‘A sufficient and adequate squadron’: The navy,the transatlantic slave trade,and the American commercial empire

Abstract

From its creation, the Africa Squadron, although tasked with suppressing the slave trade, did more to defend American sovereignty and expand American commercial access along the west coast of Africa. In both of these regards, Great Britain and the British Navy were the most prominent obstacles in the way of the United States achieving its goals. These tasks were among the most important imperatives that drove American foreign relations during the antebellum era. Thus the Africa Squadron is best understood as a case study of the vital role the navy played in not just conducting but also shaping American diplomacy. This article examines the circumstances surrounding the creation of the Africa Squadron, concluding that the flotilla was less concerned with actually ending the transatlantic trade in humans than with serving as a check on British power at sea.