Matthew Hopper | California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (original) (raw)

Matthew Hopper

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Books by Matthew Hopper

Research paper thumbnail of Slaves of One Master: Globalization and Slavery in Arabia in the Age of Empire (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015).

In this wide-ranging history of the African diaspora and slavery in Arabia in the nineteenth and ... more In this wide-ranging history of the African diaspora and slavery in Arabia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Matthew S. Hopper examines the interconnected themes of enslavement, globalization, and empire and challenges previously held conventions regarding Middle Eastern slavery and British imperialism. Whereas conventional historiography regards the Indian Ocean slave trade as fundamentally different from its Atlantic counterpart, Hopper’s study argues that both systems were influenced by global economic forces. The author goes on to dispute the triumphalist antislavery narrative that attributes the end of the slave trade between East Africa and the Persian Gulf to the efforts of the British Royal Navy, arguing instead that Great Britain allowed the inhuman practice to continue because it was vital to the Gulf economy and therefore vital to British interests in the region.

Hopper’s book links the personal stories of enslaved Africans to the impersonal global commodity chains their labor enabled, demonstrating how the growing demand for workers created by a global demand for Persian Gulf products compelled the enslavement of these people and their transportation to eastern Arabia. His provocative and deeply researched history fills a salient gap in the literature on the African diaspora.

Research paper thumbnail of Liberated Africans in the Indian Ocean World (current book project)

Chapters in Books by Matthew Hopper

Research paper thumbnail of "The African Presence in Eastern Arabia," in Lawrence G. Potter (ed.), The Persian Gulf in Modern Times: People, Ports, and History (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, Dec. 2014).

Research paper thumbnail of “Slavery, Family Life, and the African Diaspora in the Arabian Gulf, 1880-1940,” in Gwyn Campbell (ed.), Sex, Power, and Slavery (Ohio University Press, 2014).

Research paper thumbnail of "The Globalization of Dried Fruit: Transformations in the Eastern Arabian Economy, 1860s–1920s," in James L. Gelvin and Nile Green (eds.), Global Muslims in the Age of Steam and Print (Berkeley, CA: University of California Press, 2013).

Research paper thumbnail of “‘Slaves of One Master’: Globalization and the African Diaspora in Arabia in the Age of Empire,” in Robert Harms, Bernard K. Freamon, and David W. Blight (eds.), Indian Ocean Slavery in the Age of Abolition (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2013).

Research paper thumbnail of “Debt and Slavery among Arabian Gulf Pearl Divers,” in Gwyn Campbell and Alessandro Stanziani (eds.), Bonded Labour and Debt in the Indian Ocean World (London: Pickering & Chatto, 2013).

Articles by Matthew Hopper

Research paper thumbnail of Imperialism and the Dilemma of Slavery in Eastern Arabia and the Gulf, 1873-1939

ITINERARIO-LEIDEN-, Jan 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Parler en son nom? Comprendre les témoignages d'esclaves africains originaires de l'océan Indien

Annales. Histoire, Sciences sociales, Jan 1, 2008

Reviews by Matthew Hopper

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500–1850. By Richard B. Allen. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2014.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Slavery and Emancipation in Islamic East Africa: From Honor to Respectability. By Elisabeth McMahon. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Race and Slavery in the Middle East: Histories of Trans-Saharan Africans in Nineteenth-Century Egypt, Sudan, and the Ottoman Mediterranean. Edited by Terence Walz and Kenneth M. Cuno. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2010.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Kuwait and the Sea: A Brief Social and Economc History. By Yacoub Yusuf Al-Hijji, translated by Fahad Ahmad ‘Isa Bishara. London: Arabian Publishing, 2010.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Red Sea Citizens: Cosmopolitan Society and Cultural Change in Massawa. By Jonathan Miran. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: African Identity in Asia: Cultural Effects of Forced Migration. By Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2008.

International Journal of African Historical Studies, Jan 1, 2009

betrayal of feminist sensibilities to pose these questions. It is simply imperative not to divorc... more betrayal of feminist sensibilities to pose these questions. It is simply imperative not to divorce the struggles of women from those of men, even in North Africa. This book takes us a significant part of the way to a synthetic understanding of the travails of the region.

Papers by Matthew Hopper

Research paper thumbnail of Slavery in Arabia, Demand in the West

Research paper thumbnail of Slaves of One Master: Globalization and Slavery in Arabia in the Age of Empire (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 2015).

In this wide-ranging history of the African diaspora and slavery in Arabia in the nineteenth and ... more In this wide-ranging history of the African diaspora and slavery in Arabia in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Matthew S. Hopper examines the interconnected themes of enslavement, globalization, and empire and challenges previously held conventions regarding Middle Eastern slavery and British imperialism. Whereas conventional historiography regards the Indian Ocean slave trade as fundamentally different from its Atlantic counterpart, Hopper’s study argues that both systems were influenced by global economic forces. The author goes on to dispute the triumphalist antislavery narrative that attributes the end of the slave trade between East Africa and the Persian Gulf to the efforts of the British Royal Navy, arguing instead that Great Britain allowed the inhuman practice to continue because it was vital to the Gulf economy and therefore vital to British interests in the region.

Hopper’s book links the personal stories of enslaved Africans to the impersonal global commodity chains their labor enabled, demonstrating how the growing demand for workers created by a global demand for Persian Gulf products compelled the enslavement of these people and their transportation to eastern Arabia. His provocative and deeply researched history fills a salient gap in the literature on the African diaspora.

Research paper thumbnail of Liberated Africans in the Indian Ocean World (current book project)

Research paper thumbnail of Imperialism and the Dilemma of Slavery in Eastern Arabia and the Gulf, 1873-1939

ITINERARIO-LEIDEN-, Jan 1, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of Parler en son nom? Comprendre les témoignages d'esclaves africains originaires de l'océan Indien

Annales. Histoire, Sciences sociales, Jan 1, 2008

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: European Slave Trading in the Indian Ocean, 1500–1850. By Richard B. Allen. Athens: Ohio University Press, 2014.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Slavery and Emancipation in Islamic East Africa: From Honor to Respectability. By Elisabeth McMahon. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Race and Slavery in the Middle East: Histories of Trans-Saharan Africans in Nineteenth-Century Egypt, Sudan, and the Ottoman Mediterranean. Edited by Terence Walz and Kenneth M. Cuno. Cairo: The American University in Cairo Press, 2010.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Kuwait and the Sea: A Brief Social and Economc History. By Yacoub Yusuf Al-Hijji, translated by Fahad Ahmad ‘Isa Bishara. London: Arabian Publishing, 2010.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: Red Sea Citizens: Cosmopolitan Society and Cultural Change in Massawa. By Jonathan Miran. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2009.

Research paper thumbnail of Review of: African Identity in Asia: Cultural Effects of Forced Migration. By Shihan de Silva Jayasuriya. Princeton, NJ: Markus Wiener Publishers, 2008.

International Journal of African Historical Studies, Jan 1, 2009

betrayal of feminist sensibilities to pose these questions. It is simply imperative not to divorc... more betrayal of feminist sensibilities to pose these questions. It is simply imperative not to divorce the struggles of women from those of men, even in North Africa. This book takes us a significant part of the way to a synthetic understanding of the travails of the region.

Research paper thumbnail of Slavery in Arabia, Demand in the West

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