Due to the long, hard struggles of abolitionists and notable Parliamentarians, England banned the slave trade from Africa in the year 1807. It wasn’t until 1833, however, that Parliament passed an act abolishing slavery altogether. But Britain was ahead of its time compared to other colonial powers, and slaving vessels operated by subjects and citizens of other nations continued to trade humans for gold throughout the Americas.
By the end of the eighteenth century, a boy with light skin like Jin would have been an exception in Western slave markets, acceptable only insofar as his captors and subsequent owners considered him a mulatto-of mixed blood. Thus Frakes, my nasty slaver, lied about Jin’s origins to the market officials on Barbados, most likely claiming Jin was the son of an African slave and a white master from another Caribbean island. Such misrepresentations of truth were common enough in the slave trade, with peoples from throughout the world sold or indentured whenever the price was right.
My sincere thanks go to Eleanor Mikucki, whose copyediting on this manuscript was positively superb. Ecstatic thanks also to Gail Dubov of the Avon Art Department, whose work on my covers is always spectacular, and who left me breathless with how perfectly she captured Viola and Jin for this book.
It is my great honor to enjoy the friendship of scholars and readers of remarkable kindness and generosity. The vast knowledge of Professors Vincent A. Brown and Laurent M. Dubois concerning the Caribbean islands, the slave trade, and a plethora of matters concerning Atlantic and imperial history in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries enabled me to give Jin and Viola’s story its powerful historical moorings. Likewise, Professor Michael Jarvis’s astonishing command of shipping routes of that era set my hero and heroine’s journey on its rightful course. Stephanie W. McCullough once again generously shared her nautical expertise with me, and Dr. Marie Claude-Dubois charmingly came to my aid with French yet again as well. Not least, Georgann Brophy and Marquita Valentine’s keen appreciation for a truly worthy hero helped Jin become the best man he could. To these outstanding gentlemen and ladies, I offer most profound thanks.