Sean Stilwell's 'Slaving And Slavery In Africa'

Sean Stilwell’s book, "Slaving and Slavery in Africa details a comprehensive history of slavery in Africa from the earliest times to the end of the twentieth century. The primary purpose of the book is to present Africa, Africans, and slavery in a more realistic and accurate way. Stilwell asserts that slavery in Africa was diverse: slaves occupied a wide range of roles and positions in African states and societies. The statuses and treatment of slaves varied dramatically. Stilwell attempts to dispel the one size fits all notion about slavery in Africa. Some slaves were simply thought of as outsiders who did not belong; while others were outright chattel property. He defends his position by focusing on three major themes: the broad definition of slavery in the African context, the different dynamics of slavery in a decentralized society, and the economic role slavery played in African states. Another prominent theme throughout the book is the concept of political systems based on kinship and its importance in African society.
Three different maps of Africa are presented at the very beginning of the book. The presence of the maps establishes early on that we are dealing with a continent, not a country. The maps are a personification of just how difficult it is to try to explain a concept such as slavery in a …show more content…
Webster defines freedom as the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action. However, Stilwell asserts that freedom, within the African context, was connected with a sense of belonging. Freedom meant that you were part of something. According to Mungo Park, a Scottish explorer, “the value of a slave in the eye of an African purchaser in proportion to his distance from his native Kingdom.” This drives home Stilwell’s point of slavery being an outsider’s sport. I am not entirely sold that freedom and slavery are absolutes. There is certainly a grey