Bury the Chains: Prophets and Rebels in the Fight to Free an Empire's Slaves

Adam Hochschild

Feb 2006 · Sold by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

About this ebook

From the author of King Leopold’s Ghost, a narrative history of the social justice campaign formed in the fight to free the slaves of the British Empire.

In early 1787, twelve men—a printer, a lawyer, a clergyman, and others united by their hatred of slavery—came together in a London printing shop and began the world's first grass-roots movement, battling for the rights of people on another continent. Masterfully stoking public opinion, the movement's leaders pioneered a variety of techniques that have been adopted by citizens' movements ever since, from consumer boycotts to wall posters and lapel buttons to celebrity endorsements. A deft chronicle of this groundbreaking antislavery crusade and its powerful enemies, Bury the Chains gives a little-celebrated human rights watershed its due.

A San Francisco Chronicle Bestseller

A Book Sense Selection

“By far the most readable and rounded account we have of British antislavery, a campaign that, as the author rightly claims, helped to change the world and can be seen as a prototype of the modern social justice movement.” —Robin Blackburn, Los Angeles Times Book Review 

“A thrilling, substantive, and oftentimes raw work of narrative history. In its own fashion, it furthers the abolitionists’ crucial work of lifting our moral blindness.” —Maureen Corrigan, National Public Radio’s Fresh Air

About the author

Adam Hochschild is the author of seven books. King Leopold's Ghost was a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award, as was his recent To End All Wars. His Bury the Chains was a finalist for the National Book Award and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize and PEN USA Literary Award. He lives in Berkeley, California.