HIST 3535 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Atlantic Slave Trade, Ashanti People, Serendipity
12 Jul 2020
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Over the past couple of weeks we have examined several key players in the Atlantic Slave Trade,
including the Kingdom of Asante in present day Ghana, the unofficial merchant ruling class of
the Bight of Biafra, and the Kingdom of Oyo in the Bight of Benin. All of these power structures
were based at least in part on the profits of human trafficking, which would enable them to
maintain their regional power and in many cases expand their reach and enslave more
surrounding peoples, continuing the cycle of the slave trade.
According to the lecture material, Asante and Oyo alone are responsible for approximately 3
million of the slaves who would be trafficked between 1600 and 1860. This is a huge number,
especially considering the total number of Africans trafficked to the New World sits around 12
million.
Each of these societies also share many similarities in their power structures often being
oligarchies based on militaristic and economic control of their domains. This combination would
enable each regime to successfully exercise the violence on neighbouring or enemy states needed
to secure humans to be trafficked, as well as some other commodity which would be valuable to
the European merchants. In many cases this commodity was gold, or textiles unique to the
specific culture.
Through these similarities, we can see why the African slave market was worthwhile to the
European slavers; in order for European merchants to maximize profits in this grisly business
their cargo holds must never be empty of tradable goods, and both the slaves and the
commodities which were readily available in the African market.
In all of these cases, this availability was largely due to an unfortunate serendipity; both Asante
and Oyo emerged as Kingdoms between 1600 and 1650, and their expansion coincided with the
need for labour in the European colonial market. In other words, the supply and the demand
both came to fruition at the same time.
The final similarity which I will mention which existed in all three cultures is religion; Each
society had a religion, often polytheistic in nature, which allowed the enslavement of other
peoples. This is a hallmark of slave states as it allows for easy justification of a heinous practice
which even back then was frowned upon.
The people of Asante, The Bight of Biafra and the Kingdom of Oyo were all very prominent
civilizations that existed in equatorial Africa. All three civilizations were instrumental in the
Trans Atlantic Slave Trade and became wealthy from the agreements they had with the
Europeans. In all cases, art and religion were essential aspects of their cultures and society. Their
histories are encapsulated in the oral and visual traditions that remain. The locations of these
civilizations in relation to each other means they have many similarities, likewise though, they
also have many differences.
Asante, for example, is home to the Akan speaking peoples. Asante also had unique access and
ownership of lands possessing a very plentiful gold mine. In turn, Asante was not only a vibrant
trading location, but gold entwined itself into Asante symbolism and practices. The Golden Stool
is an example of such an influence, which historically and presently, symbolizes the Asante's
people and heritage. The Asante people, like that of their counterparts previously discussed, had
a unique religious influence. Their indigenous religion, however, was followed later by the
institutionalization of Christianity in the region. Christian symbolism can is now observable in
their artistic representations and productions.
In the Bight of Biafra, home to the Ibibio and Ebo speaking peoples, scarification and the practice
of facial markings identified an individual's place in society. Scarification is one of the many
differences that make the Bight of Biafra unique in comparison to Asante and the Kingdom of
Oyo. However, their system of governance is also individual to their region. The government
system was not centralized but consisted of an elite society of men, who would masquerade in
elaborate costumes designed to reflect the leopard. This elite society also had a separate language
and wrote in code to uphold its secrecy. Similar to the Kingdom of Oyo, Islam became prominent
in this region in later history.
The people of the Kingdom of Oyo spoke the language Yoruba and occupied savanna terrain.
Unlike their counterparts, the Kingdom of Oyo was able to husband horses. These horses led to
many victories in war and acquired many territories; the Kingdom of Oyo became well known
for their cavalry. Like Asante, the Kingdom of Oyo had a centralized government where the
King ruled the entire land. However, the King considered a direct descendant of the Orisha, or
gods. In keeping with their beliefs, the King could not personally go to battle and would appoint
generals to represent him at war. The result of this tradition meant that generals often had more
practical power than the King. Combined with the tradition that the King must commit suicide if
the generals tell him to, meant issues of governance and abuse of this power as well as the
continuous ousting of Kings via suicide. The Kingdom of Oyo's religious influences were very
pronounced, and they had a plethora of Orisha. However, Yoruba religion was also very unique
in that it allowed for the incorporation of other gods, traditions, and beliefs as long as they were
proven to be beneficial to the Yoruba religion. Today, Islam and Christianity are the dominant
religions in this area (now part of Nigeria). Consequently, through the Trans Atlantic Slave
Trade, the Yoruba religion is now primarily practised in Cuba and other Caribbean islands.
First of all, both Oyo and Asante can be classified as the realm of the African kingdom. In
essence, their national nature is not much different from the large African empire like the Mali
empire introduced in the previous course, anyway. In terms of national structure, the difference
between Asante and Oyo is still somewhat different. You know, Asante is a powerful centralized
state in West Africa. Although local chiefs are widespread in this country, they cannot threaten
the administrative power of the central government. In the early period of the Oyo Empire
(12th-15th centuries), the government or King Oyo was defeated by the Nupe because the power
was too scattered. The royal family in exile nearly a hundred years later re-established the
