African Diaspora and the World I PDF

African Diaspora and the World I August 29th Historiography - attempts to contextualize history itself, examines what stories emerge and fade, asks why and how we study history, how present developments inform our study ○ how history intersects with the present Why was...

African Diaspora and the World I August 29th Historiography - attempts to contextualize history itself, examines what stories emerge and fade, asks why and how we study history, how present developments inform our study ○ how history intersects with the present Why was all the evidence of Africa’s rich historical past ignored? ○ 1960’s - intellectual opening, when people first started asking about this part of history Feireman piece - occurred at the same time as civil rights movement ○ How does the narrative change when we study history from an afrocentric perspective? ○ Wainaina - discussed gendering of women Africans, portrayed as frail, victimized, in need of saving, contrasted with the portrayal of African men with guns, violent imagery, seen as a threat in need of control and order, law ○ two ways to justify mistreatment of Africans - invention necessary, either pity/saving or domination/control of these people Bias in the map ○ center/periphery of map decided by who? ○ Which areas of the map seem to matter more, visually? ○ Peters Projection introduced in 1970’s - an area-accurate map Geography is supposedly a pure science, but just like history, it is constructed based off of a narrative, based on active choices on how to construct and represent ○ traditional representations significantly reduce the size of the African continent immappancy - lack of geographical knowledge that has consequences on how people tend to ignore the African continent Diaspora - conceptualizing this term in relation to the continent ○ a scattering of people ○ Does it imply homogeneity or unity, ongoing connections to homeland, alienation from the hostland? ○ Diasporas can be created by force or by choice ○ tries to underscore that people of African descent have a multitude of experiences - forced dispersal through transatlantic slave trade, people who voluntarily migrated to Europe, economic migrants who move to support families, etc. ○ assertion of this class is that these people have some sort of common experience Even since course was first offered at BC, a lot of current events focus on racism - Obama presidency, surge of white nationalism, police brutality, now with a female candidate of African descent for presidency li September 3rd Precolonial States and Societies ○ Prominent myths: “modernity” arose in the West and spread to the rest of the world (Africa didn’t have agency in its own development) Africa was isolated from the rest of the world until the rise of the modern “world system” Early African states and societies were less sophisticated than Western ones Africa was separated into ancient “tribes” that persist in the present ○ The definition of “civilization” used by historians was manipulated to exclude African civilization from descriptions What makes a group of people into a “civilization” requires literacy - a community’s ability to make sense of their own experiences, to record their history and pass stories from one generation to the next, etc. African civilizations managed to have complex systems of government, different types of defense armies, sophisticated economic activity, and importantly the practice of transmitting these traditions to future generations orally Sundiata records an example of the oral passing of traditions Epics, stories, tales take the form of performances rather than readings or texts Orality and literacy should both have been linked to defining sophisticated societies There is evidence of African societies using organized agricultural practices, but this evidence has been ignored Language of referring to things as “tribal” — Tribal conflict, tribal communities — a distinction that is important to notice Must do away with notion that African communities are “tribal” Notion of tribe implies that African communities have primordial identities and weren’t able to expand beyond these roots Another way of “othering” African communities from Western ones African people had fluid, dynamic ethnic backgrounds — not “tribal” identities Ethnic group, ethnicity, social community, religious community, political identity — more nuanced, accurate replacements for “tribe” ways to put Africa’s history in the same framework as any other continent’s history September 5th Axum - Ethiopia’s Ancient Empire ○ Region had been home to agriculture and was the crucible of Afro-Asiatic languages for centuries prior ○ Close association with Southern Arabian peninsula - evidence of extra-continental connections ○ pastoralists - relied on animals for food ○ 7th Century BC - Da’amat was established Trade of ivory, gold, silver helped create economy Slavery existed before transatlantic trade - but not the same kind of slavery that emerged in the Americas early evidence of pre-Islamic influence but Ethiopia was not dominated by foreign influence African development was not brought by outsiders - Myth: modernity was brought from outside regions, Africans had no agency in their development Reality: cultural exchange and trade of good went both ways ○ Axum emerged between 300 BC-100 AD became very influential trading state - major participant in Red Sea trade Primary sources are scarce Greek Periplus, one primary source, mentions port city of Adulis, coins, architecture Christianity arrived in Axum by the 3rd century - evidence appeared on coins, images on currency example of syncretism - Christianity became Africanized and indigenized - developed into Ethiopian orthodox church ○ involved various changes to Christianity that Africanized it ○ hybridization of local elements with outside ones to create something new After Axum ○ Axum declines by the 10th century followed by a waxing and waning of Ethiopia’s power and territory ○ A new dynasty, led by Lalibela, took over the Axum line in the 12th century, creating the Zagwe dynasty Lalibela’s great churches mentioned in film - carved into rocks was not as successful as Axum, but still managed to reopen trade network with Red Sea ○ Around this time, legend began to circulate - Prester John legend in medieval Europe about magic in Africa, told of a Christian king said to rule over a Christian nation - people didn’t know what was actually in Ethiopia, and circulated this  gives us a sense of how the world was connected at this time ○ After the Zagwes followed the Solomonic Dynasty (13th to 18th century) ○ Narrative of Solomonic descent circulated in the Kebre Negast (a text that became an oral tradition) - tells about how Sheba met Solomon, etc. genealogical narrative became a form of pride, suggested Ethiopia was connected to long and important line of descent can never know the truth in this, but we can learn from it how people saw themselves and envisioned their place in the world ○ Many of Africa’s early empires were religiously pluralistic Christianity was the language, but many Christians continued to practice early Ethiopian religions (they coexisted, rather than replacing each other) Muslims were also incorporated, allowed to practice their faith In many parts of the continent, states that were permanently in one place clashed with states that moved around - pastoralists moved often with their cattle and did not want to belong to permanently-located states Haile Selassie, Ethiopia’s last emperor - was removed from power during Marxist revolution in Ethiopia ○ Ethiopia became a spiritual beacon for some other states like the Caribbean September 10th Early West Africa Transaharan trade networks spread commodities, slaves, religion, and knowledge through the Sahel and its surroundings Empires were large, somewhat stable, and pluralistic, with sophisticated forms of political administration Islam spread throughout the region through practices of cultural syncretism We have limited primary sources with which to trace this history: oral history, travel accounts, material culture Overview of West African States Early settlement at Jenne-Jeno (200 BC - 1400 AD) ○ Niger river ○ Establishment preceded the trans saharan trade of gold ○ Thesis that all development in Africa was due to outsiders - this information rejects thesis - locally people organized trade within society before trading with outsiders ○ Grew in size over time, 20,000 people around 800 AD ○ Political setup unknown More information about empires that followed Jenne-Jeno:  Ghana Empire (Soninke, ? - 1200 AD), Mali Empire (Malinke, 1250-1500 AD), Songhay Empire (state began around 800, empire eclipsed Mali by 1500 and fell into decline by 1600) ○ trans saharan trade linked this region of Africa to Europe - large network of connection, crossing continental lines ○ trans saharan trade is a large feature of these three empires, all three also had large armies, and effective systems of taxation again, evidence again thesis that development mostly brought on by outsiders Ghana Empire First textual evidence, reference by an Arab scholar who was writing a travel narrative fell apart after Mali empire came into being Came together to protect themselves from nomadic raiders, forming a political state Derived power and wealth from gold Camels were used to increase feasibility of trade Described as “having the richest gold mines on earth” Also traded salt, copper, and slaves for textiles, beads, and finished goods from the north Kbumbi Saleh was capital Trade resulted in influences from Islam being brought to Africa ○ syncretism in West Africa as well as in Ethiopia Initially Muslim community was adopted by a small number of people who converted, had schools and churches, but king did not give up his own spiritual practices, rather drew on skills like literacy and bookkeeping that Muslim scholars had Used these skills to help run administration, allowed folks to convert locally, and produced scholars with skills that then aided the leader’s administration Decline due to losing monopoly on trade, don’t control trade routes anymore Drought also impacted ability to maintain cattle and agricultural practices Ultimately, outside forces pressuring Ghana brought it down New gold mining sites sprung up in Guinea Ghana became the target of attacks by outsiders Mali Empire rose under leader Sundiata, became renowned for wealth, scholarship, cultural life Completely replaced Ghana empire Sundiata rose by defeating the King of Sosso, Soumaoro in 1235 Brought all of the clan rulers under his leadership and declared himself the leader, taking control of Timbuktu from a different community, transformed it to a substantial city and focus for trade and scholarship Gold, salt, slaves continued to be important and traded as commodities Empire was enormous Professional traders, merchant class emerged Multi-ethnic, multi–religious, a very pluralistic society  Cowrie shells, established as a form of currency for trading and taxation purposes, came from Indian ocean, finite supply of them locally Major leaders: Sundiata, Abubakar II ○ an example of an African with an ambition to cross ocean - important to note because most people attribute transatlantic trade to Christopher Columbus, but Africans also had global ambitions to travel Mansa Musa ○ commissioned important buildings, also had global ambitions, contributed to Timbuktu Mansa Suleiman ○ described by Ibn Battuta, disparagingly Muslim scribes and scholars played an important role in scribes and administration Different primary sources describe different aspects of religious practices ○ Arab travelers emphasized Islamic cultural influence ○ Focusing on oral tradition, places a lot less emphasis on Islam, a lot more influence on traditional African and local beliefs ○ Sundiata is a case study, for us to examine what kind of religious practices are emphasized, and where in the text is syncretism evidenced Raids reduced power, communities from the north increased taxes contributing to fall Songhay Empire Askiya Mohammed was leader trade was revived as was the position of Timbuktu as a space for learning Gao was the capital These three empires are a selective interpretation of African history, various other empires existed as well Sundiata Example of oral tradition (different than oral history) ○ refers to a spoken text passed down over generations dealing with a community’s shared culture, value system, spiritual system ○ Oral history normally refers to a practice/methodology about interviewing living sources about their experiences Oral traditions are passed down over generations, meaning it can become unfaithful from original, intentionally or inadvertently, resulting in changes to the original ○ Conventionally it is performed, linked to act of speaking or performing, meaning that by writing it down, some meaning is lost (articulation, body language and movement) ○ Translation also misconstrues meaning Important questions ○ Does the text speak to the experience of the people involved? Of the people passing along this story?  ○ Who does it represent? How do we define this group? ○ Function, socially and politically of this text? ○ How have scholars interpreted oral tradition over the years? Role of oral historian in West African Society - griot ○ History as narrative, changing, performative, interactive ○ Griots live in Mali, Gambia, Guinea, many parts of West Africa ○ Mix between a scholar, musician, historian, capturing a community’s past ○ Told and taught stories from a young age ○ In Sundiata, king offers his son a griot September 12th - West African Empires, cont. Religion in early sub-Saharan Africa: the relationship between Islam and indigenous spiritualities/traditional religion Examining the role and interpretation of Islam in the Ghana, Mali, and Songhay Empires through the eyes of Muslim travelers ○ Religion determines who can be enslaved Islam - General Overview Muhammed’s revelation in 622 recorded in the Qur’an (Koran) Five Pillars of Islam: faith, prayer, charity, fasting, hajj (pilgrimage) other key terms: Sunnah, caliph (ruler), ulama (religious scholars), qadi (Muslim judge), umma (community of believers, larger Muslim community), sharia (religious laws) concepts: heterodoxy - deviation from accepted, orthodox beliefs ○ Muslim leaders tolerated African beliefs, modified to blend and coexist Islamization ≠Arabization ○ Doesn’t represent a process of complete colonization, much more complex Three key institutions: mosque, court, school (madrasa) Islam spread through Africa via the Red Sea and the Sahara (two major points of entry) 3 phases of trans-Saharan spread: ○ 1) merchants living as minorities in African states - often lived in residentially-segregated areas ○ 2) rulers adopting Islam without converting subjects - African state rulers don’t make an effort to spread religion, but adopt into their own sphere ○ 3) Islam becomes a majority, non-elite religion - spreads outside of leadership class, and spreads outside of towns and urban areas into countryside Traditional African religions  Each individual community had own distinctive religious practices, but overarching qualities shared generally: Multiple deities Material and Spiritual worlds combined: ○ Ancestors present in living world appear as different forms as animals, visions, different people ○ Physical landscape imbued with spirits nature, trees, grass not neutral but alive and full of good and evil, interacting with human communities mandate a humility towards natural environment ○ Health and illness reflect spiritual equilibrium body and soul are connected, sickness can be representative of spiritual situation, and spiritual healers are preferred to biomedical medicine illness reflective of spiritual breakdown ○ Arts and cultural production = spiritual work creation has meaning spiritually, considered a spiritual intervention Time is cyclical - people can be reborn, reincarnation, history returning to the present Rites of passage are key: birth, death, marriage, initiation ○ Generational authority - importance of elders (seen in Sundiata) ○ Bride price - paid in livestock or currency (perhaps cowrie shells), necessary for proposal Al-Bakri in Ghana Must acknowledge that travelers came with biases, might have had derogatory assumptions about Africans, must parse biases of writers and look for factual data about bigger context that they were reporting Historian who traveled through region in 11th century Observed that the Ghana capital was composed of a small Muslim town and larger royal town ○ Allowing each group to practice their religion without interference from the other group ○ Religious segregation allowed coexisting, ethnic enclaves - possibly patterns in African settlements beyond Ghana References class of merchants who export gold, and emphasizes importance of religion and that eventually, ruling class had to translate their religion in their enclave to larger state Evidence of economic basis - salt and gold Wrote about the clothing people wore, from what he describes, can figure out what trade looked like - people wore silk, cotton, which weren’t available locally Also evidences Ghana’s large army Ibn Battuta in Mali  Moroccan Muslim traveler known for 14th century journey Visited Mali empire during Mansa-Musa’s brother’s reign From this we can deduce that the spread of Muslim religion had reached the second stage Observed “grotesque practices” that demonstrated pre-Islamic traditions persisting - sprinkling of dust on people’s heads as a religious practice Leo Africanus in Songhay best known for description in 1526 describing north Africa visited Timbuktu ○ great center of Muslim intellectual and cultural life Islam became one of the central pillars of the state, Islamic spread reached third phase, spread outside of towns and was taken up more broadly Account is favorably, admiring - comes across as center of scholarship, peace, culture, description of town coming to life in the evenings with people playing music and dancing Observed Mosque, highlighting cosmopolitan character of region Also noted presence of slaves - members of defeated parties in local wars ○ Conflicts would be waged against neighboring enemies or populations who refused to recognize authority of leader and pay taxes ○ Islam put important restrictions on status of slavery in this region Observed salt, grains, animals, food, all in great supply Admiringly wrote about royal court, and large army, use of cowrie shells as currency September 17th Early Indian Ocean Connections networks of exchange stretching from the East African coast to the Arabian Peninsula, Persia, India, southeast Asia, and China historiographical debate: to what extent is the Swahili coast reflective of external influence or local (ex: African) agency? Trade winds dictated pattern of trade in Indian Ocean ○ Climate changed with seasons, certain months allowed certain places to trade with each other ○ Rhythm of life determined by trade winds Swahili coast includes Kenya, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique ○ Lamu Archipelago, Malindi Mombasa, Unguja Ukuu, Kilwa Kisiwani, Songo Mnara, Comoros Islands Product of local dynamics or outsiders playing a critical role in culture, cities? ○ African initiative or outsiders that spark change? Histographers spoke of immigrants as the most central to story of creation of society, but since this linguists and historians and archaeologists have significantly revised this story  ○ Instead shown that Swahili cities were a natural extension of coastal developments, of indigenous African developments ○ Didn’t spring up founded by Arabian and Persian outsiders, but the result of several centuries of growth beginning with African fishing villages, slowly becoming larger cities ○ Not externally driven, already established towns and cities welcomed merchants and traders to an already urbanized world Similar cultural background to people inland ○ Pottery, etc. ○ Implication is that these towns were coastal branch, extension of inward cities ○ Early town-dwellers were local people, not immigrants Archaeologists and linguists try to distinguish between local and outside influences ○ Modern Swahili language often thought of a blend of African language and Arabic, Portuguese languages ○ Bantu origin to many words ○ King’s name had Bantu or African roots in Ibn Battuta’s account Can never overstate this, coproduction of African and external influence, but the question of where the majority of influence lies is much more complicated than suggesting it came from outsiders Contact between East African coast and Persia, China, India was longstanding Coins from northern Africa and Persia have been found in Tanzania, confirm account of strong tradition of trade Ivory, tortoiseshell, coconut oil ○ African coast was staked out by traders because of elephant tusks ○ Gold from Southern Africa also sought after ○ Textiles from Persia ○ Embroidered silks and cotton cloth (particularly blue) valued along Swahili coast since blue dye was not available locally Cloth in general was significant for indicating one’s status ○ Enslaved people were also traded across the Indian Ocean After the middle of the 8th century, sources confirm that enslaved people were obtained from this trade from Eastern Africa and flourished in the 9th century based on the export of these human beings Wasn’t until 19th century that demand for enslaved African people increased, peaked Entirely of the Eastern coast of Africa was connected by goods Configurations of power along African coast Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania Had become important as center of gold trade Became most powerful city along the coast  Described Saltan (?) of Kilwa being gracious and kind to outsiders, but raided people on the inside, was a ruthless leader to insiders New influence entered East Africa around 1400 with the Portuguese ○ Brought radically new approach to trade - militarized Indian Ocean trade by using weapons ○ Sought to control sea lanes, take control of most major ports ○ Introduced a period of difficulty for Swahili states, dealing with new aggression from new traders (previou groups had been more content to coexist) ○ Arrival of Europeans signaled decline Helpful to look at Ibn Battuta’s descriptions ○ Described abundance of food ○ Impressed by religious piety (impressed that Islam was being practiced in a way he could relate to, as a Muslim traveler) ○ Different strengths of Islam present along coastline, different sects Oral traditions of Swahili ○ Tend to start with the arrival of outsiders - take as foundational point arrival of Muslims confirms thesis that is now discredited that local life started as a result of outsiders but we can read in a different light, similar to Ethiopia where genealogical link is made Oral tradition asserts that Swahilians say they are descended from outsiders Tradition says leader came from Iran, emphasizes the role of cloth since ruler brings abundance of blue cloth and takes name meaning cloth in Swahili language Material evidence contradicts oral tradition, but oral traditions show how connections to outside world are emphasized to signify a connection to trade - Product of both external influence and local African influence, but predominantly African influence (reversed narrative) September 19th Swahili Coast and Indian Ocean World, Cont Identify and difference in the African context, ex the Swahili as a coastal elite recognizing difference and hierarchy, but not thinking in racial terms the Indian Ocean slave trade Reversing Sail We have association of slavery with transatlantic slave trade, race Impossible for people to conceptualize slavery outside of racism, but this is a very narrow way of looking at this topic Different forms of enslavement that can’t just be mapped onto how we think about race today Economic and political dimensions to what slavery meant for Africans  Came to be associated with race, but much more brutal, exploitative, and rigid system of oppression in the European use of slavery, both have economic and political motives Ideology of race came after the beginning of use of slavery Modern concept of race comes as a justification of slavery, rather than something that precedes it Worth noting that the book is making a strong argument that it is useful to think of the African Diaspora as a single framework - thinking about it as part of a larger historical story without falling victim to tropes of race Gomez book indirectly suggests race is a social construction, not a biological fact ○ example - effort to create scientific legitimacy around concept of race (study of faces, trying to assign clear biological markers of difference to different racial groups - but it just failed) ○ nothing in the genome that indicates a certain race - you can have certain physical features or genetic tendencies but nothing in the genome defines you to a certain racial group ○ No real scientific basis for asserting that there are biological differences between racial groups ○ Bizarre re human invention that many people have come to take as real Africans assigned people to different groups, but more closely aligned with the modern concept of ethnicity than of race ○ Along Swahili coast, social elite emerged of those who claimed to be descended from Persian lineage Claimed cultural superiority over other local people through supposed line of descent, and also their use of commodities through Indian Ocean trade Cloth or pottery coming from places as far as China could be used to assert status Ownership of unique clothing, goods can serve as cultural capital Dhow - boat historically used to sail in Indian Ocean, still used regularly today ○ Coastal Swahili elites distinguished themselves from Africans inland, asserting that they were different from “African” However they did not see these categories as being biologically fixed Not identities you were locked into based on biological makeup, but instead economic, social, political positions (closer to class maybe) Didn’t exist in the way that people think about race Overriding predicament or dynamic was constantly having to absorb strangers, travelers into their midst and indigenize outsiders to avoid potentially destabilizing changes Bringing different groups into their own cultural identity Swahili is not a racial category in the modern sense, but a flexible class that people can pass in and out of Etymology of word slave - comes from “slav” as in slavic ○ Comes from people of European descent, practiced across the world Arabian Peninsula  ○ Some Arabs traded Africans at Meca ○ Also brought Africans to Southern Iraq to work on plantations However not all enslaved people doing this sort of work were African, some were European ○ With growth of salt mining, African presence increased throughout gulf coast of Iran, Iraq A series of uprisings began, culminating in a rebellion Led in many cases by Africans, but the practice of slavery in this context was not racialized ○ Indian subcontinent also has a history of importing enslaved Africans known as Siddis, and in some cases rose to high military roles - eludes to the fact that the status of being a slave was not connected to your power, material wealth, etc. Islam and Slavery Islamic norms - from Shar'ia ○ Enslavements of Muslims is technically illegal ○ slaveholders and encouraged to convert their slaves ○ concubines become free after their wonder’s death ○ the children of concubines become free Islam traditions in Shar'ia set rules for slaves ○ In most Sharia law, a Muslim could enslave a non-Muslim, but Muslims could not be enslaved ○ Meaning people who wanted to adhere to this would capture enemies in wars or from conflicts and take them as prisoners and enslave them if they didn’t appear to be practicing Muslims ○ Precise guidelines on how to precede with enslavement and slavery remained up for debate ○ Interpreted and discussed by religious scholars Dar-al-Islam vs. Dar-al_kufr: land of believers vs. non-believers Bilad-al-Sudan - land of “blacks” ○ Often large brushstrokes were used to decide who was Muslim or who was not, based on what area a person came from, etc. ○ What this meant was that the rule about not enslaving practicing Muslims was often broken Slaves took on different occupational roles or different jobs, weren’t just put to work on agricultural plantations Many women were traded in the Indian Ocean trade who worked as concubines or domestic workers Male slaves could take on roles such as political advisors or officials, or soldiers in armies ○ Some of these roles could gain a great deal of power or authority, but ultimately they were still considered to be slaves, which restricted some things they could do, such as they could not undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca ○ Under Shar’ia, a concubine or woman who bore a child could not be sold or given away, giving her a different status than another enslaved person The child would become free and be a part of the slaveholder’s household  Concubines sometimes married their owners, upon husband’s death they could be emancipated and pass out of enslavement Under Islamic tradition, ethnic status of child was determined by their father rather than their mother Many women who had children with their slaveholders bore children who were Iranian or Iraqi rather than African Enslaved African women would convert to Islam and adopt Arabic names and become no longer distinguishable from local people in historical record ○ Helps account for why people don’t have historical memory of Indian Ocean slave trade (invisibility historically of this group of people) ○ Not to say that Indian Ocean slavery was positive - examples of mobility but most people encountered harsh conditions in challenging slavery Groups largely employed in salt marshes took up arms against their slaveholders Zanj rebellion was of unprecedented scale ○ Leader was Persian, bulk of people were African ○ Was successful initially, leading to creation of new government, took over several cities and organized own state with standing army, own currency ○ State lasted ~15 years but ultimately were conquered again ○ Points to question of resistance to slavery Also an episode of successful resistance, showing that enslaved people had a great deal of power when they exercised strength and numbers Comparison to revolts in Jamaica studied later in course We can also compare racialized model of plantation slavery that arose in the Americas September 24th Conceptualizing Slavery in African History African slavery between 500-1600 is somewhat different from African slavery after the rise of the Transatlantic Slave Trade Historiographical debate - 3 main approaches ○ slavery as a benign institution, a form of social absorption (“kinship slavery”) much more neutral separated from families of origin or kinship group of origin can be reabsorbed into a new extended family community essential part of different ethnic communities critique is that some would call it structuralist - this approach deals with the rules that govern social groups rather than the agencies of human beings not cultures that enslave other people but human beings that enslave other people  focuses too much on the cultural function of slavery rather than the choice to enslave another person ○ slavery as the result of a neutral, logical, economic transaction? (“rational actor”) approach) people make choices to maximize their economic benefit rather than acting from a cultural logic, they’re doing it from an economic or profit motivation assumes a range of economic options that were not necessarily available to Africans in a capitalist economy people have choices about what ot do with their labor but in pre-colonial Africa, people did not practice this sort of labor anachronistic - graphs much later economic forms onto a very different African context ○ slavery as a harsh form of economic, political, and social exploitation (Marxist approach) focuses on wealth and power condition of subordination, power relationship with different functions at different points at time more attuned to diversity of context and motivation slavery not as a fixed structure but an interactive process shaped not just by people who owned slaves but enslaved people themselves risks suggesting that African slavery was equivalent to much more rigid types of slavery like plantation slavery in the US Slavery and Freedom ○ opposites or different points on a spectrum ○ Terminology: ‘slave’ vs. ‘dependent’ vs. ‘captive’ problem with using terms that Africans themselves used is that we confine to just one locality since there was a diversity of languages spoken and many different terms used in various areas ○ Slave - slav gets at the idea that slaves are related to being an outsider, separated from original kinship groups, essential characteristic of African slavery ○ Key commonalities of African slavery: outsider status experience of violence often taken through war, banditry, kidnapping property-like relationship differing prospects for social incorporation or emancipation/manumission ○ Form of social death, losing social connections in pre-colonial Africa, was NOT a form of social death even though separated often from original social community, they did not lose all forms of social connection were not always deprived of their humanity  always ways that enslaved people were incorporated socially into their new communities there always were means of transferring from slave or outsider to different statuses dichotomy that we are attached to in American context implies slaves had no historical context or power whatsoever, and also implies that those people who were not slaves were completely free reminder that when slavery ended in America, slaves did not gain the full status of freedom given to white men Everyone enjoys different degrees of agency based on varying factors - debt, racial discrimination, etc. - enjoying different degrees of freedom, not absolute categories of free or not free ○ Slavery in Africa - economic logic or power logic About money or prestige/power? Not really helpful to think about these logics separately - intertwined Must look at how wealth and power operated in pre-colonial Africa “Wealth in People” mode of political economy ○ wealth comes from investing in personal networks and accumulating relationships with dependents, subordinates, or followers (it is usually premised on redistribution rather than accumulation) ○ such relationships provide critical access to labor (productive or reproductive) security, other forms of support ○ such relationships depend on some form of reciprocity, rather than absolute coercion Idea is that if you have personal resources, you redistribute material wealth among others and this is what makes you be seen as wealthy By doing so, you gain critical access to other people’s labor There is no market to buy and sell people’s labor, but labor power is still critical during this period Must be able to acquire their labor power by some other means ○ Seen as investing in economic security ○ “Big man” as powerful figure big in wealth they don’t usually have a huge store of personal wealth ○ Subordinates include women, children (‘juniors’) and slaves: this is a patriarchal system ○ Other dependent statuses include individuals held in “pawnship” A person could be offered to another person when they are owed something Other person would become temporary property of the other person until debt was paid off Person held as a pawn loses many of their rights ○ “Patron” - “client” relationship (networks of clientelism)  ○ Model is eventually displaced by wealth in THINGS (capitalist model) later Slavery must be positioned on a spectrum of dependencies - people exist in a more nuanced arrangement People who emphasize kinship slavery focus on this sort of mode of slavery Dependent status - other forms of dependency exist including marriage, being a young person (a dependent in some form, lower down in the power structure) Works well for “low density” or open context slavery ○ Low density of enslaved people relative to free people, or when people could easily pass out of their status of being enslaved Typologies of systems of slavery ○ Low density or high density when a large number of slaves engaged in productive work, usually part of a more high density, relatively closed system reproductive labor vs. productive labor productive - agricultural, similar to plantation etc. reproductive - having kids, raising kids, managing a household high density is high rate of enslaved people relative to free people ○ Open vs. closed slavery open - room for economic, social mobility, could be a temporary status closed - status of slave is a lifelong condition, less connected to a dynamic of reciprocity, enforcing a more rigid system of power requires more coercion or violence closed slavery became more prominent after transatlantic slave trade role of enslaved people became more important ○ Slavery as a marginal vs. a central institution is the role of enslaved people more or less important to society? ○ Slavery as a non-racialized vs. racialized institution slavery did not become racialized as it did in the Americas September 26th African Slavery and the Trades in Slaves The transatlantic slave trade and transformations in African slavery: from a marginal to central institution Africa’s incorporation into the “modern world-system” Rises of European contact and the plantation model of slavery Slavery in Africa before the transatlantic slave trade  ○ non-racialized, diversity of forms, not necessarily a social death (way of reforming social connections, moving between statuses) ○ low density, open (slavery is not crucial to economy, openness means ability to move between social statuses) Wealth in people vs. wealth in things (capitalist) models ○ Investing in personal networks is what makes you wealthy rather than accumulating material goods for yourself ○ Logic of investigating personal network - means of accessing people’s labor, personal security and protection ○ What is a “big man” patriarchal figure, wealth of networks, useful to people because of resources and power enslaved people are under the authority of the “big man” women and children, even young men also report to “big man” ○ clearly differs from capitalist model Transformations in African Slavery moves from occupying relatively marginal position to closed, high density system more central to society - slavery became more common over increasingly large geographic range The roles of slaves in the economy and society became more important Trades had concrete impacts on African empires ○ fueled Swahili coast city states development ○ syncretic (hybrid) cultural forms However - did not have as much of an impact on Africa as transatlantic trade Slavery moved from kinship model to one where slaves became very economically significant By 19th century, slavery became associated with an agricultural society based on large concentrations of enslaved people - starts to look a lot more like high density, closed system where enslaved people are put to work farming for profit Resource: Transatlantic slave trade database Methodology, essays, overview of transatlantic slave trade, explore themes and events, maps, 3D models of ships, image galleries Incorporation into the “modern world system” “Modern world system” - articulation of world system’s approach Associated with spread and development of industrialization, capitalism Resulted in gains in power and status for some parts of the world, some were marginalized Process of uneven development  arrival of Europeans as explorers, traders, and missionaries to sub-Saharan Africa establishment of direct commercial ties to Europe rise of the Atlantic slave trade all new linkages, result in shifts in internal dynamics in the continent ○ increasingly widespread and exploitative character of African slavery ○ reconfiguration of African states (fragmentation) ○ rise of violent wars and conflicts (militarization) ○ growth of urban cultures and new economies based on craft production and consumption of foreign goods (urbanization, commercialization) ○ changes in agriculture and eventual rise of an export oriented cash crop market - no longer subsistence based, growing just for your family, but now regions are devoted to farming one crop (ex: peanuts) ○ slow spread of Christianity makes inroads in early Ethiopia, but Europeans come and try to spread across continent ○ emergence of new elite classes of Africans who acted as intermediaries between Eurpopeans and local people People who were able to translate, people who were points of contact to translate economic mediations, cultural points of contact Power and resistance ○ Colonization of sub-Saharan Africa didn’t begin until 1800s, but some of the processes that enabled colonization had already been set into play during the 1500’s, early time period ○ Includes slave trade itself, enclaves of European settlement and power, and slow emergence of capitalist economy ○ Historiographical debate: to what extent did Africa’s position (political and economical marginality) originate in this historical period? Did “underdevelopment” of Africa begin at this point? Europeans exploited Africans resulting in deep inequality Important to see merits of this claim without getting locked into it as a fixed narrative Don’t want to view Africans in this time having no agency at all - bad history and wrong, unhelpful in doing justice to African experiences People adapted to the changes working against them, some benefited and some suffered Even enslaved people found ways to exercise their agency that show up in the historical record Core and periphery ○ Core - wealthy parts of the world, reaped most advantageous parts of industrialization  ○ Periphery - underdevelopment increased over time, parts of Asia, parts of Latin America, and Africa ○ Linked to mercantilism - a new economic system in Europe developed around the 1500s. belief that the world had a finite amount of wealth Precious metals, gold and silver determined a country’s wealth Intense sense of competition for access to this wealth Also pursuit of new markets, acquiring and selling goods to other parts of the world Discovery of sea route to India, and Columbus’ travels to Americas helped enable direct access to wealth for mercantilist empires Allowed them to set up pockets of influence, enable trade to operate Development and Underdevelopment Triangular trade Europe, Africa, Americas ○ Enslaved people were shipped by European traders all over the Americas (central and south as well) ○ Put to work on plantations, products like tobacco and cotton were converted to manufactured goods for people in Europe ○ Sold in Africa in exchange for more enslaved people Resulted predominantly in European profit Gain from access to cheap raw materials Use to fuel their own industrial transformation, and reap more profits by selling these goods back to Africans October 1st rough sense of chronology, concepts like historiography and other more specific facts like main commodities traded, etc. Europe, Africa, and the Americas: Origins of the Triangular Trade African slavery in Europe and the Mediterranean/Atlantic islands: the birth of the sugar-slave complex Early transatlantic traffic in African slaves and the growth of slavery in the Americas The logic of the transatlantic slave trade Long history of trade in West Africa, portuguese arrival didn’t dramatically change patterns right away ○ Wanted to access trade network, open up a new route ○ Primarily interested in gold, makes sense due to mercantilism (finite amount of gold, wealth) ○ Small numbers of enslaved Africans were brought to work in households ○ Dramatic shift was that Portuguese would start participating in slave trade not as a means of accumulating enslaved people themselves, but as a means for trading these people in gold  Precious metals were key commodity due to mercantilism ○ Initially concentrated in Mauritania, Ghana, cluster around gulf ○ By 15th century Portuguese had ventured south Resulted in direct shipment of enslaved people from African coast to Americas in large numbers ○ Portuguese importation (no plantations or agricultural work in Europe) Enslaved people adopted cultural norms, were involved in military conquests ○ New typology of slavery had emerged, pioneered by islands off of West Africa Cape Verde, Madeira, Azores, Canary Islands, all introduced sugar slave complex Use of large numbers of enslaved people for agricultural work to produce sugar Resulted in massive production of sugar for export ○ Initially 1000 slaves/year was average export ○ by 1500s, exceeded 3000 Became temporary holding systems for enslaved people This system laid foundation for triangular trade by 1600, atlantic slave trade surpassed transaharan and Indian ocean trade by 1700 enslaved people became most valuable export from the entire continent by that time traffic of slavery became negligible Massive demand for slavery - how to account for it? Demographic impact and constraint of presence in America initially, some explorers thought to enslave Native Americans, but directed away from this by environmental, biological factors ○ Impact of disease brought by European settlers to Native Americans - died in huge numbers ○ Did not seem to be a viable source of labor ○ Also the problem of Native American resistance ○ People from the African continent were less vulnerable to disease, and Congo kingdom opened up huge access point to Europeans in trading along the coast ○ Practical reasons mostly guided decision rather than an underlying set in stone sense of racial discrimination against African people Goes against conventional wisdom and instinct of how to understand Racial logic of African slavery in Americas came after establishment of transatlantic trade, and after establishment of agricultural slavery in Americas did not choose to enslave based on race By early 1500s, enslaved Africans were starting to be shipped directly to Americas 1526 was probably first ship By middle of 16th century, Spanish Caribbean, modern-day Columbia  By end of 1500’s, Spanish held territories had imported thousands of enslaved people to work in mines (silver and gold mining) and sugar plantations Not a living historical memory of the fact of slavery existing in Peru, largely because population was not enduring — many died in mining sites Active erasure, deliberate political effort to erase memory of event Parts of latin America, other parts of the world (Argentina) illustrate this By early 17th century, 1600’s, Brazil was supplying almost all sugar consumed in Europe, and almost all sugar was supplied by Africans 2 branches of trade have to do with environmental factors ○ 2 systems of wind and ocean currents ○ Northern came to be dominated by British ○ Southern dominated by Portuguese to Brazil ○ Currents were important factor in determining where enslaved people were imported from, and where they went Enslaved people brought from Mozambique, Bight of Benin, coast of Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria Most went to North America, leaving from West Africa, Bight of Biafra, Gold Coast Southern part of continental trade dominated by Portuguese headed to Brazil majority came from northern sites, Senegambia, Sierra Leone, parts of Guinea, already moved through Portuguese holding sites off the coast 30,000 people, 100 years later 85,000 people per year transported More than 8/10 of enslaved people traveled during 1700-1850 Elmina, the Gold Coast (Ghana) trading site Saltwater Slavery Scholarly monograph written by historian Reflect on sources used, how they interpret them, what kind of narrative style is used ○ What do the primary sources leave out or what images do they provide ○ Is it possible to capture full experience from all perspectives ○ How do historians capture the extent of dehumanizing nature of slavery without reproducing this logic and dehumanizing enslaved people themselves in their descriptions — avoid reducing enslaved people to objects, maintaining their human experiences How does the author represent the logic of the trade? ○ Interpretation of human beings as commodities ○ Think about mechanisms that Europeans used to reinforce the view of people as commodities ○ Scientific calculations to achieve maximum economic benefits ○ Physical violence applied to keep resistance suppressed ○ Language Europeans used to reference slaves themselves ○ Alienation from communities and environment through displacement and holding zones ○ Role of African traders in these arrangements Europeans could not have participated in trade without involvement of Africans who sold enslaved people ○ What means of resistance were available to enslaved people ○ Even when it seems like there is no power available to exploited people, there is still some power available, and power is always a relational dynamic Small, minute but still significant forms of resistance accessible ○