The records indicate many ports -- in Africa, the Americas, and Europe -- were used repeatedly because of agreements between European shippers and African merchants and rulers, Morgan said. In Virginia, for example, many slaves arrived from what was then known as the Bight of Biafra. Today, the country of Nigeria occupies that region of Africa.
"The most obvious thing it tells us is we're able to link, with more precise detail, specific places in Africa with specific places in America," Morgan said. "So Africans are not just Africans; they have specific ethnic and local roots."
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: A Database on CD-ROM sells for $195. For more information, contact: Cambridge University Press at (212) 924-3900; or visit the Web site located at <www.cup.org>.
COPYRIGHT 1998 Cox, Matthews & Associates© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
