Il commercio degli schiavi

by Lisa A. Lindsay

This book centers on one of the most tragic, horrifying, and important pieces of the history of the Western world: the transatlantic slave trade.  Unlike any other system of commerce in world history, the primary commodities exchanged in the slave trade were people, and this fact has implications not only for how the trade was initiated, conducted, conceptualized, and concluded, but also for how we make sense of it in the present.  For on one hand, the Atlantic slave trade was indeed trade, and as such it bears comparison with and was related to the expansion of a variety of global commercial networks.  On the other hand, unlike other commodities driving cross-cultural exchange in world history, slaves were human, with all this implies about their vulnerability to pain and discomfort, their capacity to resist, their real or potential relationships with sellers and buyers, and--most fundamentally to those sellers and buyers--their labor power.  Understanding the Atlantic slave trade thus requires studying economic and political history, dealing largely with those who bought and sold slaves, as well as the social and cultural history of slavers, the enslaved, and the societies they lived in and built. 

Genres: Nonfiction, History

Paperback

First published October 27, 2007

Reviews

[Liz]

This book was required for a West African History class I’m taking right now. It provides a really in depth look at the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Incredibly sad, but important to know and understand.

[Rebecca Shumway]

I seem to use this in every course I teach.

[Giacomo Morera]

BIBLIOTECA

[irene]

Libro inserito come parte di un percorso monografico nel mio corso di Storia Moderna.
Pur essendo un libricino che scorre piuttosto velocemente, si tratta indubbiamente di una scrittura densa di informazioni. Nonostante la brevità e la quantità di argomenti affrontati (la nascita della tratta e le esplorazioni in Africa, le origini della schiavitù, il fenomeno della tratta dal punto di vista degli stati europei, degli africani, le condizioni degli schiavi durante il viaggio e una volta arrivati nelle Americhe...) i concetti e i fatti descritti risultano essere molto chiari. E' però vero che certi argomenti vengono condensati in maniera eccessiva, così da risultare leggermente scarni; dall'altra parte forse questo è stato fatto per non divagare eccessivamente su argomenti che sarebbero potuti risultare "fuori tema".
Sicuramente un libro che può risultare interessante e utile anche al di fuori dal contesto universitario, dando uno sguardo immersivo su una pagina di storia rilevante ancora oggi, le cui conseguenze si percepiscono ancora oggi e di cui è necessario conoscere le origini nel dettaglio.

[Jacob]

The book reads like a poorly written doctoral essay (it probably is one), containing irrelevant transitions and superfluous modifiers. Most of Lindsay's references are taken out of context, and they weakly support her [easy an safe] thesis. (The bit about Roots in chapter two felt especially forced...) Most of her references (or at least the ones I have already read) are taken from the first pages and chapters of their respective works; Lindsay didn't actually read her sources. The epilogue entitled "Making Connections" is redundant. The book is poorly written and does little or no justice to the source texts.

The up side: The subject is engaging and thought provoking. The evidence, despite being poorly written, is effective, and Lindsay successfully proves her thesis.

Verdict: Read Lindsay's sources; they are much more fulfilling. Spare yourself a boring read.

[Sentree]

Very dense and detailed material, but it's a short and informative read.

[Dan]

So very shallow.