Presents an account of the Atlantic slave trade which helps us to understand the rise and fall of one of the most shameful chapters in British history.

James Walvin taught for many years at the University of York where he is now Professor of History Emeritus. He also held visiting positions in the Caribbean, the U.S.A. and Australia. He won the Martin Luther King Memorial Prize for his book Black and White, and has published widely on the history of slavery and the slave trade, including more recently Black Ivory. A History of British Slavery. His book The People¿s Game was a pioneering study of the history of football and remains in print thirty years after its first publication.