tpia@:
came across an interesting book on the trans atlantic slave trade.

different perceptions of slaves, their regions, colours, etc.

StarFlux: Somalia9 not knowing his history as always. I do wonder why you aren't banned yet.

Many refused to sell slaves, but I don't expect someone as yourself to know this. I have heard it before, but don't quite remember it in Edo, but there was a saying something similar to this: "what kind of deprivation will make an Edo chief sell his slaves". So Edo people wouldn't even sell slaves which they had captured in war, yet alone their own people. And there are many more who refused.

As amusing as it may be for you, Somalia9, the trolling isn't very funny. Especially for some that may not understand what you're doing, and ends up wasting time on you.

Blyss:

Well actually the Benin Kingdom was a notorious source of slaves for the Europeans. It wasn't till the Atlantic Slave trade that the Kingdom actually obtained it's most substantial level of wealth and power with in it's whole 1000 year history.

Blyss:

Well actually the Benin Kingdom was a notorious source of slaves for the Europeans. It wasn't till the Atlantic Slave trade that the Kingdom actually obtained it's most substantial level of wealth and power with in it's whole 1000 year history.

PhysicsQED:

Benin was already making frequent war on its neighbors when the Europeans showed up. That's what they (the European writers) said. How can they have been making war on their neighbors without any substantial "wealth and power"?

Also, archeological finds (some of the art work) at Owo from the 15th century show that Benin's influence had already spread northward before European contact, confirming the traditions recorded about Oba Ewuare's expansion of Benin's power in his time.

In addition, the kingdom restricted its sale of slaves in the early 16th century (early 1500s) heavily after only a few decades of contact with the Portuguese, after which point the kingdom ceased to be a significant source of slaves. The slave trade was not significant at any time afterward, and throughout the kingdom's history it was never a really major factor as there was lots of other trade (in cloth, pepper, ivory, palm oil etc.) that was carried on with neighboring groups and with Europeans. Even the plan of a French trader, a certain captain Landolphe, to buy 3000 slaves a year from the Benin and Itsekiri areas in the late 1700s, completely fell apart and was never realized - even though it could easily have been during that period (when Benin was not in decline, and was actually doing better) if Benin was so interested in the slave trade at that point. See the article "The Slave Trade, Depopulation and Human Sacrifice in Benin History" by James Graham for an overview of Benin's minor involvement with the African-European slave trade over the course of its history.

And the claim about keeping large amounts of slaves within Benin and refusing to sell them also comes from European visitors who made that observation. I doubt that that practice could have applied to all people within Benin at all times, but you should know that it is a statement that was confirmed by actual witnesses from those times.

StarFlux: Well, the response wasn't in style with my statement whatsoever.

Also, very informative PhysicsQED!

somalia9: Somalis were never slaves.


Ethiopians were enslaved by Somalis

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aaTg9xQ ... re=related
" He(king Saud) drove into the camp with this big black chrisler sedan, with these two big black somalian slaves with rifles"

Blyss: