The immoral trade that changed the world

Before the mid-17th century, Benin exported slaves not only to the new world, but also to Europe and the Gold coast in 1506, a slave typically cost be­tween twelve and fifteen Manilas (brass bracelets); by 1517, the price has risen to 57 Manilas. After the 1520s, cowrie shells replaced Manilas as the most popular “money” in the slave trade. Goods such as hats, beads etc. were also battered for slaves. From the late 16th to the late 17th century, Benin never sold its own citizens, but only female captives (in­cluding Igbo, Sobo, Ijaw and others) captured in a war or purchased from neighboring peoples.  From the mid-17th century to 18th century, how­ever, slaves became the principal trade “goods” acquired by Europeans, and foreign male prison­ers and eventually citizens of Benin itself were also sold abroad. In the heyday of the slave trade, Be­nin supplied 3,000 slaves a year. Slaves were not the only major articles purchased by the Europeans (others included pepper, ivory cloth, etc.).

The slave trade from Benin continued until the 19th centu­ry, long after the official abolition of the overseas slave trade. Benin’s rise and decline were not de­termined primarily by the slave trade, although the European presence in general and the slave trade in particular did accelerate or hinder specific social, economic, political, and cultural processes................

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