Wha is The Republic?

The Republic is the ship on which the bulk of the story takes place. It is captained by Captain Ebenezer Falcon and is headed for the African coast where it will pick up a cargo of slaves and then return to New Orleans. The ship, however, does not make it back to New Orleans. After enduring a terrible storm and an uprising, the ship breaks in half and sinks during a final storm, leaving what is left of its half-starved crew floundering in the ocean to be rescued. The Republic and its crew is central to the story because it is where most of the book takes place and the entries in the ship's log make up the novel itself.