《生而无权》内容简介

　　奴隶制助推了英国的工业革命；与奴隶贸易有关的种植园主、造船厂厂主和商人积累了巨额财富，在欧洲建立了银行和重工业，并将资本主义的影响扩大到了全世界。埃里克·威廉斯在本书中提出了这些强有力的观点，认为英国政府在1807年废除奴隶贸易主要是出于经济考虑，而不是出于人道主义考虑。

　　威廉斯将经济史观与道德论证结合起来，研究了奴隶制在助推工业革命中的作用，驳斥了经济和道德进步的传统观念，指出了非洲奴隶贸易在欧洲经济发展中的中心地位。除此之外，作者也提出，成熟的工业资本主义反向助力了摧毁奴隶制。在确立商业资本主义的剥削及其与种族态度的联系时，作者采用了历史主义的观点，为未来的研究定下了基调。

　　作者的深刻批判领先于时代多年，成为研究大英帝国、资本主义发展和奴隶制的基础。本书也成为理解现代性与后殖民时代世界的必读之书。

　　作者简介

　　埃里克·威廉斯是特立尼达和多巴哥独立后的首任总理，也是著名的加勒比海历史学家。在进入政界之前，他是霍华德大学社会政治学教授，专门研究奴隶制。

　　译者简介

　　陆志宝，中共党员，教授。1960—1965年在外交学院国际关系专业学习，毕业后到北京第二外国语学院英语系任教，曾任英语系副主任。编写出版了《英语导游》和教材《社会与文化概论》，译有《生而无权：资本主义与奴隶制度》《普利策传》。

　　彭坤元，中国社会科学院世界历史研究所研究员，著有《非洲通史》（现代卷，合著）、《大英帝国从殖民地撤退前后》（合编），发表非洲史研究论文多篇，参与联合国教科文组织牵头编撰的《非洲通史》第六卷译、校、审定工作。

　　张晓华，中国社会科学院世界历史研究所编审。著有《瑞典首相帕尔梅》（合著），发表瑞典、非洲历史等相关论文多篇，参与翻译《资本的年代：1848—1875》等著作。

A brief introduction to Born Without Right

Slavery helped fuel the industrial Revolution in Britain; The planters, shipyards, and merchants associated with the slave trade amassed vast fortunes, established banks and heavy industry in Europe, and extended the influence of capitalism throughout the world. Eric Williams makes these powerful points in this book, arguing that the British government's abolition of the slave trade in 1807 was motivated primarily by economic rather than humanitarian considerations.

Williams combines economic history with moral arguments to examine the role of slavery in fueling the Industrial Revolution, debunking conventional notions of economic and moral progress and pointing to the centrality of the African slave trade to the economic development of Europe. In addition, the authors argue that sophisticated industrial capitalism helped destroy slavery in reverse. In establishing the exploitation of commercial capitalism and its link to racial attitudes, the authors adopt a historicist perspective that sets the tone for future research.

The author's insightful critique was years ahead of its time and became the basis for the study of the British Empire, the development of capitalism and slavery. It has also become essential reading for understanding modernity and the post-colonial world.

About the author

Eric Williams was the first Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago after independence and is a noted historian of the Caribbean. Before entering politics, he was a professor of social politics at Howard University, specializing in slavery.

Translator's introduction

Lu Zhibao, Communist Party member, professor. From 1960 to 1965, he studied International Relations at China Foreign Affairs University. After graduation, he taught in the English Department of Beijing Second Foreign Language University and served as the deputy director of the English Department. He has written and published "English Guide" and textbook "Introduction to Society and Culture", and translated "Born Without Power: Capitalism and Slavery" and "Pulitzer Biography".

Peng Kunyuan is a researcher at the Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He is the author of the General History of Africa (Modern volume, co-author) and Before and After the Withdrawal of the British Empire from the Colonies (co-edited). He has published many research papers on the history of Africa, and participated in the translation, revision and approval of the sixth volume of the General History of Africa, which was compiled by UNESCO.

Zhang Xiaohua is editor of the Institute of World History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. He is the author of Swedish Prime Minister Palme (co-author), has published several papers on Swedish and African history, and participated in the translation of The Age of Capital: 1848-1875.