention of the Thirtieth Day of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, and of the Provisions herein-before recited, shall, unless Proof be given to the contrary, be held and taken of Right to have engaged in the Slave Trade, or to have been fitted out for the Purposes of such Traffic, if any of the Particulars herein-after specified shall be found in her Outfit or Equipment, or on board of her; videlicet,

1°. Having her Hatches fitted with open Gratings, instead of being close Hatches as usual in Merchant Vessels.
2°. Having more Divisions or Bulk-heads in the Hold or on Deck than necessary for Trading Vessels.
3°. Having on board spare Planks, either actually fitted in that Shape, or fit for readily laying a Second or moveable Deck or Slave Deck.
4°. Having on board Shackles, Bolts, or Handcuffs.
5°. Having on board a Supply of Water more than sufficient for the Consumption of her Crew as a Merchant Vessel.
6°. Having on board an unreasonable Number of Water Casks or other Vessels for holding Water, unless the Master shall produce a Certificate from the Custom House from the Place at which he cleared outwards, stating that a sufficient Security had been given by the Owner of such Vessel that such Casks or other Vessels should only be used for the Reception of Palm Oil, or be employed in any other lawful Trade.
7°. Having on board a greater Quantity of Mess-tubs or Kids than requisite for the Use of her Crew as a Merchant Vessel.
8°. Having on board Two or more Copper Boilers, or even One evidently larger than requisite for the Use of her-Crew as a Merchant Vessel.
9°. Having on board a Quantity of Rice or Farinha, Flour of the Manioc of Brazil or Cassada, or Maize or Indian Corn, beyond any probable requisite Provision for the Use of her Crew, and such Rice, Flour, Maize or Indian Corn not being entered on the Manifest as Part of the Cargo for Trade.

Article VII. - No Compensation shall in any Case be granted either to the Master or to the Owner, or to any other Person interested in the Equipment or Lading of a Merchant Vessel in which any of the Particulars specified in the preceding Article shall be found, even if the Tribunals should not pronounce any Condemnation in consequence of her Detention.

Article VIII. - When a Merchant Vessel of either of the Two Nations shall have been visited and detained illegally or without sufficient Cause of Suspicion, or when the Visit and Detention shall have been attended with any Abuse or vexatious Acts, the Commander of the Cruizer, or the Officer who shall have boarded the said Vessel, or the Officer who shall have been appointed to bring her in, as the Case may be, shall be liable to Costs and Damages to the Master and to the Owners of the Vessel and Cargo.

These Costs and Damages may be awarded by the Tribunal before which the Proceedings against the detained Vessel, her Master, Crew, and Cargo, shall have been instituted, and the Government of the Country to which the Officer who gave Occasion for such Award shall belong shall pay the Amount of the said Costs and Damages within the Period of One Year from the Date of the Award.

Article IX. - If in the Visit or Detention of a Merchant Vessel, made in virtue of the Provisions of the Convention of the Thirtieth of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, or of the present Convention, any Abuse or Vexation shall have been committed, but the Vessel shall not have been delivered over to the Jurisdiction of her own Nation, the Master of the Vessel shall make a Declaration on Oath of the Abuses or Vexations of which he has to complain, and of the Costs and Damages to which he lays Claim, before the competent Authorities in the first Port of his own Country at which he may arrive, or before the Consular Agent of his Nation, if the Vessel proceeds to a Foreign Port where there is such an Agent; this Declaration shall be confirmed by an Examination under Oath of the principal Persons of the Crew or Passengers who have witnessed the Visit or Detention; and One formal Declaration (Procès verbal) of the whole shall be drawn up, and Two Copies thereof delivered to the Master, who shall forward one of them to his own Government in support of his Claim for Costs and Damages. It is understood that if any compulsory Circumstances should prevent the Master from making his Declaration, it may be made by the Owner, or by any other Person interested in the Vessel or in her Cargo.

On the official Transmission of One Copy of the formal Declaration (Procès verbal) above mentioned, through the Channel of the respective Embassies, the Government of the Country to which the Officer charged with Abuses or Vexations shall belong shall forthwith institute an Inquiry into the Matter; and if the Validity of the Complaint be admitted, the said Government shall cause to be paid to the Master or Owner or to any other Person interested in the Vessel which has been molested, or in her Cargo, the Amount of Costs and Damages which may be due to them.

Article X. - The Two Governments engage reciprocally to communicate each to the other, free of Expence, and upon Application being made, Copies of all the Proceedings instituted and Judgments given relative to Vessels visited or detained in execution of the Provision of the Convention of the Thirtieth November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, and of the present Convention.

Article XI. - The Two Governments agree to ensure the immediate Freedom of all Slaves who shall be found on board Vessels visited and detained in virtue of the Stipulations of the principal Convention herein-before referred to, or of the present Convention, whenever the Offence of trafficking in Slaves shall have been established by the Sentence of the respective Tribunals. They reserve to themselves, however, for the Welfare of the Slaves themselves, the Right to employ them as Servants or free Labourers, conformably to their respective Laws.

Article XII.- It is hereby agreed between the Two High Contracting Parties that in all Cases in which a Vessel, under the Convention of the Thirtieth of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, or under this Supplementary Convention, shall be detained by their respective Cruizers, as having been engaged in the Slave Trade or fitted out for the Purposes thereof, and shall be placed at the Disposal of either Government for the Purpose of being sold, in consequence of a Sentence of Confiscation pronounced by a competent Tribunal, the said Vessel shall be broken up in whole or in part before the Sale, whenever its peculiar Construction or Outfit shall give Reason to fear that it may be again employed in the Slave Trade or any other illicit Traffic.

Article XIII. - The present Convention shall be ratified, and the Ratifications shall be exchanged at Paris, within the Space of One Month, or sooner, if possible.

In witness whereof the above named Plenipotentiaries have signed in Duplicate the present Convention, and have affixed thereunto the Seals of their Arms.

Done at Paris the Twenty-second of March One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.

(Signed)   Granville. (L.S.)
(Signed)   V. Broglie. (L.S.)

Instructions to Cruizers

1°. Whenever a Merchant Vessel of either of the Two Nations shall be visited by a Cruizer of the other, the Officer commanding the Cruizer shall exhibit to the Master of such Vessel the special Orders which confer upon him the exceptional Right of Visit, and shall deliver to him a Certificate, signed by him, specifying his Rank in the Navy of his Country, with the Name of the Ship which he commands, and declaring that the only Object of such Visit is to ascertain whether the Vessel is engaged in the Slave Trade, or is fitted out for the Purposes of such Traffic: When the Visit is made by another Officer of the Cruizer than the Commander, this Officer shall not be under the Rank of Lieutenant in the Navy; and in this Case such Officer shall exhibit to the Master of the Merchant Vessel a Copy of the special Orders above mentioned signed by the Commander of the Cruizer, and shall likewise deliver to him a Certificate, signed by him, specifying the Rank which he holds in the Navy, the Name of the Commander under whose Orders he is acting, and of the Cruizer to which he belongs, and the Object of his Visit, as herein-before recited. If it shall be ascertained by the Visit that the Ship's Papers are regular, and her Proceedings lawful, the Officer shall certify upon the Log Book of the Vessel that the Visit took place only in virtue of the special Orders above mentioned, and the Vessel shall be permitted to continue her Course.

2°. If in consequence of the Visit the Officer commanding the Cruizer shall be of opinion that there are sufficient Grounds for believing that the Vessel is engaged in the Slave Trade, or has been fitted out for that Traffic, and if he shall in consequence determine to detain her, and to have her delivered up to the respective Jurisdiction, he shall forthwith cause a List to be made out, in Duplicate, of all the Papers found on board; and he shall sign this List and the Duplicate, adding to his Name his Rank in the Navy and the Name of the Vessel under his Command; he shall in like Manner make out and sign in Duplicate a Declaration, stating the Place and Time of the Detention, the Name of the Vessel, that of her Master, and those of the Persons composing her Crew, and also the Number and Condition of the Slaves found on board. This Declaration shall further contain an exact Description of the State of the Vessel and her Cargo.

3°. The Commander of the Cruizer shall without Delay carry or send the detained Vessel, with her Master, Crew, Cargo, and the Slaves found on board, to One of the Ports herein-after specified, in order that Proceedings may be instituted in regard to them, conformably to the respective Laws of each Country ; and he shall deliver the same to the competent Authorities, or to the Persons who shall have been specially appointed for that Purpose by the respective Governments.

4°. No Person whatever shall be taken out of the detained Vessel, nor shall any Part of her Cargo, nor of the Slaves found on board, be removed from her until after such Vessel shall have been delivered over to the Authorities of her own Nation, excepting only when the Removal of the Whole or of Part of the Crew, or of the Slaves found on board, shall be deemed necessary, either for the Preservation of their Lives or from any other Consideration of Humanity, or for the Safety of the Persons who shall be charged with the Navigation of the Vessel after her Detention; in this Case the Commander of the Cruizer, or the Officer appointed to bring in the detained Vessel, shall make a Declaration of such Removal, in which he shall specify the Reasons for the same; and the Masters, Sailors, Passengers, or Slaves so removed shall be carried to the same Port as the Vessel and her Cargo, and they shall be received in the same Manner as the Vessel, agreeably to the Regulations herein-after set forth.

5°. All such French Vessels as shall be detained by the Cruizer of His Britannic Majesty on the African Station shall be carried and delivered up to the French Jurisdiction at Goree.
All such French Vessels as shall be detained by the British Squadron on the West India Station shall be carried and delivered up to the French Jurisdiction at Martinique.
All such French Vessels as shall be detained by the British Squadron on the Madagascar Station shall be carried and delivered up to the French Jurisdiction at the Isle of Bourbon.
All such French Vessels as shall be detained by the British Squadron on the Brazilian Station shall be carried and delivered up to the French Jurisdiction at Cayenne.
All such British Vessels as shall be detained by the Cruizers of His Majesty the King of the French on the African Station shall be carried and delivered up to the Jurisdiction of His Britannic Majesty at Bathurst on the River Gambia.
All such British Vessels as shall be detained by the French Squadron on the West India Station shall be carried and delivered up to the British Jurisdiction at Port Royal in Jamaica.
All such British Vessels as shall be detained by the French Squadron on the Madagascar Station shall be carried and delivered up to the British Jurisdiction at the Cape of Good Hope.
All such British Vessels as shall be detained by the French Squadron on the Brazilian Station shall be carried and delivered up to the British Jurisdiction at the Colony of Demerara.

6°. As soon as a Merchant Vessel which shall have been detained as aforesaid shall arrive at one of the Ports or Places above mentioned, the Commander of the Cruizer, or the Officer appointed to bring in the detained Vessel, shall forthwith deliver to the Authorities duly appointed for that Purpose by the respective Governments the Vessel and her Cargo, together with the Master, Crew, Passengers, and Slaves found on board, as also the Papers which shall have been seized on board the Vessel, and one of the Lists made out in Duplicate of the said Papers, the other remaining in his Possession. Such Officer shall at the same Time deliver to the said Authorities One of the Declarations made out in Duplicate as herein-before specified, adding thereto a Statement of any Changes which may have taken place from the Time of Detention to that of the Delivery, as well as a Copy of the Declaration of any Removals which may have taken place as above provided for. In delivering over these several Documents the Officer will make Attestation of their Truth on Oath and in Writing.

7°. If the Commander of a Cruizer of either of the High Contracting Parties who shall be duly furnished with the aforesaid special Instructions shall have Reason to suspect that a Merchant Vessel sailing under Convoy or in company with a Ship of War of the other Party is engaged in the Slave Trade, or has been fitted out for the Purpose of that Traffick, he shall confine himself to the communicating his Suspicions to the Commander of the Convoy or of the Ship of War, anihe shall leave it to the latter to proceed alone to a Visit of the suspected Vessel, and to deliver her up, if the Case require it, to the Jurisdiction of her own Country.

8°. The Cruizers of the Two Nations shall conform strictly to the Tenor of these Instructions, which are to be considered as a Development of the Clauses of the principal Convention of the Thirtieth of November One thousand eight hundred and thirty-one, as well as of the Convention to which they are annexed.

The undersigned Plenipotentiaries have agreed, in conformity with the Second Article of the Convention signed by them on this Day, the Twenty-second of March One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three, that the preceding Instructions shall be annexed to the said Convention, and considered as an integral Part thereof.

Paris, the Twenty-second of March One thousand eight hundred and thirty-three.

(Signed)    Granville. (L.S.)    V. Broglie. (L.S.)


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