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267th out of 355 books
—
276 voters
The Slave Trade: The Story of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1440-1870
by
Hugh Thomas
After many years of research, award-winning historian Hugh Thomas portrays, in a balanced account, the complete history of the slave trade. Beginning with the first Portuguese slaving expeditions, he describes and analyzes the rise of one of the largest and most elaborate maritime and commercial ventures in all of history. Between 1492 and 1870, approximately eleven millio...more
Paperback, 912 pages
Published
February 3rd 1999
by Simon & Schuster
(first published 1997)
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There were few innocents except the children:
“’Man-stealing’ accounted for the majority of slaves taken to the New World, and it was usually the responsibility of Africans. Voltaire’s sharp comment that, while it was difficult to defend the conduct of Europeans in the slave trade, that of Africans in bartering each other was even more reprehensible, deserves to be better remembered./But then there was no sense of Africa: a Dahomeyan did not feel that he had anything in common even with an Oyo.”...more
“’Man-stealing’ accounted for the majority of slaves taken to the New World, and it was usually the responsibility of Africans. Voltaire’s sharp comment that, while it was difficult to defend the conduct of Europeans in the slave trade, that of Africans in bartering each other was even more reprehensible, deserves to be better remembered./But then there was no sense of Africa: a Dahomeyan did not feel that he had anything in common even with an Oyo.”...more
Uitputtende beschrijving van 430 jaar Atlantische slavenhandel, van zijn directe voorgangers tot het allerlaatste slavenschip naar Cuba in 1870.
Thomas bespreekt het allemaal met extreem detail, met veel cijfers, heel erg veel praktijkvoorbeelden en soms spannende passages, vooral over de moeizame strijd tot afschaffing van de slavenhandel, die gek genoeg ruim voorafging aan het idee van afschaffing van de slavernij zelf. Hierbij ligt de focus sterk op de handel en de handelaren. De slaven zelf k...more
Thomas bespreekt het allemaal met extreem detail, met veel cijfers, heel erg veel praktijkvoorbeelden en soms spannende passages, vooral over de moeizame strijd tot afschaffing van de slavenhandel, die gek genoeg ruim voorafging aan het idee van afschaffing van de slavernij zelf. Hierbij ligt de focus sterk op de handel en de handelaren. De slaven zelf k...more
I must openly admit, this book was way beyond my level. Hugh Thomas at times uses references in different languages which I do not speak & uses some words never heard in my vocabulary. However I greatly enjoyed this read & the knowledge gained is invaluable. The writer has gone to great lengths to research & compile information accurately. I was able to learn interesting facts on the slave trade concerning many different nations. Facts that are seldom mentioned here in the U.S.A. It...more
I currently put the book down and intend to pick it up again, it is not an easy read as his historical detail is thick and the chronological accounts can get weary. But as a history of the ugly truth of the slave trade, how it was carried out and the decisions made across America and the European continent that kept it in play cannot be ignored. Worth a dig-in.
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I read this in the mid-90's for a highschopl project and was in way over my head as far as the length and time limit for our project. I ended up not finishing the book till after my project was due. However I believe the knowledge I gained as a Jr. in High School far exceeded what the other students learned as a result of reading this book.
Thus book is a must to keep you centered, to keep you grounded. A must read if your a history buff, I pick it up from time to time, just to make sure Im still grounded.
This is a solid historical analysis of the transAtlantic slave trade and its multiple economic, ethnic, political and religious levels. Highly recommended.
A very detailed history of the slave trade from Africa to the Americas, focusing on the trade aspects rather than what happened to the slaves when they reached their final destinations. If you can work your way through the book, and it's not an easy read, you may be surprised by how many slaves were brought over to countries other than the United States; Brazil actually imported the most slaves. The book also covers the efforts to eradicate the trade. An area of history not as well covered in mo...more
I got to page 100 of this book and couldn't handle it any more. The subject was interesting (why would I try and read the book if I wasn't interested?!) but it was written in such a dull, monotonous way that made it horrendously boring. It seemed like the author was writing a school essay he wasn't even interested in. If that's your style, read it.
Sep 23, 2010
Craig J.
added it
The SLAVE TRADE: THE STORY OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: 1440 - 1870 by Hugh Thomas (1999)
Do you want to know our story ? Here it is. In depth and written with fun
A big descriptive story, little analyses for the why -> profits!
SM
There's one major lack in this otherwise worthy study: the experience of those enslaved, which is implied by descriptions of the terrible conditions under which they were wrenched from Africa, but tends to be muted by Thomas's focus on the economics of the trade. Still, chilling, humbling, and often suprising -- who knew Quakers were among the many Americans who had no difficulty being godfearin' flesh merchants?
Author names names which is always good but uses the same language the slave traders use to describe events. kind of an asshole. Estimates over 50 million Africans were brought as captives probably twice that many died or were killed along the way. Author is mostly interested in the economics of it, not the realities. Anyway, it's worth reading if you want transaction records..
Analizes the Atlantic slave trade ovcer four centuries exploring the reasons and methods.
Jan 01, 2008
John Cook
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
anyone interested in the history of slavery.
Amazingly thorough and well documented data.
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Hugh Swynnerton Thomas, Baron Thomas of Swynnerton, is a British historian and Hispanist.
Thomas was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset before taking a BA in 1953 at Queens' College, Cambridge. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. His 1961 book The Spanish Civil War won the Somerset Maugham Award for 1962. A significantly revised and enlarged third edition was published in 1977. Cuba, or t...more
More about Hugh Thomas...
Thomas was educated at Sherborne School in Dorset before taking a BA in 1953 at Queens' College, Cambridge. He also studied at the Sorbonne in Paris. His 1961 book The Spanish Civil War won the Somerset Maugham Award for 1962. A significantly revised and enlarged third edition was published in 1977. Cuba, or t...more
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