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Migrations | Privateering and captivity in the Mediterranean |
Sub-Saharan African slaves
Privateering in the Mediterranean went hand in hand with the slave trade from sub-Saharan Africa.
Black African captives – enslaved in the wake of local wars among rival tribes or organised kidnappings –
were brought in caravans to trading hubs on the shores of the southern Mediterranean. From here, they
were dispatched to Europe, the Mediterranean region and the Islamic world to be employed as military
personnel, domestic servants, agricultural workers or as crew members of privateering and other ships.
Unlike the American system, slavery in those areas often allowed for improvement in slaves’ conditions.
Many were accepted as respected members of the household, gained important military and political
positions or even, on occasion, ruled. In the Ottoman Empire, as elsewhere, most black slaves were freed in
the mid-19th century, as convictions that slavery should be abolished increasingly took hold.
Working Number: FR 041
Name:
Précis historique de la traite des noirs et de l'esclavage colonial
Holding Museum: National Library of France
Date:
1828
Materials:
-
Curator
Justification:
Men, women and even children were forcefully taken from their
homeland and marched all the way to the coasts of the Southern
Mediterranean. Inhumane treatment such as that depicted in this
image of black slaves in the French colonies was the norm.
Working Number: TN 083
Name:
Souk des Esclaves
Holding Museum: Institut supérieur d’Histoire contemporaine de la Tunisie
Date:
XXe siècle
Materials:
Papier
Curator
Justification:
After arriving on the Southern Mediterranean coast, slaves were taken
to the slave markets in a major trading hub, in this case Tunis. Most
were sold into domestic service, their price depending on their age,
gender, overall health and strength.
Working Number: TN 110
Name:
Holding Museum:
Date:
Materials:
Curator
Justification:
Lettre de l’Institut d’Afrique à Paris félicitant Ahmed Bey d’avoir interdit la
traite des Noirs
Archives nationales
1841
In a climate of far-reaching sentiments and appeals with regard to the
abolition of black slavery in the mid-19th century, the father of modern
reformed Tunisia, Ahmad Pasha Bey, was one of the enlightened
rulers to decree it as one of his fundamental social reforms.
Working Number: TN 111
Name:
Holding Museum:
Date:
Materials:
Curator
Justification:
Correspondance des résidents britanniques de Gibraltar félicitant Ahmed Bey
de la fermeture du marché des esclaves à Tunis
Archives nationales
1841
Ahmad Pasha Bey’s initiative to end the slave trade in Tunisia around
the mid-19th century gained much recognition beyond his country. In
this letter, the British residents of Gibraltar congratulate him on the
occasion of his closing of the local slave market in Tunis.
Working Number: TN 116
Name:
Esclaves noirs dans les champs
Holding Museum: Archives nationales
Date:
1800
Materials:
-
Curator
Justification:
The trans-Saharan caravan trade brought thousands of black African
slaves to the Regency of Tunis. Most of them were employed in
domestic service rather than for production purposes.
Working Number: TN 116
Name:
Esclaves noirs dans les champs
Holding Museum: Archives nationales
Date:
1800
Materials:
-
Curator
Justification:
Some black slaves employed in the Islamic world
led quite comfortable lives, being integrated into
the extended household of their owners. This
person in his fanciful dress was most probably
employed as a domestic servant in a well-to-do
household.