Predator of the Seas

Stephen Taylor is a writer of maritime history, biography, and travel. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for The Times, The Observer, and The Economist, and is the author of Storm and Conquest, Commander, and Sons of the Waves.

“Stephen Taylor . . . combines narrative vigor with a scholarly attention to detail to convey the morally fraught saga of the Henriqueta—as well as the wider drama of which it was a part.”—Fergus M. Bordewich, Wall Street Journal“Taylor is an excellent historian: a pensive researcher who has sifted the archives for clues and an animated storyteller capable of capturing the drama of the brig’s life.”—Peter Moore, Literary Review“A ship biography like no other. . . . [An] extremely well-written book, a historical page-turner with engaging accounts of naval battles that also leaves you with a broad understanding of the subject.”—Nautilus International“Abolishing the slave trade was one thing, enforcing that abolition quite another. Predator of the Seas brings a new perspective to the story—the view from the deck of a vessel which served on both sides.”—Michael Bundock, author of The Fortunes of Francis Barber“This brilliant, challenging book handles complex and controversial issues of race, slavery and agency with insight.”—Andrew Lambert, author of Nelson“By turns moving and harrowing, this deeply researched narrative of the mechanics of the Atlantic slave trade and one ship’s attempt to thwart it makes for a terrific read.”—Roger Crowley, author of Conquerors“This tightly-focused account of the horrific trade that took enslaved Africans to Brazil, and the moral ambiguities of Britain’s nineteenth-century anti-slavery patrols, is a page-turner—searing and atmospheric.”—Margarette Lincoln, author of Trading in War