Bunce Island  at low tide. The British slave traders lived in the castle on the north end of the island, while their free African workers, or "grumetes," lived in a village on the south end. Bunce Island employed as many as 600 grumetes during its peak period. The African foreman, who answered only to the chief agent, lived in a large house at the south end of the village. During Bunce Island's most prosperous period, the grumetes played a major role in operating the castle. The computer artist created this terrain model of the island based on topographical maps prepared by archaeologists.