WAR AND SLAVERY.
A state of subordination and certain inequalities of rank and condition
are inevitable in every stage of civil society; but when the
subordination is carried to so great a length that the persons and
services of one part of the community are entirely at the disposal of
another part, it may then be denominated a state of slavery, and in this
condition of life a great body of the negro inhabitants of Africa have
continued from the most early period of their history, with this
aggravation, that their children are born to no other inheritance.
The slaves in Africa, I suppose, are nearly in the proportion of three to
one to the freemen. They claim no reward for their services except food
and clothing, and are treated with kindness or severity, according to the
good or bad disposition of their masters. Custom, however, has
established certain rules with regard to the treatment of slaves, which
it is thought dishonourable to violate. Thus the domestic slaves, or
such as are born in a man’s own house, are treated with more lenity than
those which are purchased with money. The authority of the master over
the domestic slave, as I have elsewhere observed, extends only to
reasonable correction; for the master cannot sell his domestic, without
having first brought him to a public trial before the chief men of the
place. But these restrictions on the power of the master extend not to
the case of prisoners taken in war, nor to that of slaves purchased with
money. All these unfortunate beings are considered as strangers and
foreigners, who have no right to the protection of the law, and may be
treated with severity, or sold to a stranger, according to the pleasure
of their owners. There are, indeed, regular markets, where slaves of
this description are bought and sold, and the value of a slave, in the
eye of an African purchaser, increases in proportion to his distance from
his native kingdom: for when slaves are only a few days’ journey from the
place of their nativity they frequently effect their escape; but when one
or more kingdoms intervene, escape being more difficult, they are more
readily reconciled to their situation. On this account the unhappy slave
is frequently transferred from one dealer to another, until he has lost
all hopes of returning to his native kingdom. The slaves which are
purchased by the Europeans on the coast are chiefly of this description.
A few of them are collected in the petty wars, hereafter to be described,
which take place near the coast, but by far the greater number are
brought down in large caravans from the inland countries, of which many
are unknown, even by name, to the Europeans. The slaves which are thus
brought from the interior may be divided into two distinct classes—first,
such as were slaves from their birth, having been born of enslaved
mothers; secondly, such as were born free, but who afterwards, by
whatever means, became slaves. Those of the first description are by far
the most numerous, for prisoners taken in war (at least such as are taken
in open and declared war, when one kingdom avows hostilities against
another) are generally of this description. The comparatively small
proportion of free people to the enslaved throughout Africa has already
been noticed: and it must be observed that men of free condition have
many advantages over the slaves, even in war time. They are in general
better armed, and well mounted, and can either fight or escape with some
hopes of success; but the slaves, who have only their spears and bows,
and of whom great numbers are loaded with baggage, become an easy prey.
Thus when Mansong, king of Bambarra, made war upon Kaarta (as I have
related in a former chapter), he took in one day nine hundred prisoners,
of which number not more than seventy were freemen. This account I
received from Daman Jumma, who had thirty slaves at Kemmoo, all of whom
were made prisoners by Mansong. Again, when a freeman is taken prisoner
his friends will sometimes ransom him by giving two slaves in exchange;
but when a slave is taken, he has no hopes of such redemption. To these
disadvantages, it is to be added that the slatees, who purchase slaves in
the interior countries and carry them down to the coast for sale,
constantly prefer such as have been in that condition of life from their
infancy, well knowing that these have been accustomed to hunger and
fatigue, and are better able to sustain the hardships of a long and
painful journey than freemen; and on their reaching the coast, if no
opportunity offers of selling them to advantage, they can easily be made
to maintain themselves by their labour; neither are they so apt to
attempt making their escape as those who have once tasted the blessings
of freedom.
Slaves of the second description generally become such by one or other of
the following causes:—1, captivity; 2, famine; 3, insolvency; 4, crimes.
A freeman may, by the established customs of Africa, become a slave by
being taken in war. War is of all others the most productive source, and
was probably the origin, of slavery; for when one nation had taken from
another a greater number of captives than could be exchanged on equal
terms, it is natural to suppose that the conquerors, finding it
inconvenient to maintain their prisoners, would compel them to labour—at
first, perhaps, only for their own support, but afterwards to support
their masters. Be this as it may, it is a known fact that prisoners of
war in Africa are the slaves of the conquerors; and when the weak or
unsuccessful warrior begs for mercy beneath the uplifted spear of his
opponent, he gives up at the same time his claim to liberty, and
purchases his life at the expense of his freedom.
In a country divided into a thousand petty states, mostly independent and
jealous of each other, where every freeman is accustomed to arms and fond
of military achievements, where the youth, who has practised the bow and
spear from his infancy, longs for nothing so much as an opportunity to
display his valour, it is natural to imagine that wars frequently
originate from very frivolous provocation. When one nation is more
powerful than another, pretext is seldom wanting for commencing
hostilities. Thus the war between Kajaaga and Kasson was occasioned by
the detention of a fugitive slave; that between Bambarra and Kaarta by
the loss of a few cattle. Other cases of the same nature perpetually
occur in which the folly or mad ambition of their princes and the zeal of
their religious enthusiasts give full employment to the scythe of
desolation.
The wars of Africa are of two kinds, which are distinguished by different
appellations; that species which bears the greatest resemblance to our
European contests is denominated _killi_, a word signifying “to call
out,” because such wars are openly avowed and previously declared. Wars
of this description in Africa commonly terminate, however, in the course
of a single campaign. A battle is fought—the vanquished seldom think of
rallying again—the whole inhabitants become panic-struck, and the
conquerors have only to bind the slaves and carry off their plunder and
their victims. Such of the prisoners as, through age or infirmity, are
unable to endure fatigue, or are found unfit for sale, are considered as
useless, and, I have no doubt, are frequently put to death. The same
fate commonly awaits a chief or any other person who has taken a very
distinguished part in the war. And here it may be observed that,
notwithstanding this exterminating system, it is surprising to behold how
soon an African town is rebuilt and repeopled. The circumstance arises
probably from this: that their pitched battles are few—the weakest know
their own situation, and seek safety in flight. When their country has
been desolated, and their ruined towns and villages deserted by the
enemy, such of the inhabitants as have escaped the _sword_ and the
_chain_ generally return, though with cautious steps, to the place of
their nativity—for it seems to be the universal wish of mankind to spend
the evening of their days where they passed their infancy. The poor
negro feels this desire in its full force. To him no water is sweet but
what is drawn from his own well, and no tree has so cool and pleasant a
shade as the _tabba_ tree {104} of his native village. When war compels
him to abandon the delightful spot in which he first drew his breath, and
seek for safety in some other kingdom, his time is spent in talking about
the country of his ancestors; and no sooner is peace restored than he
turns his back upon the land of strangers, rebuilds with haste his fallen
walls, and exults to see the smoke ascend from his native village.
The other species of African warfare is distinguished by the appellation
of _tegria_ (plundering, or stealing). It arises from a sort of
hereditary feud which the inhabitants of one nation or district bear
towards another. No immediate cause of hostility is assigned, or notice
of attack given, but the inhabitants of each watch every opportunity to
plunder and distress the objects of their animosity by predatory
excursions. These are very common, particularly about the beginning of
the dry season, when the labour of the harvest is over and provisions are
plentiful. Schemes of vengeance are then meditated. The chief man
surveys the number and activity of his vassals as they brandish their
spears at festivals, and, elated with his own importance, turns his whole
thoughts towards revenging some depredation or insult which either he or
his ancestors may have received from a neighbouring state.
Wars of this description are generally conducted with great secrecy. A
few resolute individuals, headed by some person of enterprise and
courage, march quietly through the woods, surprise in the night some
unprotected village, and carry off the inhabitants and their effects
before their neighbours can come to their assistance. One morning during
my stay at Kamalia we were all much alarmed by a party of this kind. The
king of Fooladoo’s son, with five hundred horsemen, passed secretly
through the woods a little to the southward of Kamalia, and on the
morning following plundered three towns belonging to Madigai, a powerful
chief in Jallonkadoo.
The success of this expedition encouraged the governor of Bangassi, a
town in Fooladoo, to make a second inroad upon another part of the same
country. Having assembled about two hundred of his people, he passed the
river Kokoro in the night, and carried off a great number of prisoners.
Several of the inhabitants who had escaped these attacks were afterwards
seized by the Mandingoes as they wandered about in the woods or concealed
themselves in the glens and strong places of the mountains.
These plundering excursions always produced speedy retaliation: and when
large parties cannot be collected for this purpose, a few friends will
combine together and advance into the enemy’s country, with a view to
plunder or carry off the inhabitants. A single individual has been known
to take his bow and quiver and proceed in like manner. Such an attempt
is doubtless in him an act of rashness; but when it is considered that in
one of these predatory wars he has probably been deprived of his child or
his nearest relation, his situation will rather call for pity than
censure. The poor sufferer, urged on by the feelings of domestic or
paternal attachment and the ardour of revenge, conceals himself among the
bushes until some young or unarmed person passes by. He then,
tiger-like, springs upon his prey, drags his victim into the thicket, and
in the night carries him off as a slave.
When a negro has, by means like these, once fallen into the hands of his
enemies, he is either retained as the slave of his conqueror, or bartered
into a distant kingdom; for an African, when he has once subdued his
enemy, will seldom give him an opportunity of lifting up his hand against
him at a future period. A conqueror commonly disposes of his captives
according to the rank which they held in their native kingdom. Such of
the domestic slaves as appear to be of a mild disposition, and
particularly the young women, are retained as his own slaves. Others
that display marks of discontent are disposed of in a distant country;
and such of the freemen or slaves as have taken an active part in the war
are either sold to the slatees or put to death. War, therefore, is
certainly the most general and most productive source of slavery, and the
desolations of war often (but not always) produce the second cause of
slavery, _famine_; in which case a freeman becomes a slave to avoid a
greater calamity.
Perhaps, by a philosophic and reflecting mind, death itself would
scarcely be considered as a greater calamity than slavery; but the poor
negro, when fainting with hunger, thinks like Esau of old, “Behold, I am
at the point to die, and what profit shall this birthright do to me?”
There are many instances of freemen voluntarily surrendering up their
liberty to save their lives. During a great scarcity, which lasted for
three years, in the countries of the Gambia, great numbers of people
became slaves in this manner. Dr. Laidley assured me that at that time
many freemen came and begged, with great earnestness, _to be put upon his
slave-chain_, to save them from perishing of hunger. Large families are
very often exposed to absolute want; and as the parents have almost
unlimited authority over their children, it frequently happens, in all
parts of Africa, that some of the latter are sold to purchase provisions
for the rest of the family. When I was at Jarra, Daman Jumma pointed out
to me three young slaves whom he had purchased in this manner. I have
already related another instance which I saw at Wonda; and I was informed
that in Fooladoo, at that time, it was a very common practice.
The third cause of slavery is _insolvency_. Of all the offences (if
insolvency may be so called) to which the laws of Africa have affixed the
punishment of slavery, this is the most common. A negro trader commonly
contracts debts on some mercantile speculation, either from his
neighbours, to purchase such articles as will sell to advantage in a
distant market, or from the European traders on the coast—payment to be
made in a given time. In both cases the situation of the adventurer is
exactly the same. If he succeeds, he may secure an independency: if he
is unsuccessful, his person and services are at the disposal of another;
for in Africa, not only the effects of the insolvent, but even the
insolvent himself, is sold to satisfy the lawful demands of his
creditors. {109}
The fourth cause above enumerated is, _the commission of crimes on which
the laws of the country affix slavery as a punishment_. In Africa the
only offences of this class are murder, adultery, and witchcraft, and I
am happy to say that they did not appear to me to be common. In cases of
murder, I was informed that the nearest relation of the deceased had it
in his power, after conviction, either to kill the offender with his own
hand or sell him into slavery. When adultery occurs, it is generally
left to the option of the person injured either to sell the culprit or
accept such a ransom for him as he may think equivalent to the injury he
has sustained. By witchcraft is meant pretended magic, by which the
lives or healths of persons are affected; in other words, it is the
administering of poison. No trial for this offence, however, came under
my observation while I was in Africa, and I therefore suppose that the
crime and its punishment occur but very seldom.
When a freeman has become a slave by any one of the causes before
mentioned, he generally continues so for life, and his children (if they
are born of an enslaved mother) are brought up in the same state of
servitude. There are, however, a few instances of slaves obtaining their
freedom, and sometimes even with the consent of their masters, as by
performing some singular piece of service, or by going to battle and
bringing home two slaves as a ransom; but the common way of regaining
freedom is by escape, and when slaves have once set their minds on
running away they often succeed. Some of them will wait for years before
an opportunity presents itself, and during that period show no signs of
discontent. In general, it may be remarked that slaves who come from a
hilly country and have been much accustomed to hunting and travel, are
more apt to attempt to make their escape than such as are born in a flat
country and have been employed in cultivating the land.
Such are the general outlines of that system of slavery which prevails in
Africa, and it is evident, from its nature and extent, that it is a
system of no modern date. It probably had its origin in the remote ages
of antiquity, before the Mohammedans explored a path across the desert.
How far it is maintained and supported by the slave traffic which for two
hundred years the nations of Europe have carried on with the natives of
the coast, it is neither within my province nor in my power to explain.
If my sentiments should be required concerning the effect which a
discontinuance of that commerce would produce on the manners of the
natives, I should have no hesitation in observing that, in the present
unenlightened state of their minds, my opinion is, the effect would
neither be so extensive nor beneficial as many wise and worthy persons
fondly expect.