domestic slaves

consequences of their misconduct

suppression

have been grossly illegal acts of the captors in seizing and destroying her

suppression

October 29, 1869

To many of you, I have no doubt, there will be no more interesting point in connection with East Africa

archaeo- logists to determine.

raditionally, most societies in Africa, many with divine kings and strict hierarchical forms of government with local chiefs at village level, kept slaves as body guards, tax collectors, domestic servants and farm workers.

Most slaves from Africa were transported to Brazil, and from the port of Rio de Janeiro they were shipped further to other destinations in the Americas.

Many Africans were domestic slaves, working in rich households. Many young women were taken as concubines, i.e. sex slaves. However, the bulk of the slaves in the countries around the Indian Ocean were from South Asia and South East Asia, particularly South India, Malaysia and Indonesia, most of them being women, many of whom were brought to East Africa by the Portuguese to work in their fortresses, naval bases and wine-houses or sold away as concubines.

Slavery has not disappeared completely; it exists today in various forms, mainly indoors, behind closed doors

Shrewdslave owners thus made some slaves buy their freedom fromtheir masters.

However, a slave could be given freedom by his owner of the owner’s free will long before the institution of slavery came t be finally abolished. If a slave had lived and behaved to the satisfaction of the master for a long period, especiallyif he were holding an important position in the master'shousehold, the master wrote him a document of freedom

Every year more slaves were required in East Africa for several reasons: 1. New clove and coconut plantations in Zanzibar and date plantations in Oman needed labor. 2. New farms in the interior of East Africa for production of food crops around inland centers along the caravan routes needed labor.3. More slaves were needed as porters to carry trade goods from the coast to the interior, and ivory and other products from the interior to the coast. 4. Brazilian traders, to avoid the British navy intercepting their slave ships in West Africa, had started obtaining slaves from the Portuguese in Angola, the Zambezi valley and the coast of Mozambique. 5. The French needed cheap labor on their newly started sugar and coffee plantations in the islands of Mauritius, Seychelles, Reunion, Rodrigues and southern Madagascar. 6. Many male slaves in Zanzibar and Mombasa would become free after some years in servitude, older slaves would retire or die, and new ships and businesses, building and 3construction work needed new slaves.