page_title: Slavery in Africa
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Slavery in Africa / Effects / Demographics
caption_attribution_description: English: Lithos representing dancers and churchgoers Nederlands: Litho. Litho door Madou naar tekeningen van P.J. Benoit. De bovenste tekening toont een vioolspelende man, en een dansende vrouw. In de slaventijd was er in de soms tijd om 'vrij' bezig te zijn. Behalve het werken op kostgronden op de vrije zondag en in de avonden, was er af en toe ruimte om de avond wat aangenamer door te brengen met muziek, dans en vertellingen. De onderste tekening toont een groep mensen op weg naar, of komend van, een kerkdienst. De mannen en vrouwen dragen hun beste kleding en het onderscheid tussen de planters en hun slaven is duidelijk. Ook is de kleding van de slavinnen beduidend anders dan op andere tekeningen van huisslaven en plantageslaven. Het jongetje, een futuboi (die zijn meesters op voet volgt), is eveneens prachtig gekleed.. Litho's voorstellende dansers en kerkgangers
context_page_description: Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa, and still continues today in some African countries.
  Systems of servitude and slavery were common in parts of Africa in ancient times, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient world. When the Arab slave trade and Atlantic slave trade began, many of the pre-existing local African slave systems began supplying captives for slave markets outside Africa.
  Slavery in historical Africa was practiced in many different forms: Debt slavery, enslavement of war captives, military slavery, slavery for prostitution, and criminal slavery were all practiced in various parts of Africa. Slavery for domestic and court purposes was widespread throughout Africa. Plantation slavery also occurred, primarily on the eastern coast of Africa and in parts of West Africa. The importance of domestic plantation slavery increased during the 19th century, due to the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade. Many African states dependent on the international slave trade reoriented their economies towards legitimate commerce worked by slave labor.
context_section_description: Slavery and the slave trades had a significant impact on the size of the population and the gender distribution throughout much of Africa. The precise impact of these demographic shifts has been an issue of significant debate. The Atlantic slave trade took 70,000 people, primarily from the west coast of Africa, per year at its peak in the mid-1700s. The Arab slave trade involved the capture of peoples from the continental interior, who were then shipped overseas through ports on the Red Sea and elsewhere. It peaked at 10,000 people bartered per year in the 1600s. According to Patrick Manning, there was a consistent population decrease in large parts of Sub-Saharan Africa as a result of these slave trades. This population decline throughout West Africa from 1650 until 1850 was exacerbated by the preference of slave traders for male slaves. It is important to note that this preference only existed in the transatlantic slave trade. More female slaves than male were traded across the continent of Africa. In eastern Africa, the slave trade was multi-directional and changed over time. To meet the demand for menial labor, Zanj slaves captured from the southern interior were sold through ports on the northern seaboard in cumulatively large numbers over the centuries to customers in the Nile Valley, Horn of Africa, Arabian Peninsula, Persian Gulf, India, Far East and the Indian Ocean islands.
caption: Slaves in Suriname, early 19th century
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