Selling The Slaves off the Sally

The Sally's first port of call in the West Indies was Barbados, where Hopkins expected to find instructions from the Browns advising him on where to dispose of his cargo and what to acquire in exchange. The Browns had sent several such letters to the island, but none of them seems to have reached Hopkins, who proceeded to the island of Antigua. [1] [2] [3] [4] At least twenty more Africans died in Antigua before they could be sold, bringing total mortality on the voyage to 108. A 109th captive, probably one of the "likely lads" the Browns had asked Hopkins to bring back to Providence, died en route to Rhode Island. [5]

Aside from the few Africans brought to Providence, all of the surviving captives off the Sally were sold in Antigua. Sickly and emaciated after their long ordeal, they commanded very low prices at auction. [6] Of the sixty-one captives for whom sale records can be found, only two were marketed as "prime" slaves, selling for £50 each. [7] Other captives sold for as little as £5, an indication of their desperate physical condition. [8] So disappointing were the returns that one of the slave traders handling the sales expressed his condolences to the Browns. "I am truly Sorry for the Bad Voyage," he wrote. "[H]ad the Negroes been young and Healthy I should have been able to sell them pretty well. I make no doubt if you was to try this Markett again with Good Slaves I Should be able to give you Satisfaction." [9]