The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism

The document argues that the combined effects of various slave trades and subsequent European colonialism fundamentally altered African agriculture. It details how the loss of productive labour and the imposition of export-oriented crop systems undermined domestic food security and regional trade.

• Slave trades from the mid-7th to 19th century severely hindered agricultural development by removing the most productive labour force and forcing populations to remain mobile and dispersed to avoid capture, which prevented the maturation of social, political, and economic systems.
• Following the Berlin Conference of 1884–1885, European colonialism shifted African agriculture toward the production of raw materials for European factories, replacing indigenous dietary staples like millet and sorghum with export crops such as peanuts and sesame.
• Colonial land policies involved the dispossession of land through the designation of 'terra nullius' for European settlers and the imposition of 'customary' tenure for others, which allowed the state to seize land.
• The development of colonial infrastructure, specifically road and rail, was designed to transport raw materials to the coast for shipment to Europe, which marginalized domestic agricultural sectors and destroyed regional food trade.

APA

le Roux, A., & Cilliers, J. (2026). The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism. Institute for Security Studies. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=02-impact-of-slavery

Chicago

le Roux, Alize, and Jakkie Cilliers. The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism. Institute for Security Studies, 2026. https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=02-impact-of-slavery.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=le Roux |first1=Alize |last2=Cilliers |first2=Jakkie |title=The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism |publisher=Institute for Security Studies |date=29 March 2026 |url=https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=02-impact-of-slavery |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{leroux2026impact, author = {le Roux, Alize and Cilliers, Jakkie}, title = {{The Impact of Slavery and Colonialism}}, institution = {Institute for Security Studies}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://futures.issafrica.org/thematic/guide.pdf?thematic=04-agriculture&topic=02-impact-of-slavery}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }