SLAVERY
« Until the lion writes
his own story, the tale
of the hunt will always
glorify the hunter. »
The Door of No Return in the House of
Slaves on Goree Island in Dakar, Senegal
• What do you know about
slavery?
• Who was involved in slavery?
• Was it a global phenomenon?
• Do forms of slavery still exist
today?
What impact do you think the trade in African
peoples would have had on individuals,
families, cultures, and societies?
Societies
Individuals
The Impact of
Slavery
Cultures
Families
WHAT IS SLAVERY?
• To be a slave is to be controlled by another person or persons so that your
will does not determine your life's course, and rewards for your work and
sacrifices are not yours to claim. According to Kevin Bales, one of the
world's leading experts on contemporary slavery, "people are enslaved by
violence and held against their wills for purposes of exploitation."
The Slavery Convention (article 1.1) in 1926 defined slavery as
•
"...the status or condition of a person over whom any or all of the powers attaching to the right of
ownership are exercised…."
The convention defined slave trade as
•
•
"...all acts involved in the capture, acquisition or disposal of a person with intent to reduce him to
slavery; all acts involved in the acquisition of a slave with a view to selling or exchanging him; all acts of
disposal by sale or exchange of a slave acquired with a view to being sold or exchanged, and, in general,
every act of trade or transport in slaves by whatever means of conveyance." (article 1.2)
Slavery in Africa
• The traditional form of slavery in African Societies was
different from the global trade in African peoples because, in
most African societies, enslaved people were domestic
servants or indentured labourers who were in service for a
specified period of time. They were symbols of wealth and
power, but hey were not bought and sold for profit by their
owners.
• Indentured Servant – a person who is
contracted into the paid service of another for
a specified period of time.
• Domestic Servant – A form of slavery that
forces people to work in other people’s
households for litter or no pay.
The Origins of Slavery
• Slavery has existed throughout history, in
different forms, in different places and at
different times.
• Present in Ancient Civilizations of China,
Greece, Rome, some indigenous cultures in
north and South America and is sanctioned in
some religious texts like the Qur’an and The
Bible.
Slavery also existed
amongst African
peoples
Neighbouring
tribes or kingdoms
would conquer
other peoples and
make them
domestic workers
or indentured
servants NOT
Chattel to be
bought and sold
for profit.
Classification's of Enslaved people
• Chattel Slavery – a personal possession that is
the legal property of the owner and can be
bought, sold, or bequeathed at he owner’s
discretion.
• Slave – A person who is held in bondage to
another; one who is wholly subject to the will
of another
The Global Trade in African Peoples
• The nature of slavery in Africa changed
dramatically around 700 CE
• African peoples were captured and exported
against their will to foreign lands in exchange
for trade goods.
• Symbolized the start of trade in human lives
that would last for more than 1000 years
EAST AFRICAN TRADE
• Involving Middle Eastern
Arab Slave Traders
• 9-17 million people
TRANSATLANTIC TRADE
• Involving mostly European
Slave Traders
• 11-20 million people
• “The abolition of the trans-Atlantic slave
trade in the 19th century did not eradicate the
practice globally. Instead, it took on other
forms, which persist to this day: serfdom, debt
bondage and forced and bonded labor;
trafficking in women and children, domestic
slavery and forced prostitution, including of
children; sexual slavery, forced marriage and
the sale of wives; child labour and child
servitude, among others.”
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
Message for the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery 2 December 2010
• While people today most likely
believe that slavery is a thing of the
past, the practice is still thriving
wherever poverty, social conditions,
and gullibility can be exploited. Bale
estimates that there are 27 million
slaves in the world today.
(Kevin Bales, Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy,
University of California Press, 1999)