Arab slave trade facts for kids
The Arab slave trade was a practice where people were bought and sold as slaves in the Arab world. This happened mainly in places like Western Asia, North Africa, Southeast Africa, and the Horn of Africa. It also happened in parts of Europe, like Spain and Sicily. This trade started a long time ago, during the Muslim conquests, and continued until the 20th century.
Slaves were traded in markets across the Middle East, North Africa, and the Horn of Africa. Most of the people who became slaves came from inside Africa. Historians believe that between the year 650 AD and the 1960s, about 10 to 18 million people were enslaved by Arab traders. These people were taken from Europe, Asia, and Africa. They were moved across the Red Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Sahara desert.
A Long History
The trade of Zanj (Bantu) slaves by Arabs in Southeast Africa is one of the oldest slave trades. It began about 700 years before the European Atlantic slave trade. Male slaves were often used as servants, soldiers, or workers by their owners.
Slavery Today
Even though slavery has been made illegal in many places, it still happens in some parts of Africa. For example, in Mauritania, slavery was made illegal in 1980. However, some Muslim Berber people still own an estimated 90,000 African slaves. This is true even though African Mauritanians became Muslims over a hundred years ago. The Qur’an does not allow Muslims to enslave other Muslims.
Slaves in Mauritania are used for farm work, or as domestic servants. Children born to slaves remain the property of their masters. They can be bought, sold, or even traded for things like trucks, camels, or guns.
Slavery has also become active again in Sudan. The Muslim north has been fighting against Animists and Christians in the south. During these raids, most slaves are taken from tribes in the Nuba Mountains. Government-supported Arab groups often kill the men and enslave women and children. Those who are taken as slaves are forced to change to Islam. Those who refuse may be killed. The buying and selling of women and children in Western and Southern Africa goes against the 1948 UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
See also
In Spanish: Comercio árabe de esclavos para niños
