Ship of Death

“This stunning book should catapult to the top of the must-read list for Atlantic basin studies. In this gripping, grisly story of slavery, rebellion and yellow fever holocaust ricocheting around the Atlantic rim, Smith brilliantly shows how stowaway mosquitoes on a single ship reconfigured the societies of Africa, Europe, the West Indies, and North America as well as the armies and navies of Great Britain and other maritime nations.”—Gary B. Nash, UCLA

~Gary B. Nash

“Ship of Death is a magnificent achievement by a historian at the height of his powers. Bringing all of his considerable knowledge of yellow fever, slavery and anti-slavery to bear, Smith illuminates how social history can transform our understanding of the narratives of imperial and Atlantic World history.”—Simon Newman, University of Glasgow

~Simon Newman

“Billy Smith’s Ship of Death is a brilliant and entirely original history of the extraordinary voyages of the ‘antislavery’ ship Hankey back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean in 1792-93. It is a remarkable piece of historical detective work and, more important, an inspirational story of one of the earliest efforts by abolitionists to establish a haven of freedom for African workers who might otherwise have been enslaved.”—Richard R. Beeman, author of Our Lives, Our Fortunes and Our Sacred Honor: The Forging of American Independence, 1774-1776 

~Richard R. Beeman

“Ship of Death is an astonishing story, based on an even more astonishing craft of historical detection and reconstruction.  Billy G. Smith has written Atlantic history at its brilliant best.”—Marcus Rediker, author of The Amistad Rebellion

~Marcus Rediker

“[An] extraordinary new book about an anti-slavery initiative of the 1790s, which instead of ending slavery ended the lives of thousands of people on both sides of the Atlantic by bringing yellow fever from Africa to the Americas. Fine original scholarship by a top history sleuth – easy to read, eye-opening, heart-rending.”—Ruth Richardson, Times Higher Education

~Ruth Richardson, Times Higher Education

"An excellent work of historical detection...While telling a fascinating story, Smith provides insight into the cultures and ethnocentricities of natives and colonists, and the workings of the slave trade. Essential for early American and Haitian revolution scholars and medical historians. Highly Recommended."—Choice

~Choice

Winner of the 2014 Norris and Carol Hundley Award given by the Pacific Coast Branch American Historical Association.

~Norris and Carol Hundley Award, Pacific Coast Branch American Historical Association

"Smith has traveled the world to gather an impressive range of sources for this work."—Jamie Diane Wilson, University of South Carolina

~Jamie Diane Wilson, The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography

"Engaging. . . . Smith constantly connects pieces of the story to world events, making this a good read for those with or without a lot of historical knowledge."—Historian

~Historian