The twelve essays explore three connected aspects of European expansion in the period between 1500 and 1900 - migration, trade, and slavery - with some attention given to present-day echoes from that era. The book's first section deals with European migration to transatlantic and Asian destinations, the second and third sections focus on the Atlantic slave trade and representations of slavery, and the final section analyzes the demise and legacy of slavery. The authors reach surprising conclusions: European expansion did not entail major economic benefits; the small scale of the Europeans' intercontinental migration never jeopardized their colonial projects; and the unique popular nature of British abolitionism can be explained in part by the growth of the newspaper press in the mid-eighteenth century, which regularly reported about slave ship revolts.
Wim Klooster, Ph.D. (1995) in History, University of Leiden, is Associate Professor at Clark University. He is the author or co-editor of six other books, including Revolutions in the Atlantic World: A Comparative History (2009).
"This volume is a welcome addition to the burgeoning literature on the Atlantic world. Two of its strengths are the wider-geographic coverage, particularly European migration to the East Indies and West Africa, and its focus on a wider time period from 1500 to 1900. The volumeâs balance between established scholars and graduate students allows for the presentation of essays based on ideas and scholarship fleshed out over several years and novel inquiries and approaches to untapped areas, respectively. Moreover, though the volume lacks a central focus, another strength is the coverage of a wide range of topics from the establishment of empires to the abolition of slavery and a discussion of decolonisation."
- Joseph Avitable (Albertus Magnus College), Itinerario, January 2010, pp. 127 - 129
THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE
5. New Christians, Jews, and Amsterdam at the Crossroads of Expansion Systems, Jessica Vance Roitman
6. Social Outcomes of Trade Relations: Ties between Africans and Europeans in the Hubs of the Slave Trade on the Guinea Coast, Natalie Everts
REPRESENTATIONS OF SLAVERY
7. Slavery in the De Bry Collection: The Formation of a Worldwide Comparative Perspective, Ernst van den Boogaart
8. The Representation of Slaves and Slavery in the Writing of the Natural History of the West Indies during the Early Modern Centuries: French and English Contributions Compared, Nicholas Canny
SLAVERYâS DEMISE AND LEGACY
9. Abolition and Identity in the Very Long Run, David Eltis
10. Divergent Paths: The Anglo-American Abolitions of the Atlantic Slave Trade, Seymour Drescher
11. The Transformation and Downfall of Plantation Labor in Suriname, Ellen Klinkers
12. History Brought Home: Postcolonial Migrations and the Dutch Rediscovery of Slavery, Gert Oostindie
Index
All those interested in European expansion history, Atlantic history, slavery, and world history.