The Empire of Necessity

‘a book that managed to be at once a compelling narrative of an 1804 slave revolt, a panoramic study of the Americas in an age of revolution and a meditation on the contradictions inherent in the idea of liberty itself, then and now’ 

‘Superb… An exemplary work of history – even-handed, meticulous, and adroit in balancing action and ideas’

 ‘Grandin… has trawled an astonishing range of archival sources… [this] riveting account breathes fresh life into the story by fashioning a bold panorama from the small details of one specific case study’

‘Remarkable… superbly argued and richly detailed… Grandin brings to vivid life the realities of the period’ 

'The Empire of Necessity is scholarship at its best. Greg Grandin’s deft penetration into the marrow of the slave industry is compelling, brilliant, and necessary.'

'For nearly four centuries, as Greg Grandin writes in his powerful new book, slavery was the “flywheel” that drove the global development of everything from trade and insurance to technology, religion and medicine... Through a remarkable feat of research he establishes a strong narrative line... Harrrowing.'

'A wonderfully engaging and original combination of action and reflection, vivid detail and deep insight. It is a shocking story of slavery and brutality, but with an ambition that every historian should have – to truly understand a world.'

'Greg Grandin has done it again. Starting with a single dramatic encounter in the South Pacific he has shown us an entire world: of multiple continents, terrible bondage and the dream of freedom. This is also a story of how one episode changed the lives of a sea captain and a great writer from the other end of the earth. An extraordinary tale, beautifully told.'

'Richly informed... [Grandin] describes his unsettling panorama in a restrained manner, avoiding exaggeration and allowing facts -- many of them horrific -- to tell the story. In doing so, he has produced a quietly powerful account.' 

'Grandin has written a gripping, lavishly researched account of high seas drama, as well as the trials of the slaves before and after their revolt. Equally fascinating is the thesis Grandin advances: that in 1804 human political liberty and abject bondage were both rising apace – often advanced by the very same people... Compulsively readable.'

'In this multifaceted masterpiece, Greg Grandin excavates the relentlessly fascinating history of a slave revolt to mine the enduring dilemmas of politics and identity in a New World where the Age of Freedom was also the Age of Slavery. This is that rare book in which the drama of the action and the drama of ideas are equally measured, a work of history and of literary reflection that is as urgent as it is timely.'

'[Grandin] writes with the skills of a fine novelist. With herculean archival research, he traces the backstory of each of the main participants... the owner of the slaves, the Spanish captain, the Yankee captain, and those slaves whose paths to the fateful revolt can be tracked or at least surmised. Then Grandin extends their stories beyond the revolt to the ends of their lives. Each life story leads through the explosive contradictions of the Age of Revolution...Inventive, audacious, passionate.’