West Indian slavery and British abolition, 1783-1807 / David Beck Ryden.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Ryden, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Slavery--West Indies, British.

Slavery.

Antislavery movements--Great Britain.

Antislavery movements.

Great Britain.

Physical Description:

xvii, 332 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2009.

Contents:

1 Producing a Peculiar Commodity 1

Historians' Views on the West Indian Economy and Abolition 7

A Revision of the Decline Thesis 14

2 The Atlantic Economy's Political and Economic Power 19

The West Indian Argument 21

The Profits from Slavery and British Industrial Growth 24

The Origins of West Indian Political Power 33

Conclusion 37

3 Jamaican Planters and the London West India Interest 40

The Planter-Merchant Meetings 41

The Dominance of the Jamaica Planting and Merchant Interest 51

Jamaican Solidarity in London and Across the Atlantic 68

West Indian Allies of the Jamaica Interest 75

Conclusion 81

4 The Production and Distribution of Jamaican Muscovado 83

Sugar Planting in Jamaica 84

Distribution and Atlantic Trade 93

Conclusion 100

5 Duties, Drawbacks, and the Uncommitted Mercantilists 101

Rum vs. Brandy 104

West vs. East: Sugar Duties During Wartime 116

Conclusion 131

6 The Management of Slaves in Jamaica 133

The Organization of Slaves 134

The Gendered Division of Slave Labor 139

The Economic Hierarchy Within the Slave Community 150

Conclusion 155

7 Abolition and Colonial Reform 157

Why Antislavery in Britain? 158

Why an Antislave Trade Agenda? 161

The Political Economy of Abolition 167

Abolition in Action 177

Conclusion 184

8 Anti-abolition and Colonial Rights: The Defense of the Slave Trade 186

The Initial Response to Abolition 189

Colonial Conditions and Colonial Rights 195

The Specter of Slave Uprising and Black Independence 208

Conclusion 213

9 The Business Paradox of Rising Productivity and Collapsing Profitability 216

Increased Output, Falling Prices 217

Productivity Change in the Eighteenth Century 225

Crisis of International Competition 234

The 1807 Plea for Government Assistance 244

Conclusion 251

10 Rapid Decline and Abolition 254

The Kill 255

The Last Stand 262

Conclusion 270

11 Conclusion 271.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 303-320) and index.

ISBN:

9780521486590

0521486599

OCLC:

261177556