Commodore Sir George Ralph Collier, with the 36-gun HMS Creole as his flagship, was the first Commodore of the West Africa Squadron. On 19 September 1818, the navy sent him to the Gulf of Guinea with the orders, “You are to use every means in your power to prevent a continuance of the traffic in slaves.” However, he had only six ships with which to patrol over 3000 miles of coast. He served from 1818 to 1821. As the 19th century wore on, the Royal Navy also began interdicting slavery in North Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian Ocean.