HMS Black Joke

<p><strong>Please note that this episode contains mentions of racial trauma, slavery and violence.</strong></p><br><p>The most feared ship in Britain’s West Africa Squadron, His Majesty’s Black Joke was one of a handful of ships tasked with patrolling the western coast of Africa in an effort to end hundreds of years of global slave trading. Once a slaving vessel itself, only a lucky capture in 1827 allowed it to be repurposed by the Royal Navy to catch its former compatriots.</p><br><p>A.E. Rooks is an expert in this little-discussed facet of the transatlantic slave trade. Rooks joins Dan on the podcast to chronicle this history of the daring feats of a single ship - whose crew and commanders would capture more ships and liberate more enslaved people than any other in the Squadron.</p><br><p>Produced by Hannah Ward</p><p>Mixed and Mastered by Dougal Patmore</p><br><p>If you'd like to learn more, we have hundreds of history documentaries, ad-free podcasts and audiobooks at&nbsp;<a href="https://access.historyhit.com/?utm_source=audio&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=Podcast+Campaign&utm_id=Podcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>History Hit</strong></a>&nbsp;- subscribe today! To download the History Hit app please go to the<strong>&nbsp;</strong><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.historyhit&hl=en_GB&gl=US" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Android</strong></a>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<a href="https://apps.apple.com/gb/app/history-hit/id1303668247" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>Apple</strong></a>&nbsp;store.</p> <hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>