Publishers Weekly
08/16/2021
Gold and slaves from Africa were “the very fulcrum of modernity,” according to this eye-opening if tendentious history. Columbia journalism professor French (A Continent for the Taking) argues that the rise of the West relied on West African gold exports, which stimulated Europe’s economy, and the trade in African slaves who produced sugar on Caribbean islands and cotton in the antebellum American South. These two fabulously profitable commodities were central to the rise of British and American capitalism, French contends, and birthed regimented production processes that were a model for industrial labor regimes. Though French elucidates much neglected history here, especially on relations between early modern Europe and the sophisticated—and pro-slavery—polities of Africa, his claim that without slave labor Europe might have remained a “geographic and civilizational dead end” lagging eternally behind Asia and the Islamic world goes too far, and he doesn’t fully explain why Western industries and societies kept flourishing even after slavery’s demise. Elsewhere, French assigns near-magical properties to slave-grown sugar, suggesting that it was essential to the Industrial Revolution, newspapers, and the birth of the “modern public sphere.” The result is an intriguing yet overwrought take on the global economy’s dire origins. Photos. (Oct.)
Financial Times - Dele Olojede
"This book is filled with countless eyeopeners… All history is, by definition, revisionist. In connecting the various dots, French is inviting us to reconsider what we understand about how we got here.... Painful and necessary… [an] infuriating and hugely enlightening book."
Laura Seay
"A tour de force, so much so that it’s almost impossible to write about it without lapsing into hyperbole.... French brings a journalist’s writing skills and eye to his subject, building a comprehensive and compelling argument that Africa and Africans were central to the construction of the modern world.... On top of meticulous research into primary and secondary sources, French builds the narrative with accounts of (and pictures from!) his travels to many important sites.... Because he comes to the story with a journalist’s eye — and, just as important, with a journalist’s ability to write in clear, compelling language that anyone can understand — French’s book is invaluable. “Born in Blackness” takes these narratives that have mostly been limited to scholars and graduate students and makes them accessible to a broad audience, from undergraduates assigned a few chapters for a class to people who will pick up a popular history book that looks interesting at their local bookstore. “Born in Blackness” is a compelling, impossible-to-forget read. This is the book for those who say they “don’t know anything about Africa” and want to learn more. But those readers will quickly learn they have known many of these things all along. French’s gift is to show us how."
The Observer - Peter Frankopan
"The way we think about history is entirely wrong, says Howard W French at the start of this magnificent, powerful and absorbing book.... This is not a comfortable or comforting read, but it is beautifully done; a masterpiece even.... French writes with the elegance you would expect from a distinguished foreign correspondent, and with the passion of someone deeply committed to providing a corrective."
Nigel Cliff
"Born in Blackness is laced with arresting nuggets... Filled with pain, but also with pride: pride at the endurance of oppressed millions, at the many slave uprisings and rebellions culminating in the Haitian revolution, which defeated ‘the idea of Black slavery itself,’ and in the cultural riches of the African diaspora... Searing, humbling and essential reading."
Library Journal
09/01/2021
Award-winning reporter French (journalism, Columbia Univ.; China's Second Continent) argues that citizens of Western countries too-often believe that their nation's economic power is the simple byproduct of its own success. Oftentimes, there is little to no credit given to the enslaved African who paid the ultimate price for white nations' wealth and prestige; French aims to correct the record in this book. He seamlessly guides readers through an immense 600-year global history of slavery, skillfully weaving in his own anecdotal experiences. French argues that it is time for historians to full-throatedly acknowledge that the events that marked significant global change (the Enlightenment, the American Revolution, industrialization) could not have happened without stealing the labor and resources of enslaved Africans throughout the Atlantic world. There are few words that can express the resounding impact of French's breathtaking work on the known historiography of African and African American history. VERDICT Highly recommended for any audience (professional or general) with an interest in African or African diaspora studies, history of the Atlantic slave trade, the Atlantic world, pre-industrialization, U.S. history, general world history, or sociology.—Monique Martinez, Univ. of North Georgia Lib., Dahlonega
Kirkus Reviews
2021-08-26
A Black journalist reframes modern history by restoring Africa to its rightful place at the center of the story.
In his latest sweeping book, French, a journalism professor at Columbia and former New York Times foreign correspondent, argues that Europe’s conquest of the world was driven not by a desire for access to Asia, but rather a yearning for the modernity and economic prosperity of Africa. The author believes that restoring Africa’s true place in world history and current affairs is a step toward combatting the racist “diminishment, trivialization, and erasure” of Africans from world history. To this end, French traces “the deeply twinned and tragic history of Africa and Europe that began with geopolitical collisions in the fifteenth century.” The author maintains a particular focus on the roles of African gold, sugar, and slavery in shaping the modern global economy. Throughout, French dispels countless historical myths, including many that render Africans disempowered victims rather than key actors. For example, the author recounts how, in the 1440s, Portugal stopped raiding African countries for slaves, opting instead to negotiate trade agreements with powerful African leaders who profited from the sale of their own people. French also describes the ways in which—despite being painted as a backward continent—African industries were more sophisticated than European ones. The Portuguese were especially covetous of textiles and metalwork Africans produced using complex techniques unknown in Europe. The author effectively argues that these early beginnings shaped the modern era all the way to African independence movements in the World War II era. This meticulously researched book eloquently debunks conventional understanding of European conquest. While each page is so densely packed with facts that it sometimes feels more like a textbook than creative nonfiction, French’s underlying argument and accompanying cogent analysis make for essential reading for anyone looking to decolonize their understanding of the Western world.
A fascinating retelling of modern history that restores Africa to its rightful place.
