The Slave Trade by Hugh Thomas
The Slave Trade by Hugh Thomas
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$54.95 CAD
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Description
Not everything has been said about the Slave Trade. And in particular why such a crime was able to last so long, almost five centuries. In this book, the most complete account of the transatlantic slave trade available today, Hugh Thomas attempts to answer this question. He shows how this history is inextricably linked to that of the West, of which it occupies the center, in the words of Tocqueville: "The destiny of the Negroes is in some way entwined in that of the Europeans. The two races are linked to each other." We will see how, while the medieval world had barely turned the page on mass slavery, geographical discoveries, but also the ancient ideal of the Renaissance, would revive it. Africa and then the New World burst into European consciousness via Portugal and Spain, which set up the slave trade in 1440. Little by little, the gravity of the odious trade – “the most profitable of trades,” said Louis XIV – the search for human and sugar energy, moved north, taking its full part in the conflicts tearing apart Europe and America, after Africa, where millions of weapons were already being poured. Finally, England, the greatest beneficiary of the system, decided to become its policeman: the campaign to abolish it, backed by slave revolts, would be the first major international humanitarian cause.
Slavery and trafficking will not disappear for all that. Hugh Thomas gives us here the direct testimonies of the actors of the ebony trade: under his pen, beings of flesh and blood come to life, the pestilence of slave traders adorned with charming or holy names floats. Does history have a meaning, as the Enlightenment believed? Are all slave trades equivalent? What is the lasting legacy of this history in our societies? Can we close the debate before having opened it?
Slavery and trafficking will not disappear for all that. Hugh Thomas gives us here the direct testimonies of the actors of the ebony trade: under his pen, beings of flesh and blood come to life, the pestilence of slave traders adorned with charming or holy names floats. Does history have a meaning, as the Enlightenment believed? Are all slave trades equivalent? What is the lasting legacy of this history in our societies? Can we close the debate before having opened it?
