Smith, Emma. "Slavery, sugar, and the value of Shakespeare." Throughlines. Throughlines.org/suite-content/slavery-sugar-and-the-value-of-shakespeare. [Date accessed].
Slavery, sugar, and the value of Shakespeare
Contending with the human cost of valuable books
How and why books became valuable in 18th-century Britain was not simply a story of taste and scholarship, but one fueled by the vast profits of slavery and plantation economies. As sugar wealth flooded the market, it transformed secondhand texts like Shakespeare’s First Folio into coveted symbols of status, embedding slave-produced capital into the foundations of literary material culture. To understand our libraries and editorial traditions today, we must confront how deeply these systems of value were shaped by the economics and injustices of the transatlantic slave trade.
Further learning
Recommended
Henry V and belonging
Shakespeare's language and status in the Western canon can feel inhospitable to many students, especially students of color. Teaching Henry V with a focus on linguistic identity, legitimacy, and belonging can open conversations that allow students to carve out a Shakespeare for themselves.
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