david c tambo - the sokoto caliphate slave trade in the nineteenth century

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The Sokoto Caliphate Slave Trade in the Nineteenth CenturyAuthor(s): David C. TamboSource: The International Journal of African Historical Studies, Vol. 9, No. 2 (1976), pp. 187-217Published by: Boston University African Studies CenterStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/217564.

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THE SOKOTOCALIPHATESLAVE TRADE IN THENINETEENTH CENTURYDavid C. Tambo

Recent researchon the African slave tradesuggests that the SokotoCaliphate may have been a major source of exports during thenineteenthcentury.PhilipCurtin'swork on Atlanticcommerceshowsthat processes of expansion and consolidationwithin the caliphateduring he firsthalfof the centurycontributed o increasedquantitiesofcaptives, a number of which subsequentlywere tradedsouth to thecoast.1PaulLovejoysimilarlyhas contended that favorableexchangeratesforcowries n areasnearer he coastmayhaveprovidedanimpetusfor merchants o exportslaves south. He notes, however, hatmanyofthese probablywere absorbed nto other Africansocieties, and neverentered the Atlantictrade.2Adu Boahen's researchalso demonstratesthat the caliphatewas an important ourceof slavesenteringthe trans-Saharan rade.Some traveledthroughBornoto North Africa,but themain slave routefor much of the nineteenthcentury ed straightnorthfrom Kano to Tripoli, and most of those exported along that roadapparentlyamefrom areaswithinthe caliphate.3Additional studies have focused on quantitative problems, forexample the volume and value of the slave tradein the internal andexport sectors,butthey often couch theirconclusionsin relative erms.LucieColvin,for instance,has notedthe pervasivenessof slave labor nprecolonialWestAfrican ocieties, including hose of NorthernNigeria,andarguesthatdomestic use of slave recruits n the caliphate herefore

1PhilipD. Curtin, The AtlanticSlave Trade:A Census (Madison, 1969), 258-260.2Paul E. Lovejoy, "Interregional Monetary Flows in the Precolonial Trade of Nigeria,"Journal of AfricanHistory,XV, 4 (1974), 565, 573-578.3A. Adu Boahen, Britain, the Sahara, and the WesternSudan, 1788-1861 (London,1964), 127-128.TheInternationalJournalof AfricanHistoricalStudies,IX,2 (1976) 187

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188 DAVID C. TAMBO

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Ghat 'M_urzuk

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Agadaes t.-""

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II I

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Fig. 1. Majorslave traderoutesin the nineteenth century.



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THESOKOTO ALIPHATELAVETRADEINTHENINETEENTH ENTURY

must have exceeded exports.4E.A. Ayandeleconcurswiththis assess-ment, adding that the slaves exported generally were the leastproductive in economic terms, and hence the most expendable.Furthermore,he statesthatthe value of slaveexportsin such emiratesas Kanoand Sokotowas relativelysmall compared o that of productslike textiles, despite their reputationas "the most notorious slaveexporters."5The present study focuses on the economic aspectsof the caliphateslave trade, specificallyon problemsof pricestructureand commodityflow. By looking at the value of different types of slaves and theirpropensity o be exportedor retainedwithin the domesticeconomy, byexaminingpricedifferentialsbetween variousareas and their possiblecorrelation o direction and volume of tradeflow, and by seeking toassess the importanceof the slave trade n comparison o otheraspectsof commerce, I hope to test existing hypotheses on this importantsubject.The Structureof Slave Prices

In an Appendix o this articleI havelistedpricedataconcerning heinternalandexportsectors of the caliphate lave trade.The figureshavebeen extractedprimarilyromtravelers'accountsand aresusceptibletoseveral statisticalshortcomings.No long runs over succeeding yearsexist for pricesin any given area,and in some cases the qualityof thedatamay be somewhatsuspect. Travelersoften spent relatively ittletime in the placesaboutwhichtheywrote,andfrequently ailedto checkthe reliability rrepresentativenessf the informationmadeavailable othem. Occasionallysee nos. 9 and 19 in the Appendix)they reliedonsecond-handreportsgarneredrom fellow travelersorotherinformants.Figureswhich present-dayresearchershave obtained from interviews(see nos. 41-45 and47 in the appendix)suffer the same disadvantage.In addition,they usuallyareundatedand referonly to broad emporalspans, such as the late nineteenth century,which are difficultto useanalytically.Unless otherwisenoted, the statedfiguresarepricesforslavessold inmarketplaces,a highly visible aspect of the trade. Sheds of slaves

4LucieG. Colvin, "The Commerceof Hausaland1780-1833," n D. McCalland N.Bennett, eds., Aspects of WestAfiican Islam. Boston UniversityPapers on Afiica VolumeV(Boston, 1971), 114.5E.A.Ayandele,"Observations n Some Socialand EconomicAspectsof Slavery nPre-Colonial Northern Nigeria," Nigerian Journal of Economic and Social Studies, IX, 3(1967), 331.

189



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THESOKOTO ALIPHATELAVETRADEIN THENINETEENTH ENTURY

Silver dollars also served as currency in Hausa and perhaps other partsof the caliphate in the early nineteenth century, and their use extendednorth across the Sahara to the Barbary ports. Although some Mexicanand Spanish dollars were in circulation, the vast majority were MariaTheresa thalers, minted in Europe as early as 1780 and exported toAfrica. The dollar zone spreadsouth as far as Lagos and Whydah duringthe first half of the century, and apparently expanded into Borno andAdamawa at roughly the same time as cowries.8

Comparative analysis of slave prices necessitates the conversion offigures into common units when possible. Bracketed figures in theAppendix, therefore, represent dollar or cowrie equivalencies of thequoted price. By about 1820, an established exchange rate of 2000cowries (K) to the silver dollar was in effect from the caliphate to thecoast, and I have used this as the base rate. Since the period from around1820 to around 1845 was one of relative stability, with the exchange rateremaining constant, all converted prices falling within that time spanhave been computed at 2000K per dollar. In the latter 1840s cowries inthe caliphate suffered a 25 percent devaluation in relation to dollars, and2500K per dollar became the new rateof exchange. This figure has beenused in price conversion from approximately 1848 to the mid-1850s. Bythe late 1850s the value of cowries in comparison to silver dollars onceagain had dropped. At Zariain 1862 the rate was 4500K to the dollar, afigure which is reflected in the converted prices. Cowrie devaluation inthe caliphate reached its final level of 5000K per dollar by the mid-1860sand then remained stable. Converted prices have been figured at thisrate for the period from 1862 to the end of the century.9Slave values in the caliphate were assessed primarily according to sexand age distinctions. The number of age categories for each sex was notstandardized, but apparently varied with each emirate. At Katsina, forinstance, three major divisions existed for males and females in the1830s.

8Johnson, "Cowrie Currencies," 335-337; Kirk-Greene, "Major Currencies," 146-147; Colvin, "Commerce of Hausaland," 117; A.E Mockler-Ferryman, British WestAfrica: Its Rise and Progress(London, 1900), 375.9W.B.Baikie, "Notes of a Journey from Bida in Nupe to Kano in Haussa, Performedin 1862," Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, XXXVII (1867), 96; Roberta AnnDunbar, "Damagaram (Zinder, Niger), 1812-1906: The History of an Ancient SudanicKingdom" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Los Angeles,1970), 214-216; Paul E. Lovejoy, "The Hausa Kola Trade (1700-1900): A CommercialSystem in the Continental Exchange of West Africa" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation,University of Wisconsin, Madison, 1973), 202; Lovejoy, "Interregional MonetaryFlows," 573, 577-578, 584-585; Johnson, "Cowrie Currencies," 335-337.

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192 DAVID C. TAMBOTABLE

SlaveCategoriesatKatsina,1830sType Price Type Price(male) (dollars) (female) (dollars)Bearded male 5.0-7.5 Older woman 5.0-7.5Adolescent boy 15 Adolescent girl 25-30Youngmale child 22.5 Younggirl 17.5-20.0Source: E. Daumas and A. de Chancel, GrandDesert,204-205.

On the other hand, merchants in Kano in the 1850s divided malesinto five categories and females into six. The system of differentiationby that time had become so institutionalized that each classification wasdesignated by a special term. Interestingly, these terms were not Hausabut of Arabic derivation, which suggests a well-established NorthAfrican influence on the Kano slave trade. Similar distinctions existedelsewhere in the caliphate, as well as in North Africa and in Borno. AtKuka, the capital of Borno, seven divisions for males and four forfemales were used in the 1870s.

TABLESlave Categories at Kano, 1850s

Type Price Type Price(male) (dollars) (female) (dollars)Garzab:male with 4-6 Ajouza:old woman 4 and underbeard Shamalia:woman with 8 and under

breastshangingdownMorhag:male with 12 Dabukia:female with 32 and underbeardbeginning plumpbreastsSabaai: male 14 Farkhah: emale with 40 and under

withoutbeard smallbreastsSadasi:grown male 12 Sadasia:smaller girl 16 and underchildHhamsi:male child 8 Hhamasiah:female 12 and under

childSource: Richardson, Narrative, II, 202-203.



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THESOKOTO ALIPHATELAVETRADEINTHENINETEENTH ENTURYTABLE3

Slave Categories at Kuku, 1870sType Price Type Price(male) (dollars) (female) (dollars)Oldman 4-5 Old woman 6-10Strongadult 12-14 Middle-agedwoman 10-15Youngadult 15-18 Younggirlor woman 40-100Seven-span youth, 16-22

agedfifteen to twentySix-spanyouth, aged 20-25twelveto fifteenFive-spanyouth, aged 16-20 Five-span girl 20-25ten to thirteenBoyeunuch 50-80Source: Nachtigal, Sahara undSudan, I, 692.

The classificatory system outlined in Tables 1, 2, and 3 relied uponeasily discernible physical characteristics as the principal criteria. Statedprices were ideal, and provided a rough guideline for individualtransactions. The actual price at which a slave was sold tended to fallwithin the ideal price range, but varied according to supply and demandconditions as well as to the particularattributes of the person involved.However, not all slaves could be placed neatly into the existingclassifications. In those cases where a person's saleable qualities fit twocategories, the actual price also tended to be somewhere between thetwo ideal figures.Table 4 lists some selected prices for young females (adolescents andyoung adults) in the caliphate.10The average price for such slaves was25.8 dollars from 1826 to 1849. In the period between 1850 and 1896,however, it rose to 35.1, an increase of 36.0 percent. The average pricefor the whole century is 30.0 dollars, but this can be broken downfurther into figures for Hausa and non-Hausa areas. In Hausaland, theaverage paid for a young female was 32.3 dollars, but in non-Hausaregions of the caliphate the average was only 28.5 dollars.The figures in Table 5 indicate the much lower prices paid for youngmales. The average from about 1826 to 1849 was 13.9 dollars, or 54

l0To provide a wider sample, actual and ideal prices have been included in tables 4through 9.

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194 DAVID C. TAMBO

TABLE4Select Slave Prices in the Caliphate, Young Females

Price Mean by time periodPlace Date (dollars) (dollars)Sokotoa c. 1826-1827 15-25Rabbab c. 1830-1831 c.25Katsinac mid-1830s 25-30Rabbad 1841 30-60Eggae 1841 20Kanof c.1845 15-20 25.8 (1826-1849)Kanog c. 1850 32-40Zariah 1862 20Bidai 1862 30BauchiJ c.1866 15-30Katsinak late nineteenth up to 60

centuryKatsinal 1891-1900 20Zariam 1896 47-67 35.1 (1850-1896)Mean entire nineteenth century: 30.0a. Clapperton, Second Expedition,222.b. Lander and Lander, Niger Journal,193.c. Daumasandde Chancel,GrandDesert, 04-205.d. AllenandThomson,Narrative,, 401.e. Allen andThomson,Narrative,I, 101.f. Richardson, Report,"154-155.g. Richardson,Narrative,1,202-203.h. Baikie,"Notes,"95.i. Ibid.j. Rohlfs,QuerdurchAfiika, I, 158.k. Hill,"TwoTypesof HouseTrade," 11.1. M.E Smith, Baba ofKaro, 73.m. Robinson,Hausaland, 31.percent of the value of young females during the same period. Itincreased 38.8 percent in the second half of the century to 19.3 dollars.Still, this continued to represent only slightly over half (55 percent) ofthe average price for young females. 11

l Possible distortions n the individual igurescontained n tables4 and 5 cause theaverageprices o be subject o rather argedegreesof error.The 1896figures orZaria, nparticular,eem to be veryhigh.Iftheyareexcluded,the averageprice oryoungfemalesin the periodbetween 1850 and 1896 becomes 31.4 dollars,or a 21.7 percent ncreaseover the period rom 1826to 1849.Inthe case of youngmales theaveragebecomes 12.3dollars,or an 11.5percentdecrease n relation o the 1826-1846period.



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THE SOKOTO CALIPHATE SLAVE TRADE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

TABLE 5SelectSlavePrices nthe Caliphate,YoungMales

PricePlace Date (dollars)Sokotoa c. 1826-1827 5-10Zariab c.1827 7Rabbac c. 1830-1831 20Katsinad mid-1830s 15Rabbae 1841 15-25Kanof c.1850 12-14Sokotog 1853 13Bauchih c.1866 7-15Zariai 1896 40Mean entire nineteenthcentury: 16.3a. Clapperton, Second Expedition,222.b. Richard Lander in ibid., 305.c. Lander and Lander, NigerJournal,193.d. Daumas and de Chancel, GrandDesert,204-205.e. Allen and Thomson, Narrative,1, 401.

Meanbytimeperiod(dollars)

13.9 (1826-1849)

19.3 (1850-1896)f. Richardson, Narrative,II, 202-203.g. Barth, Travels, II, 132.h. Rohlfs, QuerdurchAfiika, II, 158.i. Robinson, Hausaland, 131.

Overthe entirecentury he average oryoungmales was 16.3dollars.Incontrastto the breakdownor youngfemales, however, t was lowerinHausaland 15.9 dollars)than in non-Hausaareas(17.0 dollars).As might be expected, prices for categories of older slaves weresubstantiallyless than for young adults. The sparse data availablesuggeststhatolder malesbroughtabout one-third(34 percent)of whatyoungmalesdid, while the value of older femaleswasonly aboutone-sixth (17 percent)that of youngfemales. Unlikeyoungadults,however,the pricedifferencebetween older males and older females wasalmostnegligible.

TABLE 6SelectSlavePrices n the Caliphate,OlderFemalesPlace Date Price(dollars)

Katsinaa mid-1830s 5.0-7.5Kanob c. 1850 4 andunderAverage: 5.1

a. Daumas and de Chancel, GrandDesert,204-205.b. Richardson, Narrative,II, 202-203.

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Theaverageage-specific rices or both sexes have been plottedon thegraphn Fig.2. A comparison f the two curves ndicates hat he value offemales increasedmuch more sharplybetween childhoodand adoles-cence, and decreasedmuchmoresharplybetweenyoungadulthoodandlater ife, than didthe value of males.If throughoutheir ives both sexeswere requiredprimarily or labor,the differentrates of increase anddecreasewould be hard to explain.The answer,however,maylie in anadditionalexually-orientedemand oryoungfemalesasconcubinesandchild-bearers.Within the caliphate,almost all persons sold were first-generation

slaves.12Generally,the first-generationmale slaves wererestricted oagriculturalwork. Some first-generationemale slaves also workedinthe fields, but others servedasthe householdservantsor concubinesoftheirmasters.UnderMuslimlaw free males could takeonly four wivesbut might have as many concubines as they could support. Theoffspringof such unions werefree members of the father'sfamily,withthe same rights of inheritanceand succession as childrenby legallyrecognizedwives. Concubinage herefore offeredan almost unlimitedmeans of increasing he numberof dependentsin a familyor descentline. In an areasuch as the caliphate,wherefamilysize andimportancewerekeyindices of political nfluence,this wasparticularlyignificant. 3Clearly,concubinesweredrawnalmostexclusivelyfromthe ranksofyoungfemaleslavesof child-bearing ge,14andthe demandwasfurtherincreasedby the preferenceof NorthAfricantraders or femalesof thesame age categories.These combinedfactorsseem to accountfor thesharprise in prices between childhoodand adolescence.Conversely,when females passed child-bearingage and were needed mainly tosatisfy a labor demand, their value dropped rapidlyand tended toapproach level close to that of oldermales, for whomthe demandwassimilar.

12Hill, Rural Hausa, 42; M.G. Smith, "Slavery and Emancipation in Two Societies,"Social and EconomicStudies, III (1954), 250-253, 266; M.G. Smith, Governmentn Zazzau,1800-1950 (London, 1960), 86; Irmgard Sellnow, "Die Stellung der Sklaven in derHausa-Gesellschaft," Akademie der Wissenschaifen, Berlin, Institutfier Orientforschung,Mitteilungen,X, 1 (1964), 91. Second-generation slaves usually were not sold unless theyproved to be extremely recalcitrant. In such cases they usually were not retained withinthe society but were exported, often south toward the coast.

13Hill, Rural Hausa, 42; Smith, Government n Zazzau, 83, 86; Smith, "Slavery andEmancipation," 250-258, 264-265; Sellnow, "Stellung der Sklaven," 89, 95. Offspring ofslave unions became second-generation slaves (in Hausa, dimajaior cucanawa). Childrenof male slaves and free females also would have been slaves, but widespread proscriptionsagainst such unions existed.14A few adolescent females approaching child-bearing age may have been purchasedto become concubines in the near future.



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TABLE 7Select Slave Prices in the Caliphate, Older MalesPlace Date Price (dollars)

Katsinaa mid-1830s 5.0-7.5Kanob c. 1850 4-6

Average: 5.6a. Daumas and de Chancel, GrandDesert,204-205.b. Richardson,Narrative,I,202-203.

Average prices for children, as shown in tables 8 and 9, also werelower than for young adults of the same sex. Female children wereworth 55 percent as much as young females, while male children'wereworth 80 percent as much as young males. Male children brought only80 percent of the value of female children, but the average pricedifference between the two sexes still was considerably less than thatbetween young adults.

TABLE8Select Slave Prices in the Caliphate, Female Children

Place Date Price (dollars)Katsinaa mid-1830s 17.5-20.0Kanob c.1850 12-16

Average: 16.4a. Daumas and de Chancel, GrandDesert,204-205.b. Richardson, Narrative,II, 202-203.

TABLE9Select Slave Prices in the Caliphate, Male Children

Place Date Price (dollars)Katsinaa mid-1830s 22.5Rabbab 1841 5-15Eggac 1841 10Kanod c.1850 8-12

Average: 13.1a. Daumas and de Chancel,GrandDisert, 204-205.b. Allen and Thomson, Narrative,I, 401.

c. Allen and Thomson, Narrative,II, 101.d. Richardson, Narrative, I, 202-203.

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EnslavementSlaves in the caliphatewere acquiredby various means, includingwars,kidnapping, alebyrelativesorsuperiors,sale to repaydebts, andpunishment for legal offenses. Although an estimate of the totalnumber of personsrecruited s impossible,we can drawsome tentativeconclusionsaboutthe relative mportanceof each method of enslave-ment. In the mid-nineteenth century S.W. Koelle, a linguist, inter-viewed people that membersof the BritishSquadronhad taken fromslave ships and resettled in Sierra Leone. Forty-four of his 210

informants amefromareaswithinthe caliphate. nthirty-sixcasestheymentionedthe manner n whichtheyhad beenenslaved.15Over80 percentwerecaptiveswhohadbeen kidnapped rtaken n wars.Non-captivemethods werefar ess important,none accountingormorethan about eight percent of the sample. Judicial enslavement inparticular layeda smallrole,producing nlyone person,anadulterer.6The data extrapolated rom Koelle's study appliesdirectly only tothose slaves who enteredthe Atlantictradeduringthe first half of thenineteenthcentury,and the degreeto whichthey arerepresentative fallpersonsrecruitedn Sokotothroughout he 1800sremainsuncertain.There is some indication,for instance, that as the centuryprogressedthe relativeimportanceof kidnappingncreasedwhile that of warfaredecreased, primarilybecause unsettledconditions led manygroupstomove to more inaccessible, easilydefendedlocations.17We knowthatall of Koelle's informantsfrom the caliphatewere male. Table 10,

15Sigismund Wilhelm Koelle, PolyglottaAfiicana: Or a Comparative VocabulalyofNearly Three Hundred Words and Phrases in More than One Hundred Distinct AfiicanLanguages (London, 1854), 1-21. The list also appears in Curtin, AtlanticSlave Trade,291-298. The relevant informants, as listed in Atlantic Slave Trade,are numbers 57, 59, 60,61(a and b), 62, 63, 64, 68, 69, 70(a, b, and c), 75, 76, 81(a and b), 82-89, 133(a and b),134(c and d), 137-139, 142, 144, 150, 155-159.16Table10 is an unweighted sample. See PE.H. Hair, "The Enslavement of Koelle'sInformants," Journal of Afiican History,VI, 2 (1965), 193-203, for an analysis of themodes of enslavement of all Koelle's informants. Hair's results show that.48 were takenin war (34 percent), 43 were kidnapped (30 percent), 10 were sold by relatives orsuperiors (7 percent), 10 were sold to repaydebts (7 percent), and 16 were sold followinga judicial process (11 percent). A total of 127 people became slaves through these means,or 89 percent of Hair's informants. The information Hair gives make it impossible to tellhow the other 11 percent of his sample were enslaved.17R.M. East, ed., "Labarin Asalin Bauchi," in Labarun Hausawa da Makwabtansu:Littafinafarko (Zaria, 1971), 47, 51; M.E Smith, Baba of Karo: A Womanof the MoslemHausa (London, 1954), 72.



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THESOKOTO ALIPHATE LAVETRADE IN THENINETEENTH ENTURY

TABLE 0Enslavement of Koelle's Informants

Mode Number PercentageWars 21 58.4Kidnapping 8 22.2Sold by relatives or superiors 3 8.3Sold to repaydebts 3 8.3Judicial processes 1 2.8

36 100.0

therefore, may illustrate the relative importance of the various ways ofenslaving males. Whether it is equally valid for females18 awaits furtherresearch.Redistribution

Slaves taken in warfare theoretically were apportioned in accordancewith Maliki law, one-fifth going to the leader of the state (the emir) andthe rest kept by individual warriors. In practice, however, emirs oftentook a much higher percentage, and additional slaves were given tohigh-ranking military personnel and other government officials. On theaverage, warriors probably retained only about one-half of all slavescaptured. On the other hand, kidnappers, who were engaged inextralegal activities, did not give up any of their slaves to the state.

Although a few captives were held for ransom, the vast majorityweresold at local markets.19 Near the point of capture prices were relatively

18Kidnappersseem to have taken mostly young females, no doubt because theybrought the highest prices at the market. Quite possibly, then, kidnapping accounted for ahigher percentage of women enslaved than it did men. See East, "Labarin AsalinBauchi," 47, 51; Barth, Travels,I, 529; M.E Smith, Baba of Karo, 72."9M.G.Smith, "A Hausa Kingdom: Maradi under Dan Baskore, 1854-75," in DaryllForde and PM. Kaberry, eds., WestAfrican Kingdoms (London, 1967), 113-114; M.G.Smith, The Economyof lausa Communitiesof Zaria: A Reportto the ColonialSocial ScienceResearch Council (London, 1955), 81, 102, 106; Parfait Louis Monteil, De Saint-Louis iTripoli at Ielac Tchad;voyageau traversdu Soudan et du Sahara, accomplipendant es annees1890-91-92 (Paris, 1895), 288-289; James Richardson, Narrativeof a Mission to CentralAfrica, Performed n the Years1850-51 (2 vols., London, 1853), II, 270-271; M.E Smith,Baba of Karo, 69, 73; Barth, Travels,I, 529; M.G. Smith, Governmentn Zazzau, 82. Theadvantage of holding captives for ransom lay in the amount that could be obtained forprominent persons, which was several times their market price as slaves. Baba of Karo,73, tells of a woman who was sold for 100,000K, and subsequently ransomed for400,000K.

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200 DAVIDC.TAMBO

low since the risk of escape was great, but as captives were transportedfarther from their homeland their value increased. Consequently, manydid not reach their final destination until they had traveled hundreds ofmiles and changed hands several times. 20

Non-captive types of enslavement generally were restricted to variousnon-Islamic groups of people, many of whom were politically subordi-nate to the nearest emirate. The largest share of non-captives apparentlywas traded away, but some were delivered to the respective emirategovernments as tribute payment.21 A portion of these were retained,and the rest forwarded to Sokoto.22Internal Flow

During the first half of the nineteenth century the consolidation ofcaliphate authority dissolved many preexisting political boundaries; as aresult, merchants could travel more freely to expand their range ofoperations.23 An enlarged network of trade routes linked the emirates,thus facilitating the regular flow of slaves from one area of the caliphateto another. Although a certain number of slaves no doubt weretransported along virtually every route in either direction, in generaltrade flowed from the emirates on the periphery of the caliphate to thecentral polities in Hausaland.Adamawa and to a lesser extent Bauchi and Gombe were the majorsources of slaves shipped to the Hausa emirates. What categories of

20M.G. Smith, "Historical and Cultural Conditions of Political Corruption among theHausa," ComparativeStudies in Society and History, VI (1963-1964), 185; E.J. Arnett,Gazetteerof'Zaria Province(London, 1920), 16; A.H.M. Kirk-Greene, AdamawaPast andPresent (London, 1958), 102; Alhaji Hassan and Mallan Shu'aibu Na'ibi, A ChronicleofAbuja(Ibadan, 1952), 79; R.M. East, Storiesof Old Adamawa (Lagos and London, 1934),21, 115; C.H. Robinson, "The Slave Trade in the West African Hinterland,"ContemporatyReview,LXXIII (May, 1898), 700; Mockler-Ferryman, British WestAfiica,370.

21H. Clapperton, Journalof'a Second Expedition nto the Interiorof'Africa iom the Bightof Benin to Soccatoo (1829, reprinted London, 1960), 215-216; Rohlfs, QuerdurchAfiika,II, 249; C.H. Robinson, Hausaland, or Fifteen Hundred Miles throughthe Central Sudan(London, 1899), 105. Tribute was not levied in slaves alone. Robinson, H-ausaland,105,reports that Adamawa in the early 1890s paid an annual tribute of two thousand slaves toSokoto, while Bauchi sent five hundred. Katsina's annual assessment was a hundredslaves, in addition to an undetermined amount of cowries and horses, and Kano's wasfifteen thousand gowns (tobes), ten thousand turbans, one hundred horses, and othermiscellaneous goods.22See informants 83, 147, and 154 in Koelle, Polyglotta, 11, 19-20.23Samuel Adjai Crowther, Journal of an Expeditionup the Niger and Tshadda Rivers:Undertakenby MacgregorLaird in Connection with the British Government n 1854 (1855,reprintedLondon, 1970); Lovejoy, "InterregionalMonetaryFlows," 571-572.



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THESOKOTO ALIPHATE LAVETRADEIN THENINETEENTH ENTURY

slaves most frequently were transported is unclear, but young femalesprobably brought the highest rate of return.24 The mid-nineteenth-century figures of the German explorer Heinrich Barth give some ideaof the degree of markup between Adamawa and Kano. According toBarth, at Yola, the capital of Adamawa, a slave was priced at four cloths(turkedi). Such cloths cost 1800 to 2000K each in Kano, or a total of7200 to 8000K.25 Once in Kano, however, the slave might bring 25,000to 30,000K if a good male, and 80,000K if a good female.26 Thus, grossprofits on the round tripcould exceed 1000 percent.27

Nupe also supplied Hausaland with slaves, but for the most part thiswas a specialized trade in persons skilled in weaving and other crafts.28A parallel trade in non-skilled slaves was small, mainly because prices inNupe tended to be higher than in Hausaland.29Imports

Slaves imported from outside the caliphate also flowed toward theHausa emirates. One major area of supply by the mid-nineteenthcentury was the lower Benue River region, where merchants, mainlyfrom Kano, Katsina, and Bauchi, traded iron for slaves with the Tiv,

24R.A. Adeleye, Power and Diplomacy in Northern Nigeria, 1804-1906: The SokotoCaliphateand its Enemies(London, 1971), 33, 91; Hugh Anthony Stephens Johnston, TheFulani Empireof Sokoto (London, 1967), 161; Lacroix, "Mat6riaux," 34; Hans JoachimDominik, Kamerun:Sechs Kriegsund Friedens-jahren deutschenTropen Berlin, 1901), 76;E.W.Bovill, TheGoldenTradeof the Moors (London, 1958), 235; Siegfried Passarge, "TheGerman Expedition to Adamawa," Geographical Journal, V (1895), 53; SiegfriedPassarge, Adamaua: Bericht liber die Expeditiondes Deutschen Kamerun-Komitees in denJahren 1893-94 (Berlin, 1895), 261-262; C.WJ. Orr, The Making of Northern Nigeria(London, 1911), 58-59, 107; PaulStaudinger, Im Herzen der Haussalander (Berlin, 1889),572; Heinz Solken, "Afrikanische Dokumente zur Frage der Entstehug derHausanischen Diaspora in Oberguinea," Aftikanische Studien, XLII (1939), 104. See A.Neil Skinner, "The Men of Sokoto," Hausa Talesand Traditions:An English Translation f'Tatsuniyoyi a Hausa'; OriginallyCompiled by FrankEdgar (London, 1969), 102-104, forspecific mention of Sokoto merchants going to Adamawa to buy female slaves whosubsequently were to become concubines or farm laborers depending upon theirappearance.

25Barth,Travels,II, 190.26Richardson, Narrative,II, 204.27No information on costs exists, so calculating net profits is impossible.28H.S.Goldsmith, "Nupe History," in J.A. Burdon, comp., Historical Notes on CertainEmiratesand Tribes n NorthernNigeria(London, 1909), 55; Adeleye, Powerand Diplomacy,335; Clapperton, Second Expedition,54, 112-113.29See tables 4 and 5.

201



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L) L)

CC)

otO

r-4

r--4 r-4)0Ca

aa(-

LnC('ILO)r-4

Ir-4

I1-0

Dollars

I



18/32

THE SOKOTO CALIPHATE SLAVE TRADE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

Idoma, and Jukun.30 The area just north of Hausaland was anotherimportant source. Zinder, for example, appears to have exported mostof its slaves south to Kano rather than north across the Sahara.31Although average slave prices were roughly the same at both points,persons captured near Zinder actually were worth more in Kano sincethey were farther from their homes.In the latter half of the century, merchants began to import slavesfrom areas east of the caliphate. Those traveling to Bagirmi carriedcowries, which around 1851 and 1852 they exchanged at the rate of3000 larger shells (keme-keme) for older male children or sedasi, and2000 for younger slaves, called khomasi.32 In Kano sedasi brought asmuch as 30,000K, or 1000 percent of the Bagirmi price.33Other slavescame from areas such as Wadai. On the Wadai-to-Kano segment of thejourney, merchants needed all their slaves as porters. The goods carriedon the return trip were less bulky, however, and fewer porters wererequired. Although prices were lower at Kano than in Wadai, some ofthe slaves were sold, since losses taken from the sale were not as greatascosts for upkeep during the return.34Exports

Southbound exports from the caliphate either entered the Atlantictrade or were absorbed by local African societies. Lack of quantitativedata makes it impossible to estimate where most slaves went during theearly part of the century, but by the 1850s the Atlantic trade from the

30W.B. Baikie, Narrative of an Exploring Voyage up the Rivers Kwo'ra and Bi'nue(CommonlyKnown as the Nigerand Tsadda)in 1854 (London, 1856), 114-115; Crowther,Journal of an Expedition 1854, 84, 128, 150; Kirk-Greene, "Major Currencies," 144;Barth, Travels,I, 621. The iron the merchants carried apparently was manufactured inHausaland. Along the Benue it served as currency, although whether it was a special-purpose or an all-purpose currency is not clear at this point. Iron in the shape of smallhoes circulated among the Idoma and Jukun, who called them akika, and among the Tiv,who termed them ibia. Kantai, iron objects pointed at each end and thicker in the middle,were another form of currency recognized from Jukun territory to Hamaruwa, fartherup-river. According to Barth, ibid., the average rate of exchange around 1851 was fortyakika per slave at Wukari, while according to Crowther, Journalof an Expedition1854, 128,each slave cost thirty-six akika or one hundred kantai.31Richardson, Narrative,II, 204, 273, 287.

32Barth, Travels,II, 511-512. Cowries were not recognized as currency in Bagirmi atthis time, but were highly valued for ornamental purposes.33Richardson, Narrative,II, 202-203.34John Arthur Works, "Pilgrims in a Strange Land: The Hausa Communities in

Chad, 1890-1970" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, Madison,1971), 93. No further information is given on the assortment of goods carried in eitherdirection.

203



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204 DAVIDC.TAMBObightsof Beninand Biafra learlywasin the midstof its finaldecline.35Conversely,the expansion of commerce in palm producein Yoruba,Ibo, and Efik (Old Calabar)areascreatedlabor-intensiveeconomieswhich reliedon increasednumbersof slaves.36An enlargeddomesticdemand,n those areasconsequentlymayhave morethanoffset the lossof caliphateexportsinto the Atlantictrade.Althoughthe priceof palmproductsdropped harplybetweenthe early1860s and 1880s, evidencesuggests that producerstended to increaseexports to maintaintheirincomes,37 hussustainingoreven increasinghe demand or slaves.Throughout he nineteenthcentury young malescomprisedthe vastmajorityof southboundexports.38Nearly every regionof the caliphateseems to have contributedto the trade. Slaves from AdamawaandBauchi were transportedprimarily o Old Calabar,Iboland, and theNiger Delta.39 Most of those from the Hausa emirates, however,traveledthe Kano-Zaria-Rabbaoute.From Rabba hey and additionalNupeslaveseithercontinued on to Yorubaland nd the coastalportsofBadagry,PortoNovo, and Lagos, or were shippeddown the Niger to

35Curtin, Atlantic Slave Trade,258, 269; A.J.H. Latham, Old Calaba,; 1600-1891: TheImpactof the InternationalEconomy upona Traditional ociety(London, 1973), 22. In someareas,such as OldCalabar,he exportof slaves came to an end as earlyas the 1840s.36A.G. Hopkins, An Economic History of WestAfrica (New York, 1973), 143. Theslaves wereneeded both to harvestpalmtreesand to carry he produce o the markets.37Ibid.,133-134;Latham, OldCalabar,151-152. Palm oil pricesdeclined from anaverageof ?37 perton between 1861 and 1865to ?20 per ton from 1886to 1890.Thefollowingfiguresaretakenfrom Latham,OldCalabat; 51-152.

Palm Produce Exports from Old CalabarOil KernelsYear (Tons) Year (Tons)1855 40901864 4500 1869 10001871 6000 1871 20001875 5085 1875 9471883 73651887 7000 1887 10,000

38H.Clapperton in Bovill, Missions to the Nigel; IV, 774; Richardson, Narrative,II, 202-203. According o Richardson,he males most commonly exportedsouth were morhag,those with beardsbeginning; abaai,those withoutbeards;and sadasi,grownchildren.39E.M.Chilver,"Nineteenth-CenturyTrade n the BamendaGrassfields,SouthernCameroons," Afiika und Ubersee,XLV,4 (1961), 239-240; M.Z. Njeuma, "The Rise andFallof FulaniRulein Adamawa,1809-1901" unpublishedPh.D.dissertation,Universityof London, 1969),304-305;Koelle, Polyglotta,nformants83-86, 150, 153, 158;Passarge,Adamaua, ppendix"Die Haupthandelswegeer Haussa."



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THESOKOTO ALIPHATELAVETRADEIN THENINETEENTH ENTURY

Iboland and delta ports such as Bonny and Brass.40 Sokoto exportsfollowed a different path. Government surpluses, accumulated mainlyfrom wars and tribute exactions, were taken to Jega, a politically neutralfrontier market some eighty miles to the southwest, where they weresold. Most of these subsequently were transported south to Yorubaland,but a limited number also were shipped southwest to Gonja andAshanti.41

Slaves exported north from the caliphate followed two main pathsacross the Sahara-the Kano-Ghat-Ghadames and the Bornu-Fezzan-Tripoli routes. In the first half of the nineteenth century Nupe, Bauchi,and Adamawa were the source of some exports to Borno, but anexamination of the origins of slave caravans suggests that the largestnumber came from the Hausa emirates, particularlyKano.42Apparentlyfew of the caliphate slaves were retained within Borno society. Insteadthey were taken to Kuka and sold primarilyto North African traders.43

Exports from Hausaland to Borno were mainly young females,together with a few young males. Data extrapolated from tables 4 and 5indicate that the average price for young females in Hausaland duringroughly the first half of the century was 21.7 dollars, compared to 33.3dollars in Borno. Based on these figures, average markup between thetwo points was 53 percent. Conversely, the average price for youngmales in Hausaland during the first half of the century was 9.8 dollars.This was only slightly less than the 10.0-dollar Borno price, whichprobably is why relatively few young males entered the trade.

40Samuel Crowther and John Christopher Taylor, TheGospelon the Banks of the Niger.Journaland Noticesof the NativeMissionariesaccompanying he NigerExpeditionof 1857-59(1859, reprinted London, 1968), 149; Great Britain, Foreign Office 541, Slave Trade-Class B Papers (1 April 1858 to 31 March 1859), enc. 1 in no. 8, Mr. Davies, medicalofficer attached to the Niger expedition, to Consul Campbell, 31 Jan. 1858, p. 12, PublicRecord Office, London; S.E Nadel, A Black Byzantium:The Kingdomof Nupe in Nigeria(London, 1942), 85-86; J.E Schon and Samuel Crowther, Journalsof the ... Expeditionupthe Niger in 1841 (1842, reprinted London, 1970), 231-233; Richard and John Lander,The NigerJournalof Richardand John Lander(London, 1965), 193; Allen and Thomson,Narrative,II, 118; Barth, Travels,I, 515; Colvin, "Commerce of Hausaland," 122-124.41E.W.Bovill, "Jega Market" Journalof theAfricanSociety,XXII (Oct., 1922), 57-58;M.G. Smith, "Exchange and Marketing among the Hausa," in Paul Bohannan andGeorge Dalton, eds., Marketsin Africa (Evanston, III., 1962), 304-305; Lovejoy, "HausaKola Trade," 48.42Dixon Denham, Hugh Clapperton, and Dr. Oudney, Narrative of Travels andDiscoveries in North and Central Africa, in the Years1822, 1823, 1824 (London, 1826),Clapperton, 45; Gustav Nachtigal, Sahara und Sudan: ErgebnissesechsjahrigerReisen inAfrika (3 vols., 1889, reprinted Graz, Austria, 1967), 1, 701; Oudney to Wilmot, 14 July1823, in Bovill, Missions to the Nige,; III, 568; Rohlfs, QuerDurchAfrika,I, 150-151, 344.43Oudneyto Wilmot, 14 July 1823, in Bovill, Missions to the Nigel;III, 568.

205



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206 DAVID C. TAMBO

TABLE 11Select Slave Prices in Borno, Young Females

Price Mean by time periodPlace Date (dollars) (dollars)Kukaa 1823 50Bornob c.1845 15-18 33.3 (1823-1845)Kukac c.1866 30-60Kukad 1872-1873 40-100 57.5 (1866-1873)Mean entire nineteenth century: 45.4a. Oudney in Bovill, Missions to the Niger; II, 568.b. Richardson,"Report,"154.c. Rohlfs, QuerdurchAf/ika, I, 344.d. Nachtigal, Sahara undSudan, I, 692.

TABLE 12Select Slave Prices in Borno, Young Males

Price Mean by time periodPlace Date (dollars) (dollars)Bornoa c.1845 10 10.0 (c.1845)Bornob c. 1851-1853 15Kukac c.1866 15-30Kukad c. 1872-1873 15-25 19.2 (c. 1851-1873)Mean entire nineteenth century: 16.9a. Richardson,"Report,"154.b. Kirk-Greene ndNewman, WestAfricanTravels,, 49.c. Rohlfs, QuerdurchAfirika, , 344.d. Nachtigal, Sahara undSudan, I, 692.

Evidence suggests that the volume of exports to North Africa by wayof Borno fluctuated sharply in the nineteenth century. Intermittentwarfare between the caliphate and Borno in the first three decades,revolutions in Tripoli between 1830 and 1842, and the increasingfrequency of raids on caravans traveling the Borno-Murzuk segment ofthe route after 1830 all tended to inhibit trade to varying degrees.44 Inrelatively peaceful times such as the early 1820s and latter 1840s,however, the magnitude of exports to Borno from the Hausa emirates

44Boahen,Britain, 07-108;Colvin,"Commerceof Hausaland," 26-127.



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THE SOKOTOCALIPHATE SLAVE TRADE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

alone probablywas on the order of 1000 slaves a year.45Continued raidsduring the 1850s rendered the Borno-Fezzan-Tripoli route increasinglyunsafe and caused many merchants to shift their operations to otherroutes across the Sahara. Consequently, the volume of northboundexports from Borno by the 1860s may have been only about one-third ofthat during the peak periods in the first half of the century.46The importance of the road leading from Kano through Ghat andGhadames and on to Tripoli or Tunis increased as the Borno-Fezzan-Tripoli route declined. Estimates from the early 1850s suggest that thevolume of exports carriedalong the Kano-Ghat-Ghadames route at thattime may have reached nearly 2500 slaves a year.47Although little morecan be said in quantitative terms, as early as the mid-nineteenth centurymost northbound slaves from the caliphate evidently were shippeddirectly to North Africa rather than to Borno.

The-majority of slaves exported north on the Kano-Ghat-Ghadamesroute also were young females, although some young males were sentthat way.48Table 13 indicates that the markup for good (young) femalesaround 1845 was on the order of 100-167 percent between Kano andGhat, and 250-433 percent between Kano and Tripoli. When computedin terms of distance, markup between Kano and Ghat was only 2.22-2.78 dollars per hundred miles, but 6.00-6.67 dollars per hundred mileson the Ghat-to-Tripoli segment of the route. As table 14 shows,however, transportcosts also were greatest between Ghat and Tripoli.49

Additional data on prices for northbound slaves around 1850 indicatethat the markup for males actually was higher than for females. BetweenKano and Murzuk, for instance, it was between 233 and 300 percent,

45Denham et al., Narrative,189; Richardson, Travels, II, 115. Richardson estimatedaround 1845 that about a thousand slaves a year were being exported from Soudan(Hausa) to Borno. Barth, Travels,II, 135, calculated around 1850 that a maximum of fivethousand slaves left Kano each year, with a greater number being carried to Borno andNupe than to North Africa via the Kano-Ghat route.46Rohlfs, Querdutch Afiika, I, 150-151; Boahen, Britain, 107-108; Nachtigal, SaharaundSudan, I, 133, claims that five thousand to eight thousand slaves had formerly passedthrough Fezzan each year, but by 1869 the trade had been cut to one-third this figure.47Barth, Travels, I, 135. Boahen, Britain,128, has estimated that the route handled anannual average of 4500 slaves during the nineteenth century. This is best viewed as acapacity estimate rather than a statistical average, however, and it is unclear which yearswere used to arrive at this figure.48KarlKumm, The Sudan: A Short Compendiumof Factsand Figuresabout the Land ofDarkness (London, 1907[?]), 126-127; G.E Lyon, A Narrativeof Travels n NorthernAfiicain the Years 1818, 19 and 20 (1821, reprinted London, 1966), 135; Denham et al.,Narrative, xvii; Clapperton, "Additional Documents,'" in Bovill, Missions to the Nigel; IV,774; Barth, Travels,I, 167.49Themain transport costs were food and customs duties.

207



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208 DAVID C.TAMBO

TABLE 3Price Markupbetween Kano and Tripoli, c. 1845, Good Females

Markup Markupper Markupbetween 100 miles fromPrice points betweenpoints KanoPlace (dollars) (dollars) (dollars) (percentage)Kano 15-20 - -Ghat 40 20-25 2.22-2.78 100-167Tripoli 70-80 30-40 6.00-6.67 250-433Source: Richardson, "Report," 154-155.

TABLE 4TransportCosts between Kano and Tripoli, c. 1845

Costs per 100 milesDistance between points between pointsPlace (miles) (dollars)KanoGhat 900 .89-1.11Tripoli 600 2.50-2.67Source: Richardson, "Report," 154-155.

TABLE 5Price Markupbetween Kano and Constantinople, c. 1850,Good Females

Markup Markupper Markupbetween 100 miles fromPrice points between points KanoPlace (dollars) (dollars) (dollars) (percentage)Kano 32 - - -Murzuk 85 53 4.82 167Tripoli 100 15 2.88 213Constantinople 130 30 2.50 306Source: Richardson, Narrative,II, 204.



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THE SOKOTOCALIPHATE SLAVE TRADE IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY

TABLE 16PriceMarkupbetweenKanoandConstantinople, . 1850,Good MalesMarkup Markup er Markupbetween 100miles fromPrice points betweenpoints KanoPlace (dollars) (dollars) (dollars) (percentage)

Kano 10-12 - -Murzuk 40 28-30 2.55-2.73 233-300Tripoli 60-65 20-25 3.87-4.81 400-550Constantinople0-100 25-40 2.08-3.33 650-900Source:Richardson,Narrative,I, 204.compared o only 167 percentfor females. Althoughone mightexpectthis to favorexportof males, it maybe thatcost factorsproduceda profitmarginwhichwassimilar ortrade n eithersex.50Conclusion

The dataon the caliphateslave tradearemuch more informativeonpricestructure han on volume. In the finalanalysis,little can be saidquantitatively boutthe magnitudeand value of the trade,eitherin theinternal or export sectors.51Many of the problems posed at thebeginningof the article, herefore,mustremainunsolved.However, heargumentthat the least economically productiveslaves tended to beexported clearlycannot be sustained. Young females comprisedthebulk of the northboundexportswhile southboundexportsweremainlyyoungmales.The leasteconomicallyproductiveage categories,childrenand olderadults,did not figuresignificantlynto the exporttradeduringany periodof the nineteenth century.

50For xample,a merchantmightpay32 dollars or a female slaveatKano,whomhesubsequentlycould sell at Murzuk or 85 dollars.If transport osts were 10 dollars,hisnet profitwouldbe 43 dollars.Alternatively, e mightbuytwo maleslavesat 10dollarseachand sell them for a totalof 80 dollars.Transport osts, beingroughly he same foreither sex, would amount to 20 dollars, leavinga net profitof 40 dollars. In such ahypothetical ase, profitmarginswouldthereforebe similar,although he markupmightbe greater or males.5'Barth,Travels,, 511-518,provides he onlycomparative stimateof value for thetrade nslavesandothergoods.Accordingo Barth, he valueof slaveexports rom Kanoaround1850averaged150 millionto 200 millioncowriesper year.Cottoncloth, at 300million K or more, was the most importantexport. Conversely,the most importantimportswerekola,whichwas valuedat 80 millionto 100millionK, saltat 50 millionto80 million K, and silk at 70 million K. All export and importvalues apparentlywerecalculatedat currentKano marketprices.

209



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APPENDIXPrice Schedule for Slaves in the Nineteenth CentPlace Date Typeof Slave

Murzuk52 c. 1818-1820 female from SoudanMurzuk53 c. 1818-1820 girl from MandaraBarbaryports54 c. 1818-1820 femaleKuka (Borno) 1823 female-good appearanceTripoli55 female-good appearanceKatunga(Oyo)56 1826 prime slaveSokoto57 c. 1826-1827 young male--13-20 years oldfemale-handsome

virgin- 14-15 yearsoldZegzeg (Zaria)58 c. 1827 male slaveRabba59 c. 1830-1831 strong, healthy lad

girlKatsina60 mid-1830s bearded maleolderwomanadolescentboyadolescentgirl,

varying according o beautyyoung male childyoung girl



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Rabba61 1841 young femalestrong,well-grownyoung manboycommon workingslaveEgga62 1841 womanyoung boyBorno63 c. 1845 young malefemale slaveKano64 c. 1845 femaleGhat65 c. 1845 slavegood female

52Lyon, Narrative,155.53 bid., 182.54Ibid.,121.55Oudneyto Wilmot, Kuka, 14 July 1823, in Bovill, Missions to theNiger,III, 568.56Clapperton,SecondExpedition,59.571bid.,222.58 bid., "Report of R. Lander,"305. Lander bought a male slave at Zariafor seven dollars.59Lander and Lander, Niger Journal, 193. The Landers noted that theprice of other men and women varied according to age and abilities.60E. Daumas and A. de Chancel, Le Grand Desert, ou Itineraired'uneCaravane du Sahara au Paysdes Negres (Royaumede Haoussa) (Paris, 1856),204-205. The dates for these figures are not given, but Paul Lovejoy,

"Hausa Kola Trade," 126,Tuareg, Chegguen, who w61Allen and Thomson,mented that a female slave

62Allen and Thomson,Egga slave dealer, althoughboys were seven or eight y63JamesRichardson, "Anti-SlaveryReporterand ARichardson gathered thisslightly higher in Soudan (of the women from that re64 bid.

65Ibid.



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PlaceTripoli66GhatTripoli67Ghat68Soudan (Hausa)Ghadames69Kano70

Datec. 1845c. 1845-1846c. 1845-1846c.1845-1846c. 1845-1846c. 1845-1846c. 1850

APPENDIX (Cont.)Type of Slaveslavegood femaleslaveslaveslavegood slavegood slavegarzab(male with beard)morhag(male with beardbeginning)sabaai (male without beard)sadasi (grownmale child)hhamsi(male child)ajouza(old woman)shamalia (woman with breasts

hanging down)dabukia(female with plump breasts



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farkhah (female with small breasts)

sadasia (smaller girl)hhamasiah(female child)

KanoZinderMurzukTripoliSmyrnaConstantinople71KanoZinderMurzukTripoliSmyrnar . ,- . I 7X

c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850c. 1850

good malegood malegood malegood malegood malegood malegood femalegood femalegood femalegood femalegood female

Constantinople' c. 1850 good female66Ibid., 155. Richardson notes that two-thirds of the slaves involved in 70Richardson, Narrative,the trans-Saharan trade were female. 10,OOOKluctuation within th67Richardson, Travels, I, 18. Kano prices was gathered at681bid.,41. Richardson comments on the extreme variation in prices 71Ibid.,204.which was caused by sharply fluctuating levels of supply and demand. 7 Ibid.69Ibid.,I, 254.



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APPENDIX(Cont.)Place Date Type of SlaveZinder73 c. 1850 old womanZinder74 c. 1850 old womanWukari(Jukun)75 c. 1851 slaveYola76 c. 1851 slaveNgaundere77 c. 1851 femaleBagirmi78 1851-1852 khomasi(young slave)sedasiBorno79 c. 1851-1853 boySokoto80 1853 ladof indifferent appearanceIdoma81 1854 ordinaryslaveHamaruwa o Wukari82 1854 averagemaleZaria 1862 young womanBida83 1862 young womanFezzan84 c. 1865-1866 young maleFezzan (Murzuk)85 c. 1865-1866 boy, 7-8 years oldKuka (Borno)86 c. 1866 young boy

young girlolder man or womansmall child

Egypt87 c. 1866 male or femaleBauchi88 c. 1866 slaveBorno89 c. 1866 girl or adult malesmallgirl



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Borno90 c. 1866 male, 20 years oldgirl, 12-13 yearsoldKuka (Borno)91 c. 1872-1873 old manold womanstrongadultmalemiddle-agedwomanyoung adultmale7-spanyouth, 15-20 yearsold6-spanboy, 12-15 yearsold5-spangirl, 10-13 yearsold5-spanboy, 10-13 yearsoldyoung girlor womanboyeunuch

3Ibid., 230.741bid.,258.75Barth,Travels,, 621.76bid.,II, 190.The turkedicloths)could be obtained n Kanofor 1800to 2000cowrieseach.77Ibid., 93.Barthnotesthatthe causeof thisprice orslaveswasa meatscarcityn Ngaundere.

78Ibid.,511-512.79A.H.M.Kirk-Greeneand PaulNewman, WestAfiican Travels ndAdventures: Two AutobiographicalNarrativesfroth Northern Nigeria (NewHavenandLondon,1971), 4, 49. TheboywasDorugu,soldto Overweg,acompanionof Barth.80Barth,Travels,II, 132. Barthcommentsthat the pricesactuallywerehigher hanmightbesupposed,giventhe largenumbersof slavesarrivingat Sokoto n the formof tribute.

81Baikie,ExploringVoyage,114-115.

82Ibid., 20. The sourcivory and slaves who wasSamuel Crowther, Journalindependentaccountof th83Baikie,"Notes," 95.market or 90,000cowriepriceat Bida.84Rohlfs, QuerdurchAf85Ibid.,173-174.86Ibid., 344.87Ibid.,348.88Ibid.,II, 158.89Ibid.,59.90Ibid.,60.91Nachtigal,Sahara und



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APPENDIXCont.)Place Date Typeof SlaveAbuja92 late nineteenth

century goodboyorgirlAshanti(Salaga)3 late nineteenthcentury good male

girl, 12-13 yearsoldboy,12-13yearsoldDamagaram(Zinder)4 late nineteenth

century slaveKatsina95 latenineteenthcentury comelyfemaleWadai96 late nineteenthcentury portersKeffi97 c. 1888 strongyoung ad

strong young girlKatsina98 c. 1890-1900 womanYola99 c. 1891-1892 slaveTafilet Morocco)100 c. 1893 younggirlboy



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Zaria10l c. 1896 slave sold in the marketslave sold privately

Zaria102 c. 1896 girl, 14 years old

young man, 18 yearsoldman, 30 yearsoldHausa103 c. 1914 young man

92Hassanand Na'ibi, Chronicleof Abuja,79.93M.J. Herskovits, "The Significanceof West Africa for NegroResearch," ournalf NegroHistory, XI(1936),20. Herskovits's ourceofinformationwas four old men whom he interviewedaround 1936 aboutevents in theirlifetimes.94PollyHill, Studies in Rural Capitalismin WestAfrica (London, 1970),

145.95Hill,"TwoTypesof HouseTrade,"311. Hill'sdata was drawn romoralinformationuppliedbya Hausa,AbubakarLabo,fromKaukai outhof KatsinaCity.96Works, Pilgrimsna StrangeLand,"93.

97Staudinger,Im Herzeupon 20,000cowriespers98M.ESmith, Baba of99Monteil, Saint-LouisI?W.B. Harris, TafiletAtlas Mountains and the O

297. Harris pecificallyme101Robinson, Hausalan102Ibid.,131.Robinso103John . Raphael,T263.