Black People in the British Empire

by Peter Fryer, Stella Dadzie (Foreword by)

Overview

'Fantastic ... the most important book on Black British history' - Akala Black People in the British Empire is a challenge to the official version of British history. It tells the story of Britain's exploitation and oppression of its subject peoples in its colonies, and in particular the people of Africa, Asia and Australasia Peter Fryer reveals how the ideology of racism was used as justification for acquiring and expanding the Empire; how the British Industrial Revolution developed out of profits from the slave trade; and how the colonies were deliberately de-industrialised to create a market for British manufacturers. In describing the frequency and the scale of revolts by subject peoples against slavery and foreign domination - and the brutality used in crushing them - Peter Fryer exposes the true history of colonialism, and restores to Black people their central role in Britain's past.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780745343693
Publisher:	Pluto Press
Publication date:	06/20/2021
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	5.30(w) x 8.50(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Peter Fryer (1927-2006) was a British writer and journalist, whose coverage of the arrival of citizens from the Caribbean onboard the HMT Empire Windrush led to a deep and long-lasting interest in the histories of Black Britons. In 1984, he wrote the classic book Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain (Pluto, 2018).

Table of Contents

Foreword Stella Dadzie ix

Preface xiii

Introduction xv

Part I How Britain Became 'Great Britain' 1

1 Britain and its Empire 3

2 The Triangular Trade 5

3 India 18

Plunder 18

De-industrialization 22

4 The Caribbean from 1834 27

The Abolition of Slavery 27

Indentured Labour 28

Apprenticeship 30

Britain's 'Tropical Farms' 31

5 Africa (Other Than Southern Africa) 35

6 Territories of White Settlement 40

Tasmania 40

Australia 41

New Zealand 43

Southern Africa 45

Indentured Labour 50

7 Profits of Empire 52

8 How Black People were Ruled 54

9 The Empire and the British Working Class 58

Part II Racism 63

10 The Concept of 'Race' 65

11 Racism and Slavery 67

12 Racism and Empire 70

13 The Reproduction of Racism 77

Historiography 77

Children's Books 82

Part III Resistance 87

14 The Struggle against Slavery 89

15 The Caribbean after Emancipation 102

16 India 111

Conclusion 122

Notes and References 131

Suggestions for Further Reading 163

Index 165

Editorial Reviews

'Fantastic … the most important book on Black British history’
—Akala, author of 'Natives' (Two Reads, 2018)


'As this sequel to Staying Power demonstrates so succinctly, there is no separate entity called 'black history’, just versions and perspectives that have been air-brushed out of the official narrative. Britain's history is littered with gaping holes - hidden histories and her-stories that have yet to be told or unearthed. In drawing our attention to the experience of countless subjugated people who were deemed part of its sprawling empire, Peter Fryer has shown, once again, that he has earned his credentials'
—Stella Dadzie, co-author of 'The Heart of the Race: Black Women’s Lives in Britain' (Virago, 1985), and winner of the the Martin Luther King Award for Literature

From the Publisher