How were Africans enslaved?
The most common reason that Africans became enslaved was as prisoners captured in war. In this clip, Dr Christine Whyte and Dr Jelmer Vos explore and explain other reasons why people became enslaved.
Did all African nations respond in the same way to the slave trade?
Some nations in west Africa were active participants in the slave trade, while others were not. This clip explores the complexity of African politics during the period, explaining that not all ‘nations’ were structured the same. Some, like the Kingdom of Benin, were highly centralised, while others were more loose alliances. In addition, the relationship between African nations and European traders changed over time.
‘Purchasing’ enslaved people in the Caribbean
This clip explains ‘the scramble’, the principal way that captives were ‘bought’ and ‘sold’ in the Caribbean.