Predator of the Seas: A History of the Slaveship that Fought for Emancipation

The dramatic biography of a slaveship turned freedom-fighter-which brings new insights into Britain's involvement in the end of the trade in enslaved people



In 1827 the Royal Navy purchased a Baltimore clipper and renamed her the Black Joke. Assigned to the Preventative Squadron, she patrolled the west coast of Africa and freed 3,692 captives from enslavement. Beloved by seafarers and celebrated by the public, the Black Joke would become the most famous weapon in the campaign for abolition.



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