British HMS Nimble Cannonball- Key Largo, FL (3D)

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Institution: The Mel Fisher Maritime Museum

State: Florida

Object: Artillery

Era: 19th Century

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This cannonball was recovered from a reef near Key Largo in Florida. Its suspected to be the remnants of the Guerrero, a pirate slave ship sunk by the anti-slavery ship, the British HMS Nimble. Although archaeologists were only able to recover a few artifacts from the wreck site, the evidence represents the last era in slavery.

After Britain and the U.S. abolished the slave trade, the shipping industry appealed to the interests pirates that sought after faster ships. Vessels, like the Baltimore Clipper, lacked lower decks, figureheads, headboards and trail boards from the previous era. Pirate ships were also designed to be destroyed after one trip, making them less trackable.

Little is known about the Guerrero’s build, but this 12 pound cannonball gives us one clue about the ship’s size. Pirate ships carried lighter artillery loads to maintain top speeds. But older ships (and possibly the British HMS Nimble) could easily carry 20 to 30 pound cannons that could dismantle another vessel.

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More Slavery-Related Artifacts

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Sources:

• Swanson, Gail. "The Wrecking of the Laden Spanish Slave Ship Guerrero off the Florida Keys, In 1827." African Diaspora Archaeology Newsletter 13.3 (2010): 3.

• Glickman, Jessica A. A war at the heart of man: The structure and construction of ships bound for Africa. University of Rhode Island, 2015.

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