Two massive systems of unfree labor arose; a world apart from each other; in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. The American enslavement of blacks and the Russian subjection of serfs flourished in different ways and varying degrees until they were legally abolished in the mid-nineteenth century. Historian Peter Kolchin compares and contrasts the two systems over time in this magisterial book; which clarifies the organization; structure; and dynamics of both social entities; highlighting their basic similarities while pointing out important differences discernible only in comparative perspective.These differences involved both the masters and the bondsmen. The independence and resident mentality of American slaveholders facilitated the emergence of a vigorous crusade to defend slavery from outside attack; whereas an absentee orientation and dependence on the central government rendered serfholders unable successfully to defend serfdom. Russian serfs; who generally lived on larger holdings than American slaves and faced less immediate interference in their everyday lives; found it easier to assert their communal autonomy but showed relatively little solidarity with peasants outside their own villages; American slaves; by contrast; were both more individualistic and more able to identify with all other blacks; both slave and free.Kolchin has discovered apparently universal features in master-bondsman relations; a central focus of his study; but he also shows their basic differences as he compares slave and serf life and chronicles patterns of resistance. If the masters had the upper hand; the slaves and serfs played major roles in shaping; and setting limits to; their own bondage.This truly unprecedented comparative work will fascinate historians; sociologists; and all social scientists; particularly those with an interest in comparative history and studies in slavery.
#667944 in Books 1994-01-01 1994-01-31Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.02 x 1.06 x 5.98l; 1.60 #File Name: 0674697758412 pages
Review
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful. An In-Depth Look at a Subtle; but Massive; ShiftBy Read TaylorThis is not a book for those new to Chinese studies. While Brook's Confusions of Pleasure and Quelling the People are both written to be easily understandable; this book grew out of his Harvard dissertation and; though fascinating; is not readily accessible to everyone. Those familiar with Ming or ancient world history will know of the monetization of the world economy in the 1500's due to massive amounts of precious metals coming from the Spanish New World.Much of this money flowed into China; 'freeing' wealth from land ownership and allowing merchants to become truly powerful in China for the first time. The gentry; the level of Chinese society that controlled land and society through the law; symbolic support of cultural keystones and government service; were suddenly in competition with merchants' sons for these bureaucratic posts that defined a large portion of their self-image. Brook's book looks at the mid- to late-Ming defense of status undertaken by the gentry through support of the Sangha; or Buddhist church.Their monopoly on education; government service and wealth undermined; the gentry connected themselves to 'the people' through the support of the Sangha and to each other through cultivation of artistic tastes. While Craig Clunas is the expert on the latter phenomenon; Brook explains the former in this book. Exploring the gentry culture; dispelling ideas of conflicts between Confucianism and Buddhism and summarizing huge socioeconomic shifts in China; Brook has written an important book. Any reader who has read through the long sentences and generalizations in this review can make it through Brook's work; which is no more unclear and is far more interesting than my review. All those versed in basic history and interested in social shifts should read this work; but those trying to begin a study of China or of the Ming should not begin with this complicated work.
