“Empire of Cotton” is a depressing book, particularly for admirers of capitalism. It can be a bit repetitive, too. Nevertheless, if you have a chance, you should read it, because it has something important to say about the nature of capitalism and globalization.
The book is too complex to summarize in a single post, but the crux of it revolves around the transition from a production model based on the forcible appropriation of land and slavery ( reasonably called “war capitalism” in the book) to what is referred to as “industrial capitalism.” Global cotton production increased dramatically, even without slavery, after the Civil War through the use of state power in the form of infrastructure investments, technical assistance, various kinds of subsidies, the enforcement of contracts on an international basis, and a degree of coercion. The results were typically disastrous for the producers; for example, Indian farmers who were prodded by British authorities to plant cotton exclusively for the ultimate benefit of mill owners and workers in the UK starved by the millions when prices fell, as they inevitably did on occasion.
If misery was a by-product of cotton production all over the world, even without slavery, does that weaken the case for reparations for the descendants of American slaves? No, but it means that supporters of reparations need to be precise. The injury which arguably requires compensation is not simple economic harm, but the denial of basic humanity, which did not occur in established societies like India and Egypt.