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The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade: A Database on CD-ROM. Edited by DAVID ELTIS, STEPHEN D. BEHRENDT, DAVID RICHARDSON, and HERBERT S. KLEIN. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1999. $195.00. System requirements: Windows 95, 98, or NT operating system; 166 MHz Pentium processor; 32 MB RAM; 800 x 600 monitor resolution; 6x speed CD-ROM drive; and 84 MB available hard disk space.
LAUNCHED by Barbara Solow of Harvard University's W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research, the transAtlantic slave trade data set project has been on a long voyage. It has depended on some notable acts of scholarly generosity, research grants, and staff computer-- programming skills. A preview and discussion of the database formed the nucleus of an extraordinary 1998 conference in Williamsburg.
The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade is relatively easy to use. The introduction shows how quickly one can master access to and manipulation of the data. Although previously published primary sources on the slave trade contain little statistical analysis, the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade query screen allows for a wide variety of data manipulation. Those who have used the most...