ABSTRACT
A brief history is given of the transatlantic slave trade from its beginnings in the fifteenth century to its ending in the nineteenth, with the focus on the development of the concept of the ‘races’ to justify the trade and colonialism. A psychoanalytic understanding of the transgenerational transmission of trauma is introduced. Black writers on this matter are referenced in consideration of the legacy of slavery for the descendants of its victims, but the main focus is on the impact of slavery on its perpetrators and their descendants - white Americans and Europeans. The necessity of overcoming our resistance to acknowledging and understanding this history in order that mourning can take place and wounds healed is emphasised.
