{"product_id":"dark-voyage-an-american-privateers-war-on-britains-african-slave-trade-hardcover","title":"Dark Voyage: An American Privateer's War on Britain's African Slave Trade - Hardcover","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eChristian M. McBurney\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAt the start of the American War of Independence, Great Britain dominated overseas commerce and was the leading slave-trading nation in the world. In 1776, American privateers--privately owned ships granted commissions by the Continental Congress to attack and disrupt enemy trade--began to prey on British merchantmen. Some privateers captured British slave ships with African captives on board just before they arrived at their Caribbean Island destinations. \u003cbr\u003e One privateer was given an extraordinary task: to sail across the Atlantic to attack British slave trading posts and ships on the coast of West Africa. Based on a little-known contemporary primary source, \u003ci\u003eThe Journal of the Good Ship Marlborough\u003c\/i\u003e, the story of this remarkable voyage is told here for the first time and will have a major impact on our understanding of the Atlantic slave trade and the American Revolution. The voyage of the \u003ci\u003eMarlborough\u003c\/i\u003e was the brainchild of John Brown, a prominent Rhode Island merchant--and an investor in two slave trading voyages himself. The motivation was not altruistic. The officers and crew of the \u003ci\u003eMarlborough\u003c\/i\u003e wanted to advance the cause of independence from Britain through harming Britain's economy, but they also desired to enrich themselves by selling the plunder they captured--including enslaved Africans. \u003cbr\u003e The work of the \u003ci\u003eMarlborough \u003c\/i\u003eand other American privateers was so disruptive that it led to an unintended consequence: virtually halting the British slave trade. British slave merchants, alarmed at losing money from their ships being captured, invested in many fewer slave voyages. As a result tens of thousands of Africans were not forced onto slave ships, transported to the New World, and consigned to a lifetime of slavery or an early death. \u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eDark Voyage: An American Privateer's War on Britain's African Slave Trade\u003c\/i\u003e, veteran researcher and writer Christian McBurney recreates the harrowing voyage of the \u003ci\u003eMarlborough\u003c\/i\u003e, while placing it in the context of Atlantic World slavery. In Africa, \u003ci\u003eMarlborough\u003c\/i\u003e's officers come across an array of African and European slave traders willing to assist them in attacking the British. This book is also the first study to detail the many captures American privateers made of British slave ships during the Revolutionary War.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eAuthor Biography\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eChristian McBurney\u003c\/b\u003e is author of six books on the American Revolutionary war, including \u003ci\u003eKidnapping the Enemy: The Special Operations to Capture Generals Charles Lee and Richard Prescott\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Rhode Island Campaign: The First French and American Operation in the Revolutionary War\u003c\/i\u003e. He is also the author of many articles on American Revolution history, including \"The American Revolution Sees the First Efforts to Limit the African Slave Trade,\" in \u003ci\u003eJournal of the American Revolution, Annual Volume\u003c\/i\u003e 2021. He is president of the George Washington American Revolution Round Table of the District of Columbia and manages the online journal, \u003ci\u003eSmall State, Big History\u003c\/i\u003e, devoted to the history of Rhode Island. He practices law in Washington, DC.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 384\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 1.3 x 9 x 6.3 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 05, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51766571172128,"sku":"9781594163821","price":35.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/0fef5f0f9fe0aa0f0e38f5272e9a9689.webp?v=1780294833","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/dark-voyage-an-american-privateers-war-on-britains-african-slave-trade-hardcover","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}