There is one thing about slavery in America that I will never quite understand. Why torture and enslave your fellow man when nobody benefits? If you don’t understand my question, then you absolutely must read Tower Hill by Alan Taylor. Basically, while it is obvious slavery was bad for the enslaved, it didn’t help the enslavers all that much when all was said and done.
Taylor chronicles multiple generations of the Blows (yes, real name, yes, I have many childish comments but will refrain). They own a plantation in Virginia with slaves. They are not particularly cruel, but they are still slaveholders (so screw them). What Taylor digs into (pun which will be revealed shortly) is how being farmers is a horrible way to make a living and could easily lead to ruin from one bad harvest. This is all even worse in Virginia which is lots of swamps with periodic natural disasters and storms (can confirm as current Virginia resident).
The book uses the nearby Nat Turner rebellion as a sort of tipping point. I think that is overstating it and the focus of the book is more interesting. It is one thing to know slavery is bad. It is another thing to see the day-to-day minutiae and the interplay between enslavers and enslaved on a daily basis. Simply, you walk away from this book much more informed than when you started.
(This book was provided as a review copy by W.W. Norton & Company.)
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