The chapter discusses archaeological investigations of one complex. Many girls are trafficked out of nigeria, with or without the northern insurgency. Madagali district, now in adamawa state, nigeria, had a varied and turbulent colonial history. Rodney argues that the slave trade fundamentally altered african economies.
To determine the extent, if at all, to which the trans. The atlantic slave trade engaged societies ranging from complexly organised states to loosely organised societies based on diverse local leadership. The northern mandara mountains of cameroon have been a focus of slave raiding for the past five centuries, according to historical sources. Such topics as the incidence and form of indigenous slavery and slavetrading in precolonial. Slaveraiding was practised on a scale which devastated and almost depopulated vast regions and greatly hampered the commercial activity of the large cities, of which zaria and kano were the most. Slave raiding was a violent method of economic development where a resource shortage was addressed with the acquisition by force of the desired resource, in this case human labor. As an example, he described central nigeria, where the slaveraids from the south overlapped with those of the northern emirates.
The impact of the atlantic slave trade on africa 619. Raiding and kidnapping were institutionalized in bambara society. Nigeria protectorate these troops were used to subdue the mohammedan rulers of the hausa states and bornu, who had persistently ignored the british requests for the cessation of slaveraiding and whose attitude was one of open hostility to an administration of whose power they had ha proofd n ao. Sometimes seen as a normal part of warfare, it is nowadays widely considered a crime. Nigeria, once stated that africa should seek unity in diversity and diversity in unity.
Firearms and slave raiding 283 slavery methods in west africa 284 slaving and the states of the niger delta 286. Badagry, nigeria one of the first slave port on the. Atlantic slave trade is the force of these historical circumstances and not the socalled evil nature of the african. Before beginning any account of nigerias history, it should be stressed that modern nigeria, like much of africa, is a product of european colonial rule. The impact of the slave trade on literacy in africa. However the social, economic, and legal positions of slaves have differed vastly in different systems of slavery in different times and places.
The kajoor and bawol were the main victims of slave raiding. Its very nameafter the great niger river, the countrys dominating physical featurewas suggested in the 1890s by british journalist flora shaw, who later became the wife of colonial governor frederick lugard. Nigeria is a creation of the british empire builder who, in search of new markets, raw materials and the need to exert political influence overseas, laid down borders at the end of the 19th. Transsaharan slave trade history of world civilization ii. The tuaregs and the berbers raided and kidnapped their southern neighbors. A note on slavery, seclusion and agrarian change in northern. Slavery, condition in which one human being was owned by another.
The course of abolition in northern nigeria, 18971936. The historical roots of crises and conflicts in nigeria and kaduna state in particular can be traced back to these primordial social factors of ethnography, geography, religion and culture. No two historical factors have been more deeply implicated in contemporary struggles between nigerias diverse ethnic and religious groups than british colonialism and the transatlantic slave trade. He speculates that this is because the production of slaves, which occurred through domestic warfare, raiding and kidnapping, impeded the formation of broader ethnic groups. The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Taken together, warfare, slaveraiding, and kidnapping have accounted for the vast majority of new slaves in history. Rue 2002 describes the capture of a slave caravan at asyut in egypt in 1880 based on this archive material. Oil corporations therefore, has a rich historical antecedent. Enslavement and slave raiding existed within larger structures of daytoday practice. The impact of the issue of slave trade on underdevelopment of africa cannot be dismissed with a wave of hand. Introduction slaving has a long history in precolonial westcentral africa and the transsaharan export of slaves may be millenniaold kaese 1991. The history of the interior of west africa is the history of the movement of different peoples and a constant process of. By 1471, portuguese navigators hoping to tap the fabled saharan gold trade had reconnoitered the west african coast as far as the niger delta, and traded european commodities for local crafts as well as slaves, the latter which turned out to be highly lucrative.
Some of the earliest surviving written records of slave raiding come from sumer in presentday iraq. Toyin falola and matthew heaton describe their project as a general background survey of the broad themes of nigerias history from the beginnings of human habitation to the early twentyfirst century p. Archaeological perspectives on the atlantic slave trade. Learn more about the history, legality, and sociology of slavery in this article. Expansion of the atlantic slave trade 288 resistance to the slave trade 290 the consequences of the slave trade in west africa 292 the abolition of the slave trade 296. Globalization and the politicization of prostitution in southern nigeria, 19211955. Portuguese sailors explored southern nigeria and settled there. A history of slavery and genocide is hidden in modern dna. In comparison to the atlantic slave trade, scholarly attention to the sahelian.
The earliest phase of slavery may have been simple raiding of unstructured and diverse ethnic groups. By the time the british outlawed slavery in 1807, northern nigeria was deeply militarized and stratified. Nigeria protectorate these troops were used to subdue the mohammedan rulers of the hausa states and bornu, who had persistently ignored the british requests for the cessation of slave raiding and whose attitude was one of open hostility to an administration of whose power they had ha proofd n ao. But, with a few exceptions, there is comparatively less ethno historical material for the phe nomena in adamawa. As an example, he described central nigeria, where the slaveraids from the. Bonny and dahomeybenin were active participants in slave raiding and slave trade especially after the arrival of e uropeans and the consequent development of the brutal atlantic slave trade. Carettas recent biography of equiano, raising serious doubts as to whether.
First, the slave trade discouraged statebuilding and encouraged slave raiding. To consider the ways in which the idea of slavery and the trans atlantic slave trade is perceived in the mindset of the people that were studied. Raiding and kidnapping people into slavery were common practices in all the regions of africa. The transatlantic slave trade the transatlantic slave trade began in the late 15 th century in nigeria. It was followed by a second, much heavier period that made up more than half of the trade and peaked during the late 1700s, in which slaves were largely taken from what is now nigeria, cameroon.
Finding himself powerless against the slave dealing faction, his son ceded lagos to the british in 1861 and the british colony of lagos came into being the following year. The colony and protectorate of nigeria is situated on the. The history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the. During the period when african countries were colonized, slave trade was at high level. Also, slavery encouraged militarization and stratification, leading to the rise of warlords. Thus, in one sentence this veteran of the nationalist struggle in nigeria and in africa at large and the leading statesman of by far the most populous country of africa, summed up his experience of both nigerian and african politics. Population density and slave raidingthe case of the middle belt of nigeria volume 10 issue 4 michael mason. Firearms and slave raiding 283 slavery methods in west africa 284. The enormous demand for african slaves led to the formation of a few states whose economy and politics were centered around slave raiding and trading. Some captives from the area were enslaved locally, primarily in wandala and fulbe communities, while others were exported to sahelian polities or further abroad. A history of nigeria is an impressive book, the more so because its ambitions initially appear straightforward.
Apr 26, 2018 the history of nigeria slave trade the history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. On the causes of the african slave trade luis angeles. British objections to slavery, slave raiding, and the slave trade provided initial justification for imperial expansion into and then conquest of northern nigeria, first by the royal niger company and then from 1900 by british government forces. A slave was considered by law as property, or chattel, and was deprived of most of the rights ordinarily held by free persons. Slavery has historically been widespread in africa, and still continues today in some countries. Living with slave raiding in the northeastern mandara mountains of cameroon chapter pdf available november 2011 with 226 reads how we measure reads. Most of them were, of course, negative, though we can argue that the slave trade was beneficial for some african states in the short term. The abolition of slave trade and the formal establishment of british authority over its nigerian colony saw a rapid growth both in internal and external trade in 19th century nigeria orojo, 1992. Nigerias middle belt, initially stimulated by a paper in the journal of. A darker historical era saw many people of west africa leave their shores for plantations in europe, north and south america and the caribbean. Like so many other modern african states, nigeria is the creation of european imperialism. Canadian journal of african studies revue canadienne des etudes africaines, vol.
The children were aged between four and and had been kidnapped from their parent, they told irin. Aug 18, 2018 as the slave trade intensified in the 16 and 1700s, it also became harder not to participate in the trade in some regions of west africa. Past and present perspectives from yola nigeria une. This chapter examines ethnohistorical and archaeological data on nineteenth and twentieth. Other than the element of slavery being present, such violent seizure of a resource does not differ from similar raids to gain food or any other desired commodity. Nigerias total of 834,000 people accounts for about 15% of the 6. Oral tradition and the people of nigeria, ghana and benin 9 the display of emotions in oral recounts of slave trade 10 slavery in ancient traditional setting 12 slavery experience and expressions 12 expressions of the word slave 15 ii. This paper offers an integrated analysis of the forces shaping the emergence of the african slave trade over the early modern period. The portuguese, dutch, british, and other european traders forced countless numbers of nigerians into slavery.
The transatlantic slave trade began in the late 15th century in nigeria. It has existed from before the dawn of human history right down to the. Slave history museum, calabar slavery and remembrance. Slave raiding was also common in the senegal valley. Slave trading for export ended in nigeria and elsewhere in west africa after slavery ended in the spanish colonies of brazil and cuba in 1880. Oral tradition relating to slavery and slave trade in nigeria. They date back as far as the 5th century bc, when communities living around the southern slopes of the jos plateau make wonderfully expressive terracotta figures in a tradition known now as the nok culture, from the nigerian village where these.
The explanation for the origins of african severe underdevelopment is explained by history and much of africas poor performance can be characterised by over 400 years of slave raiding nunn, 2007. Initially the dutch shipped slaves to northern brazil, and during the second half of the 17th century they had a controlling interest in the trade to the spanish. Background information nigeria africa destinations. The trade was focused on the slave markets of the middle east, north africa and the horn of africa. The consequences of the slave trade in west africa 292. The european union has estimated that 60% of all sex workers in italy and belgium are nigerian women.
Afigbo argues that an internal slave trade in southeastern nigeria con. Located on the site of a fifteenthcentury slavetrading warehouse in marina beach, the slave history museum derived its name from the activities that took place in calabar, the embarkation point for a significant percentage of the slaves who left african shores during the transatlantic slave trade. The longterm effects of africas slave trades 141 from each country to the nearest locations of demand for slave labor in each of the four slave trades. Europeans discovered the southern areas of nigeria along its coast in the 15th century. A note on slavery, seclusion and agrarian change in northern nigeria by gina porter for geographers and others working on contemporary development issues in africa, the historical perspective is of considerable significance. The slave trade triggered unprecedented internal competition as groups defined themselves in contradistinction to others who could be enslaved. However the social, economic, and legal positions of slaves were vastly different in different systems of slavery in different times and places. The transatlantic slave trade religious literacy project. James fenske is an associate professor in economic history, department of economics.
The damagaram of northern nigeria and the southern part of niger procured some of their slaves by this method. The abolition of the slave trade in southeastern nigeria, 18851950. A discussion of the impact of the slave trade on africa must begin with walter rodneys book, how europe underdeveloped africa 1972. Nigeria contains more historic cultures and empires than any other other nation in africa. Slavery occurs relatively rarely among huntergatherer populations because it develops under conditions of social stratification. Buchanan and pugh, coauthors of the standard work on nigerian geography, accept that ruthless slave raiding continuing in many areas until the late nineteenth century decimated the population of much of the middle belt.
A consequence of the ending of the slave trade was the expansion of domestic slavery as nigerian businessmen replaced trade in human chattel with increased export of primary commodities. The problem of nigeria is slavery, not white slave traffic. They also started a brutal slave trade that flourished for a full 300 years in nigeria. As the slave trade intensified in the 16 and 1700s, it also became harder not to participate in the trade in some regions of west africa.
The irony of the era was that while the europeans were. Slavery in northern nigeria was finally outlawed in 1936. In the early stages, europeans captured nigerians in raids on coastal communities, but. People traded were not limited to a certain race, ethnicity, or religion. The infamous slave trade in nigeria is not known to many people like the slave trade in ghana, senegal, togo and benin. Secondly, how the human agents have used man, family and governmentstate to engender crises and conflicts. In fact, the historical sites and remains of the slave trade and raiding. However, once even smallscale polities develop, then predatory raiding and economic gain for both sides enter the equation. Concubinage and the status of women slaves in early. Twentieth century solutions of the abolition of slavery pdf. Africa, the historical perspective is of considerable significance. Oral tradition relating to slavery and slave trade in. More specifically, the research aimed at the following. Pdf the economic, political, and social impact of the.
The history of nigeria slave trade the history of slavery spans many cultures, nationalities, and religions from ancient times to the present day. Population density and slave raidingthe case of the middle belt of nigeria volume 10 issue 4 michael mason skip to main content we use cookies to distinguish you from other users and to provide you with a better experience on our websites. Slave raiding is a military raid for the purpose of capturing people and bringing them from the raid area to serve as slaves. In the sokoto caliphate of modern nigeria and in the nilotic sudan, slave raiding was sometimes a state affair.
Slavery in ghana retracing this chapter in history. Slavenkust referred to the trading posts of the dutch west india company on the slave coast, which lie in contemporary ghana, benin, togo and nigeria. Population density and slave raidingthe case of the middle belt of nigeria. Nigeria sent back to benin on wednesday 120 children who were smuggled into the country to work as slave labour, breaking stones at quarries, benin government officials said. Population density and slave raidingthe case of the middle belt. This chapter explores the impacts of the atlantic slave trade between africa and the european settlements of the new world on two settings along the west african coast. According to tradition, at the beginning of the 17th century three brothers vied for the kingdom of allada, which, like neighbouring whydah now ouidah, had grown rich on the slave trade. Slavery can be traced back to the earliest records, such as. Dahomey, kingdom in western africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern benin. The arab slave trade was the practice of slavery in the arab world, mainly in western asia, north africa, east africa, and certain parts of europe such as iberia and sicily during their period of domination by arab leaders. Slaving has a long history in precolonial westcentral africa and the transsaharan export of slaves. Slave raiding was practised on a scale which devastated and almost depopulated vast regions and greatly hampered the commercial activity of the large cities, of which zaria and kano were the most. Pdf the phenomenon of slave trade and its marauding in zuru. Arab influence was very strong in this region especially in slave trade.
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