The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam

by Simon Webb

Overview

A century before Britain became involved in the trans-Atlantic slave trade, whole villages and towns in England, Ireland, Italy, Spain and other European countries were being depopulated by slavers, who transported the men, women and children to Africa where they were sold to the highest bidder. This is the forgotten slave trade.

Starting with the practice of slavery in the ancient world, Simon Webb traces the history of slavery in Europe and examines the experiences of those who were forcibly taken from their homes. He describes how thousands of European boys were castrated and then sold in Africa and the Middle East, and also explains how the role of the newly-independent United States helped to put an end to the trade in European and American slaves. He also discuss the importance of towns such as Bristol, which had been an important staging-post for the transfer of English slaves to Africa over 1,000 years before it became a major centre for the slave trade in the eighteenth century.

Reading this book will forever change how you view the slave trade and show that many commonly held beliefs about this controversial subject are almost wholly inaccurate and mistaken.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781526769275
Publisher:	Pen & Sword Books Limited
Publication date:	01/04/2022
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	208
Sales rank:	561,585
File size:	17 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Simon Webb is the author of a number of non-fiction books, ranging from academic works on education to popular history. He works as a consultant on the subject of capital punishment to television companies and filmmakers and also writes for various magazines and newspapers; including the Times Educational Supplement, Daily Telegraph and the Guardian.

Table of Contents

List of Illustrations vi

Introduction vii

Chapter 1 The Roots of Slavery 1

Chapter 2 Slavery in Europe until the Coming of the Vikings 10

Chapter 3 Exporting Concubines and Eunuchs from Europe to Africa 19

Chapter 4 Mamluks and Janissaries 37

Chapter 5 The Coming of the Corsairs 54

Chapter 6 The Raids on the British Isles 69

Chapter 7 Fighting Back 81

Chapter 8 Paying the Dane-Geld 101

Chapter 9 The Salé Rovers 113

Chapter 10 America Enters the World Stage 126

Chapter 11 The Barbary Wars 138

Chapter 12 The Aftershock 161

Endword 173

References 176

Index 184

Editorial Reviews

While no one could for a minute discount the unimaginable cruelty of the African slave trade to the Americas and beyond, it is worth conceding that it is not the only such time enslavement has occurred. Webb's book does a fine job of making that point.”

Carolina Chronicles Magazine

In no way does he minimize or ignore what happened to Africans who became victims of the triangle trade. His primary goals are to show that slavery doesn’t encompass this one period and that Europeans were also victims. He succeeds in meeting these goals, while providing the framework for why and how this came about.

Pirates and Privateers