The Atlantic Slave Trade from West Central Africa, 1780-1867

The Atlantic Slave Trade from West Central Africa traces for the first time the origins of slaves leaving West Central Africa at the peak period of the transatlantic slave trade. West Central Africa was one of the principal sources of slaves for the Americas. During the nineteenth century, the importance of the region as a supplier of slaves increased as a result of the suppression of the trade north of the Equator. Although some nations retreated from the business early in that century, others remained active, expanding their activities along the coast of West Central Africa. Some scholars of the slave trade claim that a quest for political power motivated Africans to sell one another into the transatlantic commerce as prisoners of war. They argue that the expansion of the slave trade from West Central Africa in the nineteenth century increased the incidence of warfare in the region, which in turn spread the enslaving frontiers further into the region's interior. However, as this book demonstrates, the rate of slaves leaving from West Central Africa remained relatively constant from the lat eighteenth until the mid-nineteenth century, with slaves originating from places much closer to the coast than previously thought. Moreover, the book shows that cultural and economic motivations were also important factors shaping the participation of Africans in the slave trade. More Africans engaged in this activity than a handful of rulers and warlords, but their participation depended significantly on the ability of merchants in Europe and the Americas to deliver the goods required for exchanging for slaves.--Abstract.