From Africa to Jamaica

The Making of an Atlantic Slave Society, 1775–1807

Audra A. Diptee

• Publisher: University Press of Florida
• Year: 2010
• eBook ISBN: 9780813042992
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: African History
• Index: History

Rich with historical sketches of the life and experiences of slaves in Africa, on slave ships, and in Jamaica, this volume illustrates the way enslaved Africans lived and helped to shape Jamaican society in the three decades before British abolition of the slave trade.

Audra Diptee's in-depth investigations reveal unexpected insights into the demographics of those captured in Africa and legally transported on British slave ships. For example, there is a commonly held belief that slave traders had a preference for adult males. In fact, the practicalities of slave raiding meant that women, children, and large groups of the elderly were particularly vulnerable during raids and were more often captured and made available for sale in the Caribbean.

From Africa to Jamaica offers a new look at the Atlantic slave trade in its final years, fleshing out the historical portrait of the African men, women, and children who were sold in Jamaica and were thus among the last of the enslaved to put their stamp on Jamaican society. There is no comparable study that takes such a comprehensive approach, looking at both the African and Jamaican sides of the trade system.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• List of Illustrations
• Acknowledgments
• List of Abbreviations
• Introduction
• 1. The Atlantic Crucible
• 2. “Provided they arrive in health”
• 3. “We took man, woman, and child”
• 4. The Atlantic Crossing
• 5. African Expectations, Jamaican Realities
• Epilogue
• Appendix. Thirteen Documents Relating to the Voyage of the Slave Ship African Queen (July 1792–May 1793)
• Notes
• Bibliography
• Index