West Africa Squadron

West Africa Squadron
HMS Black Joke and prizes (clockwise from top left) Providentia, Vengador, Presidenta, Marianna, El Almirante, and El Hassey
Active	1808–1867
Country	United Kingdom
Branch	Royal Navy
Role	Suppression of the slave trade, from Cape Verde to Benguela
Size	Squadron

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The West Africa Squadron, also known as the Preventive Squadron,^[1] was a squadron of the Royal Navy whose goal was to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa.^[2] Formed in 1808 after the British Parliament passed the Slave Trade Act 1807 and based out of Portsmouth, England,^[3] it remained an independent command until 1856 and then again from 1866 to 1867.

The impact of the Squadron has been debated, with some arguing it played a significant or even decisive role in the extermination of the transatlantic slave trade and others arguing it was poorly resourced, hamstrung in the performance of its enforcement duties, plagued by corruption, and not chiefly responsible for the decline and end of the trade. Sailors in the Royal Navy considered it to be one of the worst postings because of the extremely high levels of tropical disease to which its members were exposed. Over the course of its operations, it managed to capture about 6% of the transatlantic slave ships and freed about 150,000 Africans.^[4][2] Between 1830 and 1865, almost 1,600 sailors died during duty with the Squadron, principally of disease.^[5]