By the end of World War One, most of West Africa found themselves colonized by either France, Britain, Germany or Portugal, and one aspect of colonial rule was the abolition of slavery. The institution of indigenous slavery continues to influence social relations in West Africa today.
In this Chats in the Stacks book talk, Sandra Greene presents her new book, Slave Owners of West Africa (Indiana University Press, May, 2017), which explores the lives of three prominent West African slave owners during the age of abolition.
Greene is the Stephen ’59 and Madeline ’60 Anbinder Professor of African History in the Department of History at Cornell University. Her research interests have ranged from the study of gender and ethnic relations in West Africa to the role that religious beliefs, warfare, and the experience of slavery have played in the lives of individuals and communities in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Ghana.