How we cite our quotes: (Part.Paragraph)
Quote #1
You have brought […] books explaining how the West […] got rich not from the free [..] labour, for generations, of the people like me you see walking around you in Antigua but from the ingenuity of small shopkeepers in Sheffield. (1.3)
Many people credit industrialization for making the West so wealthy, and they're not entirely wrong—industrialization was important. But you can't ignore the fact that slavery (and the exploitation of workers that followed emancipation) was a big factor, too.
Quote #2
(isn't that the last straw; for not only do we have to suffer the unspeakableness of slavery, but the satisfaction to be had from "We made you bastards rich" is take away, too) (1.3)
To the narrator, this mentality is used to negate the experience of the people whose ancestors were enslaved. It's a way of denying the contribution of anybody who doesn't fit the mold.
Quote #3
But the Caribbean Sea is very big and the Atlantic Ocean is even bigger; it would amaze even you to know the number of black slaves this ocean has swallowed up. (1.4)
The reality of the slave trade is far worse than anything you could imagine. The journey across the Atlantic was practically a death sentence and the reward for surviving was even worse.