Newburyport Public Library

Went to the devil, a Yankee whaler in the slave trade, Anthony J. Connors

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

government publication of a state province territory dependency etc

illustrations

index present

non fiction

Went to the devil

bibliography

1066184141

Anthony J. Connors

a Yankee whaler in the slave trade

"Edward Davoll was a respected New Bedford whaling captain in an industry at its peak in the 1850s. But mid-career, disillusioned with whaling, desperately lonely at sea, and experiencing financial problems, he turned to the slave trade, with disastrous results. Why would a man of good reputation, in a city known for its racial tolerance and Quaker-inspired abolitionism, risk engagement with this morally repugnant industry? In this riveting biography, Anthony J. Connors explores this question by detailing not only the troubled, adventurous life of this man but also the turbulent times in which he lived. Set in an era of social and political fragmentation and impending civil war, when changes in maritime law and the economics of whaling emboldened slaving agents to target captains and their vessels for the illicit trade, Davoll's story reveals the deadly combination of greed and racial antipathy that encouraged otherwise principled Americans to participate in the African slave trade"--, Provided by publisher

A note on the Transatlantic slave trade -- A whaling career -- Captain -- The parting -- "Keep a high toe nail & a stiff upper lip" -- The wreck of the Iris -- Recovery -- "What's in the wind?" -- Evasion -- The case against Captain Davoll -- The sham whalers of New Bedford -- Slave traders and abolitionists -- The curious case of the Ship B -- Captain Edward S. Davoll (1822-1863) -- Consequences