Michael Cottman

The book was about how Michael Cottman searched for a ship full of treasures and ended up finding shackles from a sunken slave ship. He then tries to find which slave ship the shackles came from. As he finds the name of the ship (Henrietta Marie) he searches the world trying to find out more about the ship. Did anyone survive the wreck, could he possibly be related to the slaves, and what was the sour history of the ship? Michael Cottman searches libraries for info, goes scuba diving at places where the slave ship could've been, and where the members of the crew lived. At the end people of different backgrounds explore the ship, they all came to see the slave ship that caused many possible relatives, and people that should have been free pain and suffering. He found out that children were in cuffs on that ship, he couldn't imagine his daughter in little cuffs aboard the slave ship. This broke his heart to realize that not just men, but women and children died on that ship, and they couldn't do anything to try and escape their watery grave.… (más)

Avid scuba diver and journalist, Michael Cottman is sharing the remarkable discovery of a sunken ship that carried slaves to Europe and North/South America during the late 1600's. The ship was the Henrietta Marie and in early 1700, it sank in a storm off the coast of Key West, Florida. Nothing was known about this ship until 1972 when underwater treasure hunter Moe Molinar finds the wreckage while looking for some treasures from another ship. Hurricanes often stir up the sand around sunken treasures and this time, he came across something new....shackles, heavy manacles designed to handcuff slaves while traveling across the ocean to an unknown world. Ten years later, marine archaeologist, David Moore had heard of the shipwreck and began studying the slave trade. He made it a mission to find out more about this ship and the purpose of its journey.

In 1983, during an underwater exploration, he came across the bell. During that time, every ship had a bell with the ship's name on it to use as a watch bell that signaled changes to the crew on board of the ship. This find was a huge break because it helped them reveal the name of the ship, the Henrietta Marie. Cottman and Moore united to retrace the ship's journey around the world. For Cottman, it is quite an emotional journey as an African American man, wondering if there could have been his own ancestors that perished on this journey. His most upsetting find wasn't just finding the shackles made specifically to handcuff the slaves during the long journey across the ocean, but the numerous child-sized shackles. "Who would make child-sized shackles?", Cottman wondered.

While this is a non-fiction account of the fascinating finds related to this ship, Cottman willing shares his personal feelings while conducting this research. This reads as a narrative non-fiction and contains amazing photographs of both underwater images as well as the shackles and bell brought to the surface. He travels to several countries to access every piece of the story related to slavery trade during the 1600-1800's.

While reading this book, I was reminded of the story of Olaudah Equiano, a slave who came across the ocean on a ship much like the Henrietta Marie (maybe even one of the previous journeys) and landed in London. He was eventually freed by his owner after being allowed to trade and buy his freedom. I've often taught this story while subbing and I now have new knowledge to add to my lesson on the slave trade.

Having never heard of this sunken ship, I was fascinated by this amazing find. The level of research Moore and Cottman conducted to understand what happened to the ship, who perished on this ship, and the history of shipping slaves across the world was extensive.

If your child likes reading true historical stories, then this will be right up their alley. At just 120 pages, it isn't overwhelming for younger readers. If the reader becomes interested in this topic, the back of the book includes other books and websites to find more information about slave ships. scuba diving, and marine archaeology. Maybe this book will inspire them to become a researcher some day.… (más)

Growing up during pre-integration period of American history, I knew some but not a lot about our past history as it relates to the treatment of slaves and how they came to be here in America or in other areas of the world. I have since learned more about this dark period in mankind's history. But this is not the only people to have been enslaved throughout history. Enslavement has been rife throughout history. It is a rich heritage, indeed, that the abolition of slavery was sought and fought for. In Shackles from the Deep the transport of an enslaved people - those of African nationality, is shown for it's brutal reality.

As the author, a black man who loves deep sea diving, unites his love of diving, his love of history, and his own unique history to research and bring forth this story evidential layers of brutality come to the forefront. Originally written for an older audience and in more detail, "Shackles" is shorter and directed to the age 10 to 16 audience. The story is still intack with the author's realization that his own forebearers might have been wearing shackles just such as those found at the bottom of the sea, encased in rust, and within the bowles of the Henritta Marie.

The photographs and illustrations bring the reality of the ship's history and that of the human cargo it contained. This book would be a superb addition to libraries.

DISCLOSURE: I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. I was not compensated.Opinions are my own, alone.… (más)