The Arab Slave Traders Of North Africa

The Arab slave trade was the practice of slavery in the Arab world, mainly in Western Asia,North Africa, East Africa, and certain parts of Europe (such as Iberia and Sicily) during their period of domination by Arab leaders. The trade was focused on the slave markets of theMiddle East, North Africa and the Horn of Africa. People traded were not limited to a certain race, ethnicity, or religion, and included Arabs and Berbers, especially during the trade’s early days.

During the 8th and 9th centuries of the Fatimid Caliphate, most of the slaves were SlavicEastern Europeans (called Saqaliba). However, slaves were drawn from a wide variety of regions and included Mediterranean peoples, Persians, Turkic peoples, peoples from theCaucasus mountain regions (such as Georgia, Armenia and Circassia) and parts of Central Asia and Scandinavia, English, Dutch and Irish, Berbers from North Africa, and various other peoples of varied origins as well as those of African origins. Toward the 18th and 19th centuries, the flow of slaves from East Africa increased with the rise of the Oman sultanatewhich was based in Zanzibar. They came into direct trade conflict and competition withPortuguese and other Europeans along the Swahili coast.