The Ideology of Slavery in Africa

In this volume Lovejoy has collected original contributions that discuss the ideology of slavery in several regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Three basic ideologies are considered: one based on Islam, another based on kinship structures, and a third, an abolitionist ideology, based largely on Christianity. The authors show how ideology justified slavery, obscuring its role in the system of production, and the part coercion played in its maintenance. 'It gives cause to re-examine many past assumptions and should stimulate more sophisticated analyses in the future.' -- Canadian Journal of Development Studies