The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History

by Jeremy Black

In The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History , Jeremy Black presents a compact yet comprehensive survey of slavery and its impact on the world, primarily centered on the Atlantic trade. Opening with a clear discussion of the problems of defining slavery, the book goes on to investigate the Atlantic slave trade from its origins to abolition, including comparisons to other systems of slavery outside the Atlantic region and the persistence of modern-day slavery. Crucially, the book does not ask readers to abandon their emotional ties to the subject, but puts events in context so that it becomes clear how such an institution not only arose, but flourished. Black shows that slavery and the slave trade were not merely add-ons to the development of Western civilization, but intimately linked to it. In a vital and accessible narrative, The Atlantic Slave Trade in World History enables students to understand this terrible element of human history and how it shaped the modern world.

Genres: History, Grad School

190 pages, Hardcover

First published March 10, 2015

About the author

Jeremy Black is an English historian, who was formerly a professor of history at the University of Exeter. He is a senior fellow at the Center for the Study of America and the West at the Foreign Policy Research Institute in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US.
Black is the author of over 180 books, principally but not exclusively on 18th-century British politics and international relations, and has been described by one commentator as "the most prolific historical scholar of our age". He has published on military and political history, including Warfare in the Western World, 1882–1975 (2001) and The World in the Twentieth Century (2002).

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though the title would lead you to believe this book focuses on the Atlantic slave trade, this slim volume does not neglect to pay at least some attention to slavery on a global scale. It is a strong introduction to the slave trade, and less so to the nature and conditions of slavery. I would happily assign it for an undergraduate course on slavery - it would also serve as a good review for a graduate student who has little to no experience with the subject. I will be teaching an undergraduate course this semester and plan to use this book as a framing device for my lecture on slavery. Can't recommend highly enough.

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brain Food: Spinach
Scandal Level: historical and dry accounts of sexual assault
Violence: historical and dry accounts of slave capture, transportation, and punishment
Must be ___ old to read: 16
Read if you liked: Amazing Grace
Re-readability: Meh
Thoughts: An interesting study, and illuminating but not particularly engaging. Definitely for the historical scholar.

[Sbrdsbks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Het was een zware klus om dit boek uit te lezen. Dat komt vooral omdat ik niet van boeken houdt met heel veel feitjes, en dat is dit boek bij uitstek. Het behandelt de opkomst en ondergang van slavernij in allerlei delen van de wereld. Dat zou ik heel interessant kunnen vinden, als het die feitjes bij elkaar had gebracht op een wat hoger abstractieniveau. Maar dat gebeurt dus niet. Ook de uitstapjes naar de meer economische slavernij die nu nog plaatsvindt of de vergelijking met Auschwitz vind ik niet heel sterk en heel veel toevoegen. Wat ik wel interessant vond was de wat meer conceptuele inleiding en het hoofdstuk van de start van de transatlantische slavenhandel. Omdat slavernij daar in een bredere context wordt geplaatst, de relatie tussen slavernij en racisme scherp wordt neergezet, ik daarvan heb geleerd dat slavernij niet iets is van de laatste honderden jaren, maar veel ouder is, dat ook andere culturen dan onze westerse zich schuldig maakten aan slavernij en in het geval van het Ottomaanse rijk ook nog in grotere aantallen, en dat ook binnen Afrika tussen stammen onderling slaven maakten en hielden.