Slave Ship Hold Design

Timeline

1. c. 1635–1640Liverpool and Bristol shipyards · EnglandSlave ships added low wooden racks and iron chain rings in the holds, with captives fixed in layers lying or half-sitting; shipwrights calculated hold density by "persons per ton," establishing the basic spatial layout pattern of 17th-century slave ships.
2. c. 1641–1650Loading ports along the Gulf of Guinea · Gulf of GuineaIn the 1640s, British, Dutch, Spanish, and other slave ships commonly adopted "tight packing" schemes, with ventilation grates and buckets in the lower hold and armed guard passages on the upper deck; hold design became the core spatial technology for maximizing profits in the transatlantic slave trade.
3. c. 1655–1700Unloading ports in Caribbean sugar colonies · JamaicaDuring the transoceanic voyage, crew managed food and airing by hold section; high mortality rates prompted some shipowners to fine-tune ventilation and spacing, but the high-density hold layout remained the standard configuration of mainstream slave ships until the 18th century.