October 6th: "Dark Voyage: An American Privateer's War on Britain's African Slave Trade" by Christian McBurney

Posted

October 6th: "Dark Voyage: An American Privateer's War on Britain's African Slave Trade" by Christian McBurney


Christian McBurney will be speaking on his new book, Dark Voyage: An American Privateer’s War on Britain’s African Slave Trade. The book is a fascinating microhistory of a Rhode Island privateer, owned by John Brown of Providence and manned mostly by Rhode Island officers and sailors, that during the Revolutionary War sailed to the coast of Africa and attacked a British slave trading post and British slave ships. At the time of the War of Independence, Britain dominated the worldwide slave trade. The book further details for the first time other American privateers capturing numerous British slave ships just before they reached their destinations in the Caribbean, with the consequence of seriously disrupting and virtually halting the British slave trade. Yet the privateers had their own selfish motives.



This is Christian McBurney’s sixth book on the American Revolutionary War and eighth on Rhode Island (including co-authoring two books on Word War II Rhode Island). He is the founder and publisher of Rhode Island’s leading history blog at smallstatebighistory.com. He is an independent historian residing in Kensington, Maryland, and West Kingston, Rhode Island.

Virtual Tickets: Members: $10, Non-Members: $15
In-Person Tickets: Members: $15, Non-Members: $20

Lectures begin at 7pm, Eastern

In-Person Reception begins at 6pm

Virtual Lectures are hosted on Zoom Webinars and will be recorded.

Tickets are non-refundable but they are transferable.

2024 by East Bay Media Group

Barrington · Bristol · East Providence · Little Compton · Portsmouth · Tiverton · Warren · Westport
Meet our staff
Jim McGaw

A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.