The 1,280 images in this collection have been selected from a wide range of sources, most of them dating from the period of slavery. This collection is envisioned as a tool and a resource that can be used by teachers, researchers, students, and the general public - in brief, anyone interested in the experiences of Africans who were enslaved and transported to the Americas and the lives of their descendants in the slave societies of the New World.

We would like to emphasize that little effort is made to interpret the images and establish the historical authenticity or accuracy of what they display. To accomplish this would constitute a major and different research effort. Individual users of this collection must decide such issues for themselves. However, we have made every effort to ensure bibliographic accuracy and the correct identification of both primary and secondary sources from which the images have been obtained, as well as correct identification of the area, country, or region to which the image refers. The dates we assign may refer to the date an image was published, at other times to when an author visited an area; in other cases, we could only assign a general time period. Despite our efforts at bibliographical and chronological accuracy, errors remain, and we welcome any comments, suggestions, or corrections.