Nigel Sadler spent several years as a field archaeologist before beginning a career in museums. During his time as Director of the National Museum of the Turks and Caicos Islands he gained his interest in the heritage of slavery and worked on the UNESCO Slave Route Project and the search for the slave ship Trouvadore. He now runs a consultancy providing services to museums and heritage organisations.

This book gives an overview of the trans-Atlantic slave trade from its sixteenth century beginnings to its final abolition in the nineteenth century. It covers the main countries involved and explains the inner workings of the trade and the developments that made it easier and more profitable as the centuries passed. On the human level, the book uses the stories of the enslaved, often in their own words, to try to convey the horrors endured by these victims. Finally, it details the fight against slavery both by politicians such as William Wilberforce and by the military might of the Royal Navy.