Book Review, and Book Launch Invitation - Freedom's Debt by Will Pettigrew

Book Review, and Book Launch Invitation – Freedom’s Debt by Will Pettigrew

March 5, 2014 Comments Off

Done the walk? Now read the book! By Tina Baxter

‘ Freedom’s Debt: The Royal African Company and the Politics of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1672-1752’ by William A Pettigrew

‘ Freedom’s Debt: The Royal African Company and the Politics of the Atlantic Slave Trade, 1672-1752’ by William A Pettigrew

Available on Amazon: http://amzn.to/1fzddED

William Pettigrew is more widely known amongst us for his ‘no holds barred’ Slavery Walk around the City of London. You are left in no doubt at the end of it how much the merchants and the traders of the City were involved in and accrued much wealth from the trade of slaves. This walk will run again through FPOL to raise funds for Amnesty International, date to be advised.

It is has taken Will nearly ten years to complete this book, he is also a full time Professor at the University of Kent. I met Will during the City of London Guide Course year 2012 and I now have the pleasure of working with his team on the Leverhulme Funded research project referred to by its snappy title of ‘Centre of Political Economies of International Commerce’ or just simple ‘PEIC’ for short!

A detailed account of the project which will run for five years is to be found here at www.peic.org.uk. Seminars, talks and projects will be run throughout the term and you are all invited to attend as the main idea is to invite interaction from those who are not in academia but are interested in the history of the trading companies and history of governance and globalisation generally. Do keep an eye on the Events pages.

The book is about the East Africa Company and how it lost power due to deregulation of the slave trade. It is best summed up by one of PEIC’s visiting Professors and I will certainly never improve on it! The full review can be read on the web site for PEIC.

“Dr. William Pettigrew’s* Freedom’s Debt is a well-crafted, well-written, and important book that will become a standard work in its field. Following are brief comments on its content, the issues it addresses, and its argument.

This is a book on an important part of the history of British involvement in the Atlantic slave trade, told through the lens of the Royal African Company. The Company was a royal monopoly chartered under Charles II, which ultimately was superseded by a deregulated trade conducted by individual traders and partnerships after a legal and political struggle lasting decades. The book analyses the political failure of the Royal African Company monopoly, which led directly to a massive expansion of British involvement in the slave trade.”

Extract from a review by Professor George Van Cleve

The book is so good we are launching it twice! I know some of you attended the first in January, but there is second chance to meet Dr William Pettigrew and check out the book on 12^th March at 6pm at Daunt Books Cheapside, EC2. You can register your interest here: http://bit.ly/1eRzRqM