{"product_id":"predator-of-the-seas","title":"Predator of the Seas","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe 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\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn 1827 the Royal Navy purchased a Baltimore clipper and renamed her the \u003cem\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/em\u003e. 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 \u003cem\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/em\u003e would become the most famous weapon in the campaign for abolition. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBut in her previous life as the \u003cem\u003eHenriqueta\u003c\/em\u003e, the \u003cem\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/em\u003e had been a slave ship. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThrough the experiences of slavers and abolitionists, captives and crew, Stephen Taylor charts the vessel's extraordinary double life. As the \u003cem\u003eHenriqueta\u003c\/em\u003e she operated as an engine of atrocity, trafficking over 3,000 captives to plantations in Brazil. But subsequently manned by British seamen and Liberian Kru, the \u003cem\u003eBlack Joke\u003c\/em\u003e became the scourge of Spanish and Brazilian slavers. She did so despite limited resources, neglect, and even obstruction by the authorities at home. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTaylor offers a gripping account of the world of the transatlantic trade, through the eyes of its perpetrators—and those who sought its end.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Stephen Taylor","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42849087979581,"sku":"9780300263992","price":46.76,"currency_code":"AUD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0597\/7689\/2989\/files\/9780300263992_a647bb56-c537-45a4-ace2-83b0ab66dab7.jpg?v=1766993273","url":"https:\/\/www.palmleaf.com.au\/products\/predator-of-the-seas","provider":"Palmleaf","version":"1.0","type":"link"}