When discussing the quick rise of the African slave trade during the European colonization of Africa, there are many debates on the major contributing factors for the rise of the trade. One of the little talked about factors in the African slave trade was how much Muslims impacted the trade by selling Africans they acquired. This accounted for a huge amount of the humans who were sold off and sent to work for European nation as slaves. So what were the goings on and dealings under the Islamic rule that helped contribute to and support the slave trade? How were slaves acquired, how were they treated, and what was slave life like under Muslim's? The largest question of course should put a focus on the Qur'an itself, and if it was abused in order to acquired these slaves.
Slavery in Africa under Islamic law came about in a peculiar way, as it seemed to come out of a religion that acknowledged it, but didn't necessarily condone it Nevertheless, slavery still came about and ran rampant under many areas with Muslim rule. Slaves were indeed present in everyday life, and as the Muslim nations grew, more and more help was needed to help with the labor. Of course Slaves were the cheapest way to get this done, as one could work for very little, but how to keep up with the high demand? And In addition to that, how to treat this influx of slaves? The Qur'an itself talks about how to treat slaves, and it permits slavery as part of jihad, but it does not go into specifics on the reasons to capture slaves or what is necessarily permissible. Is it permissible to take as many slaves as needed? Can you take them under any circumstances? Is it acceptable under Islamic law to to raid areas specifically to take slaves to cover your own needs or as a means to pay off debts? These questions may not so easily be answer if look at the straight words of the Qur'an. Thus to help keep slavery alive and well, the Qur'an was used as a tool by those who wanted to use it for their benefit.
While one cannot completely set an exact or specific way that every slave's life played out, a broad view can be shown because of the accounts given by former slaves or those visiting the land. The slavery lives of women, men, the old and the young shown in these accounts do no represent the total slave population, but do give a realistic view of how their lives would have played out. The stealing of people to become slaves, their lives afterward, and the specific treatment of life in slavery will be looked at, specifically when dealing with women, their children, and what roles they played in their lives as slaves.
One of the reasons slavery under Islam perhaps took off is due largely to selfish behavior. From nineteenth-century evidence, the purchase of slaves by North African merchants began as early as the ninth century A.D. 1 In these situations, rich Muslim rulers are supporters of slavery as a means to help better their own lives and those who live under their rule, but of course at the expense of other human beings. These rulers were allowed to think like this because slavery as permitted and allowed under the rules of Islam as a part of Jihad, which is a war for the expansion of Islam. This helped them out when they wanted to buy something from caravans traveling through, but didn't have enough in their own possession to pay for what they wanted. This thinking is not condoned by the Qur’an, but the justification or working around of the law is the reason it was allowed to occur.
There were also cases where slaves were sought out when a payment wasn't enough, and something was still owed to the caravan. In Nigeria, there was a case where a Muslim man was to report that what they had offered to a caravan was considered to be of low quality. The man reporting this case had told the caravan they had slaves they could also give, and he would return with them to help pay the difference. When the man got back and gave the message to his ruler, the next day the ruler or sultan ordered an army to be put together, and to go out and find slaves. The places to attack would be all those without defences and the orders were to take the inhabitants, and well as those who were unexpected while working in their fields. To give more reasoning for their men to go out and risk themselves, additional orders were also given to attack places that were viewed as idolatrous.2
To give some perspective, looking as some personal accounts of being stolen as a slave show how an abduction might occur and what it is like. In one account, a boy and his sister were left at their house, when some people suddenly appeared. “Two men and a woman got over our walls, and in a moment seized us both, and without giving us time to cry out or resistance, they stopped our mouths and ran off with us into the nearest wood.” 3 Later on these two would be taken away in a confusing journey, not knowing why they were taken of how they would get back. Anger from that confusion would later be expressed, telling of how the new slave found it utterly confusing that someone would bring such pain upon another and steal them from their land simply to satisfy their own wants. This is one obvious account of how slavery has a huge negative impact on someone life, and is a completely selfish matter.
When a raid had been gone for a certain amount of time and accomplished their goals, often around a months time, There would be many slaves along with them. In the case of the army that went to seize slaves in order to give a few to the traveling caravan (and gain many for the ruler and his kingdom of course) there were two thousand. When the new slaves arrived at the city ruled by the Muslims, they were at the front of the traveling army, women, men, the old and the young alike. Often they were only partially covered or naked because of the state they had been taken in. The old slaves and the women in the group were not restricted or in chains at all, but kept close together. The younger prisoners were set on camels or on their mothers back, and the men were bound up both hand and neck in a padlock, and the strongest men were tied to horses. If any were to struggle, they were whipped to make them rethink their want to escape.
When the captives were brought into the city, musicians would start to play in celebration of the victory before them. When the Muslim leader came out of his palace to see his new possessions, the slaves were made to be on their knees. The ruler would then congratulate those who were in charge of carrying out the raids, and order the slaves to be sold at the market place. However, only the men and women were taken there, and the older slaves, the children, and any pregnant women were either sold to the people of the land or given to city leaders as gifts. The more workable men and women were taken off as bargaining tools for any caravans that would be traveling through, or for any willing to buy them at their higher cost.
The cost of slaves would vary wildly depending on many factors, including gender, age, time period, region, and physical ability. Likelihood of escape also played into part of the cost, as a young strong slave might require more measures to contain, thus affecting their cost. Older slaves, and children were usually considered less costly, and men with beards and of good physical shape would cost more, but also depending on how their temperament was in relation to staying with the slave owner, or their likelihood of rebelling and running away. Women were often considered to cost more because of their temperament, and because they could still work. Also, depending on if there were more slaves or less slaves brought in, the law of supply and demand would take shape. In times where the was a large supply of slaves to choose from, their cost would go down quite a bit, and conversely, if it had been some time since slaves had been brought in, slaves would cost much more because they were more needed.
Life of a slave right after they were bought or traded from their sudden imprisonment was also as confusing to some as was their capture. When they were first separated from those they had been with with before being bought, they would suddenly suffer great anguish, as would make sense for anyone being torn from their last bit of familiarity with their surroundings, and they would cry out in pain. The great deal of confusion that set in dealt with that new unfamiliarity, and soon after their departure, more slaves would go into a frenzy of fear, not out of being taken from their land, but because they had no clue what was being done to them, so their minds would race. Often they thought they were going to be eaten, and would make every attempt to resist moving anywhere, grabbing onto anything they could, refusing to walk, or rolling around on the earth. Attempts would be made to get them to comply such as beatings, caning, or whipping, but no forceable tactic would work, and only the slaves who still had their wits about them could coerce their fellow captives to regain their composure and continue to move on with reassurance.
One of the reasons for these sudden fears was that there was a rumor among the African people that when slaves were taken, that those who wanted them, wanted them for devious purposes. Those who were taken were being sold to cannibals, and the only reason for the wanting of slaves was to eat them. Off of this, other rumors would circulate, including that the red wine from foreign nations were made from the slaves that were taken by the Muslims, who were then sold to the foreigners who killed them and used their blood to create the wine. On top of this, there was also a rumor that the bones of the Africans taken into slavery were prized because it helped create powder for guns that would then in turn be used to take more slaves to continue the process all over. When faced with these rumors, and suddenly being taken or sold to someone, it makes sense as to why so many began to fear for their lives and go into a state of rabid fear.
Slaves of course did not always easily go along with their new lives, and despite the risks and low likelihood of success, some did make an attempt to escape. Any way to escape was thought of, and just like current times, those in captivity can usually think of anything to try and get out of captivity. Night time was especially a good time to get away, as it was much easier to do something without captors being able to see it. Bad or old equipment used to chain slaves was especially susceptible to being exploited, and those in their chains would use anything, even water to try and mess with the tool enough to be able to slip or break free.
In accordance with their reasoning for taking slaves, there was also an attempt to convert them. The Muslims and their captives would speak each others broken language to one another, and they would talk about the Prophet and God. While it might have been pointless to try and convert someone who's life had been destroyed by the person trying to convert them, the talks still occurred to comply with their religion. After talking about their religion to try and make the slaves understand, the captors would then set about and start to circumcise the slaves to make them Muslims. The slaves would rarely show resistance, to show that they had no fear, and they then received treatment for the operations. After that, the captors would then take very good care of the slaves, and fed them well. The goal in this was to show them that being a Muslim was a great thing.
Once the slaves had gone a certain distance, even the ones who might have been attained at a lesser value soon were worth more. This was because after a slave had gone far enough from his home, or had been separated from his origins for an extended period of time, the gave up somewhat, and because they had a lack of desire to escape, they were considered to be worth more now. After being gone long enough from what he or she knew the slave would ultimately have to accept their fate and take on a new role in their relatively unknown environment. This role would be filled as either a laborer, a concubine, or a domestic worker. 4
Slaves also had a unique perception in public society, as they didn't have the rights of a normal citizen, but they were not exactly dirt, and there were ways for them to gain certain freedoms. While a slave that was brought into slave life through being sold or stolen from their life would not have many liberties, and in fact would lose anything he had gained if he was sold again, a slave born into that life was respected a bit more in society, and might even be considered a free slave because they may have been born from the master of the slave, or they were a later generation of slave and they would be considered part of the family.
Regardless of the chance of their child being free, their was a low birthrate among slave women, bringing up a few questions. Many women tried to do what they could to avoid getting pregnant as they didn't want their children to have to go through life as a slave. Health conditions also played a role in this, but women might also kill their children if they did become pregnant because again, they did not want the child to suffer, and they considered a quick death now to be much better than the life they would have to go. Abortions also come into question when looking at birth rates, and are a factor when talking about women in this period, whether the abortions were wanted by the women or forced upon them by their owners is another story, though since children did hold value as slaves, it brings up even more questions.
The life of a woman in slave life was a unique experience, and it started out with the expectancy of them to be more docile than men, though that of course was not always the case. They often had to do a wide variety of acts, and if they were not made to do work, they had the chance to be made concubines, and Islamic law permitted this. If they were require to work or do labor, it was usually because there was a lack of men, and they would do things such as getting wood for the fire, and collecting water. They had to turn grain into meals, and make food into something for their “family” to eat. Then they were also required to wash clothes for those they belonged to, sweep and clean the floors to keep things tidy. Domestic work was not the only thing required of women however, and because of that lack of men at times, they also were made to work out in the field and take part in the agricultural labor. 5
In addition to the labor tasks, women might also take part in a more merchant oriented life. They might be made to create items for sell, and to make crafts for auction off or to create them for the home or for other purposes. They might also be asked and be trusted to make trades in more popular merchant areas for items of lower importance, but still worth selling off to bring in some sort of income for the owners family.
The amount of women slaves compared to the number of men was no random thing. As mentioned before, women were thought to be more docile than men, so were sought more after because of that, but other reasons added to the high amount of women. While not looked at as a physical force, the lower amount of men slaves led to women having to do more work. Because women could actually perform these task, in addition to their perceived nature to be less rebellious, this was yet another factor that drew them into high demand among the slave trade.
Women were not only looked at as a means to have a quick, submissive labor force however, and there was indeed a sexual reasoning behind the popularity of female slaves. Slave owners loved gaining more and more women because it raised a perceived prestige among their fellow slave owners, as the larger someones harem was, it meant they were successful. Having women also meant additional sexual options for the slave owners, and concubines were taken to satisfy the wants of a man, but also as a way to produce more offspring, making their families larger.
Women who were taken to be concubines also experienced a different lifestyle from other women who were simply used for labor or other task in slave life. In addition to Islamic law allowing Muslim men to take additional women, or more correctly men using Islamic law incorrectly so that that they could take additional women for sexual purposes, the law also gave rights to those who were going to be used for those purposes. If a woman slave did become pregnant with the male owners child , she gained specific benefits, as did her child. When her child was born, he or she was considered a free slave, and would be taken under the wing of the owner. Because the mother was now related to the owner through the child, the woman would also be allowed to become free in the event of the owners death. 6
So what parts of the Qur'an address taking a slave as a wife? The Qur'an states that he “who is not able to afford to marry a free believing woman, let him marry one of his own slave girls who is a believer.” 7 Obviously, this verse doesn't say, “You can have a concubine, and do with her as you please in whatever way shape or form that you desire. You can also marry her even if you can afford a normal wife.” In actuality, the verse almost condemns the slave owner, because not only could the man afford a wife, but he could afford the buying of a slave, and in the case of those who had a large amount of slaves, they could afford having all of them! So how did having so many women become a prestigious thing, instead of something to look down upon as it should have been in relation to the Qur'an?
Society can answer a lot of the questions here. Who ran society in this period and for much of history? Men. Who created society norms that led to what was acceptable and what was not? Men. Who created the rules of society, and could judge what was meant to get a person in trouble? Men. Man was responsible for the lifestyle of how Islamic life played out in Africa, and because of this, certain aspects were looked at with less scrutiny than other. While Islamic law was still held up and respected, men wanted to fulfill their needs in the ways that they could, and because the Qur'an stated that they could have relations with their slaves, they took what they could and made it socially acceptable for men to be able to do what they wanted. If someone wants to do something bad enough, yet still follow rules, they will do anything they can in order make what they want possible, and they will use any reasoning to get what they want.
Thus to help keep slavery alive and well, the Qur'an was used as a tool by those who wanted to use it for their benefit. Because slavery helped drive local economics, and because it led to women being available for use by men, there was no reason to really reinforce what the Qur'an said. Instead, it was bent to reinforce mans selfish desires, and to keep certain Islamic cities and men in power, through the trade of the slaves, and through their perceived power with how many women they had. The children they could gain from multiple wives also came into affect, and made households larger and stronger.
But at what cost did this all take place? Lives were utterly destroyed, and raids by Islamic societies was perhaps the largest reasoning behind all this. The slaves they gained were not only kept, used, and accepted by the Muslim people, but because the slaves were used for trade, and to gain a better place economically, they also affected the rest of the world. How much of Europe was influenced by the slave trade because of these raids? How much of America's own slavery issues came from the practice of slavery in early Africa by these Islamic societies? Some of the questions are would be quite difficult to answer, but going back to the problem of the treatment of women in Muslim society, it is clear that the Qur'an was abused, and this in turn led to many women being used in ways that would affect Africa's history forever. All of this started from those in charge of the slave raids, and those in charge of how these women would be treated, those who should forever be known as thieves in the day.
1 Abridged and trans. John O. Hunwick from Gen. E. Daumas, Le Grand Desert. Itineraire d'une caravane du Sahara au pays des negres, royaume de Haoussa, 4th ed., (Paris, 1860), pp. 199-247.
3 Olaudah Equiano, The life of Olaudah Equiano, or Gustavus Vass, The African, Written by himself (Boston: I. Knapp, 1837), 31-32.
4 Manning, Patrick. 1990. Slavery and African life: occidental, oriental, and African slave trades. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pg 91.
5 Manning, Patrick. 1990. Slavery and African life: occidental, oriental, and African slave trades. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Pg 116.
6 Chouki, El Hamel Historical Reflections Feflixions Historiques, Surviving slavery. Spring 2008 Berghahn Journals.
