Originally published on February 24, 2025 (Episode 397)
Introduction
In April 1769 a small British vessel discovered a wreck near the modern border of Haiti and the Dominican Republic. There were no survivors to tell the story, but when the ship’s log was recovered it revealed the vessel’s name: the Black Prince.
Over the next eight years, fragments of the story emerged as crew members surfaced across the Atlantic, recounting a tale mutiny, wreck, and revenge. In Mutiny on the Black Prince: Slavery, Piracy, and the Limits of Liberty in the Revolutionary Atlantic World (Oxford, 2025), James H. Sweet explores not only the ship’s demise but also how its voyage illuminates the links between slavery, commerce, piracy, and liberty across the 18th-century Atlantic.
About the Guest
James H. Sweet is the Vilas-Jartz Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a past president of the American Historical Association. His previous prize-winning books include Recreating Africa: Culture, Kinship, and Religion in the African-Portuguese World, 1441–1770 (UNC, 2003) and Domingos Álvares, African Healing, and the Intellectual History of the Atlantic World (UNC, 2013).
For Further Investigation
James H. Sweet, Mutiny on the Black Prince: Slavery, Piracy, and the Limits of Liberty in the Revolutionary Atlantic World (Oxford, 2025)
—, Recreating Africa: Culture, Kinship, and Religion in the African-Portuguese World, 1441–1770 (UNC, 2003)
—, Domingos Álvares, African Healing, and the Intellectual History of the Atlantic World (UNC, 2013)
Marcus Rediker, The Slave Ship: A Human History (Penguin, 2008)
Stephanie Smallwood, Saltwater Slavery: A Middle Passage from Africa to American Diaspora (Harvard, 2008)
John Thornton, Africa and Africans in the Making of the Atlantic World, 1400–1800
Related Episodes
Richard Blakemore on “Enemies of All”
James Delgado on another mutiny also involving the slave trade and piracy, but also the United States Navy
Listen & Discuss
Share your thoughts in the comments—and pass this episode on to anyone fascinated by piracy, mutiny, or the dark side of liberty in the Atlantic world.
