What do you think?
Rate this book
Short History of Slavery
As we approach the bicentenary of the abolition of the Atlantic trade, Walvin has selected the historical texts that recreate the mindset that made such a savage institution possible - morally acceptable even. Setting these historical documents against Walvin's own incisive historical narrative, the two layers of this extraordinary, definitive account of the Atlantic slave trade enable us to understand the rise and fall of one of the most shameful chapters in British history, the repercussions of which the modern world is still living with.
272 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
James Walvin
83 books24 followersJames Walvin taught for many years at the University of York where he is now Professor of History Emeritus. He also held visiting positions in the Caribbean, the U.S.A. and Australia. He won the prestigious Martin Luther King Memorial Prize for his book Black and White, and has published widely on the history of slavery and the slave trade. His book The People's Game was a pioneering study of the history of football and remains in print thirty years after its first publication.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
September 29, 2019
Exactly as the title promises - this is a short history of slavery. Criticizing it for not being comprehensive is unfair. . . Walvin chooses to focus primarily on the Atlantic slave trade, and even more narrowly on the British enslavement of Africans and transport to the Americas. He does include a few brief chapters on slavery in the classical world, Medieval Europe and in Islam as preceded the Atlantic Slave Trade, and ends with acknowledging that slavery did not end in 1807 when the importation from Africa was outlawed, nor with the abolition of slavery in Brazil in 1888 (the last of the Americas to officially abolish slavery) but continues on today all around the world.
What I love about this history is how he starts each chapter with his analysis and summary of the topic - conditions on slave ships or how enslaved persons built community. Then he dedicates the second half of each chapter to selections of primary sources. His range of sources is impressive and very accessible for high school students. As a high school teacher I appreciate the range of voices this allows me to show my students. Also his style of making a claim, backing it up with evidence from primary sources, is a terrific model for our students to follow. His overall style is very easy to read and he conveys a great deal of complicated information in a very readable, accessible style. So my short response is - this is a great starting place. If you want a terrific overview of how the British justified enslaving and torturing people, what life was like on the ships and on the plantations - understanding the complexity of conditions, the depth and breadth of resistance and rebellion of enslaved persons, and the eventual (over two hundred years later) rise of abolition sentiment - again this is a very accessible overview. I really appreciated the primary voices - often painful to read but always insightful.
My criticism. . . not really fair as I said since it is clearly a short history, and by nature sharply focused - but I can't help being frustrated that he leaves out all the other colonial powers again leaving us with the impression that slavery was mostly a British/Africa/US and ignoring the origins with Spanish/Portuguese and completely ignoring the enslaving, torturing and destruction of the indigenous populations of the Americas. Walvin does discuss the West Indies and the sugar plantations, but still focuses more on the 1800s and cotton. Also some of his language is . . . I understand it was written before we recognized the need to switch to "enslaved persons" but at one points he talks about slaves and their owners being "lovers" - um no.
What I love about this history is how he starts each chapter with his analysis and summary of the topic - conditions on slave ships or how enslaved persons built community. Then he dedicates the second half of each chapter to selections of primary sources. His range of sources is impressive and very accessible for high school students. As a high school teacher I appreciate the range of voices this allows me to show my students. Also his style of making a claim, backing it up with evidence from primary sources, is a terrific model for our students to follow. His overall style is very easy to read and he conveys a great deal of complicated information in a very readable, accessible style. So my short response is - this is a great starting place. If you want a terrific overview of how the British justified enslaving and torturing people, what life was like on the ships and on the plantations - understanding the complexity of conditions, the depth and breadth of resistance and rebellion of enslaved persons, and the eventual (over two hundred years later) rise of abolition sentiment - again this is a very accessible overview. I really appreciated the primary voices - often painful to read but always insightful.
My criticism. . . not really fair as I said since it is clearly a short history, and by nature sharply focused - but I can't help being frustrated that he leaves out all the other colonial powers again leaving us with the impression that slavery was mostly a British/Africa/US and ignoring the origins with Spanish/Portuguese and completely ignoring the enslaving, torturing and destruction of the indigenous populations of the Americas. Walvin does discuss the West Indies and the sugar plantations, but still focuses more on the 1800s and cotton. Also some of his language is . . . I understand it was written before we recognized the need to switch to "enslaved persons" but at one points he talks about slaves and their owners being "lovers" - um no.
June 26, 2020
A very boring and inconsequential book. There was no heart to it, which is something difficult to imagine considering the subject matter at hand. Walvin becomes his own victim, stating early on that 'What follows is not meant to diminish that suffering by reducing it to simple statistics which can mask the human misery they represent', when this is exactly the type of aura he is ultimately presenting. There's no depth (although I suppose this can be forgiven given the 'short' nature of the book), it's bland, and it's just hard to read and to care about.
I also don't understand how this is a short history of slavery, when 90% of the book is still concentrated on American slavery, albeit that but one that is sprinkled in with British importance here and there and vaguely book-ended by slavery further afield in the Islamic and Roman worlds. What about modern day slavery? This is but a footnote.
The structure of the book was very jarring as well. Each chapter briefly outlines the subject matter at hand and then just seems to give up, using sources (again, exceedingly bland ones at that) to somewhat link into his own explanations. It just doesn't work and it feels very lazy - near the end I found myself simply skipping sources just to get through these tedious fillers.
Ultimately, this book is just about the broad strokes. I wouldn't call it A Short History of Slavery but instead, that of an Incomplete History of Slavery. I would have liked at least one mention of figures such as Harriet Tubman or the consequence of the American Civil War but it just wasn't presented. If you're interested in sources, this book would definitely be of use to you but as someone who wants to get to real grips with the history she's reading about, it just wasn't for me.
I also don't understand how this is a short history of slavery, when 90% of the book is still concentrated on American slavery, albeit that but one that is sprinkled in with British importance here and there and vaguely book-ended by slavery further afield in the Islamic and Roman worlds. What about modern day slavery? This is but a footnote.
The structure of the book was very jarring as well. Each chapter briefly outlines the subject matter at hand and then just seems to give up, using sources (again, exceedingly bland ones at that) to somewhat link into his own explanations. It just doesn't work and it feels very lazy - near the end I found myself simply skipping sources just to get through these tedious fillers.
Ultimately, this book is just about the broad strokes. I wouldn't call it A Short History of Slavery but instead, that of an Incomplete History of Slavery. I would have liked at least one mention of figures such as Harriet Tubman or the consequence of the American Civil War but it just wasn't presented. If you're interested in sources, this book would definitely be of use to you but as someone who wants to get to real grips with the history she's reading about, it just wasn't for me.
April 25, 2016
Man is the only intelligent animal. This faculty had helped him rule over all the other species of flora and fauna. Somewhere along the line, he obtained mastery over some of his own species. This took place so long ago, that slavery was an integral feature of social organization from prehistoric times itself. Bereft of all higher intellectual opportunities, this group of people toiled hard, without any avenue for upliftment open to them. The strange fact was that organized religions, which proclaimed genesis of all men from god and hence fraternity, turned a blind eye to this evil custom as an established fact of how a society was economically structured. James Walvin, who is a Professor of History and who had published many works on slavery, tells the story of it over the ages and how it was abolished in 1838 in Britain and its colonies through an act of Parliament in London. Written in a very lucid style, the book however omits the thread of slavery in the U.S, where a civil war was fought and won by Lincoln in the cause of eliminating slavery. This omission is a serious drawback, but the text is otherwise quite enjoyable to read.
Even though nothing is more repugnant to modern ethos than the institution of slavery, it was in fact tolerated and even encouraged as an essential factor in the functioning of classical and medieval societies. It was so much part and parcel of the community that renowned Greek thinkers like Aristotle, and Roman statesmen like Cicero laid out instructions on how to treat them and extract useful work from them, at the same time acquiescing in to a sub-human status for them. Even though the author does not mention India and China, all ancient civilizations thrived on the output of a group of men and women who were treated as property that could be bought and sold. Christianity and Islam actively encouraged the practice, and the followers of those religions instituted trading of slaves, provided the ‘commodity’ being traded belonged to other religions. Again, it must be mentioned that India is not covered in this book not because slavery was non-existent, but Walvin had not turned his attention there. Whites were used as slaves in the beginning, but later, the net was cast in interior Africa. By the middle ages, slavery had gone extinct in Europe. When the New World was discovered, slavery entered a brisk phase in its existence. With the widespread cultivation of sugarcane, cotton and tobacco, massive transportation of slaves took place across the Atlantic. The world developed its sweet tooth for sugar because of the cheap slave labour that went into producing it.
Walvin gives a heartrending account of how slaves were transported and sold in markets like cattle. Hundreds of people were bought from slave traders on Africa’s west coast and transported in slave ships where they were effectively packed in very little space below the deck. Diseases claimed almost a fifth in the journey. The transporters were bent upon getting the maximum number of people across. The British monopoly of Royal African Company transported 120,000 slaves from its inception in 1672 until its closure in 1713. It is estimated that a total of 12 million slaves were taken to Americas till the abolition of slavery in 1838. Of these, nearly one and half million perished in transit. A gruesome tale of throwing the slaves overboard alive is provided in the book. A particular slave ship’s captain found that many of his slave cargo were very sick and beyond redemption. He faced a grim prospect of incurring great loss on his investment. His scheming mind came up with a way out. Insurance companies compensated for cargo that might had to be thrown overboard to save the ship. He fabricated a water scarcity on the vessel and threw nearly a hundred sick slaves alive into the sea. When this case reached the criminal court, the charge was not for mass murder, but as an insurance dispute!
Modernity would stand aghast at the indifferent manner in which even reformed societies quietly went along with the grave injustice meted out to a section of the population with a darker skin tone. Slavery was accepted as a normal thing existing since time immemorial in all countries. As the age of Enlightenment dawned in the 18th century, dissenting voices began to be heard. At first, Quakers and nonconformists spearheaded the protest, but it was not due to any trace of demur from the religious side. Slavery coexisted with the Bible, as there are many references in the Holy Book on how to treat the slaves well. The only thing that changed was the intellectual background that arose as a direct result of development of liberal thinking and displacement of superstitious religious ideas in the cold light of reason.
Resistance from slaves was also a cause for the abolitionist cause. Slave uprisings were mostly violent outbreaks, which were repressed brutally. The only successful slave revolt took place in Haiti (1791 – 1804) where they usurped power. Abolitionist movement began its efforts in 1783 under Thomas Clarkson, a popular orator and activist. Its cause was led in Parliament by William Wilberforce. The movement saw its ups and downs. Immediately after the French revolution, it lost popular support on the basis that any endeavour to upset the existing social order was akin to revolution. But Clarkson and Wilberforce continued their steadfast crusade, until the British Parliament abolished the slave trade in 1807. But this was only a part of victory. It prohibited buying, selling and transportation of slaves, but didn’t offer any relief to those slaves who were already under white masters in British colonies. The movement continued its ways of educating the public about the ills of slavery. Finally in 1838, slavery itself was abolished, with emancipation provided to all slaves. Other countries resisted the effort, with Brazil as the last to fall in line in 1888.
The title of the book does not do justice to its content. With such a grand title, the book disappoints in that it is only a history of slavery in the British Empire. America after 1776 is not at all covered in this book, along with the heroic civil war fought by Abraham Lincoln against the Southern States who insisted on continuing slavery. Several types of bondages in Islamic countries are also skipped with only a fleeting mention, even though the number and brutality far exceeded those in the Atlantic islands. However, the forced labour in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia are included, by pinpointing the sharp lines of similarities between them and slavery. Forced work and involuntary separation of families took place in Mao’s China too under the guise of Cultural Revolution, but Walvin overlooks it. On the other hand, the working conditions of at least some of the slaves quoted were far better than similar provisions for free labour in many developing countries even now. Nurses were stationed to tend to sucking children and their mothers were provided timeout for feeding them. Private property and agriculture were granted to the slaves. Walvin also mentions the economic aspects that caused the end of slavery. By early 19th century, sugar was abundantly produced in Britain’s Asian colonies, mainly in India, whose produce was much cheaper than Caribbean sugar. The book includes a comprehensive index and a good collection of Notes and suggested books for further reading.
The book is highly recommended.
Even though nothing is more repugnant to modern ethos than the institution of slavery, it was in fact tolerated and even encouraged as an essential factor in the functioning of classical and medieval societies. It was so much part and parcel of the community that renowned Greek thinkers like Aristotle, and Roman statesmen like Cicero laid out instructions on how to treat them and extract useful work from them, at the same time acquiescing in to a sub-human status for them. Even though the author does not mention India and China, all ancient civilizations thrived on the output of a group of men and women who were treated as property that could be bought and sold. Christianity and Islam actively encouraged the practice, and the followers of those religions instituted trading of slaves, provided the ‘commodity’ being traded belonged to other religions. Again, it must be mentioned that India is not covered in this book not because slavery was non-existent, but Walvin had not turned his attention there. Whites were used as slaves in the beginning, but later, the net was cast in interior Africa. By the middle ages, slavery had gone extinct in Europe. When the New World was discovered, slavery entered a brisk phase in its existence. With the widespread cultivation of sugarcane, cotton and tobacco, massive transportation of slaves took place across the Atlantic. The world developed its sweet tooth for sugar because of the cheap slave labour that went into producing it.
Walvin gives a heartrending account of how slaves were transported and sold in markets like cattle. Hundreds of people were bought from slave traders on Africa’s west coast and transported in slave ships where they were effectively packed in very little space below the deck. Diseases claimed almost a fifth in the journey. The transporters were bent upon getting the maximum number of people across. The British monopoly of Royal African Company transported 120,000 slaves from its inception in 1672 until its closure in 1713. It is estimated that a total of 12 million slaves were taken to Americas till the abolition of slavery in 1838. Of these, nearly one and half million perished in transit. A gruesome tale of throwing the slaves overboard alive is provided in the book. A particular slave ship’s captain found that many of his slave cargo were very sick and beyond redemption. He faced a grim prospect of incurring great loss on his investment. His scheming mind came up with a way out. Insurance companies compensated for cargo that might had to be thrown overboard to save the ship. He fabricated a water scarcity on the vessel and threw nearly a hundred sick slaves alive into the sea. When this case reached the criminal court, the charge was not for mass murder, but as an insurance dispute!
Modernity would stand aghast at the indifferent manner in which even reformed societies quietly went along with the grave injustice meted out to a section of the population with a darker skin tone. Slavery was accepted as a normal thing existing since time immemorial in all countries. As the age of Enlightenment dawned in the 18th century, dissenting voices began to be heard. At first, Quakers and nonconformists spearheaded the protest, but it was not due to any trace of demur from the religious side. Slavery coexisted with the Bible, as there are many references in the Holy Book on how to treat the slaves well. The only thing that changed was the intellectual background that arose as a direct result of development of liberal thinking and displacement of superstitious religious ideas in the cold light of reason.
Resistance from slaves was also a cause for the abolitionist cause. Slave uprisings were mostly violent outbreaks, which were repressed brutally. The only successful slave revolt took place in Haiti (1791 – 1804) where they usurped power. Abolitionist movement began its efforts in 1783 under Thomas Clarkson, a popular orator and activist. Its cause was led in Parliament by William Wilberforce. The movement saw its ups and downs. Immediately after the French revolution, it lost popular support on the basis that any endeavour to upset the existing social order was akin to revolution. But Clarkson and Wilberforce continued their steadfast crusade, until the British Parliament abolished the slave trade in 1807. But this was only a part of victory. It prohibited buying, selling and transportation of slaves, but didn’t offer any relief to those slaves who were already under white masters in British colonies. The movement continued its ways of educating the public about the ills of slavery. Finally in 1838, slavery itself was abolished, with emancipation provided to all slaves. Other countries resisted the effort, with Brazil as the last to fall in line in 1888.
The title of the book does not do justice to its content. With such a grand title, the book disappoints in that it is only a history of slavery in the British Empire. America after 1776 is not at all covered in this book, along with the heroic civil war fought by Abraham Lincoln against the Southern States who insisted on continuing slavery. Several types of bondages in Islamic countries are also skipped with only a fleeting mention, even though the number and brutality far exceeded those in the Atlantic islands. However, the forced labour in Nazi Germany and Stalinist Russia are included, by pinpointing the sharp lines of similarities between them and slavery. Forced work and involuntary separation of families took place in Mao’s China too under the guise of Cultural Revolution, but Walvin overlooks it. On the other hand, the working conditions of at least some of the slaves quoted were far better than similar provisions for free labour in many developing countries even now. Nurses were stationed to tend to sucking children and their mothers were provided timeout for feeding them. Private property and agriculture were granted to the slaves. Walvin also mentions the economic aspects that caused the end of slavery. By early 19th century, sugar was abundantly produced in Britain’s Asian colonies, mainly in India, whose produce was much cheaper than Caribbean sugar. The book includes a comprehensive index and a good collection of Notes and suggested books for further reading.
The book is highly recommended.
July 10, 2022
It does what it says on the cover
March 15, 2021
Is this a great, basic book that should be read by everyone at some point in their lives? Yes, it is. Is this a book easy enough to read, pleasant and at the same time unpleasant, that could be devored in a couple of afternoons? Indeed, it is. Is the book promised in its title? It is not.
If this book was titled "Short story of the British slavery" (or, rather, the English slavery), it would be an extraordinary essay. But the interest of its publishers, or the blind nationalism of the author, when pretentiously removing the 'British' from the title, creates a big lie. Perhaps in its English edition there are a few helping texts, prologues, forewords, explaining why is that. There is none in the Galician edition, so it seems that the only slavery is the one carried out by Brits in the Caribbean.
Yes, there is a short introductory chapter on Greek and Roman slavery, and also on the slavery system developed by Islam, unloading thousands of black African men on Mediterranean harbours. But that's clearly not enough for such a wide title. As it is not enough that the black slavery in Brasil or the United States as an independent country (or in the Spanish colonies) is forgotten or dismissed. Not to mention the slavery perpetrated by other historic cultures and empires across the globe, also inexistent in this book. Europe, or again, just England, equals to the world. Unfortunately, it is not that easy, despite us, white European readers, feeling more compelled by this shameful example.
This essay has also a peculiar restructure. Every chapter develops a series of historic facts and then a few source texts are presented at the end, before passing to the next chapter. In the beginning, I thought this to be an odd structure, more used myself to find the source texts in the middle of the chapters, supporting the points and thesis they should support. But after a few douzaine pages, I found this a very practical way of distributing the content, allowing a quick reading of facts and then slowing down to taste the savour of the time in words written by slave owners, campaigners or traders.
It is hard for me to write this review without the bitterness of being misled by the title. I wish I could relax and learn from the English slavery of the Caribbean. The bodies of the slaves in Brasil or the States, the carnage of the European powers in other areas of the planet, and more importantly, the evil networks bringing those black men from the tropical forests to the Atlantic harbours are too painful to be dismissed. My opinion is therefore blurred, and I know it. The clear, and perhaps repetitive, story of the English abolitionism is interesting, but I found the u-turns of their governments and policies not explained soundly enough.
Last but not least, Galician translation is very good, brilliant even. What a pleasure reading this book in such words.
If this book was titled "Short story of the British slavery" (or, rather, the English slavery), it would be an extraordinary essay. But the interest of its publishers, or the blind nationalism of the author, when pretentiously removing the 'British' from the title, creates a big lie. Perhaps in its English edition there are a few helping texts, prologues, forewords, explaining why is that. There is none in the Galician edition, so it seems that the only slavery is the one carried out by Brits in the Caribbean.
Yes, there is a short introductory chapter on Greek and Roman slavery, and also on the slavery system developed by Islam, unloading thousands of black African men on Mediterranean harbours. But that's clearly not enough for such a wide title. As it is not enough that the black slavery in Brasil or the United States as an independent country (or in the Spanish colonies) is forgotten or dismissed. Not to mention the slavery perpetrated by other historic cultures and empires across the globe, also inexistent in this book. Europe, or again, just England, equals to the world. Unfortunately, it is not that easy, despite us, white European readers, feeling more compelled by this shameful example.
This essay has also a peculiar restructure. Every chapter develops a series of historic facts and then a few source texts are presented at the end, before passing to the next chapter. In the beginning, I thought this to be an odd structure, more used myself to find the source texts in the middle of the chapters, supporting the points and thesis they should support. But after a few douzaine pages, I found this a very practical way of distributing the content, allowing a quick reading of facts and then slowing down to taste the savour of the time in words written by slave owners, campaigners or traders.
It is hard for me to write this review without the bitterness of being misled by the title. I wish I could relax and learn from the English slavery of the Caribbean. The bodies of the slaves in Brasil or the States, the carnage of the European powers in other areas of the planet, and more importantly, the evil networks bringing those black men from the tropical forests to the Atlantic harbours are too painful to be dismissed. My opinion is therefore blurred, and I know it. The clear, and perhaps repetitive, story of the English abolitionism is interesting, but I found the u-turns of their governments and policies not explained soundly enough.
Last but not least, Galician translation is very good, brilliant even. What a pleasure reading this book in such words.
Read
November 4, 2023I have not read this book. However, if Mr. (I cannot bring myself to give him the honorific of Doctor since his bona fides are either unmerited or eroded beyond recognition) Walvin's previous outings in "history" bear the same level of scholarly accuracy as his lastest on the famous hymn "Amazing Grace", I should advise readers to save their time and money and read a Wikipedia summary of any subject upon which Mr. Walvin might share his thoughts as it will likely be more accurate than Mr. Walvin.
To wit: In his recent book on John Newton's famous hymn, he says of the famous evangelist D.L. Moody, "Throughout, Moody portrayed Christ himself as a sinner, a person with whom armies of ordinary people could identify. If Christ could be saved, so too could the humble and ordinary people in the audience. Salvation was there for all." If Mr. Walvin honestly made such a claim about Moody's preaching, he is so wildly mistaken that any other claims he makes, up to and including his own name, should be suspect. To suggest that an orthodox Christian evangelist would depart so radically from such a fundamental tenet of Christian belief, that Christ was a sinner saved (saved by whom, I wonder? certainly not the promised Messiah, which, I feel compelled to point out, is in fact a translation of Christ), and apparently to provide no concrete evidence for such a seismic assertion, indicates that Mr. Walvin has disgraced himself as a scholar and historian and should consider writing fiction since it will more satisfyingly suit his penchant to invent falsehoods with reckless abandon. And will eliminate any poor dupe possibly mistaking any claims he makes as having a modicum of veracity. (This WSJ review mentions the startling claim: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/book...)
Alan Jacobs also records other pretty basic errors that any English scholar (not a scholar of England but an English-born scholar) should know about English Christian history, like the practice of Mass in English rather than Latin for 2 centuries prior to the time that Mr. Walvin makes a correlation between Newton's exposure to English hymnody and liturgy instead of Latin versions: see this post for more details. https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Other than that, I have no thoughts.
To wit: In his recent book on John Newton's famous hymn, he says of the famous evangelist D.L. Moody, "Throughout, Moody portrayed Christ himself as a sinner, a person with whom armies of ordinary people could identify. If Christ could be saved, so too could the humble and ordinary people in the audience. Salvation was there for all." If Mr. Walvin honestly made such a claim about Moody's preaching, he is so wildly mistaken that any other claims he makes, up to and including his own name, should be suspect. To suggest that an orthodox Christian evangelist would depart so radically from such a fundamental tenet of Christian belief, that Christ was a sinner saved (saved by whom, I wonder? certainly not the promised Messiah, which, I feel compelled to point out, is in fact a translation of Christ), and apparently to provide no concrete evidence for such a seismic assertion, indicates that Mr. Walvin has disgraced himself as a scholar and historian and should consider writing fiction since it will more satisfyingly suit his penchant to invent falsehoods with reckless abandon. And will eliminate any poor dupe possibly mistaking any claims he makes as having a modicum of veracity. (This WSJ review mentions the startling claim: https://www.wsj.com/arts-culture/book...)
Alan Jacobs also records other pretty basic errors that any English scholar (not a scholar of England but an English-born scholar) should know about English Christian history, like the practice of Mass in English rather than Latin for 2 centuries prior to the time that Mr. Walvin makes a correlation between Newton's exposure to English hymnody and liturgy instead of Latin versions: see this post for more details. https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
Other than that, I have no thoughts.
November 18, 2017
We certainly do not know enough about slavery. I realised that reading this book and then seeing the CNN news at the same time showing the current case of trading in slaves in Libya. We do not know much beyond maybe a few movies (let's face it though, Django Unchained is not historically accurate) and a few cultural stereotypes. I believe Walvin's short history remedies some of that.
The book is wide and has a good historic pre-atlantic slave trade history but is UK focused and talks mostly about the United Kingdom involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and then in the abolition and emancipation.
The book is a mix of historic narrative in each chapter followed by excerpts from multiple related historic documents that range from legislation to letters to literature.
If we feel we owe something in correcting the historic wrongs of our species, remedying that starts with understanding the width and depth of those wrongs, by conscientious learning. This book starts that journey on this topic.
The book is wide and has a good historic pre-atlantic slave trade history but is UK focused and talks mostly about the United Kingdom involvement in the Atlantic slave trade and then in the abolition and emancipation.
The book is a mix of historic narrative in each chapter followed by excerpts from multiple related historic documents that range from legislation to letters to literature.
If we feel we owe something in correcting the historic wrongs of our species, remedying that starts with understanding the width and depth of those wrongs, by conscientious learning. This book starts that journey on this topic.
September 16, 2018
This book is exactly what it says on the cover: a short history of slavery. The focus is mainly on the Atlantic/British slave trade, although there are a few short chapters on slavery in other periods. I really wanted to know more about slavery, as I think Dutch education doesn't provide us with enough study material on the subject, and this was a good place to start. The first half of the book was well written, the second half dragged out a bit and was denser. I appreciated the fact that Walvin used contemporary sources in each chapter, it made me feel more of a connection to the subject (as opposed to this being a very cold, scientific book which some people feel it is). I think this has the right balance of humanity and science.
March 2, 2019
A well-constructed and straightforward book which takes an overview of slavery - mostly focusing on the Atlantic slave trade but also discussing slavery prior to the beginning of that trade and looking at some of the forms it has taken since that trade ended. (It also mentions, but does not discuss or present any evidence about, slavery in Islamic countries.) Each chapter gives a historical description of the period or theme, and then presents a series of primary sources - contemporary documents which give evidence for people's attitudes and actions. These both add detail and make it much more difficult to be in denial about the horrors of the situation.
September 2, 2020
A brilliant read tracing the start of slavery in ancient times and naturally concentrating on the slave trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. Each chapter is in two sections; in formation and commentary followed by transcripts of original reports, articles, first hand recollections etc which provide a vivid account of the horrors inflicted. What was surprising were the arguments against the abolition of slavery; it would damage the economy of Britain and in particular the cities. Commerce came before humanity. As this was first published in 2007, any updates could include more on modern day slavery.
May 10, 2020
I found this book a bit awkward to read due to the long tracts of contemporary writings - 18th century English is about as appealing to me as eating a bowl of dry muesli. Otherwise it was an informative read.
I think including a timeline of the events described in the book and some pictures would have helped. And using a different typeface when quoting contemporary writings would improve the appearance of the book.
I think including a timeline of the events described in the book and some pictures would have helped. And using a different typeface when quoting contemporary writings would improve the appearance of the book.
April 10, 2021
Fantastic book. Does what it says on the cover. It can't be easy to condense over 500 years of history into 200+ pages. Using very broad strokes this book lays the foundation of the Atlantic Slave Trade and using transcribed letters and correspondence from the time gives a great overall narrative to its history. Perfect for someone wanting to learn the basics and written in a way that's easy to understand and is compelling.
September 18, 2017
This was really good to use as a starting point for the study of the transatlantic slave trade. It contained some really good key events and key individuals within the slave trade and the abolition movement which could do with further study...
November 30, 2020
A comprehensive basis in the history of slavery that spans the ancient time up to the current day, but with a focus on the Atlantic slave trade and its abolition. A good baseline understanding complete with figures, evidence and sources which was incredibly informative.
January 6, 2022
Took a while to get through as it’s a heavy topic, but very informative and I feel like I’ve learnt lots. I liked the snippets of letters and historical documents that felt like they brought you closer to the people involved.
December 20, 2017
It's short but concise and to the point
January 4, 2019
I wasn't interested in the topic so I struggled to read this but I was reading it for my History essay and found it had what I needed.
May 3, 2021
Accessible and insightful introduction for those wishing to learn more about the subject - or to read a brief and uncomplicated overview of a very complex history.
Read
February 3, 2023dnf at 140 pages. wasnt bad just couldnt hold my attention
August 30, 2015
This is a great introduction to the history of slavery.
James Walvin divides his book into 4 parts.
Part 1: Slavery before Modernity
Part 2: Slavery in the Atlantic World
Part 3: The Americas
Part 4: Abolition and Emancipation
His focus is almost entirely on the Atlantic slave trade and Britain's role in it.
"From first to last, slavery was a system characterized by brutality. Moreover it was a system that had far-reaching ramifications for three continents: for the Americas, whose economic potential was tapped by generations of imported Africans, for Europe , which orchestrated (and benefited from) the whole system, and of course for Africa, for which massive loss of population, with attendant violence and upheaval, caused incalculable and long-term damage."
What I like most about the book is the selection of sources and eye-witness accounts.
"I rose at 5 o'clock this morning and read a chapter in Hebrew and 200 verses in Homer's Odyssey. I ate milk for breakfast. I said my prayers. Jenny and Eugene were whipped. I danced my dance. I read law in the morning and Italian in the afternoon..."
William Byrd's diary entry, Virginia 1709
You know, just your average day. Prayers, whippings, a language lesson or two.
It's a short history. By no means exhaustive, but definitely enlightening.
James Walvin divides his book into 4 parts.
Part 1: Slavery before Modernity
Part 2: Slavery in the Atlantic World
Part 3: The Americas
Part 4: Abolition and Emancipation
His focus is almost entirely on the Atlantic slave trade and Britain's role in it.
"From first to last, slavery was a system characterized by brutality. Moreover it was a system that had far-reaching ramifications for three continents: for the Americas, whose economic potential was tapped by generations of imported Africans, for Europe , which orchestrated (and benefited from) the whole system, and of course for Africa, for which massive loss of population, with attendant violence and upheaval, caused incalculable and long-term damage."
What I like most about the book is the selection of sources and eye-witness accounts.
"I rose at 5 o'clock this morning and read a chapter in Hebrew and 200 verses in Homer's Odyssey. I ate milk for breakfast. I said my prayers. Jenny and Eugene were whipped. I danced my dance. I read law in the morning and Italian in the afternoon..."
William Byrd's diary entry, Virginia 1709
You know, just your average day. Prayers, whippings, a language lesson or two.
It's a short history. By no means exhaustive, but definitely enlightening.
October 21, 2015
A good starter book to learn the background history of a particularly shameful and disgusting era of humanity. It gives all the basic information to deepen a shallow understanding, but doesn't delve too deeply into just how inhumanely the stolen African people were treated - but it is a brief history, and there are certainly doorsteps out there for a more thorough investigation. It is written in an objective style which is my preference in history of this nature, because it's pretty damn hard anyway not to find yourself despising the people who intigated it even reading from a neutral standpoint.
The only thing which knocked a star off this volume for me was the horrible typesetting - it actually did my head in (I like print books because they are better for eyes, not so they'll make them worse!), and I found it difficult to get back into (and at times didn't want to) for the expectation of headaches. Not the author's fault, but as a whole detracts from the experience on a personal level.
Worth a go if you don't know anything or very little about this era, and good to set you up for the next level of it...
The only thing which knocked a star off this volume for me was the horrible typesetting - it actually did my head in (I like print books because they are better for eyes, not so they'll make them worse!), and I found it difficult to get back into (and at times didn't want to) for the expectation of headaches. Not the author's fault, but as a whole detracts from the experience on a personal level.
Worth a go if you don't know anything or very little about this era, and good to set you up for the next level of it...
January 8, 2013
An excellent and concise account of the history of slavery and its evolution over time from the classical world through to its abolition in the nineteenth century. Walvin shows how slavery was accepted as a natural part of hierarchical premodern and early modern society before the era of the Enlightenment began to question and criticise the immoral and inhuman treatment of slves by the imperial powers of Britain, France and Spain. There are many contradictions throughout the history of slavery. Although the atlantic slave trade was abolished in 1807, and in the British colonies in 1838, the British state supported the slaveholding Confederacy during the US civil war of 1861-65. This book goes into all the nuances and complexities of how slavery was perceived over time, using a wealth of historical archives and testimonies from slaveholders, abolitionists and slaves themselves. An excellent read which I recommend to everyone.
March 18, 2014
Concise but comprehensive history of the slave trade. I knew the big picture of the slave trade but this book fills in many of the details of this terrible trade. Let's not kid ourselves that slavery has been totally eradicated. Slavery, economic and sexual for example, exists today even in the richest economies. There are those who still do not recognise that all people have the right to be free. The battle against slavery is still not won.
March 9, 2014
This is a quickish overview of the subject which focuses primarily on Britain's involvement in slavery. It is a good read as a general introduction to the subject. It opens with a reminder of how prevalent slavery was in the classical world before moving on to the Atlantic slave trade.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews