J W Buel Heroes of the Dark Continent
J. W. Buel, Heroes of the Dark Continent (New York, 1890), p. 66. GR, from map at Beit-al-Ajaib, Zanzibar Slavery and Slaving in Nineteenth Century Africa HI 177 | A History of Africa since 1800 Term 1 | Week 3 | Dr Sacha Hepburn
Defining Slavery (and Freedom) • Slavery = diverse • Slaves ‘occupied a wide range of roles and positions in African states and societies’ (Stilwell) • Related to other forms of forced/coerced labour: indentured servitude, serfdom • Debate: freedom and slavery as oppositional or on a spectrum of dependency?
Slave Systems in Africa • External trades • Trans-Saharan trade • East African trade • Transatlantic trade • Internal trade • Domestic slavery/household slavery • Common features: trade in men, women and children; hereditary status of slaves; violence
Slave Trades Out of Africa http: //www. slavevoyages. org/assessment/intro-maps
The Transatlantic Trade David and Charles Livingstone, Narrative of an Expedition to the Zambesi and its Tributaries; and of the Discovery of the Lakes Shirwa and Nyassa, 1858 -1864 (London, 1865), facing p. 356.
Role of African Slave States • Key states: • • • Senegambia Sierra Leone Gold Coast Dahomey, Yoruba Niger Delta (Bight of Benin) Angola • Slave trading and predation • Impact of European demand Sarah Tucker, Abbeokuta; or, sunrise within the tropics: an outline of the origin and progress of the Yoruba mission (London, 1853), facing p. 66.
Major coastal regions from which captives left Africa, 15001900 http: //www. slavevoyages. org/assessment/intromaps
Volume and direction of the Transatlantic Trade http: //www. slavevoyages. org/assessment/intro-maps
The Transatlantic Trade in Numbers Period 1450 -1500 1501 -1600 1601 -1700 Total persons transported 81, 000 338, 000 1, 876, 000 1701 -1800 1801 -1900 Total 6, 495, 000 4, 027, 000 12, 817, 000 P. E. Lovejoy, Transformations in Slavery (New York, 2012), p. 19.
Abolition • 1802: Denmark declares its trade illegal • 1807: Britain and America outlaw the slave trade • 1810: British begin detaining slave ships of other nations • Mid-1840 s-1851: Cuba and Brazil take action • But expansion of slaveholding in Africa http: //www. slavevoyages. org/resources/images/category/Slaves/ 7
Impacts of Slavery on African Societies • Political/economic • Easiest impacts to determine? • Fusion of economic and political power = mercantilism • Disintegration of powerful states, though not entirely result of slave trade • Social/demographic • Internal African trade helped African households and societies to increase numbers • But devastating impact of Transatlantic trade • Increased slavery within Africa as result of Transatlantic trade, particularly female slavery
Africa Book & Film Series Term 1 Programme Film: Nairobi Half-Life (2012) Wednesday 17 th October, 5 -7 pm (R 0. 21) I Am Not A Witch (2017) Monday 12 th November, 6 -8 pm (H 0. 52) Book: Chinua Achebe, Things Fall Apart (1962) Wednesday 5 th December, 5 -7 pm (S 0. 10)
Questions? Email: s. hepburn@warwick. ac. uk Office hours: Monday 3 -4 pm and Thursday 2 -3 pm, or by appointment
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