Saga of the Guerrero.

At first there was a tremendous crash. Then agonizing screams. Death came quickly for some.

The Spanish slave ship Guerrero had struck a shallow reef off Florida's coast with such deadly force that at least 41 enslaved Africans were crushed to death or drowned. Most of those slaves were still shackled as water ripped through the ship's cargo hold.

For some of the Guerrero s 520 surviving Africans, the wreck was only the beginning of their ordeal. In December, filmmakers will release a 90-minute documentary on the Guerrero. The film will focus on recent efforts by archaeologists to locate the shipwreck off Key Largo, an island in Florida.

Researchers …