Trafficked into Slavery

This article takes up the evolving relationship between antislavery and human trafficking. In recent times, there has been renewed interest in issues such as people smuggling, forced labor, and, in particular, sexual servitude. These serious problems are regularly represented as a species of slavery, with trafficking being portrayed as a form of slave trading, but there has been relatively little discussion of how this connection is established, or how contemporary problems relate to the broader history of organized antislavery. Building upon the concept of an “Anti-Slavery Project,” the article embraces a macrohistorical perspective, which seeks to integrate contemporary discussion of trafficking within a larger historical complex. This starts with the nexus between antislavery, “white” slavery, and human trafficking and ultimately extends to the difficult relationship between trafficking, transit, and larger political agendas.