Biography of John Atkins

Name: John Atkins
Active Period: Early 18th century
Profession: British naval surgeon, officer, and writer
Known For: Documenting life, trade, and cultural encounters on the Gold Coast and West Africa during his naval service; among the earliest European observers to provide detailed firsthand accounts of African societies and the transatlantic slave trade

Overview

John Atkins was a British naval surgeon and officer whose travels along the West African coast in the early 1700s left behind one of the most detailed and candid English-language records of the period. Best known for his 1735 publication A Voyage to Guinea, Brazil and the West Indies, Atkins chronicled his experiences with unusual clarity, offering insights into African societies, European trading practices, and the brutal realities of the Atlantic slave trade.

Though not a policymaker or colonial administrator, Atkins’s work has become historically valuable for its vivid observations, critical reflections, and rare degree of human sympathy for Africans at a time when such perspectives were rare among Europeans.

Naval Career and Journey to West Africa

Atkins served as a naval surgeon aboard British ships during expeditions to West Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean. His most notable voyage occurred in 1721–1723, when he sailed along the Gold Coast (modern-day Ghana) and the broader Guinea Coast, regions that were key hubs in the slave trade and European commercial rivalry.

His responsibilities as a surgeon extended beyond medicine; he often acted as an observer and chronicler, documenting:

• Coastal forts and trading posts (British, Dutch, and other European)

• The conduct of European traders and naval officers

• Interactions with African rulers and merchants

• Cultural customs, religious practices, and regional politics

• The logistics of slave procurement and transport

Observations on the Gold Coast

During his time along the Gold Coast, Atkins recorded detailed impressions of towns such as:

• Cape Coast, then the seat of British administration

• Elmina, the dominant Dutch stronghold

• Komenda, a contested port town marked by African-European commercial conflict

He described the roles of African middlemen, including powerful merchants like John Cabess, and the economic and political sophistication of local societies—challenging the common European view that Africa lacked structure or governance.

Atkins often commented on:

• The importance of African agency in shaping trade

• The fierce competition among European powers, especially between the British and Dutch

• The ambivalence of local African leaders toward European presence—they welcomed trade but resisted domination

Reflections on the Slave Trade

Atkins's writings are particularly notable for their critical tone regarding the transatlantic slave trade, which he witnessed firsthand.

Though a man of his time who did not reject slavery outright, he:

• Described the suffering of enslaved people with striking honesty

• Criticized the greed and brutality of European traders

• Noted the trauma inflicted on African communities through raids and warfare

• Questioned the morality and long-term consequences of the trade for both Africans and Europeans

In his Voyage to Guinea, he wrote that Africans were “not inferior to Europeans in natural faculties”, a remarkably humanizing stance for a European observer in the early 1700s.

Writing and Historical Legacy

Published in 1735, Atkins's A Voyage to Guinea, Brazil and the West Indies became a valuable source for later historians, ethnographers, and abolitionists. His prose blended scientific curiosity with moral questioning, making his account:

• One of the few 18th-century British works to humanize Africans and criticize aspects of European conduct

• A rich source of ethnographic and economic information on West Africa

• An early contribution to the literature of travel and empire

He also commented on African languages, beliefs, justice systems, and social norms, recording what he saw without the overt contempt that characterized many of his contemporaries.

Views on Medicine and Science

As a trained naval surgeon, Atkins also wrote about:

• Tropical diseases affecting both Africans and Europeans

• Medical practices used on board slave ships and coastal forts

• The impact of environment and climate on health and mortality

• The brutality of conditions aboard slave ships, where death rates were often high even before departure

His observations helped fuel later critiques of the inhuman conditions of the Middle Passage.

John Atkins was not a reformer or abolitionist, but his candid and thoughtful observations offer a rare window into the everyday realities of the slave trade, cross-cultural contact, and colonial commerce on the West African coast during the early 18th century.

Though often overlooked in grand histories, his voice stands out for its critical distance, attention to detail, and moments of empathy—qualities that make his work an enduring resource in understanding the human cost of empire and trade in the Atlantic world.

Today, Atkins is remembered less as a naval man and more as a witness—one who documented, with clarity and conscience, a world in the midst of transformation, exploitation, and resistance.