The Routledge History of Slavery is a landmark publication that provides an overview of the main themes surrounding the history of slavery from ancient Greece to the present day. Taking stock of the field of Slave Studies, the book explores the major advances that have taken place in the past few decades of study in this crucial field. Offering an unusual, transnational history of slavery, the chapters have all been specially commissioned for the collection. The volume begins by delineating the global nature of the institution of slavery, examining slavery in different parts of the world and over time. Topics covered here include slavery in Africa and the Indian Ocean World, as well as the Transatlantic Slave Trade. In Part Two, the chapters explore different themes that define slavery such as slave culture, the slave economy, slave resistance and the planter class, as well as areas of life affected by slavery, such as family and work. The final part goes on to study changes and continuities over time, looking at areas such as abolition, the aftermath of emancipation and commemoration. The volume concludes with a chapter on modern slavery. Including essays on all the key topics and issues, this important collection from a leading international group of scholars presents a comprehensive survey of the current state of the field. It will be essential reading for all those interested in the history of slavery.
List of contributors
Introduction by Gad Heuman 1
PART 1 Slavery as a global institution 17
1 Greek and Roman slavery by Niall Mckeown 19
2 Slavery in Africa by Paul E. Lovejoy 35
3 Slavery in the Indian Ocean world by Gwyn Campbell 52
4 The origins of slavery in the Americas, 1500-1700 by Betty Wood 64
5 The Atlantic Slave trade by Trevor Burnard 80
PART 2 The character of slavery 99
6 Work and the slave economy by Lorena Walsh 101
7 The demography of slavery by Richard Follett 119
8 Gender and family life by Jennifer L. Morgan 138
9 Remembered pasts: African Atlantic religions by Sylvia R. Frey 153
10 Slave culture by Matt D. Childs 170
11 The planter class by Trevor Burnard 187
12 Resistance to slavery by James Sidbury 204
13 Slave rebellions by Gad Heuman 220
14 Free coloureds by John Garrigus 234
15 Race relations in slave societies by Timothy James Lockley 248
PART 3 Changes and continuities 265
16 Slavery in the age of revolution by Laurent Dubois 267
17 Abolition of the Atlantic slave trade by Christopher Leslie Brown 281
18 Forging freedom by Steven Hahn 298
19 Emancipation Day traditions in the Anglo-Atlantic world by Edward B. Rugemer 314
