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A review by allisonwonderlandreads
Black Ghost of Empire: The Long Death of Slavery and the Failure of Emancipation by Kris Manjapra
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Black Ghost of Empire is not a lengthy work of historical analysis, but it is dense with information organized in a carefully crafted argument. The book explores the concept of emancipation, the many forms it took, and who stood to gain from each method (spoiler alert: it was not the people released from enslavement). Manjapra compares different localized acts of emancipation while highlighting their interconnectedness across space and time.
Before getting into the details of specific emancipation projects, Manjapra elucidates the etymology of the term. Its origins lie in Latin and with the Roman concept of a slave-owner's voluntary release of slaves. This emphasizes the inherited view of emancipation as a process controlled by and favoring the owner with no agency or consideration for an enslaved person in the implementation. This is a theme throughout the different global examples spanning the 18th and 19th centuries. Emancipation schemes aimed to prolong slave-owner power over enslaved people and allow them to keep or even inflate their wealth. Periods of extended indentured servitude, re-enslavement elsewhere, and reparations (!) for slave-owners for loss of "property" were common.
Beyond examining the goals and results of emancipation, Manjapra shows how black people resisted both enslavement and the following schemes to release them on white terms. They ran away, revolted, and created mutual aid societies. They wrote about their experiences, hopes, and plans for the future. They formed political movements and agitated for change.
This book powerfully dispels misconceptions that emancipation ushered in a time of freedom and improved opportunities for enslaved people. Rather, it increased racial disparities in wealth and solidified barriers to black social mobility. There are a plethora of important ramifications for current society, not least of which is the need for reparations to those whose ancestors suffered enslavement. This is an informative, impactful read. I highly recommend it.
Before getting into the details of specific emancipation projects, Manjapra elucidates the etymology of the term. Its origins lie in Latin and with the Roman concept of a slave-owner's voluntary release of slaves. This emphasizes the inherited view of emancipation as a process controlled by and favoring the owner with no agency or consideration for an enslaved person in the implementation. This is a theme throughout the different global examples spanning the 18th and 19th centuries. Emancipation schemes aimed to prolong slave-owner power over enslaved people and allow them to keep or even inflate their wealth. Periods of extended indentured servitude, re-enslavement elsewhere, and reparations (!) for slave-owners for loss of "property" were common.
Beyond examining the goals and results of emancipation, Manjapra shows how black people resisted both enslavement and the following schemes to release them on white terms. They ran away, revolted, and created mutual aid societies. They wrote about their experiences, hopes, and plans for the future. They formed political movements and agitated for change.
This book powerfully dispels misconceptions that emancipation ushered in a time of freedom and improved opportunities for enslaved people. Rather, it increased racial disparities in wealth and solidified barriers to black social mobility. There are a plethora of important ramifications for current society, not least of which is the need for reparations to those whose ancestors suffered enslavement. This is an informative, impactful read. I highly recommend it.