Excerpt: the export slave trade from Africa (787 hits)

Again, because the enslavement of the exported population was largely through military operations and other forms of violence, the export slave trade had a serious distorting impact on African political and social structures. The views of some contemporary observers may be cited to illustrate the point. In 1679, the Director-General of the Dutch West India Company on the Gold Coast (now Ghana), Heerman Abramsz, reported that since the introduction of firearms following the stepping up of the export slave trade, "the whole Coast has come into a kind of state of war. This started in the year 1658, and gradually this has gone so far, that none of the passages could anymore be used, and none of the traders could come through." In about 1730, another officer of the Dutch company reported: "In the first place it should be observed that that part of Africa which as of old is known as the 'Gold Coast' because of the great quantity of gold which was at one time purchased there by the Company as well as by Dutch private ships, has now virtually changed into a pure Slave Coast; the great quantity of guns and powder which the Europeans have from time to time brought there has given cause to terrible wars among the Kings, Princes and Caboceers of those lands, who made their prisoners of war slaves; these slaves were immediately bought up by the Europeans at steadily increasing prices, which in its turn animated again and again those people to renew their hostilities, and their hope for big and easy profits made them forget all labour, using all sorts of pretexts to attack each other, or reviving old disputes. Consequently, there is now very little trade among the coast Negroes except in slaves ..." Later in the eighteenth century, an African observer, Olaudah Equiano, wrote in the same vein: "From what I can recollect of these battles, they appear to have been irruptions of one little state or district on the other, to obtain prisoners or booty. Perhaps they were incited to this by those traders who brought the European goods I mentioned amongst us. Such a mode of obtaining slaves in Africa is common; and I believe more are procured this way, and by kidnapping, than any other." These illustrative observations taken from a large body of similar evidence show the strong link that existed between the export slave trade and the frequency of wars in Africa during the period. The causal relationship was, of course, very complex. The illustrative observations have not adequately brought out the full complexity of the relationship. The fact is, however, that - directly and indirectly - the export slave trade stimulated frequent wars which distorted the political and social structures of African societies.