A convincing dismantling of the motives behind the abolition of slavery in the British Empire. Often seen as a triumph of Enlightenment values, Eric Williams sets out the mercenary side of the abolition movement in a comprehensive and detailed way. Written in the 1940's, it does show it's age a bit but remains startlingly relevant to today’s ‘culture wars’.

A great book for anybody who wants to make sense of the origins of the current issues relating to racism in western contemporary societies where racism is gaining traction. Clearly, knowledge is power. and the more knowledge one has, the better-equipped one is in their fight against injustice. and discrimination, Although written in the 1940s, this book is very timely!

A book that is so relevant to today, a book that everybody should read! . It is very well researched, superbly written.
Capitalism and Slavery is an academic account of how economic factors commandeered the slave trade and how integral it was in the British economy.
It is laced with illustrative examples of what the slave trade meant to the ruling class, It makes an uneasy read about just how integral the slave trade was to many of our major British cities! This book certainly has relevance for the now.
Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for review.

I studied British history at school. I thought I knew about the industrial revolution and the abolition of slavery, even a bit about colonialism - I really didn’t. This important text on the links between capitalism and racism challenged me and I wish I’d read it much sooner. It’s eloquent, well-researched and should be required reading for everybody. It’s as relevant today as when it was written.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All views are my own.

Capitalism and Slavery by Eric Williams.

⭐⭐⭐⭐/5

Written in 1944, Capitalism and Slavery breaks down the links between Capitalism and Slavery, and just how much the former depended on the latter. I've read so many books on the topic of slavery, so I'm surprised I've never heard of this book until recently.

Call me naive, but I never realised just how much every single trade during the time of slavery depended on it as an industry. From ship-makers, to bankers, to the insurance industry, to cloth-makers, people were genuinely terrified of the idea of slavery ending, as their livelihood depended on the money that came from dealing with the traders from the Americas. Williams clearly breaks down the idea that slavery was racially motivated - it was in fact born out of economic necessity. I have always linked the slave trade to America, but Britain was probably the biggest benefactor from the industry, and current major cities in England were developed on the back of slavery and the money it was bringing in.

The one thing I didn't like about this book, was how Williams failed to speak about the people suffering under slavery as humans, and took till the end of the book to speak about how those people played a part in their freedom, rather than them being 'saved' by the abolitionists.

All in all, this was a highly informative book that is, in my opinion, essential reading.

Thanks to @penguinpress @penguinclassics for approving me to read this via @netgalley.

This book was so eye-opening and relevant ! I can’t believe it was written so long ago .

This is a fantastic analysis of accumulation of capital from slavery . Everyone needs to read this book.
This book is well researched , eloquently written and should be on the school curriculum in my opinion

Capitalism and Slavery is an academic account of how economic factors dominated the slave trade and how integral it was in the British economy. Written in 1944, Eric Williams summarises the slave trade from its murky beginnings in free labour to its so-called end, with the abolition of slavery. Beginning with England sending convicts to its colonies, Williams argues slavery did not begin as an issue of race and colour but as a purely economic issue of how cheap labour could be provided. This then progressed to which race cost more, with Williams stating the harsh reality that, “The money which procured a white man’s services for ten years could buy a Negro for life.”

Threaded with illustrative examples of what the slave trade meant to the ruling class, (e.g. ships crowded to way past safe levels in order to maximise profit), Capitalism and Slavery makes an uneasy read about just how integral the slave trade was to many major British cities, from Bristol to Glasgow. However, this is very much a work of its time. The focus is on political matters, and how and why the slave trade gripped the economy in the way it did. The sources draw heavily on parliamentary papers and secondary sources from the 1920s and 1930s. This isn’t a criticism, just something to be aware of in case someone is looking for a more social or cultural study about the reality of slavery.

Despite being written over seventy years ago; Williams offers up a conclusion which is as relevant now as it was then. His points aren’t made as a solution, but as “guide-posts” from a previous time which we must learn from.

Thank you to NetGalley for the free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

A new edition of the 1944 classic which interrogates the economic underpinning of British led slavery, and also therefore the economic reasons for abolition. Whilst written over seventy years ago, its a compelling thesis which suggests that a protectionist monopolistic trade which came out of slavery then floundered when the immense capital it had created was used to underpin the industrial revolution. At that point a free market was more desirable and profitable as the economic problems with slavery (unproductive workforce, slave-owners costs in housing/feeding and replacing) grew. Whilst Williams does not deny the input of the abolitionist movement, he also suggests that their rhetoric was co-opted as convenient to put down a failing economic model, which becomes clear when you consider both the reparations given to slave owners and that Britain continued trading with slave owning nations afterwards (Brazil and the US - an ex-colony whose slave system the UK created). The triangular trade not only bankrolled British power at the start of the 19th Century, but it also created trade routes and a massive merchant fleet which was easily moved over to become non-slave trace vessels.

What is interesting about the book is that it spends most of its time looking at the economic case, and a relatively scant amount on the actual realities of slavery. I assume there are a number of reasons for this, not least that part of the point of the book as economic history is to recontextualise what had become a bad faith story around abolition being a moral position (which could be contrasted with the US - as if US slavery had nothing to do with the UK). Williams does get into it near the end of the book with a couple of chapters on escaped slaves, rebellion and ideas around productivity. He also contrasts with increasing industrialisation of farming, as it became less labour intensive the economic argument for not quite free labour also drifts. What Williams is not particularly interested in is the racial aspect of slavery - he talks about indentured servitude in the same way - and again the legacy of slavery is out of the context of his book. There is an aspect therefore which reads strangely to modern eyes where long term societal effects of slavery, and indeed to class and economic effects are largely mainstream ideas.

This is primarily an academic thesis which has been softened - a touch - for the layman, and as such both its style and age means it is rather a dry read. But it is absolutely vital in the history of ideas, and as a pushback to an otherwise self congratulatory British historical take on slavery. And whilst its language may tend to the dry, it very rarely falls into traps of unintended, or even period specific racism. Williams may have been writing for a white academic audience, but he does not compromise himself in the process. An invigorating and important piece of work and a welcome new edition.

When I visited the Slavery Museum in Barbados with my husband, we were the only white people there. I suppose most of us are too ashamed to go there. It was illuminating, just like this book. Even though we know slavery was practiced in ancient Greece and Rome, not to mention between different African tribes, it is still shocking that it was happening in Britain until just before Queen Victoria was on the throne. Even though this book was written in 1944, it is still relevant today and very readable.

This book isn't for the faint hearted which you will probably get from the tittle.
But please don't underestimate the importance and impact that Eric gives you throughout the book.
I loved the way that he took not just the political view but the people perspective of what was happening at the time.
Some things I disagree with but that's the whole point of the book.
To get people talking and he has definitely achieved that.

I can see why this is described as being decades ahead of its time. Written in 1944, this book examines all the factors around the African Slave trade/ chattel slavery including its relationship with modern capitalism, the industrial revolution and the creation of the idea of race and racism. It’s an immensely well researched book, a dispassionate and unflinching look at all the factors involved in both slavery and emancipation. Most importantly, it avoids the current fashionable dishonesty which suggests that Britain and the Empire was responsible for the entire problem, when we know that a) slavery had been practiced for centuries, even millennia before this with no regard for race, b) different African tribes enslaved each other and sold those slaves to Europeans (they were enslaving them anyway, the Europeans just created greater demand – slavery was not taught to them by white people, it had existed for a long time. Plus the only Europeans that ventured into Africa before the mid-1800s were the Portuguese, so tales of ‘the white man coming and kidnapping black African villagers’ have no basis in historical fact) and c) that there were many factors involved in emancipation including humanitarianism. Think about that last point – you’re an abolitionist and you need to get a bill through parliament, do you care if the other person shares your ideology if they are willing to pass a bill based on their own economic interests? I think not. And the reverse is also true. We don’t forget that self-interest will dress up as altruism, but it makes us blind to the fact that altruism will wear the mask of self interest in a good cause. I digress. Williams captures the many threads of this argument and gives a balanced portrayal. And he did it while the British Empire was still kicking its death throes, before Enid Powell created the ‘British identity’. He must have been a man of rare clear thought and vision. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone really improve on this book in the fifty or so years since.

Having recently moved to near Bristol I found myself surrounded by throwbacks to the slave trade, something I had never really had cause to consider before. This book answers a lot of the questions I had and raised even more. Recommended reading