Shipwreck Shines Light on Historic Shift in Slave Trade
A longer route from Africa to South America brought cheaper captives and less competition, but greater risks.
In December 1794, Portuguese slave traders on the east coast of Africa outfitted their vessel for a daunting voyage. The 7,000-mile, months-long journey from Mozambique round the turbulent waters of South Africa and across the Atlantic to Brazil was risky, but there was money to be made. More than 400 men, women, and children lay shackled in the ship’s hold, their fates bound to the merciless law of supply and demand.
The ship, the São José Paquete, wouldn’t make it to Brazil, but its sunken remains have sparked global media coverage of the 18th-century slave trade. A team of investigators from the U.S. and Africa announced the ship’s identity Tuesday after quietly researching the site since 2010. The Iziko
