The Empire of Necessity: Slavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World

NEW YORK TIMES EDITOR'S CHOICE

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE RECOMMENDED BOOK

WINNER OF THE BANCROFT PRIZE

One morning in 1805, off a remote island in the South Pacific, Captain Amasa Delano, a New England seal hunter, climbed aboard a distressed Spanish ship carrying scores of West Africans he thought were slaves. They weren't. In fact, they were performing an elaborate ruse, having risen up earlier and slaughtered most of the crew and of…