A collection of writings for and against the Slave Trade at the time when it was a major part of British trade, this book shows how the slave trade debate foreshadows our way of creating national discussion about important issues through newspaper articles, pamphlets and speeches. The book demonstrates how our political and religious speakers, along with ordinary tradesmen or the concerned public discussed issues such as the precedent for slavery in religious history, ways to make the slave trade 'fair', and how the slave trade underpinned or undermined British economy, national standing next to France and the men of our Navy and merchant ships. Understandably, the anti-slavery articles far outweigh the pro-slavery articles, and the whole collection represents a toe dipped in the complex reasoning that underpinned years of discussion, limits and legislations that preceded the abolition of the slave-trade.

The real draw of the book is the personal aspect, the inhumanities suffered by people involved in the trade, primarily slaves, but also those free white people who were involved with and damaged by the slave trade. The other human aspect is that of the campaigners who worked on, wrote about and debated the issues with compassion and diligence, sometimes without ever seeing the results themselves.

Not an easy read, but a fascinating one. An invaluable insight for anyone interested in or studying this subject. ( )