Joe Davey is a scholar of West African history. His research interests include Atlantic World trade networks, migrations and movements in Africa and the Atlantic, Atlantic Slavery, African slavery and the transition from slave trading to produce trading in the 19th century Africa. His research examines the economic, political, social and religious connections forged between the Igbo hinterland of Southeastern Nigeria and the Eastern Niger Delta during the 19th century. His dissertation utilizes the life history of King Jaja of Opobo to draw attention to the often overlooked relationships fostered between the hinterland and coast by slaves, many of whom had taken advantage of opportunities for mobility in political and economic life in the Eastern Niger Delta state of Bonny.