The abolitionists also described the great suffering of the enslaved:
Went ashore and saw a Cargo of Slaves land. One of the most shocking sights I ever saw. About 400 Men, Women, and Children, brought from their native Country, deprived of their liberty, and themselves and their posterity become the property of cruel strangers without a probability of ever enjoying the Blessings of Freedom again, or a right of complaining, be their sufferings never so great. The idea is horrid and the practice unjust. They were all naked, except a piece of blue cloth about a foot broad to cover their nakedness, and appear much dejected...
Journal of Nicholas Cresswell (1774-7), Tuesday, September 13th, 1774