Thomas Clarkson (1760-1846) was a leading campaigner against the slave trade in the British Empire. He was one of the founders of the « Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade » (Committee for the Abolition of the Slave Trade) and passed the Slave Trade Act of 1807 which ended the British slave trade.
Thomas Clarkson
A group of activists from Plymouth discovered the boarding plan of one of the slave ships that transported slaves from Africa. Based on the structure of one of these ships, the Brookes , drew up the boarding plan for the 450 slaves that could legally be transported (although most of the time this amount was exceeded to «take advantage of the trip»).
The result was «the Brookes diagram » (1788):
Looking at the diagram one can appreciate the "precision" in the distribution of the slaves packed like bundles in inhuman conditions. It was hung as an emblem in every abolitionist home
“This diagram seemed to have an instant impression of horror on all who saw it. Abolitionist propaganda often uses graphic representations of human torment; 'Brookes The Slave Ship' avoids that. It is a picture of intolerable affliction, but it does not show the visible bodies of pain Clarkson wrote.
Many advertisers could take note.
Sources:British Library, The Independent
Image:Wikipedia