session 14 (reading)

Question 1

In general, slavery is most common in societies where:
A. Land is scarce
B. Human labour is scarce and in demand
C. Everyone is equal
D. There is no trade

Answer 1

B

Question 2

In the Roman Empire, many slaves came from which European group (the word “slave” derives from them)?
A. Franks
B. Slavs
C. Iberians
D. Italians

Answer 2

B

Question 3

After c. 800 CE, which religion’s expansion greatly increased demand for African slaves?
A. Buddhism
B. Hinduism
C. Islam
D. Christianity

Answer 3

C

Question 4

What term did Arab sources use for East African slaves?
A. Ghawar
B. Zanj
C. Fula
D. Amazigh

Answer 4

B

Question 5

The zanj revolt (869–883) took place in:
A. West African savanna
B. Southern Iraq, near the Persian Gulf
C. Egypt’s Nile Delta
D. Madagascar

Answer 5

B

Question 6

According to Miers and Kopytoff, African slavery should be seen as:
A. Completely identical to New World plantation slavery
B. Totally unrelated to kinship
C. One part of a continuum from kinship relations to treating people as chattels
D. A temporary European import

Answer 6

C

Question 7

In some African regions, what proportion of the population could be slaves (e.g. Sokoto or Western Sudan under French estimates)?
A. 1–5%
B. 10%
C. 30–50%
D. Nearly 100%

Answer 7

C

Question 8

In the Dutch Cape Colony by the late 18th century:
A. There were no slaves.
B. Slaves outnumbered free colonists.
C. All slaves were European.
D. The Khoikhoi provided all the labour.

Answer 8

B

Question 9

Which method of becoming enslaved is not mentioned in the reading?
A. War capture
B. Kidnapping
C. Voluntary sale to escape famine
D. Joining a religious order

Answer 9

D

Question 10

After the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade in the 19th century, slavery within Africa:
A. Disappeared quickly.
B. Decreased slowly.
C. Actually increased and spread inland.
D. Was replaced entirely by wage labour.

Answer 10

C

Question 11

o the ancients like Aristotle, slavery was a normal and __________ institution requiring no justification.

Answer 11

indispensable / acceptable

Question 12

The trans-Saharan trade supplied slaves from the bilad al-sudan, literally the “land of the ________

Answer 12

blacks

Question 13

East African and Horn of Africa slaves (zanj) worked in places like the salt mines of southern ________

Answer 13

Iraq

Question 14

In Cape Town, the Dutch East India Company imported slaves from Madagascar, India, and __________

Answer 14

Indonesia

Question 15

Portuguese prazos on the Zambezi were large landed estates worked mainly by female slaves and guarded by slave soldiers called ________

Answer 15

achikunda

Question 16

Armed slave soldiers loyal only to the king formed the core of royal armies in states like Asante, Dahomey, and ________

Answer 16

Benin (other kingdoms possible, but use one)

Question 17

Kidnapping for slavery created a sense of domestic ________ within many African states

Answer 17

insecurity

Question 18

In many African societies, women performed about –% of agricultural labour.

Answer 18

60-70

Question 19

Because female slaves were valued for both work and sexuality, their price could be ________ that of male slaves of similar age

Answer 19

twice

Question 20

The Igbo saying “Those who have people are wealthier than those with ________” shows the value of slaves as social wealth

Answer 20

money

Question 21

How did Islamic justifications support enslavement of sub-Saharan Africans?

Answer 21

Muslims considered non-Muslim Africans “unbelievers” (kafirin); enslaving them was seen as acceptable because they did not worship the one God of Islam

Question 22

In what ways could slavery in Africa be relatively “benign” compared to New World plantation slavery?

Answer 22

Some slaves could marry, own or inherit property, be integrated into families, gain status, and even obtain freedom for themselves or descendants—though it was still slavery

Question 23

Why did many African rulers rely on slave soldiers instead of nobles for their armies?

Answer 23

Noble clans were often unreliable; slave soldiers depended on the king for support and had no rival loyalties, so they were considered more trustworthy

Question 24

What were common brutal punishments used to control slaves?

Answer 24

Flogging, dismemberment, castration, ritual sacrifice, and execution as public spectacle

Question 25

Why was the threat of resale a powerful psychological tool of control?

Answer 25

Slaves feared being sold into much harsher conditions (e.g. ritual sacrifice, distant mines), so the possibility of being sold kept many obedien

Question 26

Why were eunuchs extremely valuable in many empires?

Answer 26

They could not have heirs, were disconnected from kin networks, and often served closely as loyal political advisers and officials to rulers

Question 27

What role did Eurafrican women (like Bibiana Vaz or Betsy Heard) play in the slave trade?

Answer 27

They acted as powerful merchants and intermediaries, owning slaves, managing trading posts, and linking European traders with African elites

Question 28

Why did internal African slavery intensify after Atlantic abolition?

Answer 28

With overseas markets closing, raiding for slaves now fed internal demand; owners kept more slaves inside Africa for labour and status, increasing their numbers and leading to rebellions

Question 29

Long-distance trade route moving enslaved people from the Western Sudan and Chad Basin across the Sahara to North African and Mediterranean markets

Answer 29

Trans-Saharan slave trade

Question 30

Arabic term for black Africans from East Africa and the Swahili Coast who were enslaved and taken to the Middle East and beyond

Answer 30

Zanj

Question 31

A slave raid—armed attack on communities with the main goal of capturing people for enslavement

Answer 31

Razzia

Question 32

A form of temporary slavery where a person (often a young girl) was given as security for a debt; she might be recovered if the debt was repaid

Answer 32

Pawning

Question 33

Slave soldiers on Portuguese prazos along the Zambezi who defended estates and enjoyed status higher than many free farmers

Answer 33

Achikunda

Question 34

A castrated male slave used mainly as trusted political adviser and court official; highly valued but created through a dangerous operation with high mortality

Answer 34

Eunuch

Question 35

Continuum of dependency

Answer 35

Idea that relations in Africa ranged from kinship and adoption to full chattel slavery, with slavery being only one point on a spectrum of dependency