The SLAVE TRADE: THE STORY OF THE ATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE: 1440 - 1870

nothing much to see here, folks.just standard assumptions and shallow research.no continuity between the classical slave trade and the renaissance, eh?no illumination of the folks engaged in the trade for thousands of years.for something more interesting, read Bound Over.

It's taken a long time to get through it, but it is worth the journey.An epic, detailed examination of the African Slave Trade from its inception by the Portuguese in the 15th century to its demise in Brazil in the late 19th. There is so much missing from our popular understanding of the slave trade, the biggest - in my opinion - being the participation of coastal African peoples as kidnappers and traders themselves. You will learn in fine, granular detail about every aspect of the trade, from the financing of voyages to the relative merits (as slaves) of the various groups that populated Africa. One thing I really like about Thomas' treatment of this subject is his avoidance of overtly shrill moralizing, instead letting the appalling facts reveal themselves in the details he provides. His chapter on the slaves' experience of crossing the Atlantic is horrifying. Overcrowded ships was merely one aspect of the crossing.All in all - a fantastic book.

It is a bit too long, but it is a very deep analysis of the slave trade ! if you are interested in finding out about humanity, this is the right book. It discloses, fearlessly, the reality of the character of the human being. It is a deep voyage into the character, soul and cruelty of the human being. Worth reading. Excellent work by the historian Hugh Thomas.

I'm still not through reading it, but it is an incredible amount of research in the book.

Prolific author, read "Rivers of Gold" trilogy and "Conquest". In the middle of this one, and it's profound. What research! My library of "necessary" works has exploded. RIP, sir! And thank-you for your lifetime of scholarship.

This is a very deep, comprehensive read -- rich with history and information, very educational and enlightening on an enormously important subject. But some sections are extremely thick with details and it can be a slow read through some parts, especially the first few chapters. But it's worth the time to get through. Not a light read. In fact, I took my time with this book, setting it aside for lighter reading from time to time.

Absolutely exhaustive and enlightening. Refreshingly bereft of political advocacy, eye-opening in its portrayal of slavery's economy-wide importance to England's fledgling commercial and industrial development, Thomas' book makes it quite plain that elites in every population involved in the slave trade (African, European and American) avidly wished for it to exist and expand. This is a masterpiece of balanced scholarship for a uniquely volatile topic.

The Slave Trade is one book that every one should have to read at school and if not at school then in their normal everyday life. You will come to understand the struggle of oppressed people and why some are angry today and continue to feel disposessed.Read how it all started and why and the conditions people had to endure to make others wealthy or live a comfortable life. If this book is not made available to schools at a secondary level then there is something wrong with the education system. This is a detailed and well researched book and makes you wonder about humankind and man's inhumanity to fellow humans. There are lessons still to be learned and this is one powerful book.

One of the great problems regarding modern discussions on the slave trade is the sheer one-sidedness of arguments. At last we have a book written with a thoroughness and eye for detail that is most impressive. If you want to know the answers to questions: Who sold slaves to traders? Why were certain people earmarked for slavery by African chiefs? What were the motives of slave buyers and shippers ? How old was the slave trade and what was its scope? What would have happened to the people sold into slavery if they had not been shipped or transported abroad? Most of these questions are deliberately avoided by people who view slavery as a simplistic "white skin-evil" :"back skin-victims" issue. It also looks at the role of "racism" in this trade, revealing a surprising positive discrimination by some traders in the early years of the trade, clear tribal racism by many African rulers as well as the pernicious role of the church and so-called christians in justifying the denigration of people of African origin. All in ask this book is a revelation..

This should be required reading in every European and North American school. No country, organisation, government or individual is omitted from this shocking story of the ten million Africans sold into slavery by Western traders. Kidnapped forcefully from villages, branded, transported across the Atlantic in horrific conditions then sold to be abused and worked until they die on a white plantation. Told in an unbiased and objective fashion for readers to arrive at their own conclusions. A must read.

This is a book which builds on a huge amount of researchHowever, it's difficult to read for two reasons, both of which could have been resolved by a good editorFirstly, it reads like a catalogue. One feels that the author felt compelled to use all his research, and didn't want to waste anything. As a result, it often feels like you're wading through a whole series of facts with little or no narrative thread. Slimmed down it would have been a better read.In addition, sentences and paragraphs can be long and clunky, so it's not always obvious to whom the author is referring. References to some other individual, previously mentioned in passing, don't help (nor, really, do frequent footnotes saying 'see here')There's a good book in here trying to get out!

I was compelled to return to this book again and again almost as an act of duty to digest and finish this gruelling account of one of, if not the most inhumane and odious chapters in human history. The book highlights the origins of slavery in general from early civilisations and slaves being prizes in conflicts, wars or raiding parties. That is understandable to a degree and a reflection of human desire to dominate neighbouring tribes, villages etc but for this shameful practice to have originated in so called Christian enlightened countries and to have lasted so long on the scale that it took place is unforgivable and almost unbelievable. But it did apparently happen and the African slave trade probably funded and stimulated the industrial revolution in Britain and other western European countries as the author has suggested.My only criticism or difficulty in reading the book was it was sometimes very tedious to read due to paragraph after paragraph of names and dates of slavers. The book was very repetitive but it probably had to be to emphasise and confirm the scale and extent of this crime. We also were repeatedly reminded that this was also a crime perpetrated or instigated by African against African. It also flagged up the link to the seemingly age old battle for dominance between Islam and Christianity.Overall I was glad and a bit relieved to have read and finally this account of this terrible chapter in human history.

This book deals with slave trade from 1460 to 1870 and concerns itself mainly on the trans Atlantic trade from Africa to the Americas and the Caribbean. Almost every European maritime nation was involved in it and also the Muslims too. It tells how many fortunes were made on the back of misery. It is an extremely interesting book and a good read. But be warned, it is like reading War and Peace due to its length.