Slavery, Freedom, and Development

Warren C. Whatley is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Michigan whose scholarly research in economic history spans Africa, Europe and the Americas. He served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Economic History and Explorations in Economic History, and as President of the National Economic Association.

• List of Figures; List of Maps; List of Tables; Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. Reinterpreting African Economic History; 2. Going Behind the Mirror Image; 3. Lessons from Slavery in World History; 4. On the Origins of Western Freedom and Development; 5. African Development Before the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade; 6. The Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade in Africa; 7. How African-American Slavery Grew the Free Economies of Europe; 8. Into the Interior of Africa; 9. How the Slave Trades Underdeveloped Africa; 10. Past, Present, and Future; References; Index.

'A bold and data-rich reinterpretation of African and European economic divergence. By placing slavery and freedom at the center of the story, Whatley offers a provocative account of how the two regions became mirror images of each other; an argument that will challenge readers and energize debate across disciplines.' Marlous van Waijenburg, author of Financing the African Colonial State