Role Of Slavery In Africa

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
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
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