Stephen D. Behrendt

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Stephen D. Behrendt is a historian at Victoria University Wellington who specialises in the transatlantic slave trade. He earned his MA and PhD from the University of Wisconsin. [1]

Contents

His updating of James A. Rawley's The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History, originally published by Norton in 1981, [2] was published by University of Nebraska Press in 2005. [3] In 2010, he co-edited an edition of The Diary of Antera Duke, an Eighteenth-Century African Slave Trader with A. J. H. Latham and David Northrup. [4] [5] [6]

Selected publications

Books

Articles and chapters

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlantic slave trade</span> Slave trade – 16th to 19th centuries

The Atlantic slave trade, transatlantic slave trade, or Euro-American slave trade involved the transportation by slave traders of enslaved African people, mainly to the Americas. The slave trade regularly used the triangular trade route and its Middle Passage, and existed from the 16th to the 19th centuries. The vast majority of those who were transported in the transatlantic slave trade were people from Central and West Africa that had been sold by other West Africans to Western European slave traders, while others had been captured directly by the slave traders in coastal raids; Europeans gathered and imprisoned the enslaved at forts on the African coast and then brought them to the Americas. Except for the Portuguese, European slave traders generally did not participate in the raids because life expectancy for Europeans in sub-Saharan Africa was less than one year during the period of the slave trade. The colonial South Atlantic and Caribbean economies were particularly dependent on labour for the production of sugarcane and other commodities. This was viewed as crucial by those Western European states which, in the late 17th and 18th centuries, were vying with one another to create overseas empires.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triangular trade</span> Trade among three ports or regions

Triangular trade or triangle trade is trade between three ports or regions. Triangular trade usually evolves when a region has export commodities that are not required in the region from which its major imports come. It has been used to offset trade imbalances between different regions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fon people</span> Gbe ethnic group

The Fon people, also called Fon nu, Agadja or Dahomey, are a Gbe ethnic group. They are the largest ethnic group in Benin found particularly in its south region; they are also found in southwest Nigeria and Togo. Their total population is estimated to be about 3,500,000 people, and they speak the Fon language, a member of the Gbe languages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slave Coast of West Africa</span> Historical name of region in West Africa

The Slave Coast is a historical name formerly used for that part of coastal West Africa along the Bight of Benin that is located between the Volta River and the Lagos Lagoon. The name is derived from the region's history as a major source of African people sold into slavery during the Atlantic slave trade from the early 16th century to the late 19th century.

Antera Duke was a leading African slave dealer and Efik chief from Old Calabar in the Bight of Biafra in eastern Nigeria during the late eighteenth century. He gradually prospered and was member of the local Ekpe society that had a great amount of power over slave trade. He arranged funerals, which for men of standing like himself included the ritual sacrifice of slaves, who were decapitated to accompany the master into the spirit world. Duke and his fellow Efik traders "dressed as white men" and entertained captains of Slave ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efik people</span> Ethnic group in West Africa

The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the Benue–Congo subfamily of the Niger-Congo language group. The Efik refer to themselves as Efik Eburutu, Ifa Ibom, Eburutu and Iboku.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slavery in Africa</span> Historical slavery in Africa

Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Indian Ocean slave trade and Atlantic slave trade began, many of the pre-existing local African slave systems began supplying captives for slave markets outside Africa. Slavery in contemporary Africa is still practiced despite it being illegal.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wouri estuary</span>

The Wouri estuary, or Cameroon estuary is a large tidal estuary in Cameroon where several rivers come together, emptying into the Bight of Biafra. Douala, the largest city in Cameroon, is at the mouth of the Wouri River where it enters the estuary. The estuary contains extensive mangrove forests, which are being damaged by pollution and population pressures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Parke (merchant)</span> English slave trader

Thomas Parke was a Liverpool slave trader, merchant, banker and privateer. He was part of the complex network of business interests and finance behind the African and Atlantic slave trade of the later 18th century.

Tarleton was built in France under another name in 1778. The partnership of the Tarletons and Backhouse purchased her in 1779. She first traded between Liverpool and Jamaica, and then became a slaver. She was lost in November 1788.

Isaac Hobhouse was an English slave trader, merchant, and member of the Society of Merchant Venturers. Based in Bristol, he was at the centre of money, trade, and credit and acquired much of his fortune through the trade and exploitation of African slaves in the 18th century.

James A. Rawley was professor of history emeritus at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. He was a specialist in the American Civil War, American race-relations and the life of Abraham Lincoln. His The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History (1981) was updated by Stephen D. Behrendt in 2005. The James A. Rawley Prize (OAH) is given in his memory by the Organization of American Historians for the best book on race relations, and the James A. Rawley Prize (AHA) is given in his memory by the American Historical Association for the best book in Atlantic history.

Ekei Essien Oku was a Nigerian librarian, historian and writer. She was one of the first chartered librarians in Nigeria and the first woman to be a Chief Librarian in Nigeria. She has published her research into the history of Nigeria based on the account of missionaries placing dates on the formation of towns in the 17th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alexander Ross (missionary)</span> Scottish missionary and explorer

Alexander Ross was a Scottish missionary with the United Presbyterian Church (Scotland) in Duke Town, Old Calabar, West Africa along with other notable missionaries including William Anderson, Hugh Goldie, and Mary Slessor. Making two separate expeditions in 1877 and 1878, Ross was the first white man to venture south of Old Calabar to the palm-oil town of Odobo. He discovered the Falls of Komè on the River Meme and recorded details of the places, customs and languages of Efut. In 1881 the Mission was torn apart by a schism between Ross and Anderson that was to be a crucial link in the chain of events which led to the annexation by Britain of the territory from Calabar to the Niger.

William Davenport was a British slave trader who was, by the number of ships disembarked, the single most prolific slave trader from the Port of Liverpool. He took part in 163 slaving voyages and his slave ships carried almost 40,000 enslaved Africans.

John Dawson was a Liverpool slave trader.

Ralph Fisher (1746–1803) was an English slave trader based in Liverpool who was responsible for over 100 slave voyages. He is said to have been the seventh-biggest slave trader in Liverpool.

Liverpool, a port city in north-west England, was involved in the transatlantic slave trade. The trade developed in the eighteenth century, as Liverpool slave traders were able to supply fabric from Manchester to the Caribbean islands at very competitive prices.

Liverpool Hero was built in France in 1777, probably as Jeune Emilia. She was taken in prize in 1780. In 1781 she entered into the triangular trade in enslaved people. From 1781 she made six complete voyages from Liverpool as a slave ship. On her fourth enslaving voyage she suffered an exceptionally high mortality rate among the captives she had embarked. Her third voyage had been marred by high mortality, but on the fourth 330 captives, 59% of the number she had embarked, died. She was lost in 1794 off the coast of Africa on her seventh voyage, probably with her crew and captives.

Louisa was launched in France in 1794, probably under another name. She was taken in prize and between 1798 and 1804 she made five complete voyages as a slave ship in the triangular trade in enslaved people. Her fourth voyage gave rise to an influential, and exaggerated, estimate of the profitability of trading in enslaved people. She was lost in 1804 on the coast of Africa on her sixth voyage.

References

  1. "Steve Behrendt - School of History, Philosophy, Political Science and International Relations - Victoria University of Wellington". www.victoria.ac.nz.
  2. Klein, Herbert S. (1 April 1983). "James A. Rawley. The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History. New York: W. W. Norton. 1981. Pp. xiv, 452. $24.95". The American Historical Review. 88 (2): 361–362. doi:10.1086/ahr/88.2.361 via academic.oup.com.
  3. Manning, Patrick (2006). "The Transatlantic Slave Trade: A History, Revised Edition. By JAMES RAWLEY with STEPHEN D. BEHRENDT. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2005. Pp. xviii+441. £38.5 (ISBN 0-8032-3961-0)". The Journal of African History. 47 (3): 529. doi:10.1017/S0021853706452439. S2CID   163066637.
  4. The Diary of Antera Duke, an Eighteenth-Century African Slave Trader. Oxford University Press. 8 March 2010. ISBN   978-0-19-537618-0.
  5. Lovejoy, Paul E. (5 May 2011). "The Diary of Antera Duke: An Eighteenth-Century African Slave Trader (review)". Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History. 12 (1). doi:10.1353/cch.2011.0004. S2CID   161970987.
  6. Hawthorne, Walter (2010). "A FIRST HAND PERSPECTIVE ON THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE - The Diary of Antera Duke, An Eighteenth-century African Slave Trader. By Stephen D. Behrendt, A. J. H. latham, and David Northrup. New York: Oxford University Press, 2010. Pp. xii+300. £45/$75 hardback (ISBN 978-0-19-537618-0)". The Journal of African History. 51 (3): 411–412. doi:10.1017/S002185371000054X. S2CID   232253398.