Ties that bound : slavery and power in Africa / J.C. Sharman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Sharman, J. C. (Jason Campbell), 1973- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Slave trade--Africa--History.

Slave trade.

Slavery--Africa--History.

Slavery.

Slavery--Economic aspects--Africa--History.

Africa--Kings and rulers.

Africa.

Slave trade--History.

Slavery--History.

Slavery--Economic aspects--History.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (280 pages) : maps

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, 2026.

Summary:

"Arguing that slavery is fundamentally political and relational, Sharman examines the effects of Africa’s slavery-centered connections and linkages with the wider world. This route to power by enslaving others required engagement with other countries, sometimes in war, sometimes in trade and sometimes in both. More than any other region, Africa’s experiences show how slavery as a foundation of power depended on ties between insiders and outsiders. Sharman describes how African rulers became locked into increasingly destructive competition with each other. As much of the continent was ravaged by warlords, the very factors that strengthened rulers individually weakened them collectively, and the resulting destruction paved the way for European conquest in the late nineteenth century’s “Scramble for Africa.”"-- From De Gruyter Brill.

Contents:

Why ruling in Africa was hard

Atlantic encounters and the beginning of a new era

East Africa, the Swahili coast, and the prazeros

Islamic interventions from the Sahara to the Red sea

Atlantic Africa, the slave trade, and the company-states

Dahomey: epitome of the slaving state?

Segu: destruction and self-destruction

The Sokoto caliphate

Slaving states in perspective

Madagascar and the Merina kingdom

The Omanis, Zanzibar, and the Swahili coast

The Ethiopian empire

Violence, disorder, and slavery in East Africa.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from digital title page (De Gruyter Brill, viewed on April 9, 2026).

Other Format:

Print version : Sharman, J. C. Ties that bound .

ISBN:

9780691278070

0691278075

9780691287706

0691287708

OCLC:

1579001649

Publisher Number:

CIPO000345314

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license