Tuesday, March 27, 2012

No, I haven't, actually

I'm reading Bury the Chains, by Adam Hochschild, which is about the campaign to abolish the slave trade in the British Empire. I was pointed at the book by the commentary to Amazing Grace, where they referred to it but said it wasn't any good for them, since its argument is the William Wilberforce gets far too much of the credit - and since they were making a movie about him, you can see their problem. I'm about halfway through and finding it fascinating.

But he mentioned the Brookes slave ship diagram, and this is what he said:
You have seen this diagram. Rare is the illustrated schoolbook of world history, or book or television documentary about the slave trade, that does not show the famous top-down schematic view of the Brookes, with the slaves' bodies as close together as anchovies in a can.
But I hadn't.

I looked it up when I got to work, and I'd never seen it either.

I wonder if that's a feature of my age, or where I went to school - a liberal town, but still in Tennessee - or where he did (New York), or what. But although we studied slavery, I don't remember that "iconic" image.

You?

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2 Comments:

At 11:56 AM, March 28, 2012 Blogger AbbotOfUnreason had this to say...

I remember that image and I'd hesitate to call Maryville liberal in any shape or form. I can't say I am sure it was in high school that I saw it, but I doubt it was earlier in Maryland or later at RPI.

 
At 12:06 PM, March 28, 2012 Blogger The Ridger, FCD had this to say...

Yeah, a lot of my friends - one from Utah, for crying out loud - remember it. I totally don't. I have no idea how I missed it.

 

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