In 1840, the American slave ship Hermosa ran aground in British Bahamas while transporting 38 enslaved Africans from Richmond, Virginia, to New Orleans, Louisiana. British authorities, having abolished slavery in 1833, intervened and freed the captives, sparking a diplomatic dispute between the United States and the United Kingdom. The Hermosa incident not only fueled tensions over slavery but also inspired the Creole revolt a year later—the most successful slave uprising in U.S. history.
The Hermosa was an American schooner carrying 38 enslaved Africans, owned by Robert Lumpkin, a notorious slave trader and the owner of Lumpkin’s Jail, a slave holding facility in Richmond, Virginia, infamously known as “the Devil’s half acre.” This jail was not merely a holding pen for enslaved people awaiting sale; it was also a slave breeding farm, where enslaved Africans were treated as livestock to increase the number of people available for sale. The conditions were deplorable: overcrowded cells, lack of sanitation, and rampant disease. Slaves were often subjected to brutal treatment, including forced breeding, with hoods placed over their heads to prevent them from recognising their partners, who could be family members.
In 1840, Lumpkin loaded the Hermosa with a cargo of cotton goods, tobacco, and 38 enslaved Africans. The ship, commanded by Captain Chattin, set sail from Richmond, Virginia, bound for New Orleans, Louisiana, where the enslaved individuals were to be sold to plantation owners. However, the journey would not unfold as planned.
As the Hermosa sailed from Richmond, Virginia, disaster struck when the ship ran aground in the Abaco Islands of the Bahamas. Determined to keep control of his human cargo, Captain Chattin refused to let the enslaved Africans disembark or interact with locals. Instead, he sought help from the U.S. consul, hoping to arrange for another vessel to continue the journey.
While Chattin and the consul were making these arrangements, British magistrates, backed by armed troops, intervened. The Bahamas, then a British colony, had abolished slavery in 1833, and the local authorities were determined to enforce this law.
The British magistrates forcibly removed the enslaved Africans from the Hermosa and brought them before a Nassau court. Despite protests from Captain Chattin and the U.S. consul, the court ruled in favor of the enslaved Africans, declaring them free under British law.
News of the Hermosa incident outraged many in the U.S., particularly among pro-slavery politicians, who saw it as an attack on American property rights. The incident gained even greater significance the following year when enslaved Africans led by Madison Washington aboard the Creole, another American slave ship, rebelled and steered the vessel to the Bahamas, knowing that British law would guarantee their freedom. Upon arrival, British authorities freed 145 of them, making the Creole revolt the most successful slave uprising in U.S. history.
The events on both ships were debated in the U.S. Congress, with some politicians even suggesting that war should be declared against Britain unless compensation was provided for the lost “property”.
In the wake of the Hermosa incident, the schooner’s owner, H. N. Templeman, sought financial compensation from the British government for the loss of the enslaved Africans aboard the ship. However, Templeman likely had to settle with Robert Lumpkin, the true owner of the “cargo”. Following this settlement, he transferred his claims to the Louisiana State Marine & Fire Insurance Company and the New Orleans Insurance Company.
In 1855, the commission of claims ruled in favor of the insurance companies, awarding them $8,000 each. This decision reinforced the brutal reality that, despite growing opposition to slavery, the system continued to treat enslaved people as property that could be bought, sold, and compensated for, rather than individuals with their own rights and dignity.
Modified on February 7, 2025.
Source:
The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery
Contrary to what Boyd Childress wrote in 1997, no admiralty court compensated Lumpkin in 1855 for the loss of his slaves aboard the Hermosa. What did happen in 1855 was an award to two Louisiana insurance companies by a US-UK claims commission. The insurance companies asserted claims as successors in interest to H.N. Templeman, the Hermosa’s owner. Presumably Templeman’s claim to what had been Lumpkin’s property followed compensation paid to Lumpkin by Templeman or his underwriters. See pp. 239-240 of Report of the Decisions of the Commissioner of Claims under the Convention of February 8, 1833, Between the United States and Great Britain, Transmitted to the Senate by the President of the United States, August 11, 1856.” Senate Document 103, 34th Cong. 1st. sess. Washington, DC: Nicholson, 1856.
Thanks for bringing it to my notice