Editing Atlantic slave trade (section)

===British Royal Navy===
The Royal Navy's [[West Africa Squadron]], established in 1808, grew by 1850 to a force of some 25 vessels, which were tasked with combating slavery along the African coast.<ref>Huw Lewis-Jones, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/royal_navy_article_02.shtml "The Royal Navy and the Battle to End Slavery"], BBC, 17 February 2011.</ref> Between 1807 and 1860, the Royal Navy's Squadron seized approximately 1,600 ships involved in the slave trade and freed 150,000 Africans who were aboard these vessels.<ref>Jo Loosemore, [https://www.bbc.co.uk/devon/content/articles/2007/03/20/abolition_navy_feature.shtml "Sailing against slavery"], [[BBC]], 24 September 2014.</ref> Several hundred slaves a year were transported by the navy to the British colony of [[Sierra Leone]], where they were made to serve as "apprentices" in the colonial economy until the [[Slavery Abolition Act 1833]].<ref>{{cite news |first=Caroline |last=Davies |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/02/wilberforce-condoned-slavery-files-claim |title=William Wilberforce 'condoned slavery', Colonial Office papers reveal...Rescued slaves forced into unpaid 'apprenticeships' |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=2 August 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240306113624/https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/aug/02/wilberforce-condoned-slavery-files-claim |archive-date=6 March 2024}}</ref>
[[File:HMS Black Joke (1827).jpg|thumb|Capture of slave ship {{lang|es|El Almirante}} by the British Royal Navy in the 1800s. {{HMS|Black Joke|1827|6}} freed 466 slaves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://publishing.yudu.com/An8w/navynewsjune2007/resources/36.htm |title=Navy News |date=June 2007 |access-date=9 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240315050053/http://publishing.yudu.com/An8w/navynewsjune2007/resources/36.htm |archive-date=15 March 2024}}</ref>]]