2008 Conference Overview

Slavery and the Slave Trades in the Indian Ocean and Arab Worlds: Global Connections and Disconnections

Gilder Lehrman Center’s 10th Annual International Conference
November 7-8, 2008
Yale University, Luce Hall Auditorium
34 Hillhouse Ave, New Haven, CT

This conference explored the complexity and importance of the Indian Ocean and Arab slavery and slave trades in terms of their connections to the meaning of slavery and abolition in a world-wide context. In addition, it examined the relation between these trades and the development of the 19th, 20th, and 21st-century global economies. Of particular importance were the legal history of abolition in the Indian Ocean World, and the legacy of slavery and the slave trade in the region today, in terms of cultural memories, patterns of human trafficking and subjugation, stigmatization, and family relationships.

Conference Participants
Conference Flyer [pdf file]