In his influential and widely debated Capitalism and Slavery, Eric
Williams examined the relation of capitalism and slavery in the
British West Indies. Binding an economic view of history with strong
moral argument, his study of the role of slavery in financing the
Industrial Revolution refuted traditional ideas of economic and moral
progress and firmly established the centrality of the African slave
trade in European economic development. He also showed that mature
industrial capitalism in turn helped destroy the slave system.
Establishing the exploitation of commercial capitalism and its link to
racial attitudes, Williams employed a historicist vision that has set
the tone for an entire field. Williams’s profound critique became
the foundation for studies of imperialism and economic development and
has been widely debated since the book’s initial publication in
1944. The Economic Aspect of the Abolition of the West Indian Slave
Trade and Slavery now makes available in book form for the first time
his dissertation, on which Capitalism and Slavery was based. The
significant differences between his two works allow us to rethink
questions that were considered resolved and to develop fresh problems
and hypotheses. It offers the possibility of a much deeper
reconsideration of issues that have lost none of their
urgency—indeed, whose importance has increased.
Les mer
Produktdetaljer
ISBN
9781442231405
Publisert
2015
Utgiver
Vendor
Rowman & Littlefield Publishers
Språk
Product language
Engelsk
Format
Product format
Digital bok
Forfatter