"Slave Empire: How Slavery Built Modern Britain" Topic

"The British empire, in sentimental myth, was more free, more just and more fair than its rivals. But this claim that the British empire was 'free' and that, for all its flaws, it promised liberty to all its subjects was never true. The British empire was built on slavery.

Slave Empire puts enslaved people at the centre the British empire in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. In intimate, human detail, the chapters show how British imperial power and industrial capitalism were inextricable from plantation slavery. With vivid original research and careful synthesis of innovative historical scholarship, Slave Empire shows that British freedom and British slavery were made together…"

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Amicalement
Armand

Along with every empire going back to Nebuchadnezzar. No surprise here.

And what empire devoted itself to stamping out the slave trade in the 19th century?

As in many other cases throughout history, the British Empire was built on slavery and then, paradoxically, championed abolition. However, bear in mind that it happened after the Industrial Revolution, when Britain became the leader in mechanized mass production and slavery was no longer "needed." It took more social reforms to deal with abusive practices including children and women working 16 hours a day for very little pay. Human progress is slow and is the result of clashes of interests and humanitarian concerns. The story goes on…

(smile)

Amicalement
Armand