The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam

Thoroughly enjoyable short narrative on the universal impact of slavery. Webb successfully attempts to show that slavery impacted Europe historically and challenges much of today's views on the slave trade being initiated by white colonial powers which only had an effect on black Africans. He explains how early Moslem religious teaching meant that it was not acceptable to enslave fellow Moslems so for the best part of 1000 years Europe including the British Isles and Africa provided the millions of slaves required. A well balanced and refreshingly frank history without political interference. Should be impartially read and digested by all.

Easy to read, obviously researched well. Lundy Island certainly has a bit of history - wouldn't have wanted to be a fisherman sailor or live in a coastal village in any southern areas of Ireland, Wales or England as possibly would have ended up as a slave in North Africa

This is a highly laudable and informative book, one which throws up inconvenient truths for the politically correct, who would rather its contents be glossed over and the idea of 'the slave trade' (i.e. only one, the Transatlantic trade) be perpetuated at the expense of all other slave trades. Historically, slavery has been ubiquitous, featuring in cultures as varied as the North African and the Viking , and, as The Forgotten Slave Trade reveals, Caucasians have at times been its victims and not, as some would have us believe, exclusively its perpetrators.Another reviewer here, by the name of Molnul, states rather insidiously that he (or she) knows 'what type of audience this book is catering for'. It appears he does not, unless (and this is unlikely) Molnul is aware that to highlight a deliberately overlooked slave trade is not to detract from the injustice endemic to the one whose evils are most often aired and condemned.

A must read for every American, European, British, and African person. I'm a scientist, but not a historian, indeed I hated history at school. This book is written in that perfect niche of being authoritative, having suitable (but not too many) references, and being a good and easy read. I loved the way the author linked some of the events to modern attitudes and took a clear and non partisan view of history, whilst still showing how current education in British schools and indeed in the public arena is so lacking in many aspects of British history.Seems such important events have been sidelined for left wing poltical reasons. As a Brit working in Africa, it's all too true that Europeans are simply viewed as colonisers and slavers and putting this in the context of a much larger history fits so much together and shows just how damaging the current antiwest rhetoric is in the media.I definitely wish I had read this 20 years ago, but it is a modern book so I guess now is the time to get back to the real events and understand better the relationship between Europe, the Middle East, Americas, Russia and Africa. I learned far more than just about the sizeable trade in white slaves, and was actually impressed and want to read more about the development of the navy in the USA. Superb. I recommend to anyone who wants a gripping history of European slavery.

Mr Webb brings this aspect of history back to life in a narrative that is illuminating and easy to follow. Showing the nature of this widespread ghastly trade and its awful consequences which have endured to the present day is to be applauded. I would recommend inclusion on the schools syllabus.

One of the best books on the subject, which has been politically hijacked by several groups and minorities.So much so that I strongly suspect this would be considered 'racist', 'unreconstructed' and 'untrue' because it puts the North Atlantic slave trade into a proper context, in terms of :-- relative numbers - it wasnt the largest number of slaves by any means;- barbarity - it wasnt the most cruel or harsh in its treatment of the unfortunates;- racism - it wasnt particularly racist since almost all slaves in history were taken from 'other' groups;- relevance - there still many much more recent examples of state sponsored slavery;- hypocrisy - it explodes the lie that all slavery is due solely to evil white men exploiting poor black men.Unfortunately some people still believe the world is flat , so I dont hold out much hope that attitudes will change because of facts!

I enjoyed the book.It resurrected important facts, long since ignored or marginalised because they don't fit the current woke narrative and thus gave them context and meaning.If I have one minor negative observation it's the use of the Falklands War (p.168) to justify a disingenuous point: Margaret Thatcher didn't launch the Falklands War to win an election or distract the British voter; she merely responded with military force to a war forced upon her by Argentina and its need to distract their masses due to the Juntas' mishandling of the Argentine economy.That aside, this book joins others on my bookshelf which defends the British story in taking on the slavers and puts to the metaphorical sword the notion that slavery was a uniquely white and western undertaking.Those less discerning don't like that fact - but fact it is.

A very welcome book at a time when we are constantly being reminded (with reason) about the horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade. The writer points out that slavery has goes back to ancient times, and always had the same brutal practices towards the enslaved. The book is well-researched and written in a style that is clear to any interested reader. It covers the Ottoman Empire, where it was deeply entrenched, and included slaves captured in European lands. It also highlights the largely neglected subject of the tragic seizure of slaves by North Africa traders from the British Isles.