A historian named C L R James uncovered horrific records of the treatment of slaves. They endured physical abuse such as iron restraints, dragging blocks, tin plate masks, and mutilation. Their masters subjected them to burning, burying, and forcing them to eat excrement. These were not rare occurrences, but rather normal aspects of slave life. The question is, how far would you go to change this situation? And what vengeance would you seek against those who kept you in such misery? A bloodbath seems inevitable.
The Atlantic Slave Trade mixes centuries of human bondage with violence, economics, commerce, geo-political competition, liberty, morality, injustice, revolution, tragedy and bloody reckonings. That sounds like a lot, yet this show merely scratches the surface of this enormous subject.