Could it be possible that the reason why the Benin king imposed a ban on the exportation of slaves was because of the recalcitrant attitude of the Portuguese, that probably eventually started refusing to give in to Benin's terms when it comes to the price of slaves? This could be a possibility since before the ban Benin frequently increased the price of slaves & sometimes closed the market to purchase male slaves. Could another reason be that the Benin king needed manpower for warfare (since according to a 1650s account, the Benin king ruling in that era maintained this ban because he was using male slaves in his kingdom for his wars) & could another reason be that he felt there was not much benefit to be derived from trading slaves that was now maybe causing disputes between them & the Portuguese supposedly refusing to give in to their demands (since the Portuguese were not bringing them things (apart from manillas - which Benin also got from selling ivory & beads) that they did not already have) like beads, cloths etc.
Another very satisfying essay, and on a really important subject. Benin strikes me as an especially crucial example because we know there was a ban even if we don't know the specifics of the ideological drivers behind it.
I think there is a way to read the relationship between Dahomey and Oyo through this lens also, which is to say that the use of Dahomey as a kind of "Atlantic vassal" by Oyo, permitting it access to the Atlantic trade without directly controlling a trading port or (mostly) dealing directly with European traders might potentially be read as an awareness of the harms and dangers of the slave trade (despite the fact that Oyo was also engaged in systematic enslavement to its north).
Even more, I think it's possible to read accounts of hostile or aggressive reactions towards slave ships trying to raid or make deals away from the established Atlantic entrepots as a kind of "embodied, expressive anti-slavery"--not delivered as text or law, but delivered through action. We tend to conceptualize that as resistance, but in some cases, we're talking about very small polities that existed on the edges of larger states that clearly had their own working views of the status quo, and we might want to accord their hostility some kind of philosophical or ideological coherence rather than just describe it as reactive. I've sometimes thought the same about some of the groups of people and communities that cohered in the interior, south of the Middle Niger, who unmistakeably rejected Islam and opposed incorporation or tribute to some of the major empires of the Middle Niger (often by living in remote areas)--that looks quite a lot like marronage if you think about it.
The Kurukan Fuga undertaken by Sundiata Keita deserved a shout out, keep up the good work love what you are doing.
The destruction and rejection of the previously accepted sovereignty of Africa’s kingdoms was a sad turning point.
Could it be possible that the reason why the Benin king imposed a ban on the exportation of slaves was because of the recalcitrant attitude of the Portuguese, that probably eventually started refusing to give in to Benin's terms when it comes to the price of slaves? This could be a possibility since before the ban Benin frequently increased the price of slaves & sometimes closed the market to purchase male slaves. Could another reason be that the Benin king needed manpower for warfare (since according to a 1650s account, the Benin king ruling in that era maintained this ban because he was using male slaves in his kingdom for his wars) & could another reason be that he felt there was not much benefit to be derived from trading slaves that was now maybe causing disputes between them & the Portuguese supposedly refusing to give in to their demands (since the Portuguese were not bringing them things (apart from manillas - which Benin also got from selling ivory & beads) that they did not already have) like beads, cloths etc.
Another very satisfying essay, and on a really important subject. Benin strikes me as an especially crucial example because we know there was a ban even if we don't know the specifics of the ideological drivers behind it.
I think there is a way to read the relationship between Dahomey and Oyo through this lens also, which is to say that the use of Dahomey as a kind of "Atlantic vassal" by Oyo, permitting it access to the Atlantic trade without directly controlling a trading port or (mostly) dealing directly with European traders might potentially be read as an awareness of the harms and dangers of the slave trade (despite the fact that Oyo was also engaged in systematic enslavement to its north).
Even more, I think it's possible to read accounts of hostile or aggressive reactions towards slave ships trying to raid or make deals away from the established Atlantic entrepots as a kind of "embodied, expressive anti-slavery"--not delivered as text or law, but delivered through action. We tend to conceptualize that as resistance, but in some cases, we're talking about very small polities that existed on the edges of larger states that clearly had their own working views of the status quo, and we might want to accord their hostility some kind of philosophical or ideological coherence rather than just describe it as reactive. I've sometimes thought the same about some of the groups of people and communities that cohered in the interior, south of the Middle Niger, who unmistakeably rejected Islam and opposed incorporation or tribute to some of the major empires of the Middle Niger (often by living in remote areas)--that looks quite a lot like marronage if you think about it.
Wow this need to be shared, much thanks Issac.