The Slave Coast of West Africa, 1550-1750: The Impact of the Atlantic Slave Trade on an African SocietyThis book studies the impact of the Atlantic slave trade on the 'Slave Coast' of West Africa, an area covering modern south-eastern Ghana, Togo, Benin, and south-western Nigeria. This region was one of the most important sources of slaves for the Atlantic slave trade, and its history providesan exceptionally well-documented illustration of the effect of the trade on the indigenous African societies involved in it. The expansion of slave exports during the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries coincided with a period of political disorder, which ended with the rise of the newkingdom of Dahomey. Dahomey was a more militarized and more politically centralized state than those which preceded it in the region, and its distinctive character reflected the impact of the slave trade. This is the first detailed study of the early history of the Slave Coast for over twenty years. Robin Law examines the events which preceded the rise of Dahomey, the organization of the slave trade and its impact on the domestic economy, and the social and political structures of Dahomey and itspredecessors. This is a meticulously researched, lucid, and scholarly analysis which makes an important contribution to the history of both early modern European expansion and pre-colonial West Africa. |
Contents
Country and People | 24 |
Economy and Society | 62 |
Polity and Ideology | 85 |
Copyright | |
7 other sections not shown
Other editions - View all
The Slave Coast of West Africa 1550 -1750 Robin Law,John. D. Hargreaves,Michael Twaddle,Terence Ranger No preview available - 1991 |
Common terms and phrases
Abomey Agaja Akinjogbin akori Akwamu Allada and Whydah anonymous Frenchman Atlantic Slave Trade Badagry Barbot Benin Bosman Captain cargo Chenevert and Bullet chiefs coastal contemporary cowries cult Dahomian Dahomian conquest Dalzel Dantzig Dapper Delbée Description Dutch Dutch factor earlier Elmina English factor European trade exports factor at Whydah Flux et reflux French Glehue Gold Coast grand cabess Herissé Hertogh indigenous Jakin Journal Keta king of Allada King of Dahomey king of Whydah king's kingdom L'Ancien Royaume lagoon later Little Popo Marchais Memoirs Naukeurige Beschrijvinge Norris noted Ofori Phillips political Porto-Novo Portuguese presumably price of slaves purchase Rawlinson c.745 Relation du Royaume reported Robin Law Royal African Company Royaume de Judas Savi seventeenth century ships Slave Coast slave trade Snelgrave sources supply of slaves Tado Tegbesu trade at Whydah Van Dantzig Verger Voyage West African western Slave Coast William Baillie wives Yoruba