“An Uncomfortable Colonial Conversation: Enslavement and Marriage in Africa”

The legal abolition of slavery in Africa proved to be a protracted and ambiguous process. Laws against slavery were tentatively introduced, but were rarely consistently enforced, while forced labor schemes that shared a number of features in common with slavery persisted in the aftermath of legal abolition. Throughout this process, colonial rulers consistently sought to minimize the scope of their anti-slavery obligations by insisting that ‘domestic’ slavery was ‘benign’, and that their forced labor schemes should in no way be equated with slavery. These self-serving statements were most commonly accepted at face value, but there were also alternative voices who advocated a more robust approach to ending slavery in Africa. These voices included missionaries, some colonial officials, and anti-slavery groups such as the Anti-Slavery and Aboriginal Protection Society. While anti-slavery activism in relation to ‘domestic’ slavery and forced labor has already been well documented, there is one further issue which has yet to receive sustained consideration: anti-slavery activism in relation to ‘native’ marriage as a potential form of slavery. Drawing upon a number of archival sources, this paper considers the various ways in which anti-slavery activists have conceptualized and classified this uneasy relationship between slavery and marriage in colonial Africa. Defining and demarcating slavery has never been easy, and in the case of slavery and marriage have always been significant differences of opinion regarding the terms on which this connection can be legitimately established. By considering different approaches to this issue during the colonial period, this paper will also generate new insights and information from which to further assess recent and ongoing debates regarding the link between slavery and marriage in our own times. This talk is part of the GLC Brown Bag Lunch Series. Bring your lunch and we’ll provide the drinks & dessert.