Between 1500 and 1900, the various parts of the Atlantic world became increasingly integrated into an expanding capitalist economy. This collection of essays examines the different forms of unfree labour that contributed to the development of this world and, by extension, the debates and protests that emerged concerning labour servitude and the abolition of slavery in the West.

Comparative in perspective, the essays focus on particular regions (Africa, Britain, the Caribbean and Amerindia) and on specific types of labour (slavery, pawnship, impressment, tribute, indentured and contract labour) in ways that transcend traditional areas of specialization. Together they offer new insight into the patterns and intensity of labour servitude in the West and into the relationships between core and peripheral areas of the first capital world economy.