39 pages • 1 hour read •
Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora
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Book Brief
288
Book • Nonfiction
Atlantic Ocean • 18th Century
2007
Harvard University Press
Adult
18+ years
Super Short Summary
Saltwater Slavery by Stephanie E. Smallwood, published in 2007, details the Atlantic slave trade from the perspective of African slaves, focusing on their journey from the Gold Coast to the Americas during the late 17th and early 18th centuries. Using Royal African Company records, the book examines the commodification process, the brutal Middle Passage, and the psychological and physical trauma endured by the captives. The book includes discussions on abuse, severe physical and psychological harm, and mortality.
Informative
Dark
Mysterious
Unnerving
Challenging
Reviews & Readership
663 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Review Roundup
Saltwater Slavery by Stephanie E. Smallwood offers a harrowing and meticulously researched account of the transatlantic slave trade. Praised for its vivid narrative and thorough scholarship, it provides a fresh perspective on the subject. Some critics, however, find it dense and overly academic. Ideal for historians, it might challenge general readers with its complexity.
Who Should Read Saltwater Slavery?
A reader who would enjoy Saltwater Slavery by Stephanie E. Smallwood is likely interested in early American history, African diaspora studies, and the brutal realities of the transatlantic slave trade. Comparable to audiences of The Slave Ship by Marcus Rediker and American Slavery, American Freedom by Edmund S. Morgan.
663 ratings
Loved it
Mixed feelings
Not a fan
Olaudah Equiano
Olaudah Equiano
An abolitionist known for his autobiography recounting his life from Nigeria to enslavement and eventual freedom, providing a personal perspective on the slave ships' harrowing conditions.
‘Sibell
‘Sibell
A woman trafficked from Africa and enslaved in Barbados, who shared her experience with John Ford, exemplifying the silencing and subsequent recording of marginalized voices through a colonial lens.
Saltwater Slavery by Stephanie E. Smallwood was awarded the 2008 Frederick Douglass Prize for its outstanding contribution to the study of the African diaspora.
The book uses the concept of "social death" to explore the transformation of African captives into commodities during the transatlantic slave trade.
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Smallwood relies on British slave trade records to reconstruct the lived experiences of enslaved Africans during their passage across the Atlantic Ocean.
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288
Book • Nonfiction
Atlantic Ocean • 18th Century
2007
Harvard University Press
Adult
18+ years
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