5 Small-scale slave trading
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Janel M. Fontaine
Abstract
Before the second half of the ninth century, in the British Isles and the tenth century in the Czech lands, slave trading primarily operated on a small scale and was primarily fuelled by opportunistic sales that were themselves motivated by individual circumstances or, to a lesser degree, commercial trading. Networks of liminal markets such as emporia and politically central high-status sites attracted slave sales through the concentration of merchants and buyers, and slaves could either remain locally with a buyer or be transported along long-distance trade routes. Case studies of England and Great Moravia illustrate the networks along which enslaved people were transported and the mechanisms by which slave trading operated.
Abstract
Before the second half of the ninth century, in the British Isles and the tenth century in the Czech lands, slave trading primarily operated on a small scale and was primarily fuelled by opportunistic sales that were themselves motivated by individual circumstances or, to a lesser degree, commercial trading. Networks of liminal markets such as emporia and politically central high-status sites attracted slave sales through the concentration of merchants and buyers, and slaves could either remain locally with a buyer or be transported along long-distance trade routes. Case studies of England and Great Moravia illustrate the networks along which enslaved people were transported and the mechanisms by which slave trading operated.
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- List of abbreviations vii
- Maps ix
- Introduction 1
- I The economics of slave trading 17
- 1 Slavery within the slaving zones 19
- 2 External demand 46
- 3 Making slaves 75
- II Logistics and strategies of slaving 103
- 4 Warfare and enslavement 105
- 5 Small-scale slave trading 143
- 6 High-demand systems 165
- 7 Slaving and power 201
- Epilogue 230
- Bibliography 243
- Index 273
Chapters in this book
- Front Matter i
- Contents v
- Acknowledgements vi
- List of abbreviations vii
- Maps ix
- Introduction 1
- I The economics of slave trading 17
- 1 Slavery within the slaving zones 19
- 2 External demand 46
- 3 Making slaves 75
- II Logistics and strategies of slaving 103
- 4 Warfare and enslavement 105
- 5 Small-scale slave trading 143
- 6 High-demand systems 165
- 7 Slaving and power 201
- Epilogue 230
- Bibliography 243
- Index 273
