Fictions of Consent: Slavery, Servitude, and Free Service in Early Modern England

Urvashi Chakravarty's book "Fictions of Consent" explores the ideologies of slavery that took root in early modern England, despite the persistent fiction that England was innocent of racialized slavery. She argues that the legacies of classical slavery and race were inherited and negotiated in the quotidian spaces of English life, from the family to the household, in the theater, and the grammar school classroom. Early modern texts presage the heritability of slavery in early America, reveal the embeddedness of slavery within the family, and illuminate the ways in which bloodlines of descent underwrite the racialized futures of enslavement.

Format: Hardback
Length: 328 pages
Publication date: 22 February 2022
Publisher: University of Pennsylvania Press

In her groundbreaking work, Fictions of Consent, Urvashi Chakravarty delves into the ideologies of slavery that emerged in early modern England, a period preceding the organized trade in enslaved persons. Challenging the prevalent notion that England was immune to racialized slavery, Chakravarty argues that we must hold early modern England accountable for the frameworks of slavery that it paradoxically but strategically fostered. Slavery, she reveals, was not a foreign or distant phenomenon but rather deeply embedded in the everyday spaces of English life, from the family to the household, the theater, and, particularly, the grammar school classroom, where the legacies of classical slavery and race were inherited and negotiated.

The English employed the figurative stain of slavery inherited from the Roman freedman to signify an unchangeable sign of bondage and to solidify slavery's connection to epidermal difference. At the same time, early modern frameworks of voluntary service provided the blueprint for later fictions of happy slavery in the Atlantic world. Early modern texts foreshadow the inheritance of slavery in early America, expose the entanglement of slavery within the family, and shed light on the ways in which bloodlines of descent shape the racialized futures of enslavement.

Through a comprehensive analysis of literature, cultural practices, and legal documents, Chakravarty uncovers the conceptual genealogies of slavery and servitude. She explores how early modern writers and artists portrayed and reproduced the ideologies of slavery, shaping public perceptions and perpetuating the institution. Fictions of Consent also sheds light on the role of education in perpetuating slavery, as grammar schools were key institutions in the transmission of knowledge and values that reinforced the dominance of white elites.

By examining the everyday sites where the foundations of racialized slavery were laid, Chakravarty challenges the notion of a distinct historical period and emphasizes the continuity of slavery and servitude across time and space. She argues that the legacies of slavery continue to shape our world today, from the ongoing struggles for racial justice and equality to the ongoing exploitation and oppression of marginalized communities.

In conclusion, Fictions of Consent is a seminal work that reshapes our understanding of slavery and servitude in early modern England. Through a rigorous analysis of literature, culture, and legal documents, Chakravarty reveals the complex and multifaceted ways in which the ideologies of slavery were embedded in the everyday lives of English people. By challenging the notion of a separate historical period and emphasizing the continuity of slavery and servitude, she provides a powerful tool for understanding the ongoing legacies of racialized oppression and inequality in our world today.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780812253658