Synopsis of Research Slavery in Africa Ever since the 5th century B. C, Africans have been stolen from their homes and sold to work for the rest of their lives in chains. At a dark time in our world’s history, almost every country participated in this trade. However, what many people do not know, is that Africa participated in the slave trade as more than just the victims. For hundreds of years, slavery had been alive and well in Africa. From prisoners-of-war being used to work the fields, to kings selling their subjects to westerners, Africa played a major role in the slave trade.
Without Africa’s involvement in the slave trade, the use of slaves in other countries would be significantly lower. With the amount of slaves employed and shipped from Africa, the continent truly was the heart and soul of slavery. Where were slave bought and sold in Africa? As stated in the article “Reparations and African complicity in the slave trade” written by James DeWolf Perry, Europeans often purchased slaves in “slave forts along the African coast of modern-day Ghana. ” A common belief is that slaves were captured by Europeans but this is only true for a small margin of slaves.
Most slaves were sold at forts in Africa as a trade between Europeans and Africans. If it had not been for these trading posts the amount of enslaved African would have been drastically lower considering that only about ten percent of slaves were actually kidnapped. Why did Africans set up forts to sell slaves? These forts worked as a very “profitable business for many African societies. ” Local rulers and common people gained money by participating in the selling of slaves. The export of slaves was common in many kingdoms such as Ghana and helped them acquire money for the people they captured in battles with other tribes.
Since Europeans were not allowed beyond the coast, setting up trading posts allowed Africans to easily and efficiently sell prisoners into slavery. How were African slaves treated in comparison to American and European slaves? It is a given fact that African slaves were almost always treated better than their Western counterparts. They had many given rights and privileges unheard of to American and European slaves. These privileges include the right to own land, the right to marry, the ability to earn income, the right to own and inherit property and most importantly, legal protection from mistreatment by their masters.
In addition to being treated better than Western slaves, with adequate food, water and clothing, African slaves also enjoyed the likely possibility of freedom. In African culture, if a slave performed good labor for a certain amount of time, it was often customary for their masters to reward them with their permanent freedom. With the rights and privileges provided to slaves in Africa, is indeed true that “slaves in [Africa] are more like adopted children” as said by Commissioner Crowther after his trip to Africa in the early 1900s.
Did African Kings realize the horrors of Western slavery when they sold their subjects to White traders? As established earlier, African slavery was mild compared to that of Europe and the Americas. This leads one to wonder if African kings truly comprehended the living hell that they were sentencing their prisoners to, and if so, what was their motivation for doing so. At that time, many elite Africans visited Europe, including the sons of African nobility. Here, they must have witnessed the horrible nature of western slavery, but if they had, they certainly did not do anything about it.
However, although evidence suggests that African lords simply lacked empathy for the men, women and children they sold into slavery, “Africa is a big continent, so one cannot assume that… all African chiefs were informed about the evils of slavery as practiced by the West” (The Role of Africans in the Slave Trade). What did an African do to qualify for slavery? While some may assume that any African could be subjected to slavery, there were usually specific circumstances that resulted in their enslavement.
The majority of slaves, both those in Africa and those sold to different countries, were victims of wars between African tribes. For the losing sides of these quarrels, a future of bondage was almost definite. “While no enemy was left standing in the outside world, the conquered enemies were left to serve in Africa” (Africans did not sell their own people into slavery). Who was responsible for the creation of slavery in Africa? As previously stated, slaves in Africa were most commonly the products of lost tribal wars. However, the idea and need for slaves was brought about by white men from foreign countries.
Usually Europeans, these men came to Africa in need of workers and meddled with different tribes to cause wars between them, which often resulted in prisoners of war. The white men “manipulated [the] people by creating confusion between the various tribes and creating tribal wars all in the effort to receive slaves” (africaw. com). Why did African leaders sell their own citizens into slavery? Contrary to popular belief and general ideals, “In most instances, no violence was necessary to obtain … slaves. ” (Piero Scaruffi) African Kings, Princes, and Queens were more than glad to sell their own subjects in exchange for goods and money.
To the kings of Africa, wielding their unrestricted power to sell their own people was a valid and accepted form of business. The European and Arab monarchs, who both were dominated by monotheistic religions that called out for Equality (or domination in Islam’s case) would not be able to get away with the selling of their own. It is not that African people are more evil than white people, it is just that when a government is given the power to do something, it will. How did slavery begin in Africa? African people were first taken into slavery by non-Africans in the 5th century B. C, by the Greeks and later the Romans.
These two powers would raid North Africa entirely to capture slaves. These two Empires would pave the road for later African slavery, in which Africans leaders would sell their own citizens (and captured members of rival tribes) to Muslim, and Western nations. Traders would bring goods to Africa and in exchange African Kings would pay for these items with their own people. As more and more traders came to Africa with goods wanted by the king the number of African slaves increased. This rapidly growing form of business eventually led to the creation of the African slave trade across the triangular trade route.
While other countries began banning the selling of their own people Africa continued to participate in the slave trade which led to a much larger population of African slave. Where were slaves exported from in Africa? Almost all of the slaves exported from Africa were transported by sea around the 1730s thru the 1790s. The west coast of Africa had many ports in which various countries shipped out slaves. The majority of these ports were located on an area known as the “Slave Coast” on the north coast of the Gulf Of Guinea and the west coast of Senegal.
There were additional routes to the New World from the east side of Africa. What tasks did African slaves perform? The tasks of African slaves differed greatly from those of western slaves. Western slaves primarily performed more menial labor such as agricultural work and domestic labor, while African slaves primarily worked more important jobs such as miners and construction workers. The jobs of African slaves depended greatly on the slave’s gender and social status. If a male belonged to a rich, or powerful slave owner, they could often obtain important jobs such as soldiers or sailors.
However, if a slave belonged to a poor slave owner they could end up with tedious jobs as farmers or animal herders. Although many African slaves were men, the majority of slaves in Africa were female. Female slaves in Africa almost always performed tasks as maids, food preparers or even wives. After concluding our research on African slavery, it is clear that there is more to it than just “evil white men” stealing native Africans from their homes and forcing them into slavery. In fact, the main source of slaves was provided to western traders by kings selling their prisoners of war.
In addition, many African workers and farmers used slaves as a source for cheap labor. While it is true that slaves in Africa were treated better than their counterparts in America it cannot be denied that Africans did not participate in the slave trade. Africans helped the growth of the slave trade in other countries by setting up trading post and ports that allowed slaves to be shipped to other countries. While they mostly sold prisoners it is still true that they knew what would happen to them and did not do anything to help their fellow Africans