A scholarly general history of the Atlantic slave trade, this volume tells the story of how nearly 40 million Africans died between the 17th and 19th centuries. It is a story of greed, violence, daring and incredible callousness, enacted by both white and black men. In England and France it produced enormous fortunes that helped to finance the Industrial Revolution. In Africa it produced misery and social disintegration. In America it gave rise to the plantation system, the maritime trade of New England and the Civil War.