The Black Joke: The True Story of One British Ship's Battle Against the Slave Trade

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What intrigued me most was the history behind the name, how confiscated cargo and vessels were handled, and the timelines.

She had 569 enslaved Africans on board "and had landed at Bahia 3,360 slaves in the last two years". In this history of the daring feats of a single ship, the abolition of the international slave trade is revealed as an inexplicably extended exercise involving tense negotiations between many national powers, both colonizers and formerly colonized, that would stretch on for decades longer than it should have. There are entries regarding the famous action between BLACK JOKE and the Spanish slave ship EL ALMIRANTE, wherein the latter vessel was captured. I had to listen slowly and rewind often, as there are so many names of people, ships, naval terms, locations, and more. Based on ethnographic fieldwork among Hindu nationalists in India, Udupa contests the idea that “fun” in political participation is opposed to Habermasian ideals of rational public debate.

I freely admit that the guys in my club make this look FAR easier than it really is but even if this only goes this far I have already gotten over my apprehension of "lofting" bulkheads from plans. A further bounty was paid for the 29 slaves who died between the capture and the condemnation of the Regulo.

Downes provides two transcriptions of letters between himself, Collier and the Admiralty in regards to the capture of EL ALMIRANTE as well as one between the Captain of EL ALMIRANTE and his Mate. It is hard to imagine why Clementi should have wished to remain semi-anonymous, for these variations certainly include some of his most attractive music to date.I will actively avoid such books, and when I do find myself reading them, I'm confused and irritated the whole time. The variations that follow amount to a kind of anthology of keyboard figurations, some of which—like the fast runs in octaves in variations 10 and 20—were later to make Clementi famous. But we guarantee you won’t have to stomach another gag about Tom Cruise or Forrest Gump or The Beatles or whatever the wisecrack equivalent of potato salad with raisins is. This compelling book is a useful addition to the canon, showing both the violence and inhumanity of the trade and the heartening role of those who stood against it. Commodore Francis Collier of Sybille wrote to the Admiralty noting that at the time of her capture, Henriquetta was 257 tons, mounted three guns, and had a crew of 38 men.