Zanzibar Slave Market Auction
Zanzibar was one of the largest slave ports in the Indian Ocean slave trade, which was dominated by Arab slave traders. The slavers traded, bribed chiefs, pillaged and frequently kidnapped to meet the high demand for slaves. The slaves were brought to Zanzibar in dhows, where many as possible were packed in with no regard for comfort or safety, and many did not survive the journey. Upon reaching Zanzibar, the slaves were stripped completely naked, cleaned, had their bodies covered with coconut oil, and forced to wear gold and silver bracelets bearing the name of the slave trader. At that point, the slaves were forced to march nude in a line down the streets of Stone Town guarded by loyal slaves of the slavers carrying swords or spears until someone would show interest in the possession. Every year, about 40,000-50,000 slaves were taken to Zanzibar. Visitors to Zanzibar often mentioned the brutality which the Arab masters treated their African slaves, who were so cowed into submission that there was never a slave revolt attempted on Zanzibar. No artist credited, undated.
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Photo credit: © Science History Images / Alamy / Afripics
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Keywords: &, africa, arab, auction, black, bw, chattel, city, historic, historical, history, indian, industry, infamous, market, notorious, ocean, slave, slavery, stone, tanzania, town, trade, white, zanzibar, zanzibari
