La diffusion massive en 1789 de ces images, connues sous le nom de «The Brooks Diagram», contribua de manière importante à faire tourner le vent en faveur de l’abolition du commerce d’esclaves en Angleterre.
«When the 1789 version of the Brooks diagram was produced, the burgeoning slave trade stood at its peak in Britain. Surprising as it may seem today, real outrage at the wholesale trafficking in human lives had just begun when the printed image was circulated as part of an aggressively promoted effort to end the slave trade altogether. In fact, its appearance signaled the advent of imagery as a primary means to state the salient points of those opposed to the horrors of the transatlantic passage.»
Source: How a Look Inside a Slave Ship Turned the Tide Toward Abolition
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Histoire et Civilisation 