A scholarly general history of the Atlantic slave trade, this volume tells the story of how nearly 40 million Africans died between the 17th and 19th centuries. It is a story of greed, violence, daring and incredible callousness, enacted by both white and black men. In England and France it produced enormous fortunes that helped to finance the Industrial Revolution. In Africa it produced misery and social disintegration. In America it gave rise to the plantation system, the maritime trade of New England and the Civil War. The book explains how, where and why slaves were captured, how they were purchased by sea captains and packed into holds like merchandise, and how the survivors were sold in the West Indian and American markets. It also explains the rise of the anti-slavery movements, of the legal abolition of the trade by Britain in 1807 and of its persistence, in spite of the efforts of the Royal Navy, until the latter part of the 18th century.