Ties That Bound : Slavery and Power in Africa

How slavery and the slave trade provided African rulers with a path to political power

Across history, slavery has been central to political power. By the nineteenth century, African rulers dominated the slave trade with the European and Islamic worlds. In Ties That Bound, J. C. Sharman shows how these rulers were empowered by slavery, converting profits from the market for humans into political might. As demand for African captives grew, a new breed of African bandit slave traders-turned-kings leveraged the increasing returns to seize and hold power, paying off followers and buying weapons. Eventually, there were more enslaved Africans within Africa than in the Americas; African kingdoms were secured and administered by enslaved soldiers and enslaved officials. Engaging in the slave trade became vital for political survival; success for a few powerful leaders meant misery for millions across the continent.

Arguing that slavery is fundamentally political and relational, Sharman examines the effects of Africa’s slavery-centred 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 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. But, as much of the continent was ravaged by warlords, the very factors that strengthened rulers individually weakened them collectively. The resulting destruction paved the way for European conquest in the late nineteenth century’s “Scramble for Africa.”