The Atlantic Slave Trade

Introduction; 1. Slavery in Western development; 2. American labor demand; 3. Africa at the time of the Atlantic slave trade; 4. The European organization of the slave trade; 5. The African organization of the slave trade; 6. The middle passage; 7. Social and cultural impact of the slave trade on America; 8. The end of the slave trade; Appendix tables; Bibliographic essay.

Herbert S. Klein is the author of 22 books and 155 articles in several languages on Latin America and comparative themes in social and economic history. Among these books are The Middle Passage: Comparative Studies in the Atlantic Slave Trade (1978) and four studies of slavery, the most recent of which are Slavery and the Economy of Sao Paulo, 1750-1850 (co-author, 2003), African Slavery in Latin America and the Caribbean (co-author, 2008), and Slavery in Brazil (co-author, 2009), as well as four books on Bolivian history, including A Concise History of Bolivia (2003). He has also published books on such diverse themes as The American Finances of the Spanish Empire, 1680-1809 (1998) and A Population History of the United States (2004).

"Klein is especially adept at using statistical studies to shed light on social and cultural history... This is a concise and thoughtful synthesis of interdisciplinary history." - Journal of Interdisciplinary History "This book would make an excellent text for a course on the Atlantic slave trade and will be quite useful as supplementary reading for any course that has a significant component of African or African-American history during the height of the trade. It will also serve well the scholarly public desiring the latest accessible information on this important but controversial topic." - Richard Steckel, Journal of Economic Literature "[This book] provides a convenient account of the complex history and extensive historiography of one of the most important and pervasive human activities of the past 500 years. In this short but important book, Herbert Klein sets out to examine the nature and importance of the trade and the reasons for its dissolution." - The Historian "This is the best introduction to the Atlantic slave trade currently available. Crisply written, it combines a masterful survey of the latest scholarship with carefully balanced geographical coverage... Klein has set a standard that will be hard to beat." - David Northrup, Canadian Journal of African Studies "The Atlantic Slave Trade is a brilliant work of synthesis... this is a hugely impressive book that will be essential reading for all students of slavery and the Atlantic slave trade." - J. R. Oldfield, The English Historical Review "This timely book synthesizes the wealth of new information that has emerged in recent decades on the Atlantic slave trade ... This book would make an excellent text for a course on the Atlantic slave trade and will be quite useful as supplementary reading for any course that has a significant component of African or African-American history during the height of the trade. It will also serve well the scholarly public desiring the latest accessible information on