Sailing ship Uracán pursued by the English steamship Graules for slave trading

Josep Pineda Guerra was born in Alicante, where he went to school and later completed his studies in ships and navigation. He began work as a pilot and sailed for several years. According to the historiography, it was in around 1863 that Josep Pineda started painting, producing portraits of ships for captains and shipbuilders, and showing a continuing interest in the Merchant Navy. The first documented pictorial work by J.Pineda dates from 1868, painted in Alicante. In late 1872 he moved to Barcelona, settling in the district of Barceloneta, where he had his home and studio. The latter was not apparently used for any official commercial activity; instead he worked on a commission basis. Some 3,000 paintings have been attributed to him, with the last work dated to 1906. This painting depicts an episode that took place in 1845, when English ships were chasing the vessel Uracán, an active slave ship. Between the 16th and the 19th century, millions of Africans were abducted and transported to European colonies to be exploited as slaves. This trade produced enormous fortunes, until slavery was abolished and persecuted. These painted votive offerings were made by captains of slave ships who had evaded capture and had successfully unloaded their human merchandise.