These, too, were expensive required trained
soldiers to make good use of them. While the new military
technology had increased the ruler's freedom from popular control,
it made him increasingly dependent on and subject to European
interests. The African ruler's desire for guns and the European's
desire for slaves went hand in hand.
CHAPTER 2
The Human Market
The Slave Trade
Neither slavery nor the slave trade came to West Africa with
the arrival of the Portuguese in the middle of the fifteenth
century. To the contrary, both institutions had a very long
history. A two-way slave trade had existed between the West
Africans and the Arabs for centuries. In view of the social
structure of both societies, sociologists believe that the Arabs
could make use of more slaves than could the West Africans.
Therefore, West Africa probably exported more slaves than it
imported.
Slaves, besides being common laborers, were often men
of considerable skill and learning, Slavery was not a badge of
human inferiority. Thus, the first slaves procured by the
Europeans from Africa were displayed as curiosities and as proof
of affluence.
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