The dramatic story of the slave ship Neirsee springs vividly to life in Rafe Blaufarb's graphic mircohistory, Inhuman Traffic. The story, set in the early nineteenth century, moves from the slave port of Old Calabar to the Caribbean and to the courts of Britain and France where the history of the illegal slave trade, slavery in the Caribbean, and diplomatic history all come into focus as Blaufarb follows the ship, its crew, and its captives. Students will be taken in by the vivid drawings and the rich narrative, but they will also find themselves immersed in an unusual learning experience. Blaufarb not only presents the history of the ship and captives, he takes the reader inside the project itself. He explains how he came upon the story, how he and his editor envisioned the project, and how he worked with the illustrator Liz Clarke to craft the 350 "cells" that compose the book. He and Clarke even take the reader inside archives in Britain and France which are themselves illustrated and their histories explained. Like all the best examples of the genre, Inhuman Traffic tells a compelling story through a complex interplay of image and text -- it will keep students reading, and learning, to the very end.

About the Author
Rafe Blaufarb (Ph.D., University of Michigan) is Ben Weider Eminent Scholar Chair and Director of the Institute on Napoleon and the French Revolution in the history department at the Florida State University. He is the author of books and articles on French history, as well as several articles on other topics, including Atlantic and Latin American history.

Reviews
A must read for all those interested in nineteenth-century Atlantic history. * Ugo Nwojeki, University of California, Berkeley *
Rafe Blaufarb and Liz Clarke have created an innovative and engaging teaching tool for the transatlantic slave trade in the era of suppression. It combines exhaustive research with accessibility, offers a superb overview of the traffic, and provides extensive original documentation of one of the most dramatic and poignant incidents in nineteenth-century maritime history. * David Eltis, Emory University *
Drawing together Kru sailors, Sierra Leonean craftsmen, illegal French slavers, British anti-slavery patrol ships, a corrupt Guadeloupe governor, and British and French politicians, Blaufarb weaves a remarkable tapestry of the historical forces that transformed the slave trade in the nineteenth century. Inhuman Traffick offers a beautifully illustrated panorama of the Atlantic World during the age of emancipation, one that will appeal to students and experts alike. * James Sweet, University of Wisconsin-Madison *
The use of graphic histories in the classroom is becoming widespread, and Inhuman Traffick shows why they can work so effectively to engage students. Like all of the best examples of the genre, Inhuman Traffick tells a compelling story through a complex interplay of image and text - it will keep students reading, and learning, to the very end. * Randy Sparks, Tulane University *
Inhuman Traffick is a tour de force. * Rebecca Hartkopf Schloss, Texas A&M University *
We are treated to the historical equivalent of 3D cinema as Dr. Blaufarb hits us from all angles: a traditional narrative that is concise and accessible; an innovative graphic history that brings the struggle against the slave trade to life; and a selection of primary sources that underscores the painstaking process by which historians explore the past. This is a truly groundbreaking approach to history. * Philippe Girard, McNeese State University *
My students will be delighted to have Inhuman Traffick added to their reading list. * Patrick Rael, Bowdoin College *
a welcome addition to booklists for courses on Atlantic and Caribbean history and the history of slavery, plus also those concerned with historical methodology and archival research. * Mary Wills, International Journal of Maritime History *



Book Information
ISBN 9780199334070
Author Rafe Blaufarb
Format Paperback
Page Count 240
Imprint Oxford University Press Inc
Publisher Oxford University Press Inc
Weight(grams) 690g
Dimensions(mm) 254mm * 186mm * 18mm