When the full abolition of slavery appeared on the political agenda in the Atlantic world the institutional arrangements that underpinned the peculiar institution changed dramatically. Although many have studied these transformations, their urban dimension has remained underappreciated. The contributions to this volume offer an in-depth look at cities in the British and French Caribbean, the United States, West-Central Africa, Brazil, and South Africa. Rather than treating urban slavery as a more benign counterpoint to the brutal plantation complex, the articles explore how cities were part and parcel of slave societies and demonstrate how methods of control as well as routes to emancipation changed in the century before emancipation. Urban slavery has greatly impacted urban landscapes and its legacy as well as practices of remembrance and memorialization can be found in many former slave societies.

Considering the ways in which the 'global turn' is changing the theory and practice of historical disciplines, Explorations in History and Globalization engages with the concept and methodology of globalization, challenging traditional divisions of space and time to offer a range of perspectives on how globalization has affected social, economic, political and cultural history. Each chapter covers a specific theme, discussing how globalization has shaped these themes and how they have contributed to globalization throughout history. Including topics such as ecological exchanges, trade, exchanges of knowledge, migration, empire and urbanization, this volume both explains historical trajectories through a global analytical framework and provides tools that students can employ when posing their own research questions about historical globalization. Containing suggestions for further reading and guidance on the ways in which primary source material can be used as a basis for global historical studies, this is the ideal volume for all students interested in the global exchanges between people throughout history.