Slavery in the Great Lakes Region of East Africa / edited by Henri Médard & Shane Doyle.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Médard, Henri.

Doyle, Shane (Shane Declan)

Series:

Eastern African studies (London, England)

East African studies

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Slavery--Great Lakes Region (Africa)--History--19th century.

Slavery.

Slavery--Great Lakes Region (Africa)--History--20th century.

Slavery--Africa, East--History--19th century.

Slavery--Africa, East--History--20th century.

History.

Africa, East.

Physical Description:

xiv, 273 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Oxford : James Currey ; Kampala [Uganda] : Fountain Publishers ; Nairobi [Kenya] : EAEP ; Athens : Ohio University Press, 2007.

Summary:

This book enlarges perceptions of one of the main themes of African history. Slavery was more important in the Great Lakes region than often has been assumed and Africans from the interior played a more complex role than was previously recognised.

These are ten studies by the most prominent historians of the region, four of which have been translated from French. They reveal the connections between the peoples of the region as well as their encounters with the conquering Europeans. The growth of Zanzibari and Sudanese trade had consequences for local forms of slavery. Slave traders were often compelled to negotiate with African leaders more than in neighbouring areas.

Slavery was not a uniform phenomenon and the line between enslaved and non-slave labour was fine. Forms of servitude within the region are compared and a number of conflicting interpretations examined. Kinship ties could mark the difference between free and unfree labour. The social categories are not always clear-cut and the status of a slave could change within a lifetime. There were more female than male slaves and in the pre-colonial period the use of women could be critical for kingdoms in meeting labour demands. Book jacket.

Contents:

1 Violence, Marginality, Scorn & Honour: Language evidence of slavery to the eighteenth century / David Schoenbrun 38

2 Notes on the Rise of Slavery & Social Change in Unyamwezi: c. 1860-1900 / Jan-Georg Deutsch 76

3 Slavery & Forced Labour in the Eastern Congo: 1850-1910 / David Northrup 111

4 Legacies of Slavery in North West Uganda: The story of the 'One-Elevens' / Mark Leopold 124

5 Human Booty in Buganda: Some observations on the seizure of people in war c. 1700-1890 / Richard Reid 145

6 Stolen People & Autonomous Chiefs in Nineteenth-Century Buganda: The social consequences of non-free followers / Holly Hanson 161

7 Women's Experiences of Enslavement & Slavery in Late Nineteenth & Early Twentieth-Century Uganda / Michael W. Tuck 174

8 Slavery & Other Forms of Social Oppression in Ankole: 1890-1940 / Edward I. Steinhart 189

8 The Slave Trade in Burundi & Rwanda at the Beginning of German Colonisation: 1890-1906 / Jean-Pierre Chretien 210

10 Bunyoro & the Demography of Slavery Debate: Fertility, kinship & assimilation / Shane Doyle 231.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 252-267) and index.

ISBN:

9781847016027

1847016022

1847016030

9781847016034

9789970027279

9970027271

9780821417928

0821417924

9780821417935

0821417932

OCLC:

156891496

Online:

Contributor biographical information

Publisher description