White Debt: The Demerara Uprising and Britain s Legacy of Slavery

Thomas Harding

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When Thomas Harding discovered that his family had profited from slavery, he set out to interrogate the choices of his ancestors and Britain's role in this terrible history. His investigation took him to Demerara (now Guyana), the site of an uprising by enslaved people in 1823, the largest in the British Empire and a key trigger in the abolition of slavery. Charting the dramatic build-up to this landmark event through the eyes of four people - an enslaved man, a missionary, a colonist, and a slaveholder - Harding lays bare the true impact of years of unimaginable cruelty and incredible courage and asks how those who benefitted from slavery can take responsibility for the White Debt.

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Praise for White Debt: The Demerara Uprising and Britain s Legacy of Slavery

  • Brilliant . . . Striking . . . Full of details that will send a chill down your spine. Harding delivers a masterclass in how authors of history can play an active role, for good and for bad, in how these moral questions are framed - GUARDIANA deep dive into colonialism and enslavement, with personal legacies that continue to resonate today - a deeply affecting and forensically elegant book for our timesThis well-researched history of the 1823 slave uprising in Demerara is a page-turner . . . Harding lays out what happened with novelistic (but still assiduously researched) flair - DAILY TELEGRAPHThe Demerara episode graphically reveals the hidden cruelties of colonialism, not to mention British myopia towards the atrocities. Harding tells the story with impressive drama and detail - THE TIMESAuthentic, bold and poignant, WHITE DEBT is a captivating tale of resistance and an urgent antidote to our collective amnesia

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Thomas Harding

Thomas Harding

Thomas Harding is a bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than sixteen languages. He has written for the Sunday Times, the Washington Post and the Guardian, among other publications. His books include HANNS AND RUDOLF, which won the JQ-Wingate Prize for Non-Fiction; THE HOUSE BY THE LAKE, which was shortlisted for the Costa Biography Award; BLOOD ON THE PAGE, which won the Crime Writers' Association Golden Dagger Award for Non-Fiction; and WHITE DEBT.

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