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Capitalism and Slavery
Series: Penguin Modern Classics
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Check link for latest rating. ( 1,618 ratings, 154 reviews)
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Capitalism and Slavery
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Description
The paradigm-shifting classic that connected the dots between transatlantic slavery, capitalism and racism.
“If one criterion of a classic is its ability to reorient our most basic way of viewing an object or a concept, Eric Williams's study supremely passes that test” – Seymour Drescher
Arguing that the slave trade was at the heart of Britain's economic progress, Eric Williams's landmark 1944 study revealed the connections between capitalism and racism, and has influenced generations of historians ever since. Williams traces the rise and fall of the Atlantic slave trade through the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries to show how it laid the foundations of the Industrial Revolution, and how racism arose as a means of rationalising an immoral economic programme. Most significantly, he showed how slavery was only abolished when it ceased to become financially viable, exploding the myth of emancipation as a mark of Britain's moral progress.
“Its thesis is a starting point for a new generation of scholarship” – New Yorker
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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?
A seminal work, Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams offers a groundbreaking analysis linking the rise of British capitalism to the exploitation of slave labour. Reviews commend the book as a classic critique and vital read, essential for understanding the intertwined histories of slavery, colonialism, and modern capitalism. It's described as intellectually bold and provocative, highlighting the unjust economic motivations behind slavery and its enduring legacies.
Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780241548165
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 24 February 2022
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Penguin Classics
Audience: General / adult, Tertiary education, Professional and scholarly
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 17.0mm
Width: 129.0mm
Height: 198.0mm
Weight: 224g
Pages: 304
About the Author
Eric Williams (1911-1981) was a pioneering historian and politician born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago. He graduated with first-class honours from St Catherine's College, Oxford in 1935, and completed a DPhil in History in 1938. His dissertation, 'The Economic Aspects of the Abolition of the Slave Trade,' was published as Capitalism and Slavery in 1944, while he was a professor at Howard University. In 1956, Williams founded the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago's first modern political party. He led the country to independence from the British and became the nation's first prime minister in 1962.
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