In Miserable Slavery: Thomas Thistlewood in Jamaica 1750-1786 Paperback – January 1, 1998

Douglas Hall’s look at Thomas Thistlewood’s diary holds up incredibly well after more than three decades. Thistlewood was not a major planter by any means but his writings offer a fascinating, haunting, and chilling look at slavery in Jamaica in the second half of the 18th century. Hall was shrewd enough to let Thistlewood speak for himself--and indict and convict himself before history’s bench. This is not easy reading by any means as Thistlewood recorded his sexual conquests, including with women who could not say no, and the nightmarish punishments he inflicted on slaves. However, it is an important book, and readers wanting to understand more about Caribbean slavery should read this excellent book. Highest recommendation.

An edited journal of slave driver and plantation owner spanning thirty years. It offers an unvarnished account of slavery in the mid 18th century.No political agenda at work here "Just the fact, mam."Fascinating.

This is one of the most painful stories I've ever read. The cruelty of the British knows no bounds.

good book. good information. a little hard to read and figure out what is going on at times but it can be understood. buy it.

It was a little disappointing, because of the way it was written. It was difficult to understand. By the time I went back to the "code" to understand I would become disconnected from the material. It may be my ADHD.

Absolutely Fascinating!! A Must Read!

The story of Thomas Thistlewood (and the story told by him) is both fascinating and repellent. His diaries were written coolly and with little passion and show life on a slave plantation in all it's gory cruelty - from beatings, deliberate disfigurement, humiliation, sexual mistreatment, hurricanes, rebellion and near starvation. Vicious punishments were routine and common, death was just around the corner and misery, mistreatment and misfortune were the bread and butter of daily life. And yet misery is not the whole story. I was not too shocked by the depictions of cruelty - I already knew about the cruelty of slavery so to read about it came as no surprise - it was the other aspects of life that were unexpected and, a little confusing: Thistlewood was married to slave and clearly loved her (and she him), when times were hard he borrowed money from his slaves (some of whom appear to have had some means), he sold his old musket to one of his slaves (in defiance of the law) and, most shocking and surprising of all when he accuses a runaway slave of attempted murder the slave is found not guilty by the magistrate - something I would have found unimaginable. This book is a must for anyone with an interest in slavery in the Caribbean in the 18th century - but I urge you to grasp the deeper insights it gives into life at that time. My overwhelming feeling is that relationships and life itself at that time were not always as straightforward as we might think - with more layers and more complexity than we might first have imagined. Read it in tandem with Mastery, Tyranny and Desire.

Martin Bashir said a stupid thing and paid the price. I thank me for making me aware of this book. It documents in a dispassionate way the cruelty of slavery. Thistlewood saw nothing wrong with his actions because at that time they were the norm. Bashir's point that slavery should not be trivialized by comparison to conditions today is well taken. Too bad he could not have made the point in a less explosive way.