Historical Context: Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade vs. Trans-Sahara (Islamic Slave Trade)

 

Comparing the Trans-Atlantic and Tran-Sahara Slave Trade

 A significant amount of attention is given to the Trans-Atlantic (TA) slave trade (America and European Nations, also known as the Triangular slave route). The Trans-Atlantic slave trade predominantly had a presence in western (Nigeria, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Cote D’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin) and south-west (Cameroon, Angola, Namibia, South Africa), Africa. This was infamously known as the Golden Coast. However, the Eastern region of Africa also suffered from the slave trade. This is known as the Trans-Sahara (TS) or Islamic Slave Trade. The East Coast slave trade was known as the Swahili Coast. Unlike the slave trade in western Africa, the slave trade by Muslim countries in Eastern Africa had a presence at least two centuries prior to the American and European nations arriving. However, there was significant demand for slaves by Arab nations during the second half of the eighteenth century and early nineteenth century (Vernet, Thomas). As a result, the Islamic Slave Trade began to gain attention by its western counterparts.

 The purpose of the slave trade for American and European nations consisted of economic factors and the conquest of territory (for raw resources). Due to America’s agrarian lifestyle (especially in the south), there was a high demand for labor. In addition, after the Berlin Conference, the European Nations and America (Allied Powers) decided to cut the African countries out of the process of negotiations, and they began to divide the land for economic and military benefits, and overall influence on the world stage. This tactic was known as imperialism. 

The purpose of the TS slave trade was similar to the TA slave trade. Specifically, the desire to spread ideology and gain a stronger military presence. However, Muslim countries had a higher demand for domestic slaves, nannies, and women to “serve” in the Harems and concubines (The Arab Muslim Slave Trade Of Africans). The TA slave trade required that two out of every three slaves were a man (due to the manual labor requirements) Whereas, the TS slave trade required two out of every slaves to be a woman. This lead to a significant amount of sexual exploitation. However, sexual exploitation was very present in both the East and West slave trades.

Furthermore, the childbirth rate was very high in the Muslim slave trade. However, many of the children were killed at birth. In America and European nations, many children were born into slavery, however, they were not killed. Yet, in many cases, they were inhumanly sold from their mothers. In addition, the Arab nations would often castrate the male slaves to limit the reproduction offspring. As a result, there is little lineage to African-Arab slaves and ambiguous data as to how many slaves were transported (Vernet, Thomas).

The mortality rate from the Swahili Coast slave trade is significantly higher than its counterpart, the Golden Coast. While it is estimated that approximately ten percent of slaves died in route to America, Brazil or England. The mortality rate from the Swahili Coast across the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea was estimated to be significantly higher. However, the exact numbers are ambiguous (Vernet, Thomas). This increased mortality rate is possibly due to the architecture of the ships. The Trans-Atlantic slave ships had more protection from the outdoor elements than the ships from the Islamic slave trade, which were vulnerable to the turbulence of the seas.

“It is largely unacknowledged that the structures of racism, slavery and oppression existed and flourished just as well in the Arab-Islamic world as they did in Europe and the Americas.”

 (Trans-Saharan Slave Trade and Racism in the Arab World)

   This is interesting primarily due to the fact that the slave and slave owner often looked alike. Many of the Arabs saw Africans as less than human, just as their American and European counterparts. This rhetoric in the Arab culture was integrated into the fourteenth century, before their European counterparts (Trans-Saharan Slave Trade and Racism in the Arab World). In fact, many of the kings in the African nations would sell slaves to Arab merchants. For example, this was seen in Homegoing, by Yaa Gyasi how the king set up a deal with the English merchants on the Golden Coast, the same was done in East Africa on the Swahili Coast. The question of the role of race still plays an integral factor when examining the genesis of slavery in Africa, especially in the Islamic Slave Trade. Just as there are many differences in the TA and TS slave trade there are more ideological similarities.

To summarize, while there is a significant amount of information on the Trans-Atlantic slave trade there is very little on the Trans-Sahara slave trade, which was going on as early as the 1500s. This is primarily due to little evidence of the genealogy of African-Arabs (Vernet, Thomas) Additionally, while slavery was officially abolished in the United States in 1865 and England in 1833, the Islamic Slave Trade continued in multiple Arab nations for a longer duration. For example, Qatar did not abolish slavery until 1952, and Yemen in 1962 (Abolition of Slavery Timeline). Additionally, despite the abolishment of slavery, the presence of slavery, especially in the form of sex trafficking is still very much present in Eastern Africa and the Middle East. In Northern Uganda, 20,000 children were captured by the Lord Resistance Army to serve as soldiers and sex slaves in the past twenty years (Human Rights No Slavery).

In class, we began the semester examining the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In Article 4, it states that “No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms” (Human Rights No Slavery).  Regardless of the factors that play a role into the enslavement and abuse of a people group, slavery is a tragic stain on the human condition, thus making it a universal problem that invokes a universal response.

Works Cited:

Admin. "The Arab Muslim Slave Trade Of Africans, The Untold Story." Originalpeople.org. Original People, 15 Nov. 2012. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.

Abolition of Slavery Timeline." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 01 Apr. 2017. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.

"Human Rights No Slavery: UN Universal Declaration Violations & Abuse, Torture & Slavery,." United for Human Rights. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

"Introductory Maps." Introductory Maps. N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.http://www.slavevoyages.org/assessment/intro-maps

Shahada, Alik. "ARAB SLAVE TRADE | Definitive History of the Arab Slave Trade in Africa." History of the Arab Slave Trade in Africa. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Apr. 2017.

                                                

"Trans-Saharan Slave Trade and Racism in the Arab World." Ballandalus. WordPress, 19 Apr. 2015. Web. 03 Apr. 2017.

Vernet, Thomas. "East African Travelers and Traders in the Indian Ocean: Swahili Ships, Swahili Mobilities Ca. 1500â 1800." Trade, Circulation, and Flow in the Indian Ocean World (2015): 167-202. Academia.edu. Web. 2 Apr. 2017.