The Queen's Slave Trader: John Hawkyns, Elizabeth I, and the Trafficking in Human Souls - Softcover

Hazlewood, Nick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0060935693 ISBN 13: 9780060935696

Publisher: Harper Perennial, 2005

Synopsis

Throughout history, blame for the introduction of slavery in America has been squarely placed upon the slave traders who ravaged African villages, the merchants who auctioned off human lives as if they were cattle, and the slave owners who ruthlessly beat their helpless victims. There is, however, above all these men, another person who has seemingly been able to avoid the blame due her. The origins of slavery -- often described as America's shame -- can actually be traced back to a woman, England's Queen Elizabeth I.

During the 1560s, Elizabeth was encouraging a Renaissance in her kingdom but also knew her country's economy could not finance her dreams for it. On direct orders from Her Majesty, John Hawkyns set sail from England. His destination: West Africa. His mission: to capture human lives.

After landing on the African coast, he used a series of brutal raids, violent beatings, and sheer terror to load his ships. As the first major slave trader, Hawkyns's actions and attitudes toward his cargo set the precedent for those who followed him for the next two hundred years. In The Queen's Slave Trader, historian Nick Hazlewood's haunting discoveries take you into the mind-set of the men who made their livelihoods trafficking human souls and at long last reveals the man who began it all -- and the woman behind him.

About this title

Review:

“Hazlewood’s book is a tour de force.” (Publishers Weekly (starred review))

“A gripping tale and a sterling analysis of England’s first foray into the nastiest of human enterprises.” (Kirkus Reviews)

“[An] engrossing, well-researched account.” (Booklist)

“Hazlewood writes with precision, passion and the ease born of familiarity with his subject.” (Cleveland Plain Dealer)

Synopsis:

This book appeal to readers of history - both nonfiction and historical fiction. The readers interested in civil/human rights issues. It is great for those who enjoy tales of sea-dogs, pirates and adventure on the high seas e.g. fans of the novels of Patrick O'Brian. It reviews in pb round-ups in national newspapers. A gripping, meticulously researched and artfully written account of the life, exploits and character of notorious sea-dog John Hawkyns, England's first slave trader. In a starred review, "Publishers Weekly" has called "The Queen's Slave Trader" "a tour de force." In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries England became the greatest slave trading nation in the world, her merchants and businessmen grew fat, and her ports and cities boomed, on the suffering of millions of Africans captives. And, the pattern her slave traders followed had been pioneered in the sixteenth century by John Hawkyns, England's first, and Queen Elizabeth's personal, slave trader.

"The Queen's Slave Trader" by Nick Hazlewood tells the story of England's first incursions into the trade she would come to dominate, the way they were used to attack the Portuguese and Spanish super-powers, and the involvement for the first, but not the last, time of the English crown in the shameful traffic of human beings. This is a story of survival, revenge, and the destruction of a race.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harper Perennial
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0060935693
• ISBN 13: 9780060935696
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 464