The organization of the Atlantic slave trade in Yorubaland, ca. 1777 to ca. 1856

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Periodical article

Title:	The organization of the Atlantic slave trade in Yorubaland, ca. 1777 to ca. 1856
Author:	Ojo, Olatunji
Year:	2008
Periodical:	International Journal of African Historical Studies
Volume:	41
Issue:	1
Pages:	77-100
Language:	English
Geographic term:	Nigeria
Subjects:	slave trade Yoruba credit
External link:	https://www.jstor.org/stable/40282457
Abstract:	This essay on the slave trade in Yorubaland, Nigeria, expands upon existing works in two ways. Focusing on the first half of the 19th century, it covers the entire Yoruba region and links the history of Lagos, a slave-processing state, to that of the slave-producing hinterland. It also emphasizes the local institutions that underpinned the slave trade. In particular, it analyses the organization of the Atlantic slave trade, commercial 'trust' relations, and how these were affected by changing local practices. In doing so, it links culture and commerce, locating 'trust' relations within the Yoruba kinship system and the notion of joint responsibility. The essay first outlines the rise and expansion of the export slave trade. Then it discusses the commercial organization and financing of the trade. Finally, it examines problems associated with trade debts and the mechanisms for credit security and payment enforcement. The essay is based on new archival data, including letters exchanged between oba (king) Kosoko and various merchants and ship captains between 1848 and 1850. Notes, ref. [ASC Leiden abstract]