Rough Crossings

Simon Schama, author of "Rough Crossings: Britain, the Slaves and the American Revolution"

The promise of freedom raised by the American revolutionary war rang hollow for slaves. Although twenty percent of the American army was composed of slaves, not one slave was freed by the war. Faced with this prospect, thousands chose to join the British. This led to a fateful odyssey and settlements in Nova Scotia and Sierra Leone that are landmarks in the African-American diaspora. Historian Simon Schama tells the story of this great trans-atlantic adventure.