J. M. W. Turner’s Slave Ship speaks out against British colonial rule and subsequent slave trade by depicting a strikingly beautiful setting that, on closer examination, reveal itself to be the shackled forms of drowning slaves being torn apart by carnivorous fish.

Many prints omit the lower half of the painting, choosing to admire the sunset rather than experience the violence of the Middle Passage. This refusal to come to terms with the horrors of the Atlantic slave trade reflected the sentiment of the British government at the time. Claiming to abolish slavery through a series of treaties with other European countries, the British strategically left the Middle Passage and trans-Atlantic slave trade alive and well. But, while attempting to force the issue into the public sphere, Turner inadvertently pledged his patronage to the very institution he was trying to bring down by frequently using gum arabic, a painting supply that facilitated the binding of pigment to the surface of the canvas for deeper and longer-lasting color.

Exporting almost 80% of the world’s gum arabic, modern-day Sudan was under British control until 1885. The colony of Senegambia also contributed greatly to the gum arabic economy during the 19^th century. Those buying gum arabic were paying for the salaries of British government officials responsible for its harvesting. This was done by the women and children of central Africa. The men were shipped off to Britain’s other colonial land holdings to fight in wars or work on the Suez Canal. 

While Turner's attempt to join the growing anti-slavery movement successfully critiques the Middle Passage with great dexterity, he could not account for the pervasiveness of the slave economy in Britain. By trying to use his paintbrush to speak for the victims of the Atlantic slave trade, his use of gum arabic silences their voices.