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SLAVERY IN AFRICAN HISTORY

INTRODUCTION

Slave trade and slavery activities have been recorded in Africa during pre-colonial centuries. Different historians had different perspective of slave trade and slavery and below and the views of different historians about slavery in Africa .According to historian’s slavery in Africa existed even before the European’s arrival.

According to Walter Rodney the innate slavery in Africa Coast facilitated the growth of Atlantic slave trade. During the colonial period African slavery was widespread in Upper Guinea Coast. This area was also participating in Atlantic Slave trade but their control was eventually loosened by the involvement of metropolitan powers. Slaves were exploited and also sold except those they termed them as ‘domestic slaves’ the members of master’s household unless they had committed a serious offence. The Domestic slaves acquired a right to own property, they also get some pay from their labor and also their children had right for inheritance. According to Rodney, the word slave could apply to both the commoners and also the working class people of the capitalist world.

Upper Guinea Coast was the first region where slaves were exported. In 16th century the slaves were exported from Upper Guinea Coast to Spanish Indies. Mande and Fulas tribes were the major agents of Atlantic slave Trade on upper Guinea coast. In 18th century the religious and historical dominance of Mande and Fulas tribe in Upper Guinea Coast based on the need to sell more slaves to Europeans and this made them keep many captives.

Atlantic slave trade and !9th century patterns of oppression of the slaves was so similar in that Africans were captured with them of being sold to the Europeans but they served the African captors for a period of time before being sold. Slaves were not sold immediately to the Europeans after capture and also some of the slaves were rejected by the Europeans for certain reasons. The major causes of domestic slavery In Upper Guinea Coast was influenced by moving of the interior people in coastward and their engagement in slave trade and also European Forces in seaward side. In 19th century children were send to colony of Sierra Leone to learn the white man’s fashion and they were not paid and when they grew old enough to fight for their rights, they were sold to Mande and Fulas traders.

John D. Fage recorded some views which contributed to slave trade and slavery in West Africans. He said that, Slavery Institution in West African society was natural deeply rooted. They had an organized slave’s trade for export. The second view was that, slavery and slave trading was caused by the external demand for labor and also the external demand for labor was great that the export of slaves affected the social and moral norms and also the natural demographic development of the people.

There was an attitude that encouraged the export of slaves to American plantations instead of leaving them in West Africa where they can be idle and unproductive. According to Norris and Delzel the Ashanti degree of Voluntary or involuntary servitude was defined in different terms which include, Odonko a foreigner who had been bought with a purpose of making him or her slave . Domum a woman or man who had been defeated from foreign state. He also pointed out that Ashanti slave’s right was somehow similar to that of a free man. The use of slaves by Portuguese improved their merchant classes and also their economy in many ways, some of which are, cultivation and mining.

Suzanne Miers and Igor Kiptoff also talked on tradeoff slaves in West Africa. They said that one person is taken to a new area many effects befalls his or her life, like separation from the family, losing his status, identity and also personality. He experiences traumatic feeling as a result of separation from his relatives, neighbors and also his familiar customs and language.

They said that if a person if taken from his place of habitant to a new place he or she becomes the subject of marginality because he has lost his old identity and has not acquired a new one. Simmel defined this person as a person with no relations. If this person was captured for resell he remains in this state of marginality and be an object for exchange.

Slaves were brutally and harshly treated in American plantations. Some historian assumptions quote that, slavery originated due to demand of labor in plantations. Slavery transformation was believed to be caused by external and some internal forces. Slavery was more influenced by the role they played in the economy and also large geographical area. Due to integrated system of slave trade, domestic use of slaves and also enslavement in social and economic structure slave mode of production existed.

In Islamic region slaves were used in military .administration and domestic services. Islamic law allowed men to marry as many wives as they can afford. Concubines who bore children with the master were set free after the death of the master. Slaves were more exploited in Islamic regions than I Africa. The Transatlantic trade involved more of slaves and other commodities. Muslims were largely involved in this trade.

Paul Lovejoy defines slavery as a political institution. He connects the existence of slavery to external demand and points out that, before the arrival of Europeans and Islam slavery was marginal phenomenon.

Conclusion

Even before the arrival of Europeans slave trade and slavery exited in Upper Guinea Coastal region of Africa. African slavery was not only as a course of Europeans demand but also Trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean needs. We can also say that slavery development was also connected to Islamic external influence. In trans-Atlantic trade slaves were major commodities of exchange. The major reason for slave trade was demand for workers in American plantations.

Questions

1) What was the Suzanne Meirs’ perspective about the issue of slave trade in West Africa?

2) According to John D.Fage, what were the influential views about slave trade and slavery in West Africa?