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Captive Passage
has been made
possible in part by:
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A Slave Offered in the Market
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As in other parts of the world, the balance of power between groups and political states in Africa was constantly changing. The transatlantic slave trade permanently changed many political relationships on the continent, though its effects varied over time and from one region to another.
The state of Dahomey was taken over in the early 1700s by a series of despotic rulers whose control of firearms enabled them to become actively involved in the slave trade. After a successful drive toward the coast, they captured the towns of Allada and Ouida, giving Dahomey its first direct contact with European slave dealers. The Dahomean armies began systematic annual slave raids, and the sale of slaves at Ouida continued as a firm government monopoly. As a result, Dahomean government revenue came to depend on the slave trade as a primary economic enterprise.
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