Bantu, Swahili and Arabic Concepts of Coercion and Slavery in the Swahili Coast

Abstract

The article discusses the terms of coercion in the context of African Bantu,
Cushitic and Arab communities associated with slavery and slave trade along the Swahili coast. The terms reinforced the binary between the free and unfree; entrenched social classificatory structures and legacies that continue to construct identities of the communities in the region. The article focus on the Somalia coast; Kenya coast and Zanzibar coast that served as transit points and local enclaves for the Indian Ocean slave trade in the 19 th and 20 th centuries. It resulted in a multi-layered historical landscape due to the convergence of the diverse population over the centuries especially during the time of slavery and slave trade.