This survey is a synthesis of the economic, social, cultural and political history of the Atlantic slave trade. It provides the general reader with a basic understanding of the current state of scholarly knowledge of forced African migration and compares this knowledge to popular beliefs. This book makes accessible to academic readers an arcane and complex subject, but it also appeals to a much wider audience of lay readers who wish to broaden their knowledge of world history. The book examines the four hundred years of the Atlantic slave trade, covering the West and East African experiences, as well as all the American colonies and republics that obtained slaves from Africa. It outlines both the common features of this trade and the local differences that developed. It discusses the slave trade's economics, politics, demographic impact, and cultural implications in Africa and America. Finally, it places the slave trade in the context of world trade and examines the role it played in the growing relationship between Asia, Africa, Europe and America.