SLAVERY IN AFRICA by J. J. Bell

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Aug 12, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 31.

SLAVERY IN AFRICA.

By J. J. Bell

OVER fifty years ago Great Britain took a great step in advance, by abolishing slavery throughout her dominions. A little over half that number of years ago, the United States, under very different circumstances, it is true, followed in her wake. The closing years of the century witness a call upon these two nations, as well as others which are actuated by philanthropic motives, to exert their influence, and, if need be, their physical strength, to put an end to the traffic in human flesh still carried on in Africa—a traffic far more inhuman, far more degrading, than it ever was as practiced in England or America. Will they rise to the occasion?

That such a horrible traffic can exist at the present day appears almost incredible, and we might well question its reality, were it not that we have the testimony of reliable witnesses. Professor Henry Drummond, who recently visited the Dark Continent, has given us some account of the terrible character of the slave trade, and has quoted a number of other well-known travelers, including Stanley, in support of his statements. From these we learn that the mortality, during the slave march from the interior to the coast, amounts to fully fifty per cent., and the stories told of the horrible cruelties inflicted upon the poor creatures almost exceed belief. So terrible is the destruction of life, caused by the atrocities of the slave-drivers, that it is said truly that if a traveler lost the way from equatorial Africa to any of the towns on the coast, where slaves are sold, he could easily find it by the skeletons of the negroes with which the roads are strewed. Settlements have been completely depopulated, children torn from their parents, or parents taken from their children, the latter being knocked in the head or left to die, and deeds of cruelty perpetrated of so revolting a character as to call loudly for effective remedy. The number carried off or butchered on the way, during the past quarter century, reaches into the millions, and in a single month not long ago, according to Cardinal Lavigerie, no less than 45,000 were added to the number of those who appeal to us to deliver them from a condition worse than death itself. Stanley tells of five expeditions to one district, in which only 5,000 slaves were obtained at the expense of 33,000 lives! Including the value of the ivory secured, he places the net profit at from one to two per cent., a miserable return indeed for an investment involving such waste.

One of the worst features of this nefarious traffic is that it is on the increase. The English consul at Zanzibar writes to the Marquis of Salisbury, that it is growing under the protection of the French flag. The Germans, who are rapidly obtaining the supremacy on

the east coast of Africa, if they do not actually encourage it, certainly connive at it. The Archdeacon of Magila, in a recent article, based on his own personal observations resulting from a prolonged residence in the country, tells us how, up to five years ago, East Africa was gradually becoming civilized and Christianized under the administration of the Sultan of Zanzibar, directed and influenced by the English authorities. But evil times have come. Germany, which up to five years ago did not possess a single interest in East Africa, has, by a system of arrogant assumption on the part of her representatives there, obtained control of a large part of the coast, as well as of the interior. The British missions are being broken up, the industrious and peaceful occupations of the people interrupted, property destroyed, and a general feeling of disturbance and unrest engendered. All this is encouraging to the slave trade, which thrives on anarchy and confusion. The lethargy shown by England in the matter is unaccountable. Why she should stand listlessly by and see herself crowded out is remarkable in the light of her traditions, for she has always been ready to defend her rights as well as to show herself the friend of the oppressed.

What remedy, then, is to be applied to the horrible slave traffic carried on by the Arabs? Drummond advocates police, rather than military administration. The Archdeacon of Magila tells us it will be necessary to teach the natives a higher morality by Christian education, for the system of slavery is part of their very nature, and while they suffer such atrocities at the hands of the Arabs, they in turn are slave-holders, in will if not in deed. He sees a further remedy in introducing the appliances of civilization to such an extent as to make men too valuable to sell. Of course, to make any remedy effective, an end must be put legally to the status of slavery.

Philanthropists in England are moving in the matter. Meetings are being held and the question discussed. The church, the noble men and women of the country, are interested. The cause of humanity, the cause of Christianity, demands that the trade must and shall be put down.—J. J. Bell, in Interior.