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About the Slave Wrecks Project

The Slave Wrecks Project is an international network of institutions and individuals that investigates the global history and enduring legacies of the African slave trade.

From No Return: The Journey of the Slave Ship São José

Explore the global history of the slave ship São José and the work of the Slave Wrecks Project in its recovery in this digital exhibition

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Coordinating Office

Paul
Gardullo

Co-Director, SWP
NMAAHC, U.S.A.

Coordinating Office

Stephen
Lubkemann

Co-Director, SWP
GWU, U.S.A.

Coordinating Office

Yariana
Rodriguez

Project Administrator, SWP
GWU, U.S.A.

Coordinating Office

Gabrielle Chantal
Miller

Co-Coordinator & Archaeologist, SWP
NMAAHC, U.S.A.

Coordinating Office

Kate
McMahon

Co-Coordinator & Historian, SWP
NMAAHC, U.S.A.

The Slave Wrecks Project brings together an interdisciplinary, global group of scholars, scientists, students, divers, and descendants to do our work around the world. Meet all of our global collaborators here.

Meet the team

With our partners, we work in

Africatown, U.S.A.
Biscayne, U.S.A.
Brazil
Mozambique
Senegal
South Africa
St. Croix, U.S.V.I.

Read more about our work

SWP in Brazil: The Search for the Camargo

As one of the newest members of the SWP network, AfrOrigens aims to bring Afro-descendant communities together with interdisciplinary researchers to educate the public. AfrOrigens and SWP are working in Brazil to understand the history of the slave ship Camargo and the descendants who helped found the Quilombo Santa Rita do Bracuí.

Group of people sitting in an outdoor patio space. They are sitting in yellow chairs in a large circle and some are standing behind the seated people. There is a person in the left side of the frame standing and speaking and people in the group are turned to look at her. She wears a white suit jacket and dark pants. She has short hair and glasses. The people are seated in a covered outdoor space with a metal roof.

José António Pereira, a Portuguese Merchant and Enslaver

By Raquel Machaqueiro, Ph.D. Learn about the life and career of José António Pereira, owner of the São José Paquete d’África. Studying Pereira's life offers insight into the people who financed and profited off of the transatlantic slave trade.

Reflections on a Summer in Biscayne

Analisa Freitas reflects on her summer working as an Intern with the Slave Wrecks Project in Biscayne National Park.

a girl stands and points behind her, smiling at camera. behind her is the ocean with big clouds covering the sky.

Initiatives in Mozambique

Learn more about our diverse work in Mozambique focusing on community building, education, and research.

Group of people smiling and posing next to a raft on the beach.

SWP in the News: CBS News, "Archeologists discover anchor belonging to early 20th century shipwreck in Biscayne National Park."

Archeologists have discovered an anchor dating back to a 19th-century steamship that was swept away in an early 1900s hurricane in Biscayne National Park over the summer.

Anchor underwater covered in coral and rust on the ocean floor. The water looks greenish blue, and the ocean floor is sandy, with some plant life on the floor.

From No Return: The Journey of the Slave Ship São José

Explore the different ways communities continue to commemorate and research the history and memory of the São José.

a long rectangular stone underwater, with kelp and coral surrounding it.

History of the Slave Wrecks Project

SWP was launched in 2008 as the “African Slave Wrecks and Diaspora Heritage Routes Project,” as a collaboration coordinated by The George Washington University and its two co-founding partners: the U.S. National Park Service-Submerged Resources Center and IZIKO Museums of South Africa. The project grew over time including the addition of new partners and additional archeological locations.

Man is underwater in full scuba gear including goggles and fins. He is writing in a board while looking down at a ship's anchor laying on the sea floor covered in coral plants. Behind, the ocean floor is visible and an expanse on clear blue ocean.

SWP in the News: Washington Post, "African scuba divers rewrite a 'settlers' narrative of the slave trade"

Off the coast of Senegal, a SWP program is training drivers to explore and document sunken slave ships.

Black man stands at the front of a boat, which is cut off in in the framew with arms outstretched besides him. There is a beach and buildings in the background behind the waves.

SWP in the News: New York Times, "A Smithsonian Museum Sharpens Focus on the History of Slavery."

The institution’s latest leader “knew that slavery had to be at the heart of the museum.”

About the Slave Wrecks Project

From No Return: The Journey of the Slave Ship São José

Coordinating Office

Paul Gardullo

Coordinating Office

Stephen Lubkemann

Coordinating Office

Yariana Rodriguez

Coordinating Office

Gabrielle Chantal Miller

Coordinating Office

Kate McMahon

The Slave Wrecks Project brings together an interdisciplinary, global group of scholars, scientists, students, divers, and descendants to do our work around the world. Meet all of our global collaborators here.

With our partners, we work in

Read more about our work

SWP in Brazil: The Search for the Camargo

José António Pereira, a Portuguese Merchant and Enslaver

Reflections on a Summer in Biscayne

Initiatives in Mozambique

SWP in the News: CBS News, "Archeologists discover anchor belonging to early 20th century shipwreck in Biscayne National Park."

From No Return: The Journey of the Slave Ship São José

History of the Slave Wrecks Project

SWP in the News: Washington Post, "African scuba divers rewrite a 'settlers' narrative of the slave trade"

SWP in the News: New York Times, "A Smithsonian Museum Sharpens Focus on the History of Slavery."

The Slave Wrecks Project brings together partners from across the globe to collaboratively pursue our shared mission, including:

Paul
Gardullo

Stephen
Lubkemann

Yariana
Rodriguez

Gabrielle Chantal
Miller

Kate
McMahon