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The African Slave Trade
A detailed history of the slave trade examines its causes and consequences, shows how African leaders attempted to halt it, and portrays European attitudes towards Africa
304 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1961
10 people are currently reading
514 people want to read
About the author
Basil Davidson
102 books76 followersBasil Risbridger Davidson was an acclaimed British historian, writer and Africanist, particularly knowledgeable on the subject of Portuguese Africa prior to the 1974 Carnation Revolution .
He has written several books on the current plight of Africa. Colonialism and the rise of African emancipation movements have been central themes of his work.
He is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
From 1939, Davidson was a reporter for the London "Economist" in Paris, France. From December 1939, he was a Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)/MI-6 D Section (sabotage) officer sent to Budapest (see Special Operations Europe, chapter 3) to establish a news service as cover. In April 1941, with the Nazi invasion, he fled to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In May, he was captured by Italian forces and was later released as part of a prisoner exchange. From late 1942 to mid-1943, he was chief of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Yugoslav Section in Cairo, Egypt, where he was James Klugmann's supervisor. From January 1945 he was liaison officer with partisans in Liguria, Italy.
After the war, he was Paris correspondent for "The Times," "Daily Herald" ,"New Statesman", and the "Daily Mirror."
Since 1951, he became a well known authority on African history, an unfashionable subject in the 1950s. His writings have emphasised the pre-colonial achievements of Africans, the disastrous effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the further damage inflicted on Africa by European colonialism and the baleful effects of the Nation State in Africa.
Davidson's works are required reading in many British universities. He is globally recognized as an expert on African History.
He currently lives in Staffordshire.
He has written several books on the current plight of Africa. Colonialism and the rise of African emancipation movements have been central themes of his work.
He is an Honorary Fellow of the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS).
From 1939, Davidson was a reporter for the London "Economist" in Paris, France. From December 1939, he was a Secret Intelligence Service (SIS)/MI-6 D Section (sabotage) officer sent to Budapest (see Special Operations Europe, chapter 3) to establish a news service as cover. In April 1941, with the Nazi invasion, he fled to Belgrade, Yugoslavia. In May, he was captured by Italian forces and was later released as part of a prisoner exchange. From late 1942 to mid-1943, he was chief of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) Yugoslav Section in Cairo, Egypt, where he was James Klugmann's supervisor. From January 1945 he was liaison officer with partisans in Liguria, Italy.
After the war, he was Paris correspondent for "The Times," "Daily Herald" ,"New Statesman", and the "Daily Mirror."
Since 1951, he became a well known authority on African history, an unfashionable subject in the 1950s. His writings have emphasised the pre-colonial achievements of Africans, the disastrous effects of the Atlantic Slave Trade, the further damage inflicted on Africa by European colonialism and the baleful effects of the Nation State in Africa.
Davidson's works are required reading in many British universities. He is globally recognized as an expert on African History.
He currently lives in Staffordshire.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 24, 2016
For a book published in 1961 I was astonished that it did not set out to justify and support the European participation in the slave trade. In what was a documented and organized way the author broke down the slave trade, in all its horrors, to demonstrate the impact on the enslaved and the participants in the trade. He traced the historic development from diplomatic equals, which characterized early European-African trade, to colonization. This is not to say the conclusions he draws or the situations he portrays are not free from criticism and someone more versed in history than I am might have a field day. But I am a lay reader of history and I got a lot out of reading this because I now have perspectives that I never had before. On this note I wish to share a quote that I think resonates in 2016, even though it was written by a Portuguese observer in 1804: "They [whites] are jealous lest the blacks should enjoy the same privileges, and thus be able to remove the yoke in which they are bound." Perhaps we continue to see history repeated for why else would we still have voter suppression, unequal schools and mass incarceration (to name only a few of the persistent injustices that the white patriarchy continues to employ to prevent people of color to throw off the yoke of injustice). I love history.
June 19, 2011
In 1969, Philip D. Curtin estimated that the 9.5 million Africans were brought to the Americas in the Atlantic slave trade. Drawing from a wide range of sources, Davidson revises Curtin's seminal estimation and suggests that number is closer to 50 million people involved in every step of the way: those who worked in the New World's sugar and tobacco plantations, those who died during the Middle Passage and those who died in Africa due to the slave trade. Davidson argues that the transatlantic slave trade paved the way for the current economic system of exporting primary African products (read oil, cocoa, slaves) for finished Western products.
For some reason at school and university we seem to be taught African history as only consisting of the colonial and post-colonial period. The slave era lased three times longer than the colonial era. not to mention West Africa's rich pre-colonial history. If you care about the history of the world then read this book.
For some reason at school and university we seem to be taught African history as only consisting of the colonial and post-colonial period. The slave era lased three times longer than the colonial era. not to mention West Africa's rich pre-colonial history. If you care about the history of the world then read this book.
April 15, 2015
Davidson opened my eyes to see the slave trade in a different manner, that of which pertains to the culpability of the select few on the African end. However, while assigning some level of blame to African chiefs and merchants, Davidson reveals in page after page that there was no way for them to escape the slave trade. And for this, Europe must still shoulder the brunt of responsibility for the four centuries of forced overseas migration and servitude, as well as Africa's underdevelopment.
May 11, 2024
Be careful with this one. You run the risk of giving up on the narrative before it actually begins. By far, that's my only gripe with this book. It sacrifices so much of its early momentum in the first couple of chapters to Davidson's idiosyncratic panache of introducing certain arguments first (like a discussion on "recaptives," several chapters ahead before the reader is even introduced to the actual slave trade). Nevertheless, once, and if (thankfully as I did), you stay the course, this book furnishes a magnificent concentration of relevant facts, figures, and historical processes that shaped and drove the enterprise of slavery prior to the arrival of Europeans in Africa, and afterwards.
It's a Basil Davidson book. You're not going to finish this book in one sitting; while dense and frustrating to begin with, as discussed earlier, it easily becomes manageable in subsequent chapters. I have learned much as I was previously unaware of the nature and implications of slavery in Africa and its impact on various African processes. Much has been rightfully bemoaned about the implications of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on slavery here in the Americas and the unfortunate perpetual legacy of it, even generations later. Yet, back home in Africa, the Atlantic slave trade, I would confidently say, was the catalyst for Africa's undoing, dare I say, even the cataclysmic, destiny-altering, and shaping process to take hold on the African continent. Holy sh*t! Talk about the most detrimental visit of a guest ever. You go from the 16th century, the earliest European travelers from Portugal being bewildered by the culture, elegance, and sophistication of the Congo Kingdom, and its King, even eagerly establishing contact with the King of Congo and the Portuguese King, who in mutual respect referred to the Congo King as his "brother King", then a century or two later, the booming friendship of mutual reverence between Congo and Portugal, now culminated in nothing more than a master and servant relationship. Or what about when, in the 1560s, the esteemed secretary to the rulers of Venice, Ramusio, urged his superiors to actively send merchants and traders to the "venerable King of Mali and Timbuktu" who would ensure their goods are purchased and well compensated for, etc. So when, or the better question is, how come seemingly the Africa, and African societies and kingdoms which were equal in standing, sophistication, and respect to the Europe of the 16th century, by the start of the 20th century now was one of no respect, no dignity, and now doomed to carry the banner of mediocrity and uncivilization? What so seismic, so transformative a process occurred to explain this historical discrepancy?
In this book, Davidson dissects how the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade serves as this rather sardonic "missing link" that explains the discrepancy. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade served, as Davidson emphasizes, and I concur, as the screw that permanently negatively unscrewed and left open Africa ajar for the various detrimental opportunistic forces to hold. Before reading this book, my particular point of emphasis on the various conflicts and atrocious excesses on the African continent was the start and end of colonialism. The Rwandan Genocide wasn't caused by the Hutus but rather by the Belgians, which I'd always emphasize to others. What about the Ogaden War? Easy, it's the Italians and British messing up with demarcation lines between Ethiopia and Somalia. Now I'm realizing that the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was the actual culprit, as the success of European imperialism and later colonization of Africa arose out of the chaos that the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade created on the continent. I'm currently reading "History of Ashanti by Otumfuo Nana Osei Prempeh II," and I read a particular chapter that discussed how some of the various Asante clans congregated together in Oti Akenten's house and decided to come together as one to better defend against the then-hegemonic Denkyira, whom the Denkyira king was reported to have exclaimed "Asa nti na omo akabom," meaning, because of war they have come together, with the first words "Asa nti" effectively becoming the name of the Asante who would then, as Davidson discussed in the book, not only start as partners with the Europeans, the muskets for slaves equation, but later come to be overwhelmed by the Europeans, etc.
At this rate, I might end up summarizing the book, which would deny you the eye-opening avenue of processing the intricacies of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade yourself. No doubt, a superb book that would easily address all questions, clarifications, and myths regarding the slave trade both in Africa and outside. I can't recommend this book enough.
It's a Basil Davidson book. You're not going to finish this book in one sitting; while dense and frustrating to begin with, as discussed earlier, it easily becomes manageable in subsequent chapters. I have learned much as I was previously unaware of the nature and implications of slavery in Africa and its impact on various African processes. Much has been rightfully bemoaned about the implications of the trans-Atlantic slave trade on slavery here in the Americas and the unfortunate perpetual legacy of it, even generations later. Yet, back home in Africa, the Atlantic slave trade, I would confidently say, was the catalyst for Africa's undoing, dare I say, even the cataclysmic, destiny-altering, and shaping process to take hold on the African continent. Holy sh*t! Talk about the most detrimental visit of a guest ever. You go from the 16th century, the earliest European travelers from Portugal being bewildered by the culture, elegance, and sophistication of the Congo Kingdom, and its King, even eagerly establishing contact with the King of Congo and the Portuguese King, who in mutual respect referred to the Congo King as his "brother King", then a century or two later, the booming friendship of mutual reverence between Congo and Portugal, now culminated in nothing more than a master and servant relationship. Or what about when, in the 1560s, the esteemed secretary to the rulers of Venice, Ramusio, urged his superiors to actively send merchants and traders to the "venerable King of Mali and Timbuktu" who would ensure their goods are purchased and well compensated for, etc. So when, or the better question is, how come seemingly the Africa, and African societies and kingdoms which were equal in standing, sophistication, and respect to the Europe of the 16th century, by the start of the 20th century now was one of no respect, no dignity, and now doomed to carry the banner of mediocrity and uncivilization? What so seismic, so transformative a process occurred to explain this historical discrepancy?
In this book, Davidson dissects how the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade serves as this rather sardonic "missing link" that explains the discrepancy. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade served, as Davidson emphasizes, and I concur, as the screw that permanently negatively unscrewed and left open Africa ajar for the various detrimental opportunistic forces to hold. Before reading this book, my particular point of emphasis on the various conflicts and atrocious excesses on the African continent was the start and end of colonialism. The Rwandan Genocide wasn't caused by the Hutus but rather by the Belgians, which I'd always emphasize to others. What about the Ogaden War? Easy, it's the Italians and British messing up with demarcation lines between Ethiopia and Somalia. Now I'm realizing that the Trans-Atlantic slave trade was the actual culprit, as the success of European imperialism and later colonization of Africa arose out of the chaos that the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade created on the continent. I'm currently reading "History of Ashanti by Otumfuo Nana Osei Prempeh II," and I read a particular chapter that discussed how some of the various Asante clans congregated together in Oti Akenten's house and decided to come together as one to better defend against the then-hegemonic Denkyira, whom the Denkyira king was reported to have exclaimed "Asa nti na omo akabom," meaning, because of war they have come together, with the first words "Asa nti" effectively becoming the name of the Asante who would then, as Davidson discussed in the book, not only start as partners with the Europeans, the muskets for slaves equation, but later come to be overwhelmed by the Europeans, etc.
At this rate, I might end up summarizing the book, which would deny you the eye-opening avenue of processing the intricacies of the Trans-Atlantic slave trade yourself. No doubt, a superb book that would easily address all questions, clarifications, and myths regarding the slave trade both in Africa and outside. I can't recommend this book enough.
October 24, 2019
I found it boring. There wasn't enough new things in here to make it worthwhile.
March 20, 2020
A worthwhile history, written in an academic style from another era.
December 25, 2013
First published in 1961, Basil Davidson's African Slave trade represents what I imagine must have been a fairly cutting-edge and fair-minded look at the pre-colonial through post-colonial story of the African slave trade, both east coast and west, coastline and interior. I can't gather together all of his conclusions here, from memory, but essentially: the habit of labeling Africans as stupid beasts and the subjugation and colonialism that this enabled were, if one examines the documentary evidence, the result of a shift in the balance of power between the two continents. If one looks, one will find, as Basil Davidson has, that before the slave trade got into full swing (1650s, I think, was still early, the 18th century was the deluge), one will find an equality of relations that only turned in favor of Europe because of certain trade and weapons advantages... and... I know there was more, but this book covered like 400 years of history and this is only the beginning of my dip into the African-American History pool. I'll put more pieces of the jigsaw together as I move along.
June 11, 2012
A very readable account of how the slave trade affected Africa. Davidson gives us a snapshot of three areas that serve as examples of different dynamics: ropughly modern Benin, Nigeria and Mozambique. The most awful fact i learned was that in the Carribean of the 1600's, the slave population was replaced by new people approximately every ten years. Virtually all African slaves in the Caribbean were worked to death in less than ten years, at least until the banning of cross Atlantic trading made it necessary to maintain captive populations. There are some other horrific numbers: an average of 13% of the slaves embarked, died during the crossing, though some voyages had losses as high as 90% and still made money. About 9.5 million Africans were enslaved.
June 30, 2011
Examines the trade in African slaves and gives a picture of the people involved and the conditions of capture and transport. It was not just whites that were involved.
November 17, 2014
Read for HIST 381
Read
September 27, 2015As he was an expert in Portuguese colonies, his research and knowledge are particularly strong in that area.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews