Rise and Fall of African Slavery

3 credits · Graduate

Many African societies, like pre-industrial societies elsewhere, used slaves as well as other forms of labor for a variety of purposes. The rise of external slave trades after 1700 - notably across the Atlantic and Sahara - transformed many African societies into specialized slave exporters. As external slave trades declined in the 19th century, many African economies used extensive internal slave labor to produce exports, a pattern colonial governments were slow to change in the 20th century. This course examines these changes in African slavery, and how they affected such issues as gender relations and class structure. CROSSLISTED: HIST 3435 FORMATS: Discussion