Includes bibliographical references and index.

Preliminary Material / W. Klooster -- Introduction / Wim Klooster -- Chapter One. War, Colonization, And Migration Over Five Centuries / Stanley Engerman -- Chapter Two. Maritime Powers, Colonial Powers: The Role Of Migration (C. 1492-1792) / Olivier Pétré-Grenouilleau -- Chapter Three. Dutch Labor Migration To West Africa (C. 1590-1674) / Filipa Ribeiro Da Silva -- Chapter Four. Soldiers And Merchants: Aspects Of Migration From Europe To Asia In The Dutch East India Company In The Eighteenth Century / Femme S. Gaastra -- Chapter Five. New Christians, Jews, And Amsterdam At The Crossroads Of Expansion Systems / Jessica Vance Roitman -- Chapter Six. Social Outcomes Of Trade Relations: Encounters Between Africans And Europeans In The Hubs Of The Slave Trade On The Guinea Coast / Natalie Everts -- Chapter Seven. Slavery In The De Bry Collection: The Formation Of A Worldwide Comparative Perspective / Ernst Van Den Boogaart -- Chapter Eight. The Representation Of Slaves And Slavery In The Writing Of The Natural History Of The West Indies During The Early Modern Centuries: French And English Contributions Compared / Nicholas Canny -- Chapter Nine. Abolition And Identity In The Very Long Run / David Eltis -- Chapter Ten. Divergent Paths: The Anglo-American Abolitions Of The Atlantic Slave Trade / Seymour Drescher -- Chapter Eleven. The Transformation And Downfall Of Plantation Culture In Suriname / Ellen Klinkers -- Chapter Twelve. History Brought Home: Postcolonial Migrations And The Dutch Rediscovery Of Slavery / Gert Oostindie -- Index / W. Klooster.

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The twelve essays explore three connected aspects of European expansion in the period between 1500 and 1900 - migration, trade, and slavery - with some attention given to present-day echoes from that era. The book's first section deals with European migration to transatlantic and Asian destinations, the second and third sections focus on the Atlantic slave trade and representations of slavery, and the final section analyzes the demise and legacy of slavery. The authors reach surprising conclusions: European expansion did not entail major economic benefits; the small scale of the Europeans' intercontinental migration never jeopardized their colonial projects; and the unique popular nature of British abolitionism can be explained in part by the growth of the newspaper press in the mid-eighteenth century, which regularly reported about slave ship revolts.