10979 Friedrich Justin Bertuch (1747–1822) – Sierra Leone landscape and slave ship diagrams – hand-colored engraving (1805)

This hand-colored engraving contains two distinct illustrations documenting aspects of West African history and the transatlantic slave trade. The left image depicts a lush coastal landscape of Sierra Leone, featuring local inhabitants and European figures near a settlement with sailing vessels anchored in the distance. The right portion of the plate provides three technical diagrams of a slave ship, showing a longitudinal section, a crowded deck plan, and a cross-section of the hull to illustrate the inhumane conditions and tight packing of captives during the Middle Passage. These illustrations were published as part of the Bilderbuch für Kinder, a landmark educational encyclopedia designed to provide children with a comprehensive visual understanding of the world, including geography, anthropology, and contemporary history. The plate serves as a powerful historical and educational record, reflecting the early nineteenth-century effort to document global regions and the realities of maritime commerce.