63 pages • 2 hours read
Marcus RedikerThe Slave Ship: A Human History
Nonfiction | Book | Adult | Published in 2007A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Essay Topics
In what ways does Rediker present the transatlantic slave trade as materially different from the systems of slavery that came before? How did the incentives of global capitalism transform the practice of slavery and the experience of enslavement?
How did the European and American powers affect the political situation in the myriad African nations from which people were captured and enslaved?
To what degree does Rediker draw a comparison between the suffering of enslaved people and the plight of common sailors aboard slave ships? To what degree were common sailors both victims and perpetrators of the slave trade’s abuses?
Did the slave trade meaningly evolve or change between the 16th and 19th centuries? How so? How do changes in the slave trade reflect broader changes in the global economy over this period?
In what ways were the enslaved people aboard the ships able to assert their agency in such bleak circumstances? What new cultural forms arose from the experience of captivity aboard the slave ships, and how did these new forms build on existing cultural foundations?
How did the introduction of firearms affect the practice of slavery? How did these European weapons reshape warfare and power in Africa?
To what extent did the slave-ship captains use terror as a means of control? How does Rediker trace the effects of this ever-present violence on the psychology of both its victims and its perpetrators?
How are names and other markers of identity linked to the process of dehumanization? How did enslaved people preserve their sense of identity and build new forms of identity in the face of this dehumanization?
Which methods does Rediker credit for the success of the abolitionists? What do these methods suggest about the relationship between industry and public sentiment?
What conclusion, if any, does Rediker reach on the issue of whether reparations should be paid to the descendants of enslaved people? What forms might such reparations take?
