Claim: Between 17,000 and 20,000 Royal Navy sailors died fighting illegal slave traders.
Fact-check: Royal Navy sailors died while preventing the slave trade, but not tens of thousands - Full Fact
Verdict: while it is true that sailors died as part of british efforts to combat illegal slave trading, it is unlikely to be this high a number.
Organisation: Full Fact
Author: Rachael Krishna
Date published: 2020-10-15T00:00:00