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Slave Empire

How Slavery Built Modern Britain
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( 79 ratings, 7 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
Slave Empire by Padraic X. Scanlan delves into the complex history of the British Empire’s involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. This historical analysis explores how slavery and its eventual abolishment shaped economic and political power, reflecting on the moral contradictions of the British Empire during that era. The book provides an insightful narrative on how the pursuit of wealth and dominance intertwined with human exploitation, offering a deep understanding of a pivotal period in history.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

This book may appeal to you if you have an interest in exploring the complexities of the British Empire's role in the transatlantic slave trade. It provides a detailed examination of how slavery was interconnected with the empire's economic growth and delves into the moral and political debates that surrounded it. Inquisitive readers who enjoy a thought-provoking narrative about history's darker chapters might find this work particularly engaging.

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The idea that the British empire was built on freedom is a myth. Britain rose to global power in the eighteenth century on the backs of enslaved workers. And although Britain was the first European empire to abolish slavery, even British abolitionism was shaped by the slave empire.

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

'Engrossing and powerful . . . rich and thought-provoking'

Fara Dabhoiwala, Guardian

'Path-breaking . . . a major rewriting of history'

Mihir Bose, Irish Times

Slave Empire is lucid, elegant and forensic. It deals with appalling horrors in cool and convincing prose.

The Economist

The British empire, in sentimental myth, was more free, more just and more fair than its rivals. But this claim that the British empire was 'free' and that, for all its flaws, it promised liberty to all its subjects was never true. The British empire was built on slavery.

Slave Empire puts enslaved people at the centre of the British empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In intimate, human detail, Padraic Scanlon shows how British imperial power and industrial capitalism were inextricable from plantation slavery. With vivid original research and careful synthesis of innovative historical scholarship, Slave Empire shows that British freedom and British slavery were made together.

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

Slave Empire by Padraic X. Scanlan is praised for its engrossing and powerful narrative. The book offers a rich and thought-provoking examination of the role of slavery in shaping modern Britain, highlighting the moral contradictions of the British antislavery movement and its economic entwinement with unfree labour. It is described as a path-breaking and important rewriting of history, revealing how Britain's wealth remained tied to slavery and rejoicing over abolition masked ongoing exploitation and inequity.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781472142337

Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 10 March 2022

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Robinson

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 36.0mm

Width: 124.0mm

Height: 194.0mm

Weight: 316g

Pages: 464

About the Author

PADRAIC X. SCANLAN earned a BA (Hons) in History from McGill University in 2008, and a PhD in History from Princeton University in 2013. He is Associate Professor in the Centre for Industrial Relations and Human Resources and the Centre for Diaspora & Transnational Studies at the University of Toronto and a Research Associate at the Joint Centre for History and Economics at the University of Cambridge. He has also held appointments at the London School of Economics and Harvard University. He is the author of Freedom's Debtors, which, in 2018, was awarded the James A. Rawley Prize and the Wallace K. Ferguson Prize, and Slave Empire.

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