The 'Almirante' was a Spanish slave brig, which was caught by the Royal Navy's 'Black Joke', on 1 February 1829. 'Black Joke', which was part of the West Africa Squadron (or Preventative Squadron) set up to suppress the Atlantic slave trade by patrolling the coast of West Africa, had spotted the Spanish brig as she loaded slaves and set sail for Havana. After giving chase for thirty-one hours, Black Joke finally caught up with 'Almirante' and, despite being half her size, captured her. She held 466 captive Africans who were later landed. Hand-coloured.

Calm seas and light winds gave 'Black Joke' the advantage on the day and this is reflected in the image by Huggins. 'Almirante' can be seen to the right of the composition under fire from 'Black Joke' to the left.

'Black Joke', commanded by Lieutenant Henry Downes, was tender to the frigate HMS ‘Sybille’, commanding officer Francis Augustus Collier, to whom the inscription dedicates this plate.

Also in the NMM collection are a wine cooler (ZBA3083) made from the timbers of ‘Almirante’ and a snuff box (ZBA2435) made from the timbers of ‘Black Joke’ (note: the description currently (Apr 2016) attached to the latter contains conflicting information to that held elsewhere regarding the end of ‘Black Joke’’s career).