1785-Dec.-22: Antera Duke, a prominent eighteenth-century African slave trader at Old Calabar, recorded the arrival of several slaving vessels in his persona…

1785-Dec.-22: Antera Duke, a prominent eighteenth-century African slave trader at Old Calabar, recorded the arrival of several slaving vessels in his personal diary. He documented sending 1,500 yams to pay Captain Hughes, whose ship carried 480 captives, while another vessel under Captain Williams departed with 169 individuals. Duke’s diary provides a rare internal look at the logistics of the trade, including the use of “coppers” as a local unit of account for transactions. These entries reflect the professionalized and routine nature of human trafficking as managed by Efik trading elites on the coast.