Conclusion

Abstract

The book ends with suggestions about the ways colonial narratives contributed to shaping collective representations of slaves and slavery. Representations were produced in distinct contexts, reflecting the concerns of individuals and collectivities, but they also reflected colonial social structures. The dynamic of reflecting slaves in colonial narratives may be compared with the ‘problem’ of ‘inclusion’ (Miers and Kopytoff). It is, tellingly, the result of multiple interactions. Colonial narratives were, no doubt, received according to individual or collective reading or listening experiences, but they also functioned by creating the social specificity of slaves.