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  • Experts

Slavery

Most Recommended Books

The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano

“This is a famous book. It was quite famous when it was first written, in the late 18th century, but it has had a renaissance from the 1960s onwards. The crucial thing about this book—and this is why I’ve listed it first—is that it gives you the lived experience of enslavement and it neatly pieces together pretty much every chapter in the story of the rise and fall of slavery, and it also covers the geography of the slave trade. “

William A. Pettigrew,

Read more

Slavery has been a common feature of many human societies. Our coverage of it focuses largely on the role it played in the Atlantic economy in the early modern period.  The legacy of the enslavement of people of African descent in the Americas is still with us, both in terms of widespread social and economic disadvantage for people of Africa heritage throughout the Americas and in the persistence of the racialism that underpinned slavery in the first place.

The historian, William Pettigrew, of Lancaster University chooses his best books on the slave trade itself. And the Anglo-Nigerian historian Professor David Olusoga chooses his best books on racism and slavery, covering not only the Atlantic trade, but also contrasting that with the slave trade in East Africa and the Islamic world and how the two differed.  Racism was foundational to the Atlantic trade and Francisco Bethencourt chooses his best books on racism and how to write history. All three of these historians choose the autobiography of Olaudah Equiano, The Interesting Narrative as one of their five books.

The slave trade and its role in the Atlantic is also addressed by Bernard Bailyn on his best books on Atlantic history.

Many of our interviews on the US also touch on racial politics in the United States, and the role and legacy of slavery in the country

    The best books on The Slave Trade, recommended by William A. Pettigrew

  • Read
    The best books on The Slave Trade - The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano

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    The Interesting Narrative
    by Olaudah Equiano

  • Read
    The best books on The Slave Trade - Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams

    2

    Capitalism and Slavery
    by Eric Williams

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    The best books on The Slave Trade - The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas by David Eltis

    3

    The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas
    by David Eltis

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    The best books on The Slave Trade - Ouidah: The Social History of a West African Slaving Port 1727-1892 by Robin Law

    4

    Ouidah: The Social History of a West African Slaving Port 1727-1892
    by Robin Law

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    The best books on The Slave Trade - American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia by Edmund S Morgan

    5

    American Slavery, American Freedom: The Ordeal of Colonial Virginia
    by Edmund S Morgan

The best books on The Slave Trade, recommended by William A. Pettigrew

In the 17th and 18th century millions of Africans were shipped across the Atlantic to the Americas as slaves. This trade took place at the same time as ‘liberal’ ideas about the importance of human freedom took root in Great Britain and North America. Here, historian William A. Pettigrew recommends five books to help understand the slave trade, how it was established, why it flourished and why it was eventually abolished.

    The best books on Race and Slavery, recommended by David Olusoga

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    The best books on Race and Slavery - Bury the Chains: The British Struggle to Abolish Slavery by Adam Hochschild

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    Bury the Chains: The British Struggle to Abolish Slavery
    by Adam Hochschild

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    The best books on Race and Slavery - Islam’s Black Slaves by Ronald Segal

    2

    Islam’s Black Slaves
    by Ronald Segal

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    The best books on Race and Slavery - Freedom: A Photographic History of the African American Struggle by Leith Mullings, Manning Marable & Sophie Spencer-Wood

    3

    Freedom: A Photographic History of the African American Struggle
    by Leith Mullings, Manning Marable & Sophie Spencer-Wood

  • Read
    The best books on Race and Slavery - The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano

    4

    The Interesting Narrative
    by Olaudah Equiano

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    The best books on Race and Slavery - Kolyma Tales by Varlam Shalamov

    5

    Kolyma Tales
    by Varlam Shalamov

The best books on Race and Slavery, recommended by David Olusoga

Race is a real and powerful force and one he has spent his adult life trying to understand, says Anglo-Nigerian historian, writer and producer, David Olusoga. He talks us through five books on the tragedy of slavery—from the horrors of the gulag, to the plantations of Virginia, to the Islamic slave trade.

    The best books on Racism and How to Write History, recommended by Francisco Bethencourt

  • Read
    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Interesting Narrative by Olaudah Equiano

    1

    The Interesting Narrative
    by Olaudah Equiano

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    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - Civilization and Capitalism by Fernand Braudel

    2

    Civilization and Capitalism
    by Fernand Braudel

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    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The East in the West by Jack Goody

    3

    The East in the West
    by Jack Goody

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    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing by Michael Mann

    4

    The Dark Side of Democracy: Explaining Ethnic Cleansing
    by Michael Mann

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    The best books on Racism and How to Write History - The Price of Inequality by Joseph Stiglitz

    5

    The Price of Inequality
    by Joseph Stiglitz

The best books on Racism and How to Write History, recommended by Francisco Bethencourt

Racism is not innate but emerges under special conditions, says the King’s College professor and author of the sweeping history Racisms: From the Crusades to the Twentieth Century. He chooses five books that inspired him.

    The best books on Atlantic History, recommended by Bernard Bailyn

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    The best books on Atlantic History - Atlantic History by Bernard Bailyn

    1

    Atlantic History
    by Bernard Bailyn

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    The best books on Atlantic History - Empires of the Atlantic World by JH Elliott

    2

    Empires of the Atlantic World
    by JH Elliott

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    The best books on Atlantic History - Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade by David Eltis and David Richardson

    3

    Atlas of the Transatlantic Slave Trade
    by David Eltis and David Richardson

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    The best books on Atlantic History - The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800 by David Armitage and Michael J Braddick (editors)

    4

    The British Atlantic World, 1500-1800
    by David Armitage and Michael J Braddick (editors)

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    The best books on Atlantic History - Soundings in Atlantic History by Bernard Bailyn (editor)

    5

    Soundings in Atlantic History
    by Bernard Bailyn (editor)

The best books on Atlantic History, recommended by Bernard Bailyn

Harvard professor and Pulitzer prize-winning historian Bernard Bailyn recommends reading on three centuries of empire, conflict and slave trading between the Americas, Europe and Africa

About

We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand interviews, or five thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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