Posted on 23 June 2010
Slave Wales
New title - Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery, 1660-1850 by Chris Evans
Subjugation and oppression in Wales are terms traditionally associated with the treatment Welsh natives endured at the hands of the Romans, and later, the invading Normans and Anglo-Saxons. Yet Wales, like many regions in Europe, played its own part in the enslavement of Africans and its industries actively contributed to the slave trade – the blood money of which helped change the Welsh landscape when they were invested in new industries and lavished on country mansions.
Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery (due for release in September) is a new book to be published by the University of Wales Press and authored by Chris Evans, which explores unchartered waters in Wales’ murky past. The reader is taken on a journey from Anglesey to Trinidad and covers the years 1650 to 1850, from Wales’ more sinister involvement in slavery to its pivotal role in abolishing it.
Through the experiences of slave-trading participants, such as those of notorious Welsh buccaneer Henry Morgan, the narrative explores numerous facets of the slave-system. Drawing on unique research, the author brings to light previously unknown episodes, such as the Welsh involvement in slave-based copper mining in 19th century Cuba. Furthermore, the text illuminates in new and disturbing ways, familiar features of Welsh history – like the woollen industry – that possess previously unsuspected slave dimensions. Perhaps the book’s most heinous revelation of all is that Welsh engagement in the Atlantic slave-trade lasted well beyond the 1807 abolition of slavery in Britain and the ending of Britain’s Caribbean empire in 1834.
Slave Wales is suitable for academic researchers, students and the general reader.
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Notes to Editors
Slave Wales: The Welsh and Atlantic Slavery, 1660-1850 by Chris Evans -
£24.99 | HB| 9780708323038 | 160 pages | 216x138 mm – release date: September 2010
For more information on the University of Wales Press visit: www.uwp.co.uk
For press and media information, please contact Tom Barrett, Communications Officer, University of Wales: t.barrett@wales.ac.uk
02920 376991