Summary

In East Central Africa, multiple arrangements of dependency existed, including slavery, as well as the slave trade before the Europeans’ arrival. The institution of slavery encompassed diverse social situations translated into different local names. It allowed slave owners to accumulate dependents and exploit their work. For centuries, East Africa channeled enslaved persons to the Red Sea, the Persian Gulf, and India, through networks that connected the Swahili cities in the continent, Comoros, and Madagascar. From the 16th century onward, Europeans also integrated into these multidirectional networks. The mid-18th century saw an increase in the slave trading, which expanded notoriously throughout the 19th century, driven by the growth of capitalism and the global demand for goods. Thousands of enslaved individuals were shipped to the European colonies in America, as well as the economies of the Indian Ocean. This expansion extended slave trading routes from Mozambique and Omani Zanzibar to deep into the interior, reaching the Great Lakes and Eastern Kongo. Slavery encompassed a greater number of people, and changes occurred in slavery as an institution. Enslavement processes became more violent, often involving war, kidnapping, judicial debts, and famine. Enslaved persons were employed in a wide range of activities, including domestic service, economic pursuits, war, and sexual and reproductive labor, as well as a symbol of the status of their owners. Despite harsh conditions, enslaved individuals resisted through various means aiming at negotiating their working and living conditions. Although there were uprisings, flights were the most common means of resistance and in some cases led to the formation of maroon communities.