The Rise of African Slavery in the Americas

Rating:
Summary: Strong content, but not strikingly new ideas in the field
Review: In his work titled The Rise of Africa Slavery in the Americas, David Eltis approaches the subject with the aim of highlighting "the tensions that emerge as people pursue goals, moral or material, that cannot be achieved at once or are at odds with some aspect of their individual or their system of belief." Here, Eltis attempts to clarify the "How?" of slavery. While offering a great insight into the intentions and rational of European enslavement of Africans, Eltis does not provide a revolutionary new view of slavery. His work is centered around proving that "it was not just European power and resources that made overseas expansion possible, but also the subcontinent's odd social structure and values." Eltis adds support to the evidence that Africans not only played a significant role in the development of the Atlantic Slave Trade but that the success of the trade was more due to the strengths of the African traders and the strength of number among the enslaved.