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Scholarly, readable and timely... Richard Reddie's excellent book should remind us that the battles he describes so brilliantly have to be fought and won again and again by each generation. --Tony Benn
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The Anti-Slave Trade Act became law on 25th March 1807. It made the capture and transport of slaves by British subjects illegal. Slavery as such in the British Empire wasn't abolished until 1833. This book tells the story of the slave trade in the British Empire and examines the movement to bring it to an end. Subjects covered include:the history of slavery; the brutality of the slave trade; resistance by slaves; importance of slave trade to the British economy; the roots of the anti-slave trade society; the strategies of the movement; the push for abolition; and, the legacies of the slave trade.
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Britain's involvement with slavery continued for 200 years, and its legacy for another two hundred - in the countries of Africa, among the Affro-carribean community. and in the wealth British society gained from it. This book gives the story of Africa before slavery, its beginnings under the Portuguese, and Britain's leading role in it after the Armada was defeated. The struggle against slavery was strongest among Africans and enslaved people - on board rebellions, attacks on slavers in Africa, and the several successful rebellions in the Carribean; and the work of some highly dedicated and organised people in Britain - Wilberforce, Clarkson, Equiano and the Quakers, who invented the popular political movement - boycotts of slave-produced sugar, parliamentary lobbying, petitions, posters and medallions; which all served to erode Britain's acceptance of
slavery. This is the most balanced account I have read.
slavery. This is the most balanced account I have read.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book attempts to cover a vast range of aspects on the topic of the abolition of slavery in Britain. This is a plus in my opinion if treated as an introduction - it is easy to read, is not overly detailed but provides 20 facts per page. The difference in this book is the range of perspectives covered, from the British abolitionist and abstainers viewpoints to the Africans' own involvement in progressing abolition which is found in many modern accounts, to the politics of African abstainers then to continental and American positions on the topic even discussing pre-Transatlantic Slave Trade Africa. This frames continuous hints throughout that Europe was directly responsible for the relative poverty of Africa.
In a quasi-academic style, citing a few sources but in a (not overly) subjective manner: many well-known names are re-appraised - or sullied as the case often is by their involvement with the Trade. The sections on the under-appreciated Quakers abolition movements are very interesting and the very small sidetracks taken are fascinating.
One criticism may be that time and topic occasionally jump without informing the reader and points are sometimes repeated to provide emphasis which I found somewhat irritating.
A great introduction.
In a quasi-academic style, citing a few sources but in a (not overly) subjective manner: many well-known names are re-appraised - or sullied as the case often is by their involvement with the Trade. The sections on the under-appreciated Quakers abolition movements are very interesting and the very small sidetracks taken are fascinating.
One criticism may be that time and topic occasionally jump without informing the reader and points are sometimes repeated to provide emphasis which I found somewhat irritating.
A great introduction.
11 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Richard Reddie's book is a well-researched and broad in scope history of the Transatlantic Slave Trade which existed for 276 years. He explores the events leading up to the slave trade, painting a picture of a cultured and learned Africa which became a point in the triangular trade route - from Europe firearms, alcohol, brass, copper and manufactured goods were transported to Africa; slaves were taken in Africa and transported by the `Middle Passage' to the West Indies and America; then sugar, tobacco, rum and molasses from America were transported to Europe. Research suggests up to 15 million enslaved Africans died because of this trade and their treatment by the Europeans makes very sobering reading - especially as Christians weren't only those trying to abolish the trade but were often those who participated and benefited from it.
William Wilberforce and the other abolitionists, such as John Newton, Thomas Clarkson and the freed slave Olaudah Equiano are shown as people who worked tirelessly against the slave trade but also as people who were fallible and whose 19th century view of Africans unable to determine their own lives feels rather uncomfortable to us today. The book is an informative and yet sobering read about an alternative holocaust, one in which many Christians colluded and whose revenues founded some of our largest institutions. It makes for uncomfortable reading but it is an aspect of our history which must not be ignored.
William Wilberforce and the other abolitionists, such as John Newton, Thomas Clarkson and the freed slave Olaudah Equiano are shown as people who worked tirelessly against the slave trade but also as people who were fallible and whose 19th century view of Africans unable to determine their own lives feels rather uncomfortable to us today. The book is an informative and yet sobering read about an alternative holocaust, one in which many Christians colluded and whose revenues founded some of our largest institutions. It makes for uncomfortable reading but it is an aspect of our history which must not be ignored.
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