Transatlantic Slave Trade Graphic History Book

Rafe Blaufarb and Liz Clarke’s Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History accomplishes what few authors or historians could do: tell the tale of one of the most perplexing and gruesome issues in history using the medium graphic non-fiction. There are clear reasons why the authors would have wanted to approach their subject in this unique way. One is simply that no other author or historian had done this before, and the transatlantic slave trade does need to be retold and revisited again and again so that modern readers recognize its ramifications and reverberations. In fact, retelling the story of the transatlantic slave trade also inspires social justice activism, as readers will realize that patterns of slavery still exist: from the sex trade to economically expedient human trafficking.
Another reason why The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History is important is that it takes the subject of slavery for what it is: something that is inherently graphic. Slavery is about inhumanity, about blood, torture, and other grim details that can too easily be lost in a historian’s prose. No matter how witty or well-written a history text is, nothing quite takes the place of imagery. Graphic imagery is also impressionistic, allowing for nuances of expression that would not even be possible had the authors had access to photo-documentary evidence. The history and implications of the transatlantic slave trade are issues that deserve to be elevated to a new position in the public consciousness.
The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History is divided into four parts, plus a Preface, Maps, and a Timeline. The first part of the graphic history book covers the historical context. This is where the authors provide an overview or snapshot of what the entire region might have looked like before the active trading in human beings. Of course, Blaufarb and Clarke address the slave trade within African kingdoms, but also discuss the newly arisen economic expediencies of the New World. As Europe colonized, it needed labor to extract natural resources on a scale never before imagined. The authors also devote a section to this part of the book on African ethnicity and culture, in “Who Were the Captives?” Then, the authors discuss how changing norms and values helped the transatlantic slave fall out of favor. Abolitionism spread first in Europe, although the transatlantic slave trade persisted in many colonies. Nevertheless, British abolitionism did have far-reaching effects on the character of colonies.
Part two is the most emotionally powerful of the book in some ways. This is where the authors detail some of the key incidents in the transatlantic slave trade, such as the Neirsee Incident. The chapter “Sold Into Slavery” offers gut-wrenching imagery of what it would have been like—felt like—to be aboard a transatlantic slave ship. The artwork humanizes the slave trade.
Part Three of The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History is where the graphic history becomes scholarly: Blaufarb and Clark present their primary sources. Readers can relish encountering important documents in their original writing perhaps for the first time, seeing how each part of the slave trade involved hundreds of individuals, each of whom was culpable in perpetuating slavery in some way. Finally, the fourth section of the book is called “The Questions,” and addresses the logistics of preparing a graphic history book about such a sensitive subject. This section is interesting because it shows that the authors are self-conscious about the role they play in trying to convey the horrors of the transatlantic slave trade in a novel way. Overall, The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History blends the best of both worlds: of astute scholarly ethics and faithfulness to primary sources, and the ability to reach a general audience.




References

Rafe Blaufarb and Liz Clarke, Inhuman Traffick: The International Struggle against the Transatlantic Slave Trade: A Graphic History. Oxford University Press, 2014.