Slavery had been accepted in Western culture for centuries. So why did a movement suddenly rise up in the industrial era calling for its abolition? Could it be that people had suddenly become more enlightened and humanitarian? Or were there other, more compelling and perhaps self-serving reasons for this sudden about-turn? Davis offers a thorough account of the emergence of the antislavery movement in Britain and the United States. But what makes his work unique is how it unpacks the complex relationships underlying the growth of capitalism, changes in our understanding of what is moral, the impact of political action and its effect on social change.