Slavery, Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution

by Maxine Berg, Pat Hudson

The role of slavery in driving Britain's economic development is often debated, but seldom given a central place.

In their remarkable new book, Maxine Berg and Pat Hudson ‘follow the money’ to document in revealing detail the role of slavery in the making of Britain’s industrial revolution. Slavery was not just a source of wealth for a narrow circle of slave owners who built grand country houses and filled them with luxuries. The forces set in motion by the slave and plantation trades seeped into almost every aspect of the economy and society.

In textile mills, iron and copper smelting, steam power, and financial institutions, slavery played a crucial part. Things we might think far removed from the taint of slavery, such as eighteenth-century fashions for indigo-patterned cloth, sweet tea, snuff boxes, mahogany furniture, ceramics and silverware, were intimately connected. Even London’s role as a centre for global finance was partly determined by the slave trade as insurance, financial trading and mortgage markets were developed in the City to promote distant and risky investments in enslaved people.

The result is a bold and unflinching account of how Britain became a global superpower, and how the legacy of slavery persists. Acknowledging Britain’s role in slavery is not just about toppling statues and renaming streets. We urgently need to come to terms with slavery’s inextricable links with Western capitalism, and the ways in which many of us continue to benefit from slavery to this day.

Genres: History, Economics, Nonfiction

296 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 25, 2023

About the author

Professor of History at the University of Warwick, where she has taught since 1998. She is a Fellow of the British Academy and of the Royal Historical Society.

Reviews

[Meg Briers · Rating 4 out of 5]

i was more impressed with the article (https://www.thebritishacademy.ac.uk/d...) and quite sad about how little the argument in that featured in the book

the main argument centred around how slavery created new consumer markets for colonial products and provided relief from the restricted resources of britain (with a large emphasis on the role of sugar). additionally, it covered the interventionist and more active than previously presumed role of the state in slavery.

my favourite chapter was the one about the innovations in agriculture technologies, but you know, scientific instruments (kind of). sometimes i just don't understand how economic historians argue for causality sometimes, not in terms of the general take home message of the book (slavery a spark in ir and new economic orientation of the country), but in terms of smaller stepping stone claims. an informative read none the less.

[C. B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

A useful and up-to-date look at questions about the relationship between slavery and the industrial revolution. This is not a history of Africa or the Caribbean. Rather, it seeks to show how slavery fits into the story of the British industrial revolution. Berg and Hudson do not argue that slavery caused industrialisation, nor that slavery was needed for industrialisation. Nor do they attempt to estimate GDP or to quantify the literal monetary value of the slave trade. Rather, they more moderately argue that slavery has been underestimated in histories of the industrial revolution. They highlight developments in technology and finance that were stimulated by the slave trade and plantations of the West Indies. They also explore the revolution in consumer goods that was linked to an Atlantic economy which had slavery at its heart. The book is concise and accessible to those unversed in economic history.

[Dylan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful and clear case to place slavery in a central role for the industrial revolution. Easy to read yet compelling. The book is not radically new: as the authors freely admit, Eric Williams’ Capitalism and Slavery (1944) made the same case so many decades prior. What the book does offer are significant new data that help to bolster the case and overcome the modelling of those who prefer to sideline slavery or segregate it from revolutions in manufacturing, science, commerce, consumerism, accounting, finance, statecraft, and so on.

The book includes almost no discussion on slavery itself: the horrors of the Middle Passage, Caribbean plantations, or the daily horrors inflicted on Black hoodies and minds are not addressed. Those are assumed. It’s for us to connect that abomination with the emergence of the UK as a wealthy and “great”
country.

Berg and Hudson calmly make their case in short and readable chapters that help readers see the profound impact of slavery on Britain; changes that would help propel the UK to become a global empire, and changes that are very much built into every aspect of Britain today.

An absolute must read for Britons, but invaluable also for others around the planet impacted by the UK’s slavery-fueled rise to global stature.

[Andy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very accessible analysis, easy to follow even for lay people.
The structure in chapters helps drive the point across and the last chapter being an extended Conclusion helps wrap up a cogent analysis.
The last 3 chapter dropped the penny for me.
This is a key read if you are interested in understanding how it all ties together in terms on slavery and its repercussions on the various stages of Capitalism.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read as part of HISTORY 339D. I learned about how sugar helped cause the industrious revolution and how sugar drove the copper and metallurgical industries. I also learned about how maritime trade contributed to the increased use of paper money. I learned about the Calico acts and the textile industry. Overall a convincing argument.

[Dora A. Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This popped up on my Amazon page. It looked interesting so I bought it. I have to say it is an awesome read. Congratulation to the authors. Although I’m only less than a quarter way through the book,it is captivating and very informative.

[Alexander B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed and convincing explanation using recent data of just how much of the industrial development in Britain relied, directly or almost directly, on its slave colonies.