Transatlantic Slave Trade

James A. Rawley (1916–2005) was Carl Adolph Happold Professor of History, emeritus, at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He is the author of several books, including Turning Points of the Civil War and Abraham Lincoln and a Nation Worth Fighting For, both available in Bison Books editions.  Stephen D. Behrendt is a senior lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington. He has coauthored a data archive of 27,233 slave voyages, The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Database on CD-ROM.

“This first-rate new study discusses the size and profitability of the slave business, the people who engaged in it, and its consequences in European and American history.”—New Yorker|“[The Transatlantic Slave Trade] corrects many misconceptions and stereotypes. It is of great value as a compendium of information about the European side of the trade and as a synthesis of recent scholarly work on the subject. . . . Intelligent and persuasive.”—New York Times Book Review|“A work of substance that will serve as a general reference for some time.”—Journal of American History|“Useful for the historian looking for a synthesis and overview of the literature. . . . A valuable source book for anyone interested in the slave trade, and it is an often fascinating account.”—The Complete Review