The Making of New World Slavery argues that independent commerce; geared to burgeoning consumer markets; was the driving force behind the rise of plantation slavery. The baroque state sought—successfully—to feed upon this commerce and—with markedly less success—to regulate slavery and racial relations. To illustrate this thesis; Blackburn examines the deployment of slaves in the colonial possessions of the Portuguese; the Spanish; the Dutch; the English and the French. Plantation slavery is shown to have emerged from the impulses of civil society; not from the strategies of individual states.Robin Blackburn argues that the organization of slave plantations placed the West on a destructive path to modernity and that greatly preferable alternatives were both proposed and rejected. Finally; he shows that the surge of Atlantic trade; predicated on the murderous toil of the plantations; made a decisive contribution to both the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the West.
#360140 in Books 2000-09Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 8.75 x .75 x 5.50l; .74 #File Name: 1842120247252 pages
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Ghastly Story; Confounding yet Justice perhaps served.By RichardI read this book and less than halfway through; I was feeling the people who edited and reviewed the autobiography were agenda driven. Just like the protagonist; Rudolf Hoess. I felt they were a little too eager to point out inconsistencies he penned; and that too; Hoess wanted to paint a picture; that "He" wanted to pain and explain himself. To re-write history as an apologist for his actions. But as you think about the era in which it was written; the entire German culture of militarism; and sometimes unquestioning obedience to laws; you start to sense a problem. That the perfectionism and opportunism and manipulations of Hoess as he meandered from post to post in his life; that somehow; it was almost accidental that he was chosen to this position. Also you must ask yourself; if he didn't do his job; they would have surely found someone more capable in short order; They were totally committed irrespective of Hoess to the annihilation of the Jews. I came away with mixed feelings; perhaps this whole thing; only God can know the true answer to. I don't wish to make an ambivalent view; but that is what it comes to in the end. The American psychologist Langer viewed Hoess as a schizoid type without the frank lack of empathy of as s psychopath; but doing a psychopathic work nevertheless. I feel that Hoess was very flat in emotion; he had little at all. He was probably a full blown psychotic. But that would not do in a criminal trial where they needed to hang a person; to hang the blame in total. It seems a forgone conclusion someone was going to hang; and with that in mind; there was no chance of an insanity plea by a defense attorney. I myself think he was accountable. He had to know on some level that it was criminal; immoral; ghastly.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Just Following Orders...By Daniel J. StarkIt's 'interesting' to read his autobiography; but even the most evil things he did are glossed over -- generally by his (and others) simply following orders. Himmler; the evil genius of the Holocaust remains revered and almost deified in Hoess' mind. The extermination of the Jews -- among others -- remains a worthwhile goal. The real meat is at the end of the book where one can get an idea of the evil of the extermination camps.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Interesting Point of View from a Key Perpetrator.By W. AllemonAn interesting read; but not an accurate tell all. Hoess wrote this autobiography while awaiting trial after the war; so you have to understand that he's not telling all the truth and is still covering up many details. However; it is interesting to hear his point of view. The text also contains notes from researchers that fill in details and correct his selective memory. This is a definite must have item for any researcher or collector or WW2 information.
