The Southwell is shown at sea, with the inscription TRADING ON YE COAST OF AFRICA. Like A View of Ye Jason Privateer this drawing shows the three stages of the slave trade. Pocock depicts the ship at sail in the central cartouche that forms a decorative border at the bottom of the composition. On one side of the cartouche is a drawing of enslaved Africans being led onto the boats that will carry them to the ships. On the other, goods are handed over to the traders in return. The Southwell was employed as a slave ship by 1746, the year that 150 enslaved Africans died on the voyage from Africa to Antigua. The Bristol sailor and artist Nicholas Pocock drew this 'portrait' of a ship. He must have served on a slave ship at some point, to be able to draw the little scenes of 'Tradeing on ye Coast of Africa'. In this detail from the drawing, the ship the Southwell is shown at anchor off the coast: it could not come in closer without running aground. On the beach, an African merchant is shown shaking hands on a deal with the Bristol ship's captain as the crew put three enslaved Africans into the ship's longboat. The captain and the merchant had to trust each other, but they often cheated each other, and there are many stories of captains and African merchants being taken hostage by their business partners. This detail from a picture of the Southwell frigate shows the crew putting three enslaved Africans into the longboat to take them to the ship. A slave ship often spent months moving along the coast, buying one or two enslaved people at a time until the captain had bought the number he was ordered to carry. In the late 1700s, Bristol captains often went to the large trading town of Calabar, where the local merchants could supply larger numbers quickly, making for a faster voyage and thus greater profit. A detail from a pen-and-ink drawing shows the captain of a slave ship and the trade goods being brought ashore. The long crate probably carries muskets, and is marked 'Bristol'. The Southwell made two slaving voyages, in 1746 and 1748, both organised by Michael Beecher & Co. The captain for both voyages was John Barickenridge. On the first voyage, he delivered 629 enslaved Africans to Jamaica, on the second 284 to Virginia. This suggests, given he had orders to buy 500, either a shortage of people to buy in Africa at that time or a high death rate on the transatlantic crossing. Detail from The Southwell Frigate Tradeing on ye Coast of Africa, by Nicholas Pocock This detail from a pen-and-ink drawing shows the captain of a slave ship coming ashore with the trade goods he will use to buy enslaved men, women and children. The ship's crew bring the goods in the longboats, and the local merchant's men help to unload. The Southwell, owned by Michael Beecher & Co, made two slaving voyages. The first, in 1746, delivered 629 enslaved Africans for sale in Jamaica. the second, in 1748, delivered 284 from Angola to Virginia. This voyage cost £8,000 to fit out - worth just over £1 million in today's values. Detail from The Southwell Frigate by Nicholas Pocock.