As soon as the king understood of our landing, he sent two of his cappasheirs, or noblemen, to compliment us at our factory [trading post], where we designed to continue that night, and pay our devoirs to his majesty the next day, which we signify’d to them, and they, by a foot-express to their monarch; whereupon he sent two more of his grandees to invite us there that night, saying he waited for us, and that all former captains used to attend him the first night: whereupon, being unwilling to infringe the custom, or give his majesty any offense, we took our hamocks, and Mr. Peison, myself, Capt. Clay, our surgeons, pursers, and about 12 men arm’d for our guard, were carry’d to the king’s town, which contains about 50 houses. When we came to the palace (which was the meanest I ever saw, being low mud walls, the roof thatch’d, the floor the bare ground, with some pools of water and dirt in it) we were met at the entrance by several cappasheirs, with the usual ceremony of clapping their hands, and taking and shaking us by ours, with great demonstration of affection: when we enter’d the palace-yard they all fell on their knees near the door of the room where the king was, clapping their hands, knocking the ground with their foreheads, and kissing it, which they repeated three times, being their usual ceremony when they approach’d his majesty, we standing and observing till they had done; then rising, they led us to the room where the king was. . . .

According to promise, we attended his majesty with samples of our goods, and made our agreements about the prices, tho’ not without much difficulty; he and his cappasheirs exacted very high, but at length we concluded as per the latter end. . . .

Capt. Clay and I had agreed to go to the trunk [underground dungeon] to buy the slaves by turns, each his day, that we might have no distraction or disagreement in our trade, as often happens when there are here more ships than one, and the commanders can’t set their horses together, and go hand in hand in their traffic, whereby they have a check upon the blacks, whereas their disagreements create animosities, underminings, and out-bidding each other, whereby they enhance the prices to their general loss and detriment, the blacks well knowing how to make the best use of such opportunities, and as we found make it their business, and endeavor to create and foment misunderstandings and jealousies between commanders, it turning to their great account in the disposal of their slaves.

When we were at the trunk, the king’s slaves, if he had any, were the first offer’d to sale, which the cappasheirs would be very urgent with us to buy, and would in a manner force us to it ere they would shew us any other, saying they were the Reys Cosa [king’s slaves], and we must not refuse them, tho’ as I observ’d they were generally the worst slaves in the trunk, and we paid more for them than any others, which we could not remedy, it being one of his majesty’s prerogatives. Then the cappasheirs each brought out his slaves according to his degree and quality, the greatest first, etc., and our surgeon examin’d them well in all kinds, to see that they were sound wind and limb, making them jump, stretch out their arms swiftly, looking in their mouths to judge of their age; for the cappasheirs are so cunning, that they shave them all close before we see them, so that let them be never be so old we can see no grey hairs in their heads or beards; and then having liquor’d them well and sleek with palm oil, ’tis no easy matter to know an old one from a middle-age one, but by the teeths decay; but our greatest care of all is to buy none that are pox’d, lest they should infect the rest aboard. . . . When we had selected from the rest such as we liked, we agreed in what goods to pay for them, the prices being already stated before the king, how much of each sort of merchandize we were to give for a man, woman, and child, which gave us much ease, and saved abundance of disputes and wranglings, and gave the owner a note, signifying our agreement of the sorts of goods; upon delivery of which the next day he receiv’d them; then we mark’d the slaves we had bought on the breast, or shoulder, with a hot iron, having the letter of the ship’s name on it, the place being before anointed with a little palm oil, which caus’d but little pain, the mark being usually well in four or five days, appearing very plain and white after.

Source: Thomas Phillips, A Journal of a Voyage Made in the Hannibal of London in 1694 (London: 1732), 216–18.