Britain's Slave Traders

Essentially, a new history of Britain . . . The strength of this book lies in its detachment. It’s not an angry diatribe against the slave traders and their cruel institution, but rather a calm, forensic investigation of how the slave trade evolved and embedded itself in everyday life. The traders emerge as entirely normal human beings who made positive contributions to society, but also freely engaged in an evil enterprise. That’s what makes this book so disturbing -- Gerard DeGroot * The Times *
The slave trade , as William Pettigrew argues in this grimly important book, can be found “in the depths of Britain's grain" . . . Pettigrew tells the story straight, with little reference to today's culture wars . . . But Pettigrew's careful tone is ultimately more effective than stridency. In this argument, slave traders cannot be conveniently demonised . . . As this deeply researched and revelatory book demonstrates, the conversation has barely begun * Guardian *
Essential, forensic analysis from a global authority. I wish I had been given this book at school -- Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireland
In this vital and necessary book, William Pettigrew challenges the cultural amnesia and omissive history around Brtain's involvement in the trafficking of enslaved Africans. His astute analysis reveals how the wealth, technologies and rationalisations generated by the slave trade created the very institutions, structures and identities that still define Britishness today -- Suzannah Lipscomb, author of The King Is Dead
Ambitious, original, and extensively researched, William Pettigrew’s Britain’s Slave Traders is an important book and a timely addition to the current debate on national identity and cultural memory -- Amanda Foreman, author of World on Fire
No place to hide. William Pettigrew's compelling narrative reveals how slave trading shaped British society, economy, and government, through and through. Look behind the merchant traders at those who invested in slave trading, and you find that every section of British society was involved -- Clare Jackson, author of Devil-Land
An important and illuminating book, based on remarkable research, but also one written with great clarity and pace -- Jonathan Healey, author of The Blood in Winter