The Slave Trade and Historical Context

The second page delves into the dark reality of the slave trade, a significant historical context that influenced daniel defoe: libri and his contemporary writers. This brutal commerce system operated through a complex network known as the Triangular Slave Trade.

Vocabulary: Privateers were private ships authorized by governments to attack enemy vessels during wartime.

Highlight: Sir John Hawkins became the first Englishman to trade in African slaves, marking the beginning of England's involvement in this inhumane commerce.

The trade operated through a three-point system: English traders exchanged cloth, guns, and iron goods for enslaved Africans, who were then transported across the Atlantic in horrific conditions to work in plantations. The final leg involved bringing plantation products back to England.

Example: The journey across the Atlantic Ocean was so brutal that many enslaved people did not survive the crossing, chained in overcrowded conditions below deck.

Definition: The Triangular Slave Trade was a commercial system connecting England, Africa, and the Americas through the trade of goods, enslaved people, and colonial products.

This system continued until the American Civil War, with slavery finally being abolished in 1865, marking the end of a dark chapter in human history.

Early Life and Education

Born in London in 1660, Daniel Defoe emerged from a pre-industrial world into a life that would shape English literature forever. His family, originally called "Foe," represented core values of respectability, honesty, discipline, and self-sufficiency that would later influence his daniel defoe: opere più importanti.

Highlight: Defoe added "de" to his surname to appear more sophisticated, reflecting the social aspirations of his time.

Definition: Dissenters were Protestants who opposed the Church of England's practices, considering them too similar to Roman Catholicism.

His early life was marked by two significant events: the Plague of 1665 and the Great Fire of London in 1666, which forced his family to flee to the countryside. These experiences would later inspire his work "A Journal of the Plague Year."

Example: The Great Fire of London burned for four days, leaving an indelible mark on the city and young Defoe's memory.

His education was comprehensive, studying at a boarding school in Dorking and later at Reverend Charles Morton's Dissenting Academy, where he received a modern curriculum that significantly influenced his intellectual development.

Quote: "His father wanted him to become a minister, but while this never materialized, he received an excellent education that shaped his future writing career."