Ana Lucia Araujo is professor of history at Howard University in Washington, DC. She is the author or editor of fifteen books, including, most recently, The Gift: How Objects of Prestige Shaped the Atlantic Slave Trade and Colonialism. Her work has appeared in publications including the Washington Post, Slate, and Newsweek.
""Humans in Shackles is a work of virtuosic scholarship"" -- Jodie Matthews * LSE Review of Books * “A sweeping and essential history of the slave trade.” * Kirkus * “This extensively researched volume is not for the faint of heart. At 640 pages, it is an essential history of the Atlantic slave trade written by Howard University history professor Ana Lucia Araujo. Araujo’s expert analysis is only outshined by her attentive and empathetic presentation.” * Ms. Magazine * “This is an ambitious and necessary retelling of the history of Atlantic slavery. Araujo sheds fascinating light on slavery as lived experience, on women and the family, and on culture and resistance. Perhaps above all, the book is a call for historians to engage and challenge the manipulation and silencing of slavery’s history in the public sphere.” * Ada Ferrer, author of Cuba: An American History * “One of the most gifted historians of slavery and its afterlives offers a compelling, provocative, and original interpretation of slave life in the Atlantic world. Mobilizing an astonishing array of published and archival primary sources, Araujo brings enslaved persons to the forefront with their names and their experiences under bondage of life, death, love, spirituality, oppression, resistance, and freedom. Humans in Shackles will be the best introduction to this painful and complex history of slavery in the Atlantic.” * João José Reis, coauthor of The Story of Rufino: Slavery, Freedom, and Islam in the Black Atlantic * “In this sweeping and essential historical analysis of Atlantic slavery, Araujo shows how slavery contributed to the growth and development of the Americas while emphasizing the role that African history played in shaping the transatlantic slave trade and slave societies. Rather than seeing slavery as an aberration in the history of Western freedom, readers will come to understand slavery as a fundamental institution common to the Americas, with continuing legacies throughout that demand our attention.” * Vincent Brown, author of Tacky’s Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War * “Humans in Shackles is a brilliant transnational history that will stand out as a landmark work in the field of Atlantic slavery. Araujo is uniquely positioned to produce such a comprehensive and yet human history because of the empathy and imagination she brings to her research and writing. This book is exemplary of the historical imagination in the best way.” * Toby Green, author of A Fistful of Shells: West Africa from the Rise of the Slave Trade to the Age of Revolution * ""...Araujo illuminates the social, cultural, and religious lives of enslaved people working in plantations and urban areas, building families and cultivating affective ties, congregating and re-creating their cultures, and organizing rebellions. Humans in Shackles puts the lived experiences of enslaved peoples at the center of the story and investigates the heavy impact these atrocities have had on the current wealth disparity of the Americas and rampant anti-Black racism."" * Black Perspectives: ""The Best Black History Books of 2024"" * “This extensively researched volume is not for the faint of heart. At 640 pages, it is an essential history of the Atlantic slave trade written by Howard University history professor Ana Lucia Araujo. Araujo’s expert analysis is only outshined by her attentive and empathetic presentation.” * Ms. Magazine *