AMERICAN SLAVERS : merchants, mariners, and the transatlantic commerce in captives, 1644-1865

**The first telling of the unknown story of America’s two-hundred-year history as a slave-trading nation** A total of 305,000 enslaved Africans arrived in the New World aboard American vessels over a span of two hundred years, yet this is the first book-length study covering the whole of the North American slave trade. American merchants and mariners sailed to Africa and to the Caribbean to acquire and sell captives. Using exhaustive archival research, including many collections that have never been used before, historian Sean M. Kelley argues that slave trading needs to be seen as an integral part of the larger story of American slavery. Engaging deeply with both African and American history and addressing the trade over time, Kelley examines the experience of captivity, drawing on more than a hundred African narratives to offer a portrait of enslavement in the regions of Africa frequented by American ships. Kelley also provides a social history of the two American ports where slave trading was most intensive, Newport and Bristol, Rhode Island. In telling this tragic, brutal, and largely unknown story, Kelley corrects many misconceptions while leaving no doubt that Americans were a nation of slave traders. The first telling of the unknown story of Americas two-hundred-year history as a slave-trading nation A work of impressive breadth, deep research, and evenhanded analysis.James Oakes, New York Review of Books A total of 305,000 enslaved Africans arrived in the New World aboard American vessels over a span of two hundred years as American merchants and mariners sailed to Africa and to the Caribbean to acquire and sell captives. Using exhaustive archival research, including many collections that have never been used before, historian Sean M. Kelley argues that slave trading needs to be seen as integral to the larger story of American slavery. Engaging with both African and American history and addressing the trade over time, Kelley examines the experience of captivity, drawing on more than a hundred African narratives to offer a portrait of enslavement in the regions of Africa frequented by American ships. Kelley also provides a social history of the two American ports where slave trading was most intensive, Newport and Bristol, Rhode Island. In telling this tragic, brutal, and largely unknown story, Kelley corrects many misconceptions while leaving no doubt that Americans were a nation of slave traders. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Book Title 4 Copyright 5 Dedication 6 Contents 8 Maps 10 Introduction: Ships Coming In, Ships Going Out 18 Part 1. SLAVERS AS SETTLERS, 1644–1700 34 ONE: Puritan Slavers, 1644–1700 40 TWO: The Madagascar Moment, 1680–1700 65 Part 2. SLAVERS AS BRITONS, 1700–1775 90 THREE: Newport and the Rise of the Rum Men, 1700–1750 94 FOUR: Knowledge and Networks, 1751–1775 125 Part 3. SLAVERS AS AMERICANS, 1775–1807 164 FIVE: Revolution and Reorientation, 1775–1803 168 SIX: Crescendo, 1804–1807 202 Part 4. LIFE AND DEATH IN THE SLAVE TRADE, 1700–1807 228 SEVEN: Captivity 232 EIGHT: Slave-Trading Communities 272 Part 5. SLAVERS AS OUTLAWS, 1808–1865 320 NINE: Evasion, 1808–1835 326 TEN: Shills, Hirelings, and True Believers, 1835–1865 355 Conclusion: A Reckoning of Accounts 404 Chronology 414 List of Abbreviations 418 Notes 420 Acknowledgments 478 Index 480 A 480 B 481 C 482 D 484 E 485 F 485 G 486 H 487 I 487 J 487 K 488 L 488 M 488 N 489 O 490 P 490 Q 491 R 491 S 492 T 494 U 495 V 495 W 495 Y 496 Z 496