Captain Benito Cereno hurried aboard his ship. It was ready to sail. A bright sun and a soft breeze promised good weather ahead. The ship's anchor was raised.And the San Dominick -- old but still seaworthy - moved slowly out of the harbor of Valparaiso, on the west coast of Chile.It was carrying valuable products and slaves up the Pacific coast to Callao, another Spanish colonial port near Lima, Peru.The slaves, both male and female, slept on deck. They were not chained, because their owner, Don Alexandro, said they were peaceful.The San Dominick moved steadily forward under a clear sky. The weather showed no sign of change. Day after day, the soft breeze kept the ship on course toward Peru.Slave traffic between Spain's colonial ports in this year of seventeen ninety-nine had been steady.But there were few outbreaks of violence. What happened, therefore, on board the San Dominick could not have been expected.
