{"product_id":"the-kings-slaves-holly-brewer-9780691244020","title":"The King's Slaves: The British Empire and the Origins of American Slavery","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eA provocative account of how empire and absolutism institutionalized slavery in America\u003c\/b\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe original draft of the Declaration of Independence condemned British kings for supporting slavery in their empire. England's two seventeenth-century revolutions were in part a reaction to the crown's proslavery policies, with politicians such as John Locke arguing that all people were born equal and that government should be based on consent. But while these principles would underpin the American Revolution, the treaty that ended that war protected the legal foundations of the plantation system in the new republic. \u003ci\u003eThe King's Slaves\u003c\/i\u003e untangles this thorny history, arguing that American slavery was borne from authoritarian rule. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIn this incisive and thought-provoking book, Holly Brewer challenges the notion that slavery arose naturally in the colonies through the interests of merchants and planters, showing how behind them lay a British crown that believed in absolute power over subjects and granted similar powers to proprietors and masters. British kings used their authority over navies and armies, judges and royal governors to create an elaborate plantation system that produced more crops for export and greater wealth from tariffs. Royal propaganda supported claims that some peoples had no rights while edicts and proclamations circumvented the legislative process. Brewer describes how African and Indigenous peoples resisted the king's slavery, as did some colonists, English politicians, and reformers. Yet slavery persisted, becoming enshrined after independence as a dehumanizing legal foundation of American capitalism. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA bold work of scholarship by a historian at the height of her powers, \u003ci\u003eThe King's Slaves\u003c\/i\u003e shares new perspectives on America's founding, exposing empire's pervasive role in spreading and justifying slavery in the new world.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Holly Brewer\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 0691244022\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780691244020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Princeton University Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 01\/05\/2027\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 656\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover","brand":"Holly Brewer","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48623531294975,"sku":"9780691244020","price":39.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_f6f13f45-d5f6-404a-8549-3aed5c93bf9f.jpg?v=1780433102","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/the-kings-slaves-holly-brewer-9780691244020","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}