Pawnship, Slavery, and Colonialism in Africa

Download or read book Pawnship, Slavery, and Colonialism in Africa written by Paul E. Lovejoy and published by Trenton, NJ : Africa World Press. This book was released on 2003 with total page 502 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Exploring the age-old institution of African debt bondage, in which people are held as collateral in lieu of debts that have been incurred, these twenty essays look at the various effects of this practice on such issues as kinship, gender and the international slave trade. Continuing well into the 1930s because of the economic demands enforced by European colonial rule, pawnship and slavery in the event of default on a loan has had a particularly detrimental effect on women and children, demonstrating the links between credit, servility and gender in large parts of Africa.