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In his latest book, “The Price They Paid,” award-winning historian Dr. Jeff Forret unveils a harrowing yet overlooked chapter of American history, chronicling the U.S. government's relentless efforts to secure reparations—not for enslaved people, but for their owners—after a series of slave shipwrecks in the 19th century.

Published by The New Press, Forret's work begins with the 1831 wreck of the Comet, an American ship carrying 165 enslaved men, women, and children that ran aground near the Bahamas, then part of the British Empire. After the Vice Admiralty Court in Nassau emancipated the rescued captives, American slaveholders and insurance companies waged a decades-long campaign to obtain compensation for their "lost property" from the British Crown.

"My main intent was to show the U.S. government's commitment to the institution of slavery through its strenuous diplomatic efforts over more than 20 years," Forret explained. "This was about getting payments for slave owners, not for those whose lives and freedom were stolen."

Forret recalls his groundbreaking research process, which began with two unprocessed boxes of treasury records he uncovered at the British National Archives in Kew. "The papers were folded up in what archivists called ‘tight bundles,’ and I had to untie the strings that bound them," he said. "I didn’t even read the sources on-site—I just took thousands of photos and hoped there was a story in them. There was."

“The Price They Paid” expands beyond the Comet to explore similar shipwrecks in the decade that followed, revealing the U.S. government's tireless advocacy for slaveholder reparations while offering nothing to the liberated captives or their descendants.

"No one else has told this story," Forret said.

The book also situates this history within the broader reparations debate. "Any accounting of reparations today requires a fuller understanding of how the debts of slavery have been paid, and to whom," Forret noted. "All I’m doing is pointing out the long history of reparations for framing modern-day conversations. I’m not a policymaker, but this history offers vital context."

Through his meticulous research and storytelling, Forret delivers what The New Press describes as a "profoundly relevant" work that underscores the enduring legacy of slavery and its far-reaching implications.

To learn more about Dr. Forret’s work , visit /arts-sciences/history/faculty-staff/jeff-forret.html.