The museum is designed to provide accurate, engaging and provocative
information to the public about the history of slavery in the Atlantic.
The website currently provides an overall introduction and an interesting
discussion of how historians have estimated the number of Africans enslaved.
Colonial Williamsburg presents a collection of summaries and biographies
about African American slaves in the 18th century. Also of interest is
Dunmore's Proclamation attempting to free slaves who remained loyal to
Britain at the outset of the Revolution.
Portions of Chapters 1 & 2 of Norman Coombs' book "The Black Experience
in America" (1972) provides a frank and critical interpretion of events.
(None of the weblinks in the book are available to visitors, so don't click
on them!)
Duke University Library's exhibit probes the life experiences of American
slaves from the late eighteenth century through the nineteenth century.
Check out "Forced Migration" and "Plantation America" for eighteenth century
documents.
How African slaves came to inhabit the islands off the South Carolina
coast and become known as the Gullah people. Check for "Gullah" in the
search engine at the bottom of the page for samples of the Gullah language
and other information.