Black Cargoes

“A carefully understated but chilling account of the whole 3 ½ centuries during which 15 million Africans were snatched from their homes and delivered into slavery in the New World.” —Time

In 1518, the Atlantic slave trade began with the landing in the West Indies of the first enslaved people directly from Africa. These were the victims of a forced migration that was more callous and immensely larger, in the end, than any other such movement of modern or ancient times.

Written in 1962, Black Cargoes attempts to tell where these exploited people came from, how they were enslaved in Africa, how they were purchased by sea captains, how they were packed into the hold like merchandise (although with greater losses in transit), and how the survivors were sold in West Indian and American markets.

Author Daniel P. Mannix brings the horrifying spectacle to life, devoting attention to the engrossing and often fatal adventures of sea captains, smugglers, African agents, and sailors. But he never wavers from delivering “a clear and frightening record of man’s ability to allow the lust for money to deaden his sensibilities” (The Journal of African American History).

“Both fascinating and horrifying. . . . It embodies the most careful research, and it also possesses literary charm.” —Allan Nevins, Pulitzer Prize–winning author

“A sound book on a rich subject . . . it is the long-needed single volume covering all the salient angles of the evil, old trade.” —The New York Times Book Review

“It translates the slave trade from statistics and conclusions into the sum total of individual human experiences.” —Los Angeles Times