180 Years ago in 1842 a ship with a remarkable story entered Plymouth Sound. The ship’s name was suitably called HMS Wilberforce (named in honour of the abolitionist William Wilberforce). The ship had been a specially constructed iron paddle steamer designed specifically to travel along the River Niger in West Africa in order to make Anti-Slavery Treaties with the various chiefs along this major waterway and attempt to stamp out the Slave Trade. The shallow draught and paddles were to enable HMS Wilberforce (and her sister ships HMS Soudan and HMS Albert) to pass over the various sandbars and shallow waters which hindered traditional ships along the rivers and coast of West Africa. The Captain of this ship had been Captain William Allen. Sadly he, along with many others of the crew, had discovered for themselves why this region was known as the ‘White Man’s Grave’ as disease ravaged the crew of all three ships as they sought to stamp out slaving activity along the River Niger. They did sign a number of treaties but started to see their crew die at an alarming rate and soon felt forced to abandon their mission, sailing first to Fernando Po and then back to Britain. Indeed what made HMS Wilberforce’s arrival in Plymouth Sound in 1842 so remarkable was that there were just three members of the original European crew left alive aboard the ship. These were a seaman, a carpenter and an engineer. So how did this ship make it the 5,335 mile journey back with so few crew. Well the reason for this is that although the European crew were ravaged by sickness, the locally raised ‘Kroomen’ were unaffected by the various diseases that caused so much havoc amongst the European sailors and crew. It was thanks to their skill and perseverance that the ship made it safely back to home waters. Many people assume that the term ‘kroomen’ refers to some kind of pidgin English corruption of ‘crewmen’ to describe how local West Africans were recruited to help man the ships, but actually the term refers to a particular African tribe known as the Kroo (or Kru) along the coast of Liberia who had a remarkable identity which revolved around their own hatred of slavery and a long time maritime heritage.
The Kroo had long been hostile to all forms of slavery and had earned a reputation amongst the slavers to avoid them at all costs. If any had been taken as slaves in the past, the Kroo simply refused to eat and drink and effectively committed suicide making it clear to their captors that the Kroo were no man’s slave under any circumstances. Their reputation was built on this powerful group cohesion and when the West Africa Squadron was formed by the Royal Navy in 1807 to frustrate the Slave Trade, the Kroo were a natural ally to the British. It helped that the Royal Navy paid well, but even more lucratively, all members of a Royal Navy’s ship’s crew, regardless of skin colour or ethnic origin, were in line to a share in any prize money earned from capturing enemy or slave ships. This could earn the entire crew significant sums of money and was a powerful incentive to serve in active theatres of operation. The Kroo were eager to serve and the Royal Navy were equally delighted to have highly motivated crew members who knew the local waterways, languages and customs of West Africa. The Kroo began to establish their own settlements in and around the ports where Royal Navy ships frequented such as in Freetown, Sierra Leone, Fernando Po and even Cape Town. Indeed, they ran their settlements as if they were a ship with a strict chain of command based on Naval Law and with harsh discipline for anyone who brought dishonour on the Kroo. They even set up their own masts and nets on land so that they and their children could practice the maritime skills they would require for going to sea with the Royal Navy. The Kroo established tight knit groups of up to 20 members with a clear leader whose orders were answered without question. They would work as a team and would be hired as one or not at all. After a successful tour on a Royal Naval ship, the Kroo leader would be given a letter of recommendation by the Royal Navy Captain on behalf of the entire group which the leader would jealously guard in a wax sealed case which was only broken to show a potential new Royal Navy Captain for a new patrol. Reputation was everything to the Kroo and there is no recorded instance of them abandoning their Royal Navy employers no matter what the danger they encountered. Indeed, it was this loyalty and regard for their reputation that motivated the Kroo on HMS Wilberforce to take control of the ship when its European crew had been effectively wiped out. The Kroo skillfully brought the ship into Plymouth Sound in November 1842. Not a single Krooman had fallen sick and the ship was safely delivered back to the Royal Navy. Sadly the names of these remarkable mariners are not recorded, but the leader must surely have been given a glowing recommendation for him to seal in his case on behalf of his team. They were transferred back to Sierra Leone in December 1842 and hopefully spent some well earned time with their families probably before going on to serve the Royal Navy diligently yet again as they sought to stamp out the evils of the Slave Trade.
Stephen Luscombe
