The Problem of Slavery in the Age of Revolution, 1770-1823.

TLDR

Antislavery thought had significant international impact during the political and industrial revolution. The study investigates the implications and historical consequences of challenging the long‑accepted institution of slavery. By comparing early antislavery movements across Anglo‑American, French, and Latin American contexts, the author uses controversies over slavery to analyze shifting attitudes toward labour, social order, political representation, and the authority of law and religion, while profiling key figures and groups. The book offers a new reading of the revolutionary era by linking slavery to broader social and intellectual history.

Abstract

The author explores the international impact and social significance of antislavery thought in a critical era of political and industrial revolution. He examines the implications and historical consequences of challenging the long-accepted institution of slavery. The study not only provides a comparative account of early antislavery movements, but also uses the controversies over slavery to analyse shifting attitudes towards labour, social order, political representation, and the authority of law and religion. The focus is on the Anglo-American experience, but Davis makes illuminating comparisons with the history of slavery in France and Latin America. The book also offers portraits of important historical figures, including Thomas Jefferson, Granville Sharp, Bryan Edward, and Moreau de Saint-Mery, and accounts of key groups, movements, and bodies of literature. Through the history of slavery, Davis explores many areas of the social and intellectual history of the revolutionary era, creating a new reading of the entire age.