Cookies on this website

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you click 'Accept all cookies' we'll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies and you won't see this message again. If you click 'Reject all non-essential cookies' only necessary cookies providing core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility will be enabled. Click 'Find out more' for information on how to change your cookie settings.

Accept all cookies Reject all non-essential cookies Find out more

Migratory flows, colonial encounters and the histories of transatlantic slavery

Olivette Otele, Bath Spa University

Seminar Series

Wednesday, 25 January 2017, 1pm to 2pm

Seminar Room 3, 3 Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3TB

About this presentation

Transatlantic slavery is a complex history of encounters between people of African and European descent. It is also a history of migrations, trade and subjugation. In this presentation, I look into the displacement of people from West Africa from the 17th to the 19th centuries. I ultimately aim at understanding how historians measure the impact of transatlantic slavery in Africa and its economic, social and cultural legacies. The presentation will consequently delve into Eltis’ and Lovejoy’s income per capita theories and explore Manning’s loss of workforce simulation model. It will then turn to histories of the territories from which Africans were captured by looking at the relationships amongst French and British traders, colonial administrators and local populations.

About the seminar series - Migration to, through and from Africa: An ‘African’ conversation

Scholars of African descent have increasingly contributed to the growing body of knowledge on African migratory flows, even though Africans have often been depicted as ‘objects’ rather than ‘subjects’ of scholarly inquiry. In this seminar series, we ‘reverse the gaze’ by showcasing cutting edge research conducted by African scholars who examine migration to, through and from Africa.

From early career researchers to more established academics, the presenters in our series demonstrate the geographic diversity of African migration patterns by showcasing how Africans on the move are part and parcel of broader processes of social, political and economic development across the continent and beyond. In doing this, they prove that “Africans have always produced knowledge about their continent, even though their contributions have been ‘preferably unheard’ in some cases and ‘deliberately silenced’ in others” (Pailey, 2016).

The 2017 Hilary term seminar series is convened by Robtel Neajai Pailey and Marie Godin.

Download the seminar series poster

Podcast


Duration: 31:35