Connecting Histories Book

The second installment of Schama's History of Britain spans the Stuart Dynasty during the 1600s and the rise of the British Empire during the 1700s.

Schama's explanation of the rise of the African Slave Trade is excellent. The British slave trade essentially got a start after the discovery of the profitability of growing sugar cane in Barbados. He points out that, although there was slavery before the mid-17th century, this was the first case where masses of humans were looked upon simply as units of work that could be bought, sold, re-sold, depreciated, and written off. This event was the largest mass kidnapping and enslaving of people in the history of mankind.

The section on Britain's inroads into North America was also interesting. In his overview, he discusses the impact of the French and Indian War, which set the stage for British domination on the North American continent.

There were parts of the book I found difficult to follow because I believe Schama was writing for a British audience - that is, those who would have a basic familiarity with names and events in British history. Since I am from the other side of the big pond, I missed some of these references and tended to get a bit confused in places. However, despite this, I enjoyed the book and thought it was a good overview of this time period in British history. Also, as I noted in my review of Volume I of this series, I would highly recommend the BBC documentary based on this trilogy that is hosted by Simon Schama. It is an excellent overview of British history.