The Forgotten Slave Trade - The Library of the Uncommons

Hardcover, 208 pages

English language

Published Jan. 22, 2021 by Pen and Sword History.

ISBN:: 978-1-5267-6926-8

Explains the role of the newly independent United States in putting an end to the trade in European and American slaves.

Everybody knows about the transatlantic slave trade, which saw black Africans snatched from their homes, taken across the Atlantic Ocean and then sold into slavery. However, a century before Britain became involved in this terrible business, whole villages and towns in England, Ireland, Italy, Spain and other European countries were being depopulated by slavers, who transported the men, women and children to Africa where they were sold to the highest bidder. This is the forgotten slave trade; one which saw over a million Christians forced into captivity in the Muslim world.

Starting with the practice of slavery in the ancient world, Simon Webb traces the history of slavery in Europe, showing that the numbers involved were vast and that the victims were often treated far more cruelly …

Explains the role of the newly independent United States in putting an end to the trade in European and American slaves.

Everybody knows about the transatlantic slave trade, which saw black Africans snatched from their homes, taken across the Atlantic Ocean and then sold into slavery. However, a century before Britain became involved in this terrible business, whole villages and towns in England, Ireland, Italy, Spain and other European countries were being depopulated by slavers, who transported the men, women and children to Africa where they were sold to the highest bidder. This is the forgotten slave trade; one which saw over a million Christians forced into captivity in the Muslim world.

Starting with the practice of slavery in the ancient world, Simon Webb traces the history of slavery in Europe, showing that the numbers involved were vast and that the victims were often treated far more cruelly than black slaves in America and the Caribbean. Castration, used very occasionally against black slaves taken across the Atlantic, was routinely carried out on an industrial scale on European boys who were exported to Africa and the Middle East. Most people are aware that the English city of Bristol was a major center for the transatlantic slave trade in the eighteenth century, but hardly anyone knows that 1,000 years earlier it had been an important staging-post for the transfer of English slaves to Africa.

Reading this book will forever change how you view the slave trade and show that many commonly held beliefs about this controversial subject are almost wholly inaccurate and mistaken.

6 editions

Frecklemaid reviewed The Forgotten Slave Trade by Simon Webb

Review of 'The Forgotten Slave Trade' on 'Goodreads'

2 stars

The Forgotten Slave Trade is a broad and informative look at the 'Triangular Trade' of slaves between Europe and North Africa. As noted by Webb, this is a largely ignored and forgotten part of world history as slavery is explored through the lens of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Throughout the book, it's made clear that Webb is trying to dispel the notion that slavery is a uniquely European sin and for the most part he remains respectful of the push to highlight the ills of Imperialism while criticising the selectivity of which nations are frowned upon.

How informative is it?
Webb has managed to create an informative and detailed timeline of the Barbary slave trade along with that which preceded it and followed. He also did a great job of explaining the role of religion in conflicts between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East. The role of Islam in …

The Forgotten Slave Trade is a broad and informative look at the 'Triangular Trade' of slaves between Europe and North Africa. As noted by Webb, this is a largely ignored and forgotten part of world history as slavery is explored through the lens of the Transatlantic Slave Trade. Throughout the book, it's made clear that Webb is trying to dispel the notion that slavery is a uniquely European sin and for the most part he remains respectful of the push to highlight the ills of Imperialism while criticising the selectivity of which nations are frowned upon.

How informative is it?
Webb has managed to create an informative and detailed timeline of the Barbary slave trade along with that which preceded it and followed. He also did a great job of explaining the role of religion in conflicts between Christian Europe and the Islamic Middle East. The role of Islam in the Ottoman Empire and historic justifications for slavery and its practices was also well explained and the occasional links to recent conflicts was fascinating.

The scope of this book spans centuries and three continents, focusing on the roles of the Barbary corsairs, Ottoman Empire, Morocco and the response of European nations and the U.S. over time to the issues presented. I went into this book knowing virtually nothing about the Barbary slave trade other than that it happened and was surprised to learn about its prevalence and impact, especially the eventual U.S. involvement.

What didn’t I love?
•The book was at times under supported by evidence and could go for pages without citation. There were several instances where very old/questionable sources were used. At one point a Daily Mail article is used as a reference, a ‘News and Observer’ article at another. I understand that in some cases information may have been difficult to source, but I seriously doubt news articles and descriptions of culture from 1912 were the only available.
•The writing was at times repetitive and could do with editing, although it must be noted that I read an ARC copy and this issue may have been remedied. It could also be a bit dry and boring but I think that’s mainly because it’s a pretty dense and hardcore bit of history to write about.
•Several times throughout the book Webb made a point of comparing the treatment of European slaves in North Africa with black slaves, saying one was worse or equal in awful to the other. I felt these comparisons were unnecessary and made me a bit uncomfortable; the horrors of the Barbary slave trade stood alone just fine. Webb was trying to avoid by looking at slavery through the American/Imperial lens but fell into that trap himself.

Should you read it?
If you’re at all interested in a little-discussed history of slavery I think this text provides a great introduction. However, I did find some parts of the text lacked sufficient citation. Furthermore, I feel the political motivations behind it at times hampered this exploration by causing the author to unnecessarily compare slavery across the world and overstate the importance of slavery in historic and modern events.

Note: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I'd like to thank Simon Webb and Pen&Sword History for the opportunity.