John Harris - The Last Slave Ships: New York and the End of the Middle Passage

Acknowledgments

Many people helped me write this book. I conducted early research at Queens University Belfast, where Catherine Clinton, Brian Kelly, and Antony Stanonis welcomed me into the Masters program in American history. The following summer Catherine supervised my thesis on the voyage of an illegal slave ship, the Echo, shaping it into a piece that helped me gain entry into a doctoral program in the United States. She has been a stalwart supporter ever since. Thank you, Catherine, for your encouragement and wise counsel.

At Johns Hopkins University, Phil Morgan was the faculty adviser I needed, pushing me to think through challenging issues, giving incisive but constructive criticism, and allowing me to work at the right pace for myself and my family. Whatever has rubbed off, I am the better for it. Thanks also to Toby Ditz, Franois Furstenberg, Jessica Marie Johnson, Michael Johnson, Pier Larson, and Gabriel Paquette, who all shaped my research, thinking, and writing. The Atlantic Seminar at Johns Hopkins was an excellent place to present my work and receive feedback. Thanks, especially, to fellow doctoral can didates Joe Clark, Christopher Consolino, Meredith Gaffield, Stephanie Gamble, Alexey Krichtal, Lauren MacDonald, Nathan Marvin, Dexnell Peters, Nicholas Radburn, Oriol Regu-Sendrs, Katherine Smoak, and Jennie Williams. It is a joy to follow your ongoing work and growing accomplishments.

Many other individuals and institutions provided support. Archivists at the national archives in Britain, Cuba, Spain, and the United States, and librarians Chella Vaidyanathan and Sara Morrison at Johns Hopkins and Erskine College, respectively, helped me locate key documents. Marial Iglesias Utset smoothed the path into the archives in Havana. The National Maritime Museum in London, the Program in Latin American Studies at Johns Hopkins, and Duke University all provided funding for research trips. Invitations to speak at the Gilder Lehrman Center at Yale University, Queens University Belfast, and the University of Havana enabled me to engage with experts in the field and refine my ideas. David Eltis, Roquinaldo Ferreira, Ada Ferrer, Leonardo Marques, and Randy Sparks have offered particularly helpful conversation and correspondence. Special thanks also to Alan and Catherine Cottney, Neil and Tahmineh Hendron, Olwyn and Pete Jones, and Esther and Pete Wallace, who were generous hosts during research trips to London and Durham. As I revised the manuscript over the past few years, my colleagues at Erskine, Alessandra Brivio and David Grier, have offered wisdom and more than a little comic relief.

Yale University Press has been an ideal publisher for this book. My editor, Adina Berk, welcomed my pitch warmly and has always been enthusiastic about the project. She offered smart analysis on the manuscript and recruited two excel lent anonymous reviewers whose comments strengthened the book. Susan Laity also offered sharp editorial assistance as the book neared completion. I have been guided through the final push to publication with just the right balance of urgency and understanding. I also want to acknowledge Meghan Cohorst, who produced several wonderful maps.

I would not have started or finished this book without the support of my incredible family. My parents, Ray and Ernest, have always encouraged me to pursue my love for history.