This passage is a firsthand account of a British doctor who worked aboard slave ships. He later became
an advocate for ending the slave trade.
On being brought aboard the ship, [the men] are immediately fastened together,
two and two, by hand-cuffs on their wrists and by irons riveted on their legs. They
are then sent down between the decks and placed in an apartment partitioned off
for that purpose. The women also are placed in a separate apartment between the
decks, but without being ironed. An adjoining room on the same deck is appointed
for the boys. Thus they are all placed in different apartments.2
