Marcus Rediker begins "The Slave Ship" with various short stories centered around the people involved in the Slave Trade during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. I got a great feel for what life was like aboard the ships and the dangers faced after I read the first chapter. Many of the stories' subjects are the slaves that were unjustly taken from their homes and traded throughout North America and the Caribbean. The terrors of their time aboard are exemplified through Rediker's writing. He explains in multiple stories that if a slave passed away in mid journey they were thrown overboard as a feast for the sharks. This method was also used as show for other slaves in attempt to evoke fear and keep them obedient to the captain's orders. However, the novel is not just focused on the slaves, it also gives the reader the ships captains' points of view. One captain describes his career choice as one that allows for opportunity. He ran the boat not because he was pro-slavery per say but because it was an opportunity to make money, and the harsh tactics put in place for the passengers aboard were methods to keep passengers subordinate to those who were running the ships. This first chapter is broad but a well developed intro to the rest of the novel.
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