Howard W. French

Howard W. French

Howard W. French (Howard Waring French) was born on October 14th, 1957 and is currently 68 years old. Howard W. French was born in Washington, D.C., USA. French attended Columbia University.

Howard W. French is a Columbia University professor and a former reporter and writer for the New York Times. His documentary photography has been featured in exhibitions and collected by the Mildred Lane Kemper Museum in St. Louis.

One of the most popular books by Howard is the award-winning one Born in Blackness explores how Black people have contributed to modernity as well as the rise of the West. The opening chapters explore some themes that A Fistful of Shells by Toby Green did, but focus less on currencies and more deeply on Africa’s encounter with the Portuguese as a critical point of modern history.

Most part of the book spans from the late 1400s to 1600s and illustrates how the gold and slave trade propelled European interest in the African continent and resulted in the establishment of the slave plantation system which was the cornerstone of European wealth and global inequalities.

Putting the focus on the plantation system and the transatlantic slave trade, the author illustrates how European colonies in the Caribbean

contributed to European wealth and power. It all started in São Tomé with the sugar plantation through the plantation system and then spread to Brazil and later the Caribbean. This resulted in an economic and manpower boost to Europeans and led to Industrialization.

The increase in sugar consumption resulted in the growth of coffee shops in Europe and led to the creation of the modern public sphere. For example, 40% of Portuguese total revenue in the 1600s was as a result of the Brazilian sugar crop, which was more than the income from gold and silver production. France’s colonies dominated by present-day Haiti accounted for 1/3 of its trade.

The importance of these colonies cannot be underestimated and is evident by the extent to which European countries were willing to fight over them. For instance, the Dutch went to war with Spain and Portugal over Brazil and Kongo/Angola.

Surprisingly, Europe never built its plantation system in Africa. The author argues that Africa as a continent was never weaker than Europe with the African Kingdom just as important to the African dynamics as the Europeans themselves. But Howard argues that the European plantation systems' demand for slave labor left Africa weaker, less populous and less urban developed than Europe, making it more vulnerable to competitors. This eventually resulted in the scramble for Africa.

Howard emphasizes that Europe was never interested in the African territory as it was in the African people. But his book is a tertiary work of history that summarizes and synthesizes the works of modern historians on Black people and Africa. The author goes a long way to show how important the Black people and the African continent have been to the establishment of the modern world. This book gives a better history of the divergent global economic trajectories from better perspectives than most history books.

Howard W. French: Lists & Other Mentions

• The Second Emancipation was a Publishers Weekly: Best Nonfiction Books Selection in 2025.

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1. Harlan Coben, author of the Myron Bolitar Series.
2. Michael Connelly, author of the Harry Bosch Series.
3. C.J. Box, author of the Joe Pickett Series.
4. Carl Hiaasen, author of the Andrew Yancy Series.
5. Sue Grafton, author of the Kinsey Millhone Series.

Howard W. French: F.A.Q