[barry-cotter]

Bullshit. The Trans-Saharan and East African/Indian Ocean slave trade pre-dated and post dated the Atlantic one. Slaves, gold and ivory were the only trade goods Africa had that were worth trading across those distances and the slave trade was an African invention. Slavery has been completely normal for the vast majority of human history.

This is not to say that the Atlantic slave trade wasn't incredibly destructive, unusually pervasive and far reaching, but the idea that the fault was entirely with the West is a ridiculous denial of the agency of every African individual and political unit that took part in it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Saharan_trade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arab_slave_trade https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Africa

[afarrell]

> Slaves, gold and ivory were the only trade goods Africa had

Is this bit true? I thought they also traded wood to the Arabian peninsula for instance. Granted, my knowledge here is coming from an episode of CrashCourse[1] and my knowledge of pre-colonial Africa is woeful.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6XtBLDmPA0

[barry-cotter]

I was wrong. I was only familiar with West Africa. I stand by the statement in that context. That's why there was a Gold, Slave and Ivory Coast, all exonyms obviously.