BRAVING THE NEW WORLD, 1619-1784

Covering African-American history from 1619 to 1784, this book (part of a 16-volume black history series) deals chiefly with how slavery started in America. Nardo (Vitamins and Minerals, not reviewed, etc.) explains that the 15th-century Portuguese and Spanish first brought African slaves to the New World to work on Caribbean and South American sugar plantations, while North American colonists relied on white indentured servants. Later, English economic conditions encouraged a shift to slavery in the British colonies, just as the plantation system boomed in the South. Nardo draws cause-and-effect relationships, noting that, for example, African-American mothers, following white custom, weaned their infants earlier than their Caribbean counterparts did, and thus had more children, increasing the black population so rapidly that white racial fear mushroomed. The author's prose is objective, sometimes too academic; the illustrations, mostly historical prints, are often peripheral to the account, but every once in a while there's an unforgettable image, like the diagram of how many tiny black figures (lying down in chains) could be crammed onto a slave ship. A balanced, thoughtful look at history. (Illustrations; index; time line) (Nonfiction. 12+)