Discover the groundbreaking reassessment of the Atlantic slave trade in 'In the Shadow of Slavery: Africa's Botanical Legacy in the Atlantic World.' This book shifts focus from the crops slaves were forced to produce to the vital foods they cultivated for their own nourishment. Explore how familiar foods like millet, sorghum, coffee, and okra, along with commercial products such as Coca Cola and Worcestershire Sauce, owe their presence in the Americas to African plants brought over on slave ships. Drawing on archaeological records, oral histories, and historical accounts, Judith A. Carney and Richard Nicholas Rosomoff reveal how slaves' food plots became crucial incubators for African survival and profoundly Africanized the foodways of plantation societies. Key Features: - Offers a startling new assessment of the Atlantic slave trade. - Highlights the importance of African-origin foods in the Americas. - Explains the connection between African plants and well-known commercial products. - Utilizes diverse historical sources including archaeological records and oral histories. Summary for keyword optimization: In the Shadow of Slavery, Africa's Botanical Legacy, Atlantic World, Judith Carney, African slaves, transatlantic slave trade, African foods, botanical gardens, plantation societies, paperback book, University of California Press, ISBN 9780520269965.