Some occupations were more frequently performed by enslaved people, while certain posts, such as that of a general, were normally reserved for free men and would rarely be occupied by enslaved people. The vast majority performed manual work that was low in the hierarchy of maritime labour, such as that of cabin boys, apprentices and servants (or sailors, as they became known from the beginning of the nineteenth century). Some were caulkers and cooks, with the role of the latter remaining common among black men into the twentieth century (Nalty, 1986, p. 84). A large number of slaves and freedmen worked on merchant ships with no mention made of the roles they carried out, making it seem as though skin colour, ethnic origin and social condition were sufficient to determine the work they did on board. Even when they were freed and had built up years of seafaring experience, none of these men became captains or officials. This was evidently due to the opinion held by their masters that it would be dangerous to allow black men access to the technical knowledge behind sailing.  
Enslaved people were of a similar opinion, as Equiano clearly states: nautical occupations and the resultant mobility allowed for greater equality with their masters (Equiano, 1837; Scott, 2018, p. 59).