ISBN-13: 9780714648842 / Angielski / Twarda / 1998 / 296 str.
Colonial rule began in most of Africa in the later 19th entury and lasted for about 100 years. It started with an endless succession of small, but often brutal, wars of conquest, for which the moral justification was that the European conqurors were bringing civilization to darkest Africa. An intrinsic part of this so-called civilising mission was the eradication of slave raiding, slave trading and slavery, all of which were widespread on the continent. In fact for many years in most areas, the colonial rulers, although they passed anti-slavery laws in various forms, did very little to enforce them. Instead, fearing that sudden emancipation would result in the mass departure of slaves, economic ruin and the flight or rebellion of owners, they collaborated with rulers, chiefs, and other slave owners, often bolstering their power and giving them further means of exploitation.