The Slavery Triangle

Historically, slavery has been used by conquerors to dominate the conquered. And whilst the effects of the transatlantic slave trade are still felt today, it was by no means the first time Africans were taken out of the continent and into servitude

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1. Ancient Greek, Egyptian & Roman civilisations used chattel slaves for activities like agriculture and mining. Typically acquired through conquest, the underlying motives for slavery in these societies were political stability and economic activity

2. Chattel slavery describes a situation where an individual is considered property and treated as the property of another human being. Their offspring and descendants are automatically slaves. This is the best-known form of slavery

3. Upon losing a war (or battle) citizens of a conquered nation would end up as slaves in the societies of the people who conquered them. Thus, with the exception of debt slavery, citizens of the conquering nation rarely became chattel slaves

4. Slavery was not uncommon in Africa. By the 7th century AD, Arab traders were buying slaves from North and East African kingdoms and empires for transportation to the Middle East. These slaves were typically obtained via conquest and inland raids

5. The Nigerian town of Kano was one of many inland locations that supplied the Arab Slave Trade. In the Kenyan Coastal town of Shimoni, caves where captured slaves were held before shipment to the Middle East can be visited today

6. By the 15th century, European explorers hit the West African Coast and started setting up trading posts. In search for valuable trade, the networks set up by Arab traders for exploiting the African interior were ripe for European takeover. Europe was considered the Old World

7. The trans-Atlantic slave trade started in the 16th century with European merchants transporting manufactured goods from Portugal, Spain, Britain & other European powers to Africa for sale. Guns, textiles and alcohol were particularly valuable to African chieftains and traders

8. The European merchants would purchase slaves from African slave traders who had developed systems for capturing people from inland territories. Kidnaps were common place. The coastal area of West & Central Africa was known as The Slave Coast

9. Slaves would be transported across the Atlantic to the New World and auctioned to plantation owners. The slave ships would then be loaded with coffee, tobacco and sugar and transported back to Europe to start the cycle again

10. This triangular trade was a massive boon to European and New World economies, as well as a precursor to the scramble for Africa. By the time the slave trade ended in the 19th century, about 12 million Africans had been taken away

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