Slavery

With over 150 selections, this new Reader draws on a range of documentary sources to show the origins, history, and realities of slavery and the slave trade. Exploring the economic, cultural, and political role of slavery, the volume shows the similarities as well as the differences across many diverse societies. While focusing primarily on the Americas, the volume extends to a consideration of slavery in other societies: the classical world, Africa, Asia, and the contemporary world. Selections range widely, from international slave trade regulations and the individual records of slaveowners, to legislative debates concerning the emancipation of slaves. Selections include writings of those enslaved as well as free members of society, along with extracts from the works of many leading historians and economists. With editorial introductions explaining the important areas of debate, this volume reveals the true diversity of human experiences of slavery.