31 pages • 1 hour read
Stephanie E. SmallwoodSaltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Before You Read
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.
Reviews & Readership
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.