ABSTRACT
African communities were characterized by the extended family system where many blood-related nuclear families lived in association under family heads and shared economic and social life. The women cared for the home and the young, and the men tilled the soil and reared animals. The welfare of the sick, the disabled, the orphan and the widow was the responsibility of all members of the extended family. Traditional social life began to disintegrate at the inception of the slave trade. African rulers found European goods sufficiently appealing, and considered it desirable to hand over captives they had taken in warfare in exchange for foreign goods, including firearms. War became rampant between the kingdoms and communities for the sole purpose of getting captives for sale. Economic policies of ethnic communities revolved around agriculture - land use and rearing of animals. Every family was assured sufficient land to meet its subsistence needs.
