Capture of a 'Slaver'

The Capture of the Slaver 'Formidable' by HMS 'Buzzard', 17 December 1834 by William John Huggins (1781'1845). Following the 1807 Abolition of the Slave Trade, the Royal Navy went on to patrol the Atlantic to search and free any slaves found to be transported. During the Napoleonic War, this search was a useful pretext for the British in its war against Napoleon, but even after the war, the Royal Navy devoted significant ships and effort to ending the Slave Trade. Image courtesy of National Maritime Museum