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