1847–1848: The international naval campaign against the slave trade reached its absolute peak, with approximately 10 percent of the Royal Navy’s total streng…

1847–1848: The international naval campaign against the slave trade reached its absolute peak, with approximately 10 percent of the Royal Navy’s total strength stationed off the African coast. During these two years alone, one out of every nine transatlantic slave ships ever captured by the British was successfully seized. The prevailing naval strategy during this window favored tight blockades near major embarkation ports over offshore patrols. This high-intensity intervention forced many slavers to move their operations to more secluded coastal locations to avoid detection.