Freedom's Debtors
Book description
A history of the abolition of the British slave trade in Sierra Leone and how the British used its success to justify colonialism in Africa
British anti-slavery, widely seen as a great sacrifice of economic and political capital on the altar of humanitarianism, was in fact profitable, militarily useful, and…
Why read it?
1 author picked Freedom's Debtors as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?
I was particularly fascinated with this book because I lived in Sierra Leone for several years, and part of the book I wrote takes place there. But I think that anyone who is interested in the history of colonialism, West Africa, and/or modern capitalism and the ongoing effects of that history will find it interesting.
Sierra Leone is unique in that it was conceived of as a place for freed slaves; the British have long championed this as an example of one of their “good” colonial projects. Scanlan details how this “humanitarianism” entailed reformulating a population, particularly people’s ideas about…
From Mara's list on understand our unequal world.
If you love Freedom's Debtors...
Benghazi! A New History of the Fiasco that Pushed America and its World to the Brink
Benghazi: A New History is a look back at the enigmatic 2012 attack on the US mission in Benghazi, Libya, its long-tail causes, and devastating (and largely unexamined) consequences for US domestic politics and foreign policy. It contains information not found elsewhere, and is backed up by 40 pages of…
Want books like Freedom's Debtors?
Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Freedom's Debtors.
Share your top 3 reads of 2024!
And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.
1,628
readers submitted
so far, will you?
