Indian cottons in the 18th and 19th centuries were so fashionable that European slave traders were able to sell them in exchange for human beings.

These swatches of Indian checked cottons represent the textile stock taken by the Dutch slave ship De Vrouw Maria Geertruida on its journey to purchase enslaved people in Guinée in January 1788. The fabrics include bajutapauts, korottes, and rumals with multi-coloured checked designs suited to West African tastes.