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Notes
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The ‘Acorn’ brig was one of the British West Africa Squadron, established in 1808 in order to enforce the suppression of the Atlantic slave trade, following the British Act of Abolition the previous year. In early July 1841 ‘Acorn’ spotted the ‘Gabriel’, an Iberian pirate vessel, gaining on the British barque ‘India’, which was carrying migrants to Australia. A contemporary report in the ‘Journal du Havre’ described the capture of the ‘Gabriel’, as communicated by one Captain Blay of the ‘Jeune Pauline’, who had just arrived at Le Havre from Rio de Janeiro: ‘The English brig Acorn having, in lat. 5.N perceived at great distance a vessel pillaging another, made chase, and instantly the ‘Gabriel’ hoisted all her sail, and endeavoured to escape.
Condy’s painting shows the moment early in the chase when the two vessels in full sail have opened fire on one another; but it is still a matter of suspense whether the pirate vessel will be taken or will escape. Nonetheless, the picture shares the same moral message as many other marine paintings of this period, showing British Navy vessels in action against slave ships (see, for example, BHC0625).
Title
The Capture of the Slaver 'Gabriel' by HMS 'Acorn', 6 July 1841
Date
1841
Medium
oil on board
Measurements
H 30.5 x W 40.5 cm
Accession number
BHC0628
Work type
Painting