William Snelgrave (1681–1743) was an English sea captain , slave trader , and ivory trader on the West African coast.
8-556: Snelgrave began transporting slaves with his father, William Snelgrave Sr., who was a first-mate on the Eagle . The elder Snelgrave died in Virginia in 1704. Upon his father's death, Snelgrave soon became a ship captain making numerous voyages including transport of 367 slaves to Virginia in 1720. In 1734 he published A New Account of Some Parts of Guinea and the Slave-Trade . The book includes
16-599: A justification and defense of the slave trade. He dedicated his book to the European merchants of West Africa. Snelgrave and his crew were captured by pirates on 1 April 1719, while their vessel was anchored in the mouth of the Sierra Leone River in West Africa . The 45 sailors on board were taken by surprise when a small pirate band led by Thomas Cocklyn pulled alongside and scaled the side of their ship. Snelgrave ordered
24-609: Is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Sierra Leone River The Sierra Leone River is a river estuary on the Atlantic Ocean in Western Sierra Leone . It is formed by the Bankasoka River and Rokel River and is between 4 and 10 miles wide (6–16 km) and 25 miles (40 km) long. It holds the major ports of Queen Elizabeth II Quay and Pepel . The estuary is also important for shipping. It
32-424: Is mainly mangrove swamps but also includes tidal freshwater swamp forests. The site has also been designated an Important Bird Area (IBA) by BirdLife International because it supports significant populations of Eurasian oystercatchers , curlew sandpipers and hooded vultures . This Africa protected areas related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article related to
40-459: Is the largest natural harbour in the African continent. Several islands, including Tasso Island (the largest), Tombo Island , and the historically important Bunce Island , are located in the estuary. The river separates Freetown , Sierra Leone's capital city, which is on the south side of the harbor, from the country's principal airport, Lungi International Airport , which is on the north side of
48-488: The course of the day, led by captains Howell Davis and Olivier Levasseur . On boarding Snelgrave's ship Davis apologised for the injuries inflicted by Cocklyn's men, saying they had become pirates to revenge themselves on cruel ship's commanders whereas "no one of my people gave me the least ill character ... it was plain they loved me." In 1727 he arrived at Whydah which had just been captured by Dahomey . Snelgrave died in 1743. This English biographical article
56-407: The crew to resist, but he was ignored. Instead, he was seized by one of the pirates who "with the but-end [of a pistol] endeavoured to beat out my brains." Some of the crew eventually intervened to beg that the pirates not kill their captain, upon which the badly injured Snelgrave was dragged before Cocklyn who told him his wounds were simply "the fortunes of war." Additional pirate vessels arrived over
64-464: The harbor in an area called the "Bullom Shore." The primary means of transportation from the airport to Freetown are by speed boat or ferry. Hovercraft and helicopter services are no longer running. The 2,950 square kilometres (1,140 sq mi) of the Sierra Leone River estuary is classified as a wetland of international importance Ramsar Convention in the west of Sierra Leone . The area
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