In January the following year in the United States followed suit by outlawing the importing of slaves.
To enforce these laws Britain and the United States jointly patrolled the seas off the coast of Africa, they stopped suspected slave traders, confiscating the ship when slaves were found. Some people estimated 15 million Africans were transported to America between 1540 and 1850.
A House of Commons committee in 1788 discovered that one slave ship, the Brooks, was originally built to carry a maximum of 451 people, but when stopped they found it packed with over 600 people being transported to be sold as slaves.
Conditions aboard the slave ships were wretched. Men, women, and children were crammed into every available space. They didn’t have very much room, food, or breathing space. Chained together by their hands and feet, the slaves had very little room to move.
A large number of slaves died on their journey from diseases such as smallpox, and dysentery. Others committed suicide by refusing to eat. Many of the slaves were crippled fro life as a consequence of the way they were chained up on the ship.
For more information click on the following links:
http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/slaveship.htm
http://www.bloomington.in.us/~cathy/eckids.html