Summary

After a brief introduction to the mission and audience of his book, Reynolds rewinds over 600 years back to colonial Europe to recount the history of the "world's first racist," Gomes Eanes de Zurara of Portugal (4). Zurara was a commander in Prince Henry of Portugal's army, and penned a "biography of the life and slave trading" of the prince, titled "The Chronicle of the Discovery and Conquest of Guinea" (6). Slavery in general was commonplace among Europeans at the time, but Zurara aimed to set the Portuguese cause above the rest by claiming that they were completing a "mission from God to help civilize and Christianize the African 'savages'" (6). According to Reynolds, Zurara was the first to "write about and defend Black human ownership," and the widespread fame of his book paved the way for centuries of racist ideologies (7). He depicted Africans as "savage animals...