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Book Review: Saltwater Slavery

The book is a narration of the Africans journey to America for slavery. The aim which is brought out in the narration is how the Africans were transformed to commodities in Atlantic (Stephanie, 3). She explains in her narrative trade began in the seventh century. The slaves were shipped form Africa through the Middle East to the American market. The idea brought out in the book is the way human beings more so Africans were used as medias for exchange and the mistreat they underwent being forced to work for the Americans. The story shows a real life fact of African suffering in the hands of Americans which is comparable to the Colonial suffering of Africans during the world war.

The main discussion of the book is slavery and inhumanity among the Americans. In the narration, the victims tend to undergo more than captivity as they were excluded from any social relation (Stephanie, 43). There were institutions and sites developed to carry out the commodification more efficiently. The topic is described by the author vividly as there is description of life transfiguration of the due to physical and mental trauma which finally resulted to a horrific death (Stephanie, 60). Later there was a fight to change the slaves to immigrants though personhood reconstruction and fight for social integration.

The author narrates that there was abolition of slave trade which tampered with the historiographical synthesis as the trade formed the heart of the early modern Atlantic world. The authors evidence and arguments contradict the continuity of the inflow of new slaves even after halting was formed and new immigrants communities formed from the ‘immigrants’.

The author’s commodification of slaves seems to be overstated like the ratio of the imports and exports in table 1. in the narration. Her canvas is also overstretched comparing the Angola fugitive in the narration time frame falls out for the actual time1 (Stephanie, 184). Although she is able to bring out the insights which are similar.

Works Cited

Smallwood, Stephanie E., Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora, Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 2007.