The Black Joke: The True Story of One Ship's Battle Against the Slave Trade
- Downloads：3351
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-17 16:21:11
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：A.E. Rooks
- ISBN：1982128267
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
Reviews
Melissa
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This review is based on a copy I received from a Goodreads giveaway。This was a fascinating book primarily about the career of the tender the Black Joke in the British Navy's West Africa Squadron， but also about the protracted fight to end the slave trade。 Rooks does a great job of giving the reader the necessary background information to understand the difficulties faced by the Black Joke and its squadron， including quite a bit of background on international relations among the European and Sout This review is based on a copy I received from a Goodreads giveaway。This was a fascinating book primarily about the career of the tender the Black Joke in the British Navy's West Africa Squadron， but also about the protracted fight to end the slave trade。 Rooks does a great job of giving the reader the necessary background information to understand the difficulties faced by the Black Joke and its squadron， including quite a bit of background on international relations among the European and South American powers and the treaties that were in place。 I never would have believed that historical international policy could be interesting， but Rooks makes it so！ She kept me engaged throughout the book。In the author's note， Rooks does comment on how there is much more information about the British officers than the enslaved that they rescue， but she tries to highlight their humanity （instead of just showing numbers） through copies of the actual registers with names and descriptions of those who were "liberated" from the slave ships。 Unfortunately， I found these to be rather difficult to read。 The descriptions of the conditions aboard the slaving vessels from the logs of the Navy crew did drive home how horrible conditions were aboard the ships。 I mean。。。we all know it was bad， but from these descriptions。。。it was far worse。Other interesting information in this book is the different views of slaves in the different colonies， largely driven by the crops that are grown there。 It is appalling。 Rooks also touches briefly on Britain's role in the South American colonies' bid for freedom， homosexuality in the British Navy， tropical diseases and the state of medicine during this period， and the British Navy's use of Kroomen。My only gripe with this book is that Rooks seems prone to run-on sentences。 There were several that tripped me up and which I had to reread a few times to understand。 It would also have been really nice to include a map of the patrol area showing the major settlements/bases/harbors mentioned in the book along with the sites where the slave ships were captured。Overall though， this is an excellent book and I definitely recommend it！As an aside， I know you shouldn't judge an author by their appearance but Rooks looks like the history version of Ms。 Frizzle。 Except that instead of introducing one class of school children to the wonders of science， she is working on instilling a love of history in a much larger audience。 。。。more
Ron Baumer
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A interesting read on the efforts of the British navy to stop the slave trade in the 1800’s。 The efforts of the ship the Black Joke was of particular praise。 The ship and its history against slavery was truly inspirational。 The story is a fascinating read and one to hold your interest。Thank you to #NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review。
Evan Ladouceur
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