Painting showing the capture of the Spanish barque Conchita by the English steamship firefly

The slave trade was one of the most lucrative businesses for Europeans in the 18th and 19th centuries, in what was known as the “trade triangle” which connected African dealers with their American and European counterparts.
Following the abolition of slavery and the suppression of the trade by law, the bilateral treaty signed with England in 1820 gave the latter country the mission to oversee, pursue and capture any vessels practising this clandestine trade.
The votive offering shows an English steamship chasing a Spanish barque loaded with slaves in the waters of Guinea.