Bury the chains / Hochschild, Adam

Chronicles the first grassroots human rights campaign, discussing how, in the late eighteenth century, twelve men banded together to try and stop slavery in the sugar industry, and as a result freed hundreds of thousands of slaves around the world.

Examines the abolitionist movement in the British empire between 1787 and the 1830s. Explores the movement's tools that were forerunners of those used by modern-day activists, such as mailings, boycotts, and lapel pins. Profiles key players in the crusade including Olaudah Equiano, an ex-slave orator; John Newton, former slave ship captain who wrote "Amazing Grace"; and Thomas Clarkson who crisscrossed Britain on horseback for the cause.