USA Africa Dialogue Series - Fwd: Vad hade de afrikanska slavarna för ursprung?

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From: SvD Dick Harrison <svd@utskick.svd.se>
Date: Tue, 11 Mar 2025 at 15:02
Subject: What was the origin of the African slaves?

Det händer ganska ofta att jag får mail från grundskole- och gymnasieelever som vill ha hjälp med diverse examensuppgifter och specialarbeten, i vilka det ingår att man skall intervjua en forskare. Jag brukar ställa upp, i den mån jag hinner, och då och då får jag riktigt bra frågor som det verkligen är svårt att googla fram svaren på. Så var fallet för några veckor sedan, när frågeställarna ville veta exakt hur de västafrikanska slavhandlarna fick tag på slavar som de kunde sälja till européerna och amerikanerna. Hur ser källorna ut, och vad uppger de? Som exempel angav jag missionären Sigismund Kölle, som var verksam i kolonin Sierra Leone i mitten av 1800-talet och genomförde en intervjuundersökning av 177 manliga slavar, som fritagits av britterna och omplacerats till kolonin, som fungerade som fristad för före detta slavar. Intervjuobjekten stammade från olika afrikanska länder, och omkring 30 procent hade tjänat under afrikanska ägare innan de hamnade i västerlänningarnas händer. Mer än en tredjedel, 34 procent, av de tillfrågade förklarade att deras tid i ofrihet hade inletts genom att de tagits tillfånga i krig, antingen efter regelrätta strider eller i de årligen återkommande räder som ryttarfolken på Västafrikas savann utsatte sina jordbrukande grannar för. Omkring 30 procent av de intervjuade hade istället blivit kidnappade av kringströvande slavjägare. Detta var ett stort problem särskilt i igbofolkets land i nuvarande Nigeria, liksom i andra afrikanska regioner som saknade ett statssamhälle med medel att beskydda invånarna. 11 procent hävdade att de hade försatts i slaveri som straff för brott, framför allt äktenskapsbrott. Två män hade dömts till ett liv i ofrihet som straff för att några av deras släktingar hade befunnits skyldiga till utövande av trolldom. För dylika förseelser rådde ofta kollektiv bestraffning. Sju procent av Kölles informanter hade blivit slavar till följd av fattigdom, för att de inte kunde betala familjens skulder. Däremot angav ingen av de intervjuade att de frivilligt hade blivit slavar för att undvika svältdöden, men av andra källor vet vi att detta inte var ovanligt. Slavexporten från många afrikanska samhällen kulminerade i tider av missväxt och hungersnöd. Kölles undersökning visar på förslavandets mångfald. Vi har många fler exempel härpå. År 1839 gjorde slavarna på skeppet Amistad uppror utanför Kuba. Istället för att lyckas ta sig hem till Afrika navigerade afrikanerna fel och hamnade på Long Island utanför New York, varefter de blev föremål för en berömd rättegång, i vår tid mest känd genom Steven Spielbergs film "Amistad" (1997). Under rättegången nedtecknades slavarnas biografier. Nästan samtliga slavar kom från samma område i Sierra Leone och talade samma språk, mende, och de hade förslavats ungefär samtidigt. Trots detta skilde sig deras livshistorier åt betydligt. 17 av de 37 överlevande slavarna hade råkat i ofrihet genom kidnappning. De hade varit ute och vandrat på stigar eller vägar och plötsligt blivit överfallna av grupper om två till sex man. Fem personer hade förslavats genom statligt agerande, till exempel som straff för ett brott. Fyra personer hade sålts eller pantsatts av egna släktingar. Endast sex slavar hade tagits som fångar i krig eller större räder. Övriga fem slavar saknar angivelse om förslavande i dokumenten. Vi får alltså inte göra felet att generalisera om slavarnas ursprung. Även inom ramen för ett och samma afrikanska område och en och samma tidsperiod ägde förslavandet rum på flera olika sätt. Vem som helst kunde drabbas. Min senaste historiekrönika handlar om den "multipolära världsordningen" och dess föregångare. Hur har stormakterna agerat visavi varandra i det förflutna? /Dick Harrison

Click here if the email looks strange. Harrisons historia 11 mars 2025 What was the origin of the African slaves? It happens quite often that I get emails from primary and secondary school students who want help with various exam assignments and special projects, which include interviewing a researcher. I usually volunteer, as much as I have time, and every now and then I get really good questions that are really difficult to Google the answers to. Such was the case a few weeks ago, when the questioners wanted to know exactly how the West African slave traders got hold of slaves that they could sell to the Europeans and Americans. What do the sources look like, and what do they say? As an example, I gave the missionary Sigismund Kölle, who was active in the colony of Sierra Leone in the mid-19th century and conducted an interview study of 177 male slaves who had been freed by the British and relocated to the colony, which functioned as a haven for former slaves. The interviewees came from various African countries, and around 30 percent had served under African owners before they ended up in the hands of Westerners. More than a third, 34 percent, of those interviewed explained that their time in captivity had begun by being captured in war, either after regular battles or in the annual raids that the horse-riding peoples of the West African savanna subjected their farming neighbors to. Around 30 percent of those interviewed had instead been kidnapped by roving slave hunters. This was a major problem especially in the land of the Igbo people in present-day Nigeria, as well as in other African regions that lacked a state society with the means to protect the inhabitants. 11 percent claimed that they had been enslaved as punishment for crimes, especially adultery. Two men had been sentenced to life in captivity as punishment because some of their relatives had been found guilty of practicing witchcraft. Such offenses were often subject to collective punishment. Seven percent of Kölle's informants had become slaves as a result of poverty, because they could not pay the family's debts. However, none of those interviewed stated that they had voluntarily become slaves to avoid starvation, but we know from other sources that this was not uncommon. The export of slaves from many African societies culminated in times of crop failure and famine. Kölle's research shows the diversity of enslavement. We have many more examples of this. In 1839, the slaves on the ship Amistad revolted off Cuba. Instead of successfully making it home to Africa, the Africans navigated incorrectly and ended up on Long Island outside New York, after which they became the subject of a famous trial, best known in our time through Steven Spielberg's film "Amistad" (1997). During the trial, the biographies of the slaves were recorded. Almost all the slaves came from the same area of Sierra Leone and spoke the same language, Mende, and they had been enslaved at about the same time. Despite this, their life stories differed considerably. 17 of the 37 surviving slaves had been kidnapped. They had been walking on paths or roads and were suddenly attacked by groups of two to six men. Five people had been enslaved by state action, for example as punishment for a crime. Four people had been sold or pawned by their own relatives. Only six slaves had been taken as prisoners in war or major raids. The other five slaves have no mention of enslavement in the documents. We must therefore not make the mistake of generalizing about the origin of the slaves. Even within the framework of the same African area and the same time period, enslavement took place in several different ways. Anyone could be affected. My latest history column is about the "multipolar world order" and its predecessors. How have the great powers acted towards each other in the past ? /Dick Harrison The Amistad case ended happily The Amistad case has been the subject of considerable research, and the fantastic story – which ended happily – has also appeared previously in my columns. On this day 21 years ago: The terrorist attacks in Madrid On March 11, 2004, three train stations in Madrid were attacked by terrorists, killing 191 people and injuring 2,050. The perpetrators were members of an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist group. Islamic terrorism is often referred to as a modern phenomenon, but in fact it has ancient roots – just look at the Assassin movement. On this day 255 years ago: The Solander Islands are discovered On March 11, 1770, James Cook's circumnavigation of the globe discovered an archipelago named after the Swedish botanist Daniel Solander – the Solander Islands. It is not the only place on the map that today reminds us of Solander. More by Dick Harrison So Sweden got a Catholic state church. Are the Palestinians related to the heroes of the Iliad? Could a prince be named Pippin? The name change was a reaction to "political correctness". The forgotten feminism in Germany. They could have prevented the dictatorship we will never forget. Here are all the texts Dick Harrison has written for SvD.

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