The Age of Empire was also the age of enslavement. During the 1700-1900 period, the slave trade created a global system of commerce, where merchants, commodities, and work force circulated between Asia, Africa, Europe, Oceania, and the Americas. Goods and crops produced in different territories moved around the world, fueling consumers, demand and connecting merchant communities on every continent. African enslaved labor produced the sugar, tobacco, and coffee that supplied the cafes, taverns, and shops of Paris, Lisbon, Luanda, Philadelphia, Cape Town, and Cairo. Chinese tea was consumed in Zanzibar, London, and Timbuktu, indicating that crops, consumption patterns, and people were connected during the Age of Empire.

Contributors examine the expansion of human trafficking in this interconnected time. Slavery, capitalism, and imperialism were interrelated, despite earlier interpretations that portrayed slavery as less capable of producing labor output. Agricultural output, labor input, and consumer interests dominated much of the political and economic interests of the elites during the Age of Empire. In this context of change and transformations, chapters explore how slavery and freedom were redefined throughout the 1700-1900 period.

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