Existing comment:
Although America withdrew from the transatlantic slave trade in 1808, Africans continued to be sent west illegally in US ships. The Navy's role in the struggle against slavery began in 1820 when warships deployed off West Africa to catch American slave ships. Enforcement of the slave trade ban was sporadic, however, until the Navy deployed a permanent African Squadron in 1842. Despite the vigilance of American, as well as British and French, warships in African waters, the overseas slave trade increased in the 1850s, owing to the high demand for slaves in Latin America. Watching for and chasing slave ships afforded American sailors valuable training on distant stations and reinforced the blockading experience gained during the Mexican War. |