SLO 7 Mortality Decline for the British Slave Trade

In exploring through some scholarly articles, I found one that was titled Explaining the Mortality Decline in the Eighteenth-Century British Slave Trade. This title sparked my interest because what was it that they changed or advanced to have such a decline? So let me dig through through the article and pull out what those changes and developments were. It first starts off by saying "There are many possible explanations for the decline of death rates on British Voyages during the eighteenth century. They included increased immunity gained by African populations to variety of new diseases following the gradual merging of epidemiological regions, improved economic and health conditions within Africa, and the introductions of new ships designed to carry, and to collect (from rainfall), greater volumes of water. Another important innovation from the 1760s was the coopering of hulls which may have resulted not only in faster voyages, but in reduction in shipworm and thus dampness below decks (Haines and Shlomowitz)." Me, not being ship savvy had to look up what a "hull" is; "a hull is the watertight body of a ship or boat. Above the hull is the superstructure and or deckhouse... (Hull (watercraft))". I also located another tid bit from Wiki stating "Copper sheathing is the practice of protecting the under-water hull of a ship or boat from the corrosive effects of salt water and biofouling through the use of copper plates affixed to the outside of the hull. It was pioneered and developed by the Royal Navy during the 18th century (Copper Sheathing)." So prior to this invention, "Damp conditions in steerage were believed to have contributed as much as heat and stuffiness to suffering, sickness, and death: driver decks were conducive to better health (Haines and Shlomowitz)."

Haines, Robin, and Ralph Shlomowitz. “Explaining the Mortality Decline in the Eighteenth-century British Slave   Trade”. The Economic History Review 53.2 (2000): 262–283. Web…

"Hull (watercraft)." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.

"Copper Sheathing." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 21 Mar. 2016.