“A major work of enormous consequence, without parallel in the literature.” — Harm J. de Blij, Michigan State University

“A dramatic step forward in the cartographic representation of the slave trade.” —John Thornton, author of Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400-1800

“A groundbreaking text for both beginners and advanced students.” —Toyin Falola, University of Texas at Austin

This is just a sample of the advance praise for the Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by David Eltis and David Richardson, to be published in November by Yale University Press. The work presents the first comprehensive, modern atlas by two leading experts in the 350-year history of the slave traffic involving Africa, Europe, and the Americas. The work contains almost 200 maps that Mapping Specialists created just for this volume.

The atlas presents in map form the data contained in the online Transatlantic Slave Trade Database, which includes records for nearly 35,000 slaving voyages, roughly 80 percent of all such voyages. The database is the product of decades of work by an international team of scholars who compiled and verified information about individual slave ship voyages. MSL worked for over four years with the authors, as well as with an advisory panel and staff at Yale University Press, to develop the maps reproduced in the atlas.

Many of the maps also have accompanying charts, designed to enhance understanding of additional elements of the slave trade. Additionally, the atlas contains a selection of illustrations and contemporary literature, including poems, letters, and diary entries, depicting the human side of the story underlying the slaving data presented.

For Mapping Specialists, Ltd., every client is important, of course, but our work on the Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade has been among our most significant projects in terms of its potential impact on scholarship as well as its appeal to general audiences. We are extremely honored that Yale University Press and the authors chose MSL to create the maps for this groundbreaking work. The atlas will be available for purchase from the press on November 8.

More information:
Yale University Press
The Transatlantic Slave Trade Database