Eighteenth-century Britain was the world’s leading centre for the slave trade. Profits soared and fortunes were made, but in 1788 things began to change. Bury The Chains tells the remarkable story of the men who sought to end slavery and brought the issue to the heart of British political life. (Amazon)
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Reviewed by Paul
Discussion of Bury the Chains by Adam Hochschild
The book stimulated a lively discussion, there were many positive comments about how the book was educational, e.g. that most of us knew little or nothing about the enslaved people rebelling again and again in the British West Indies and how these rebellions helped persuade the British Government that the writing was on the wall for slavery. Also that it highlighted the role of the Quakers, which had been downplayed in the historiography in the 200 years since, but actually their role was pivotal. People said that although the book was a non fiction, it read like a novel, and we felt it would make a good film. We felt that although the book is less than 20 years old, some of the language is already out of date in how it refers to enslaved peoples. The book was generally well received, and was given an average score of 8/10.
