# Final remarks  
Sailors in modern times have shared many experiences, performing a wide range of roles and building their own professional culture. As a rule, most of these men have been white and free; only a few have been slaves or freedmen. Despite the relatively low numbers of slaves and freedmen who worked on ships, however, we need to understand the specific nature of their involvement in seafaring and how it related to their skin colour, social conditions and ethnicities. The presence of Africans and their descendants, whether enslaved or freed, has played a significant role in the shaping of maritime culture. This is particularly true with regard to language and the development, among the enslaved, of yearnings for - and strategies for achieving - freedom.