{"product_id":"predator-of-the-seas-a-history-of-the-slaveship-that-fought-for-emancipation-9780300263992","title":"Predator of the Seas: A History of the Slaveship That Fought for Emancipation","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe dramatic biography of a slaveship turned freedom-fighter--which brings new insights into Britain's involvement in the end of the trade in enslaved people\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In 1827 the Royal Navy purchased a Baltimore clipper and renamed her the \u003ci\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/i\u003e. Assigned to the Preventative Squadron, she patrolled the west coast of Africa and freed 3,692 captives from enslavement. Beloved by seafarers and celebrated by the public, the \u003ci\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/i\u003e would become the most famous weapon in the campaign for abolition. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e But in her previous life as the \u003ci\u003eHenriqueta\u003c\/i\u003e, the \u003ci\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/i\u003e had been a slave ship. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Through the experiences of slavers and abolitionists, captives and crew, Stephen Taylor charts the vessel's extraordinary double life. As the \u003ci\u003eHenriqueta\u003c\/i\u003e she operated as an engine of atrocity, trafficking over 3,000 captives to plantations in Brazil. But subsequently manned by British seamen and Liberian Kru, the \u003ci\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/i\u003e became the scourge of Spanish and Brazilian slavers. She did so despite limited resources, neglect, and even obstruction by the authorities at home. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Taylor offers a gripping account of the world of the transatlantic trade, through the eyes of its perpetrators--and those who sought its end. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eStephen Taylor\u003c\/b\u003e is a writer of maritime history, biography, and travel. He has worked as a foreign correspondent for \u003ci\u003eThe Times\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003e The Observer\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eThe Economist\u003c\/i\u003e, and is the author of \u003ci\u003eStorm and Conquest\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eCommander\u003c\/i\u003e, and \u003ci\u003eSons of the Waves\u003c\/i\u003e.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Yale University Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50878246093074,"sku":"9780300263992","price":25.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_1098ab1d-6728-4b11-9940-c07d6717bdd8.jpg?v=1738266470","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/predator-of-the-seas-a-history-of-the-slaveship-that-fought-for-emancipation-9780300263992","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}