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...

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...

Slavery's origins lie far back in the mists of prehistoric times and have spanned the globe-two facts that most history texts fail to address. The crucial moment of transition in the evolution of slavery was the point at which the successful warriors decided that they could exploit the labor of their prisoners, forcing them into a degraded underclass. This handy paperback version of the Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition provides a historical overview of slavery though the ages, from prehistoric times to the modern day. It details slavery's different forms and the circumstances...

For almost four thousand years, men and women with power have exploited vulnerable populations for cheap or free labor. These slaves, serfs, helots, tenants, peons, bonded or forced laborers, etc., built pyramids and temples, dug canals and mined the earth for precious metals and gemstones. They built the palaces and mansions in which the powerful lived, grown the food they ate, spun the cloth that clothed them. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of Slavery and Abolition relates the long and brutal history of slavery and the struggle for abolition using several key features:...

This book uses primary sources to capture the ways Africans experienced and were influenced by the slave trade.