Saturday 30 January 2010

Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database

Between 1514 and 1866 an estimated over 10 million people of African descent entered the Americas via the trans-Atlantic slave trade. Voyages: The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database was launched last year by the Emory University Digital Library Research Initiative, to help researchers, students and the general public  track and better understand this part of history.
The open access (free) online database offers information on nearly 35,000 voyages across the Atlantic - approximately 82 percent of the entire slave trade. Although not complete, Voyages provides a look at the contours of the trade, over four centuries, across four continents, and through these patterns allows insight into its impact. Researchers can look at particular voyages, examine estimates of the extent of the trade, and search by names. The website includes essays, introductory maps, a selection of images and lesson plans and links to other related resources.
The project is the result of collaborative research drawing on data in archives and libraries around the Atlantic world.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database is freely available online at http://www.slavevoyages.org/

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