Episode 152: Rethinking the Slave Trade

Beginning in the 15th century, European history took a dark turn with the rapid expansion of the slave trade. We’re joined today by Emory professor David Eltis, the co- editor of www.slavevoyages.org that draws on thousands of records — ship logs, registers, letters and government records — to understand the mechanics of the trade. His new book, Atlantic Cataclysm, utilizes these records to offer a new interpretation of transatlantic slavery centered on the Iberian rather than French or British Americas.