Description
Book SynopsisThe role of slavery in driving Britain's economic development is often debated, but seldom given a central place.
In their remarkable new book, Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson ‘follow the money’ to document in revealing detail the role of slavery in the making of Britain’s industrial revolution. Slavery was not just a source of wealth for a narrow circle of slave owners who built grand country houses and filled them with luxuries. The forces set in motion by the slave and plantation trades seeped into almost every aspect of the economy and society.
In textile mills, iron and copper smelting, steam power, and financial institutions, slavery played a crucial part. Things we might think far removed from the taint of slavery, such as eighteenth-century fashions for indigo-patterned cloth, sweet tea, snuff boxes, mahogany furniture, ceramics and silverware, were intimately connected. Even London’s role as a centre for global finance was partly determined by the slave trade as insurance, financial trading and mortgage markets were developed in the City to promote distant and risky investments in enslaved people.
The result is a bold and unflinching account of how Britain became a global superpower, and how the legacy of slavery persists. Acknowledging Britain’s role in slavery is not just about toppling statues and renaming streets. We urgently need to come to terms with slavery’s inextricable links with Western capitalism, and the ways in which many of us continue to benefit from slavery to this day.
Trade Review‘In this impeccably wresearched piece of scholarship, Berg and Hudson provide a comprehensive account of how slavery shaped British industrialisation. Building on the pioneering insights of Eric Williams, the authors forensically demonstrate the dynamic role of the slave economy across a wide range of sectors of economic, social and cultural activity in Britain. Written in a lucid and accessible style, this landmark study makes a powerful contribution to our understanding of the global history of slavery, and lays an ideal foundation for developing a mature public conversation about slavery in contemporary Britain.’
Sudhir Hazareesingh, University of Oxford, and author of Black Spartacus: the Epic Life of Toussaint Louverture
‘Inspired by recent debates, Berg and Hudson--eminent historians of British industrialisation--address its ignominious connections to slavery. They bring to that crucial and challenging task a wealth of historical knowledge, an intellectual boldness and subtlety, as well as the humility to learn from other scholars. The book that results encourages us to reflect on the manifold and complex ways in which the enslavement and exploitation of millions of human beings shaped the historical trajectories and legacies of British capitalism.’
Mary O’Sullivan, University of Geneva
‘The past four decades have seen a revolution in our understanding of the take-off to economic growth. Modern scholarship increasingly rejects simplistic accounts based on the experiences of countries viewed in isolation; instead, it emphasises international linkages of many kinds, including slavery. In this volume, two of the leading historians of the Industrial Revolution provide an authoritative, accessible and indispensable account of the role played by slavery in that momentous transformation.’
Kevin O’Rourke, New York University, Abu Dhabi
'One of the most important political economy books published this century. Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson's wake-up call for greater awareness of slavery's role in Britain's economic pre-eminence is backed by their expert detective work uncovering the sheer size and reach of the tentacles of the slave trade in the British economy since the 17th century. Slavery, Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution should be essential reading in order to understand the real cost and legacy of slavery and empire.'
Colin Thain, University of Birmingham
Table of ContentsIntroduction
Chapter 1: Slavery and the British economy: how the slave and plantation trades worked and how they changed
Chapter 2: Slavery and the British industrial revolution: misleading measures
Chapter 3: A revolution in consumption: sugar and other plantation products
Chapter 4: Plantation innovation and Atlantic science
Chapter 5: British ‘slave ports’ and their hinterlands: structural and regional transformation
Chapter 6: Iron and copper revolutions: metals, hardware and mining
Chapter 7: Textile revolutions
Chapter 8: Financial capitalism
Chapter 9: Slavery after slavery: legacies of race and inequality
Chapter 10: Slavery, capitalism and the economic history of Britain
