Black Cargoes: A History of the Atlantic Slave Trade 1518–1865 (referred to below as Black Cargoes) by Daniel P. Mannix in collaboration with Malcolm Cowley was published in 1962 during the civil rights movement in the United States prior to the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. It was the first book on the Atlantic slave trade since The American Slave Trade: An Account of Its Origin, Growth and Suppression published in 1900 by John Randolph Spears. It had a narrative format and was widely recognized in the popular press at the time including Time magazine and the New York Times and was praised in academic articles. The New York Times review indicated that its subject had "special current overtones". One of the chapters, The Middle Passage was published separately in American Heritage magazine, also in 1962.
Earlier histories The introduction of Black Cargoes by Cowley characterized Spears's 1900 book The American Slave Trade (the last full-length book on the topic copyrighted prior to Black Cargoes) as short and moralistic. It was dedicated to "All who sincerely strive to understand and obey the divine command Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself"; although, at 294 pages, it might not be considered short. It was also infused with views about race prevalent at the time. For example, it included the line, "Because the white men were superior in a variety of ways the black men received them with joy, and opened traffic at once". It also touted the "pluck" of some slave ship captains and posited that slave-ship experience was helpful in developing American sea power. In this regard, he cited the experience of John Paul Jones (the American naval Revolutionary War hero) on the slave ship, King George. Even in a discussion of the degraded action of slavers there was a condescending tone: "And degradation is the inevitable fate of everyone who deliberately ignores justice in his treatment of inferiors. Get rich he may, but be degraded hell-low he shall be" [emphasis added].
The obvious biases aside, W. E. B. Du Bois commented that "Its tone is high and the general impression given is a true one". On the other hand, he noted that "There is a dangerous blending of history and fiction in the book that makes the reader not always certain of his ground". While Black Cargoes was also narrative, Spears's book often included longer stories and quotations. It also included original illustrations by Walter Appleton Clark, which depicted action sequences. For example, the figure captioned, "A wild dash for life was made." depicts the treacherous slaughter of villagers who the slavers had invited on board the ship, Duke of York, for talk and drink. On a prearranged signal, the slavers suddenly took up arms against them. The villagers that fled in a wild dash for life were captured by men from a rival village with whom the captain had made a secret pact. Spears devoted several pages to the gripping story, which was not included in Black Cargoes.Spears 1900, pp. 5862 and illustration facing p. 64. Mannix and Cowley include many historical illustrations, but most of these have a loose connection to the text.
Spears acknowledged an earlier history from 1896 by W. E. B. Du Bois, The Suppression of the African Slave-trade to the United States of America as one of his primary sources, although their books could not be more different. Du Bois based his account on his PhD thesis at Harvard University and it is still considered a standard on the topic. As such it has been republished by the Louisiana State University with an introduction by John Hope Franklin in 1970, and by Oxford University with an introduction by Saidiya Hartman in 2014. The Oxford edition was part of a project to republish Du Bois's major works as a series and it includes the series introduction by Henry Louis Gates Jr.
Du Bois intended his account to be "a small contribution to the scientific study of slavery and the American Negro". Du Bois kept his account matter of fact, data driven, and almost entirely without emotion, although in her introduction, Saidya Hartman commented that he later used a less disengaged style of writing. Du Bois mainly focused on the political debates about the slave trade in the United States and the various, mostly ineffective, legislative attempts to suppress it.
Each chapter was preceded by a precise list of contents. There were no illustrations except for a diagram that illustrated the legislative history of the Act of 1807 (effective in 1808), which banned the importation of slaves to the United States. He included long quotations from debates. For example, he devoted a full page to quote a speech by Peter Early, a representative from Georgia, arguing that African captives brought illegally to the United States after the effective date should be sold and not set free. Early concluded that if such a law were enacted, "The whole people will rise up against it. Why? Because to enforce it would be to turn loose, in the bosom of the country, firebrands that would consume them." As indicated by the title, his book was primarily restricted to the slave trade to the United States and was far more detailed on the political aspects of that than Mannix and Cowley.Du Bois 1896, pp. v, 94, 98–99 & 107.
Contents and attribution Black Cargoes has the following numbered chapter headings: The Beginnings Slaving in the Seventeenth Century The Early American Trade Flush Times on the Guinea Coast The Middle Passage Captains and Crews The Yankee Slavers The Fight to Abolish the Trade Contraband The Roaring Eighteen-Forties Slave Catching in the Indian Ocean The Dream of a Slave Empire Cowley stated that Black Cargoes was Mannix's book, and his role was chiefly editorial. However, he had been preparing to write a book that was never published, and his material was included. He noted that he accepted primary responsibility for chapters 5, 7, and 12.Mannix and Cowley 1962, Black Cargoes, pp. Contents & page xiv The Middle Passage was published separately in American Heritage, a hardcover magazine, in 1962. The title page had the heading, "Packed like animals in the holds of ships, Negros bound for America were prey to disease, brutal masters, and their own suicidal melancholy. Such was the fearful MIDDLE PASSAGE".
Narrative In contrast to Spears, Mannix and Cowley were respectful of African culture: "There were kingdoms and commonwealths comparable in size with many European nations, and even the smaller tribes had definite and often complex cultures . . . Many of their communities had highly involved religions, well-organized economic systems, efficient agricultural practices, and admirable codes of law. We have only in recent years begun to appreciate West Africa's contribution to sculpture, folk literature, and music".Mannix and Cowley 1962, Black Cargoes, p. 10. In contrast to Du Bois, their account was emotive. It had no quotations of long political speeches, but rather focused on narratives of slave ship captains and crews.
Black Cargoes begins with Christopher Columbus and the brutal suppression of a revolt by Indians. As recounted in a Time magazine review, the black slave trade to the Americas ironically began as a humanitarian effort. Colonist in Hispaniola had attempted to enslave the Indians but they were not suited to the work, which led to "thousands of Indians dying in corrals, and scores of men and women burned alive in the hope that their fate would induce the others to work" (Mannix's description). In 1515, moved by the suffering of the Indians, a priest Bartolomé de las Casas, petitioned Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, to import slaves from Africa to relieve the suffering of the Indians. His request was granted, although the motive for granting the request may have been at least partially economic. In 1518, 4000 African slaves were sent to the island.Mannix and Cowley 1962, Black Cargoes, pp. 13.
According to Mannix and Cowley, in the 16th century, slavers were unapologeticslavery was just an accepted practice. It was justified on the basis of religion. Africans were seen as benefiting by conversion to Christianity. The "racial excuse was seldom used". The racial aspect surfaced in the 17th century. Initially in Virginia, for example, "Negros had been regarded as servants indentured for life, their children were born free and were also reared in the true faith". However, in many cases planters refused to let them go. So they came up with a new excuse based on race and the Christian bible. They argued that the Negros were the children of Ham or Cannan and claimed that slavery was a biblical practice based on Noah's curse: "And he said, Cursed be Canaan; a servant of servants shall he be unto his brethren” (Genesis IX, 25). Some slave owners even claimed that Negros were not human and so could not become Christian.Mannix and Cowley 1962, Black Cargoes, pp. 26 & 5960
According to Mannix and Cowley, the slave trade then blossomed and continued essentially unabated for nearly three centuries. However, in 1807, Britain and the United States passed legislation banning the slave trade. Britain launched a naval blockade to suppress the trade by all nations. The British policy came about largely through the moral advocacy of William Wilberforce in parliament. Unfortunately, the blockade was thwarted by the United States, which refused to allow their ships to be searched. Even though it was technically illegal, the U.S. government did not enforce the ban and it became a major transporter of slaves to the New World. Demand for imported slaves had previously dampened following the Haitian Revolution, during which white plantation owners were slaughtered in 1804. The authors claimed that all states south of Maryland feared a slave rebellion, nevertheless the fear was later overcome by greed. They concluded (as did Du Bois before them) that the invention of the cotton gin in 1828, which made the processing of cotton far more efficient, led to a vast expansion of cotton plantations and the need for more slaves. Also according to Du Bois slavery was changing from a "family institution to an industrial system".Mannix and Cowley 1962, Black Cargoes, pp. 186187 & 195Du Bois 1896, p. 152.
Although Rhode Island was not highlighted by Mannix and Cowley, it became the center of the American slave trade in the 18th century. A triangular trading route was developed. Small "clippers" were loaded with rum distilled in Rhode Island. Mannix and Cowley described them as the "whippets of the sea" (rather than greyhounds). The fast ships were able to elude the British patrols and sail further up African rivers than larger ships. It also allowed the slavers to load a shipment of slaves quickly so as to reduce sickness among the crew and slaves alike. They then sailed to the West Indies where slaves were exchanged from molasses, which was carried back to Rhode Island to make more rum, which could be sold at a profit and used for further trade. In a treatise on the subject Jay Coughtry concluded that this scenario was correct in outline however he noted that "Returning slavers, however, did not carry enough syrup to supply even the local African fleet with sufficient rum for the first leg of the slaving voyages, let alone furnish a surplus for domestic consumption and coastwise exports".Mannix and Cowley 1962, Black Cargoes, pp. 186 & 200