[Carl in Tampa]

Bury the Chains by Adam Hochschild was a recommended read a while back by Thomas Sowell, PhD., an economics professor and black conservative syndicated columnist. Based upon his recommendation I bought and read the book.

Written in a narrative style much like a novel, the book is an account of the efforts of twelve men in England to bring an end to the slave trade. This diverse group included William Wilberforce, a powerful member of parliament, Thomas Clarkson, a circuit riding preacher and Olaudah Equiano, a freed slave who wrote a best selling anti-slavery book.

The issue was complicated by the fact that many members of parliament had large and profitable holdings in the Caribbean where sugar cane plantations depended upon slave labor for their operations. Thus, legislative efforts to end the slave trade by Britons were largely unsuccessful.

The difficult work of arousing the general population to express their opposition to the slave trade was undertaken primarily by Clarkson. His success was reflected in the eventual success of Wilburforce in parliament.

The book details the acquisition of slaves in west Africa, the cruel conditions of their transportation to the Caribbean, and their harsh working conditions which resulted in very short lives. Among the stories told in the portion about the conditions on the slave ships is the biography of John Newton, a slave ship captain who subsequently became a Christian minister and the author of the familiar hymn "Amazing Grace" which has become a traditional hymn at the funerals of law enforcement officers killed on duty.

It is a good read and I recommend it highly.