Extending the Frontiers: Essays on the New Transatlantic Slave Trade Database

Extending the Frontiers presents research and analysis based on the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, a digital repository documenting over 35,000 slave trade voyages. The essays examine new data and methodologies that expand understanding of the scale and scope of the slave trade between Africa and the Americas. The contributors analyze previously underexplored aspects of the trade, including intra-American slave movements, mortality rates during voyages, and the economic networks that sustained the commerce. Statistical evidence and demographic data allow for detailed examination of specific trade routes, time periods, and regions that played key roles in the centuries-long operation of human trafficking. The volume brings together historians and researchers who utilize the database to challenge existing narratives and uncover new dimensions of the transatlantic slave trade. Technical chapters explain the database's construction and potential applications for future scholarship. This work represents a significant advancement in the quantitative study of forced migration and human rights violations in the Atlantic world. The essays demonstrate how digital humanities and data analysis can reshape historical understanding of one of humanity's greatest crimes.

Scholars and researchers cite the book's expanded statistical data and methodological insights into the transatlantic slave trade. Readers highlight the book's detailed appendices and technical documentation that explain how the slave trade database was constructed. Likes: - Thorough documentation of sources and methods - Clear explanations of database limitations - Updated slave voyage statistics and mortality rates - Maps and visualizations of trade routes Dislikes: - Dense academic writing makes it inaccessible to general readers - Heavy focus on methodology over narrative - Limited discussion of individual slave experiences - High cost of print edition Ratings: Goodreads: 4.5/5 (6 ratings) Amazon: Not enough reviews for rating One academic reviewer noted: "An invaluable resource for specialists, though perhaps overwhelming for undergraduate students." Another mentioned the book serves better as a reference text than a cover-to-cover read.

The Atlantic Slave Trade by Philip D. Curtin This work established the quantitative analysis of the slave trade through detailed examination of shipping records and demographic data.

Africa's Discovery of Europe by David Northrup The book examines African perspectives and experiences during the slave trade era through primary sources and African documentation.

The Slave Ship: A Human History by Marcus Rediker This text reconstructs the social world of slave ships through ship logs, captain journals, and survivor accounts.

Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by David Eltis The volume presents 189 maps that track slave trade routes, origins, and destinations using the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database.

Black Rice by Judith Carney This study traces the transfer of African rice cultivation knowledge through the slave trade to the Americas through agricultural and shipping records.

🔎 The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database (TASTD) documented in this book contains records of nearly 35,000 slave voyages, representing about 80% of all slave ships that crossed the Atlantic 🗺️ Eltis and his collaborators discovered that Brazil, not the United States, was the largest recipient of enslaved Africans, receiving approximately 45% of all captives transported across the Atlantic 📊 The database reveals that mortality rates on slave ships averaged around 15%, with some voyages losing up to 50% of their human cargo during the brutal Middle Passage 🏛️ David Eltis is considered one of the world's foremost authorities on the Atlantic slave trade and serves as Robert W. Woodruff Professor Emeritus of History at Emory University 📈 The project documented in the book took over 40 years of collaborative research and revolutionized historians' understanding of the slave trade's scope, showing it was about 20% larger than previously thought