2 - Indigenous African Slavery

Abstract

It is generally understood how widespread slavery was in Africa before the colonial era. In many areas, slaves constituted a majority of the population, at least by the end of the nineteenth century. Furthermore, even before that time, slave raiding and kidnapping contributed to insecurity and instability almost everywhere. The extent to which this political situation was a result of the trans-Atlantic, trans-Saharan, and Indian Ocean slave trade is still a matter of debate, and the nature of slavery in African societies is only beginning to be understood. The issue of external influence has been associated most often with the writings of Walter Rodney, who argued that the European slave trade created pressures within African society that led to greater stratification. This is certainly true, although it is argued that African slavery was a response not only to European needs, but to trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean demands as well. Equally important, however, is a perspective that considers the evolution of institutions within African societies for the enslavement of people. This relates particularly to kinship structures that allowed the transfer of rights over people and permitted the development of dependent relationships that in certain situations could lead to slavery.