Summary

This interpretation of the impact of slavery on African life emphasizes the importance of external demand for slaves - from Occidental and Oriental purchasers - in developing an active trade in slaves within Africa. The book summarizes a wide range of recent literature on slavery for all of tropical Africa. It analyzes the demography, economics, social structure, and ideology of slavery in Africa from the beginning of large-scale exports in the seventeenth century to the gradual elimination of slavery in the twentieth century. While the book is primarily a general survey, it presents interesting research and analysis, especially in the author's demographic model, computer simulation of the slave trade, and analysis of slave prices. The demographic, economic, and social analyses are carefully introduced, so that the book may serve not only as a general introduction to African slavery for an undergraduate audience, but as a primer on interdisciplinary application of social science methodology.