HIST 4363: American Slavery

"Reaching back across the centuries, this program sheds light on historical attitudes toward human differences. It assesses the significance of Biblical narratives, including the “curse of Ham,” in the evolution of European concepts of race, and goes on to examine the basis of institutionalized racism—entwined with fervent capitalism—on which the transatlantic slave trade operated."

"Gorée Island is where the slave ships anchored, cramming their holds with Africans to be shipped across the Atlantic to work the fields and tend their "owners" throughout the Western Hemisphere; Gorée Island is where the enslaved Africans were held until the ships were ready to receive them. This documentary tells the history of the slave trade."

This film looks at "slavery’s impact on New York City during the first half of the 19th century. Economically dependent on King Cotton, it was a place divided between abolitionism and African-American civil rights on the one hand, and immense commercial profits on the other."

"In 1788, the slave ship Africa set sail towards America with hundreds of men, women, and children in its cargo hold. Eight months later, the few Africans who survived the voyage found themselves put up for sale in Natchez, Mississippi. One of them, 26-year-old Abdul Rahman, made an astonishing claim—that he was the prince of a West African kingdom larger and more developed than the newly formed United States."

"This program traces the hazardous journey undertaken by countless slaves, showing how they were guided—and pursued—along the way. Historical documents, visits to significant sites, and the rich music of the period are featured."

"Depicts the system of slave policing in America—enforced by militia, armed community slave patrols, paid slave catchers, and federal law—and how escaped slaves and their supporters continued to struggle against overwhelming odds…and sometimes won."

"Examines the oldest slave cemetery ever found in North America. Scholars and leading experts conduct archaeological and forensic analysis of the remains of nearly 400 African-American slaves. Dramatic reenactments, early maps, and documents from slave traders also help to piece together a clearer picture of life in forced servitude."

Recordings of “stories, songs, and memories” of slavery. (Library of Congress)

Paul Lovejoy, Canada Research Chair in African Diaspora History at York University, discusses building an international database of biographical information on all enslaved Africans. He outlines this digital history project's contribution to the study of slavery, race, and broader themes in global history. This is the first part of a two-part series recorded at the Atlantic Slave Biographies Database Conference at Michigan State University in November 2013.

David Eltis, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of History at Emory University, on the making of the Transatlantic Slave Trade database, a landmark collaborative digital project he has co-edited for two decades. Eltis discusses the research process, online dissemination, and new directions for the initiative. This is the second part of the series.