The Empire of NecessitySlavery, Freedom, and Deception in the New World
Greg Grandin
Greg Grandin's study of slavery begins not on the west coast of Africa but in the South Pacific, off the coast of Chile, where in 1805 Captain Amasa Delano, an anti-slavery American, happened upon a slave rebellion on board the Tryal. The incident, recorded in Delano's memoirs, has inspired many literary works, notably Herman Melville's Benito Cereno; here, it leads to a new account of slavery across continents, and the deceptions inherent in the New World's 'Age of Freedom'.