ABSTRACT
Slavery has been known in Africa for a long time – how long is not known because of a lack of documentation. However defined, slavery has been important in the history of Africa; indeed there have been major transformations in the political economy of Africa over the past millennium that can be attributed to slavery. The evidence suggests that slavery was indigenous, as was also the case elsewhere in the world. The trade in enslaved people, moreover, was multifaceted. Slavery affected social and political structures from early times to the present. This chapter examines the nature of slavery, from enslavement to trafficking, and the impact on Africa of the external trade in slaves across the Sahara, Indian Ocean and Atlantic. An examination of the uses and abuses of enslaved individuals demonstrates that the persistence of slavery is a factor in African history (Lovejoy, 2000a). In addition, this chapter examines how patterns of slavery in Africa changed over time.
