Phillips was the captain of the slave ship Hannibal, financed by the Royal African Company of London, during the late 17th century (1693-1694). He was a native of Brecknock in Wales and an experienced maritime commander, though relatively little else is known about his personal background.
His background as a European slave ship captain likely influenced what he wrote about the Middle Passage in several ways. As a ship captain working for profit, his main concern was transporting as many enslaved Africans as possible to the Americas for sale, so his perspective often reflected the economic motivations behind the trade rather than the human suffering involved. Phillips described the unpleasant conditions on the ship, where enslaved Africans were treated like "swine" and forced to live in filthy, disease-ridden quarters, emphasizing the misery and stench experienced by the crew and captives alike. However, his account tends to focus more on the consequences of sickness and death in terms of financial loss, revealing little empathy for the enslaved Africans' suffering but a detailed depiction of the brutal conditions.
In summary, Phillips' background as a captain primarily concerned with the logistics and economics of slave trading colored his writings to emphasize the operational hardships and mortality's impact on profits, rather than the enslaved people's experience and humanity during the Middle Passage. His writings are valuable firsthand European sources describing the conditions on slave ships, though they reflect a biased viewpoint rooted in the interests of the slave trade.
