“ A groundbreaking history of the Black Joke, the most famous member of the British Royal Navy's anti-slavery squadron, and the long fight to end the transatlantic slave trade.

Initially a slaving vessel itself, the Black Joke was captured in 1827 and repurposed by the Royal Navy to catch its former compatriots. Over the next five years, the vessel liberated more enslaved people than any other in Britain's West Africa Squadron.

As Britain attempted to snuff out the transatlantic slave trade by way of treaty and negotiation, enforcing these policies fell to ships such as the Black Joke as they battled slavers, weather disasters, and interpersonal drama among captains and crew that reverberated across oceans.”

I found this a fascinating read, the writing is really good and kept me interested throughout, like a lot of white people I am on a lifelong learning , or unlearning of everything I’ve been brainwashed to believe, so this was yet another addition to my journey of adding to correcting my knowledge, details such as the slaves that were on the captured ships that the Black Joke caught were not actually freed but still ended up subject to British subjugation.

This is an intelligent, fantastically interesting book, Rooks guides us through the slave trade, but more importantly highlights and emphasises how it still guides and shapes our modern lives. I thoroughly recommend this book to everyone who ‘thinks’ they know about the abolition of slavery, and to everyone interested in unlearning or learning some truths and facts they won’t know and won’t always want to know, but they need to.

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for a free copy for an honest opinion