ASSESSMENT 1

Name: Nongcebo
Surname: Majola

Student Number: 53492498

HSY2602

Due Date: 04 March 2024

1
Table of contents

1. Cover page page – 1

2. Table of contents page – 2
3. Introduction page – 3
4. Forms of ‘’unfree” labour that existed in Africa. page 3-5
5. References page-5
6. Declaration page -6

2
‘’The transatlantic slave trade was built on existing forms of slavery.’’ Do you
agree? Mentions forms of ‘’unfree” labour that existed in Africa.

Yes, I agree that the transatlantic slave trade was founded on pre-existing forms of
slavery. The need for labour in the Americas, especially in plantation economies like
those in the Caribbean and the southern colonies of North America, made it possible
for Africans held in slavery to find profitable markets. The transatlantic slave trade
was made possible by the networks and infrastructure that already existed in Africa
as a result of pre-existing slave systems. Individuals could also be forced into slavery
as a form of punishment for crimes or as a way to settle debts. Conflict between
African states and the desire to gain resources or expand territory frequently resulted
in the capture of prisoners of war who were later sold or made into slaves by
European traders.

Before the transatlantic slave trade, there were many different types of forced labour.
For example, 1indentured servitude, which involves a person being forced to work for
a set amount of time in order to pay off debt or as a punishment for a crime, is similar
to involuntary servitude, in which a person is not free to choose their job or where
they live, or in which a person is forced to work against their will for a master.
(HSY2602 Study Guide, pages 119–125).

They were also employing debt bondage, which is another type of forced labour in
which people are sold into slavery because they are indebted—either because they
borrow commodities or money and are unable to pay it back, or because they inherit
debts from their forefathers.2 Individuals would be pawned as collateral for loans in
some African societies, effectively making the creditor their property until the debt
was paid back. This practice could lead to extended periods of servitude, ranging
from debt bondage to chattel slavery, and it shaped social structures and economic
systems throughout history. War-related captivity occurred during battles between
various African societies; captured people were frequently sold into slavery and
either integrated into the captor's tribe or sold to outside traders.
1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Africa
2
Study Guide for HSY2602, pp.119-177

3
People who were taken prisoner during battles or raids were frequently sold into
slavery and made into members of the society of their captors, working as labourers,
concubines, or soldiers.

Additionally,3 judicial punishment was applied. In certain societies, enslavement was

used as a form of punishment for crime or as a result of breaking social norms. This
includes a variety of coerced labour practices, such as government conscription,
forced labour for public works projects, and private employer exploitation, frequently
in the absence of pay or under threat of violence. Slave dealers from Europe took
advantage of these customs, escalating them by focusing on susceptible groups and
creating networks to enable the transatlantic movement of enslaved individuals.
The infrastructure and social networks that allowed the transatlantic slave trade to
function were key economic and social factors that contributed to the development of
the slave trade. African societies had developed networks and channels for long-
distance trade, which were tailored to make it easier to move slaves to the coast to
be sold to European traders.

Acceptance in Culture and Society In many African civilizations, slavery was already
well ingrained, and the practice was tolerated by social and cultural standards.
People may be forced into slavery in certain situations as a form of debt repayment
or as a kind of punishment for crimes. 4African kings and traders were able to
participate in the transatlantic slave trade because of this acceptance of slavery.
All things considered, the transatlantic slave trade profited from the institutions of
slavery that were already in place in Africa by taking advantage of the need for
labour in the Americas and the networks, infrastructure, and social mores that were
previously established on the continent. Undoubtedly, a large number of African
homes in the past relied on domestic helpers—many of whom were either enslaved
or indentured slaves—to carry out household chores and other tasks while they were
under slavery.

3
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Africa
4
Study Guide for HSY2602, pp.119-177

4
Throughout history, many forms of forced labour, ranging from debt bondage to
chattel slavery, have been prevalent throughout Africa, influencing social structures
and economic systems. Forced labour, human trafficking, and servitude were all part
of the complex web of unfree labour that shaped the socioeconomic dynamics of
Africa. Africa's history is replete with a variety of forced labour practices, from the
trans-Saharan slave trade to internal servitude in indigenous communities, all of
which have had a profound impact on the continent's progress. Indentured servitude,
caste-based slavery, and forced labour in colonial settings were examples of unfree
labour that formed the cornerstones of economic exploitation and social inequality in
Africa. Africa's history exposes the use of captive labour, prisoner leasing, and
pawnship, among other practices a complicated interaction between economic
exploitation and power relations that has shaped the course of the continent from
pre-colonial periods to the present."

REFERENCES

1. Study Guide of HSY2602 (Pretoria: Unisa, 2010).

2. Smith, John. The Roots of Slavery Pre-Colonial African Societies and the
Transatlantic Slave Trade. Chicago: university of Chicago press, 2010.
3. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.371 [ accessed 20
November 2018].
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery_in_Africa [accessed 28 February 2023].

5
 Plagiarism

An assessment is designed to be a product of your own study and your own thought. It is not intended
to be a piece of work which merely reproduces information or ideas from a study guide, from books
or articles, or from the internet. If you do this, you commit plagiarism.

Plagiarism involves copying, paraphrasing or summarizing without appropriate acknowledgment the

words, ideas, scholarship and intellectual property of another person or persons.

Plagiarism can take different forms:

 It can involve copying word for word (or copying with only minor changes) without acknowledgment
from your tutorial letters and study guides, or from any other sources, such as extracts from books,
articles, textbooks, other tutorial letters, or from the internet.
 It can involve copying word for word from a source without identifying the extracted section as a
literal quotation even if the source is acknowledged.
 It can involve copying the sentence structure of a source, or copying the original idea of a source,
but changing its words without acknowledging the source.
 It can involve taking so many ideas and words from a source that it makes up the majority of your
work.
 It can involve deliberately providing incorrect information about the source of a quotation, so that
the reader is unable to trace its actual source.
 It can involve failing to put a quotation in quotation marks.
 It can involve handing in someone else’s work as your own, even a fellow student’s work. We do
encourage you to form study groups or discuss aspects of your work with other students, but you
are expected to prepare and submit your own assessments.

Do you understand what plagiarism is? YES x

NO

REFERENCING EXERCISE:

I have read Lesson 1: Essay Writing & Referencing: YES x

After reading the section above on referencing, please complete the following exercise.

You have used HSY2602 Study Guide as a source, it was written and compiled by Prof Jeff Peires in 2010 and is
owned and published by Unisa. Now reference it correctly below.

Footnote:
___________________
1 Study Guide for HSY2602, pp.119-177

Bibliography:

1. Study Guide of HSY2602 (Pretoria: Unisa, 2010).