Slavery should never be compared to any historical atrocity. You really shouldn’t be comparing historical atrocities at all to begin with. But let’s talk about slavery specifically for a minute. So as a trained archival historian focusing particularly on the subject of slavery, let me just go ahead and give you a broad depiction of what exactly slavery is so we can have a conceptual understanding of what it means. When I say slavery is not separate from civilized societies, not attachment civilized societies. Labor is the foundation of civilized society.
Let’s first start by establishing that the broad focus of this video is going to be slavery in Africa. First thing that most people don’t understand about slavery in Africa is that there were multiple slave trades happening in the continent at the exact same time. There was the more known slave trade, which is a transatlantic slave trade, which is my area of expertise specifically. And then there is also the East African slave trade, which actually lasted longer than transatlantic slave trade. It lasted about 13 centuries, started in the seventh century, did not end until like the 1960s. And that slave trade had multiple routes. It went from the trans saharan Red Sea, Indian Ocean, very impactful slave trade, millions people affected. Now, the transatlantic slave trade on the other hand, lasted about 300 years. It started in about 1500s and then in about the late 1800s. What makes the transatlantic slave trade very unique and a very pivotal trade is that it is considered to be the foundation of the modern Atlantic world.
I’m gonna just go ahead and throw out some key works if you’re interested in learning more about the topic of slavery in general in terms of primary source materials. Like I mentioned, enslave people did not have really any agency over their own narratives and how their histories were being recorded. This is important to know because when you look at primary text pertaining to slavery, majority of them from the perspective of enslavers, so I can recommend to you Thomas Thistlewood’s diaries, Samuel Cartward’s writings about Drape Demania, but both of those people are very pro slavery and we’re in slavers themselves and their works are disturbing. So trigger warning on that. Now, one of the few works that does actually kind of give a glimpse into primary accounts from enslaved people with days by James Alan. This is a very good text to read. Texts that are really instrumental to learning more about slavery include Orlando Patterson, Slavery and the Social Death, Jennifer O. Morgan’s Reckoning with Slavery, Sadia Hartman’s Venus and two acts. Eric Williams, capitalism and slavery, the way your institution might, Kenneth him stamp. Also some other authors that I personally like because my focus is really on medical, like institutionalization and slavery. So Dorothy Roberts, Harriet Washington, like these are some authors that I just really think have done critical work. If you’re interested in learning more about these readings, want breakdowns, or if you’re just generally interested in learning more about my focus area, which has to do with the medical system and slavery, feel free to let me know. And for those who are asking, that was the skin routine.