
Series
Volume 11
Anthropology of Food & Nutrition
Email Newsletters
Sign up for our email newsletters to get customized updates on new Berghahn publications.
Edible People
The Historical Consumption of Slaves and Foreigners and the Cannibalistic Trade in Human Flesh
Christian Siefkes
402 pages, 20 illus., bibliog., index
ISBN 978-1-80073-613-9 $145.00/£107.00 / Hb / Not Yet Published (September 2022)
eISBN 978-1-80073-614-6 eBook Not Yet Published
Reviews
“This is a remarkable book. As a historical archive detailing the extent of cannibalism in various parts of the world at different periods of history, it is largely unmatched and breaks new ground in the sheer volume of material presented.” • Paul Collinson, Oxford Brookes University
Description
While human cannibalism has attracted considerable notice and controversy, certain aspects of the practice have received scant attention. These include the connection between cannibalism and xenophobia: the capture and consumption of unwanted strangers. Likewise ignored is the connection to slavery: the fact that in some societies slaves and persons captured in slave raids could be, and were, killed and eaten. This book explores these largely forgotten practices and ignored connections while making exploring the links between cannibal acts, imperialist influences and the role of capitalist trading practices that are highly important for the history of the slave trade and for understanding the colonialist history of Africa.
Christian Siefkes is an independent scholar whose research interests include the history of trade and economic relations, including their darker aspects, as well as the reality of climate change and what is means for the future of humanity.