To preserve the human cargo on a slave ship, individuals were occasionally allowed up on deck for exercise (and to provide entertainment for the crew). Note that they are being 'encouraged' by sailors holding whips.
Exercising Slaves on a Trans-Atlantic Slave Ship
Images of African Slavery and the Slave Trade
From Alistair Boddy-Evans, About.com
Source: "La France Maritime" by Amédée Gréhan (ed.), Paris 1837
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