In his new book, Shackles From the Deep, journalist and scuba diver Michael Cottman explores the history of the slave trade by focusing on the journey of a single ship: the Henrietta Marie.
We had a chance to speak with Cottman before he began his book tour this month, and asked him what prompted him to undertake this project. He talked about his journey in writing the book, the importance of developing a passion, and the unprecedented partnership that made the discovery possible.
This was a British slave ship which sank in the Florida Straits in 1700. Like many colonial slave ships, the Henrietta Marie took part in the Triangle Trade. This entailed transporting slaves from West Africa to the Americas, raw materials from the Americas to Great Britain, and finally supplies and manufactured goods to British outposts in Africa.
The crew perished, and though there were no slaves on board, the shackles and chains that had held them sank to the ocean floor. As Cottman researched the Henrietta Marie by reading historic records, he became overwhelmed with the fact that Africans were characterized as cargo or beasts, and never as humans.
Cottman was driven by his passion to understand the history of his ancestors. He hopes the emotional aspect of his journey sends a message to young people about how important it is to develop a passion. Cottman explained that his work piecing together the history of the Henrietta Marie was also driven by a need for closure.
Through careful research, Cottman discovered the name of the British ironmonger responsible for crafting the shackles discovered with the wreck of the Henrietta Marie. Excavating the wreck of the Henrietta Marie led to the recovery of over 22,000 artifacts. As Cottman notes, the Henrietta Marie is believed to be the world’s largest source of tangible objects representing the early years of the African slave trade.
These were used to barter for African people who would be traded into slavery, and an encrusted cauldron used for cooking.