The Slave Route Project
Encyclopedia
The Slave Route Project is a UNESCO
initiative that was officially launched in 1994 in Ouidah, Benin
. It is rooted in the mandate of the Organization which believes that ignorance or concealment of major historical events constitutes an obstacle to mutual understanding, reconciliation and cooperation among peoples. The project breaks the silence surrounding the slave trade and slavery that has affected all continents and caused great upheavals that have shaped our modern societies. In studying the causes, the modalities and the consequences of slavery and the slave trade, the project seeks to enhance the understanding of diverse histories and heritages stemming from this global tragedy.
The concept of a route seeks to reflect the dynamics of the movement of peoples, civilizations and cultures. The concept of slave focuses on the universal phenomenon of slavery, and in particular, the transatlantic, Indian Ocean and Trans Saharan slave trades. The Slave Route Project has three main objectives:
Drawing on the ideas and work of an International Scientific Committee, the project deals with various aspects of the slave trade, and in particular provides:
As a commercial and economic enterprise, the slave trade provides a dramatic example of the consequences resulting from particular intersections of history and geography. It involved several regions and continents: Africa
, Americas
, the Caribbean
, Europe
and the Indian Ocean
. This slave trade is often considered one of the first systems of globalization. This 'triangular' trade connected the economies of three continents.
The transatlantic slave trade was the biggest deportation in history and a determining factor in the world economy of the 18th century. It is estimated that between 25 and 30 million people were deported from their homes and sold as slaves in the different slave trading systems. It is estimated that 17 million of these people were traded in the transatlantic route. These figures exclude those who died aboard the ships and in the course of wars and raids connected to the trade.
The trade proceeded in three steps. The ships left Western Europe
for Africa
loaded with goods which were to be exchanged for slaves. Upon their arrival in Africa
, the captains traded their merchandise for captive slaves. Weapons and gun powder were the most important commodities but textiles, pearls and other manufactured goods, as well as rum, were also in high demand. The exchange could last from one week to several months. The second step was the crossing of the Atlantic. Africans were transported to Americas
to be sold throughout the continent. The third step connected Americas
to Europe
. The slave traders brought back mostly agricultural products, produced by the slaves. The main product was sugar, followed by cotton, coffee, tobacco and rice. [3]
, including Comoros
, Madagascar
, Mauritius
, Réunion
, Seychelles
, came into being at different times through ancient slave trades and the migrations of populations from Africa
, Asia
and Europe
.
Systems of slavery had existed in the islands of the Indian Ocean
since before colonization. This was particularly the case in Madagascar
and the Comoros Islands, where slaves were brought by Swahili
traders from the east coast of Africa
.
The arrival of Europeans to the Indian Ocean
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw the revitalization of the slave trade in this region and at heightened levels. This led to the population and exploitation of the Mascarene Islands
. Severing millions of people from their roots, this system of slavery saw the establishment of a new society. For example, new oral traditions developed throughout the period of slavery as slaves were forbidden to read and write up to the time of the abolitions.
UNESCO
’s research program that seeks to identify and register the oral memory of the islands of the south-western Indian Ocean
, working from within the framework of The Slave Route Project, has highlighted the need to safeguard the oral heritage of the islands that have experienced the slave trade and slavery. [4]
Additionally, UNESCO
’s programme to trace oral memory has generated growing interest in the preservation of memory among populations effected by the trade [5]. As such, in 2001 and 2002 documentary programs were launched at the University of Mauritius, the Nelson Mandela Centre, the Seychelles National Institute of Education, the Abro in Rodrigues and the CNDRS in the Comoros. These programmes are continuing with both inventory and field training activities, and important documents have been digitized and stored in archives of the national institutions of the islands and can be accessed by the general public.
Significant results have been achieved through the programme developed in collaboration with UNESCO
that identified and catalogued oral heritages. These results are particularly visible in the Indian Ocean
region (Réunion
, the Comoros Islands, Mauritius
and Rodrigues
, the Seychelles Islands and Madagascar
). It is now possible to envision the drafting of an exhaustive list of all sites linked to the memory of the slave trade. To fully achieve this, the programme must take into account the specificity of the slave trade in the region such as its development over a thousand years, and its continuation after the legal abolition of slavery under the guise of recruiting. Some of the islands of the Indian Ocean
, such as Réunion
, Mauritius
, and the Seychelles
, have already registered some of the sites linked to the slave trade. The project, which will be implemented during the 2006-2007 biennium, will begin by listing sites in Madagascar
and the Comoros Islands, as they have not yet established an exhaustive list of their sites and places of memory.
The project will be coordinated by the UNESCO
Chair after a regional scientific committee has been established. The committee is to be supported by local authorities as well as regional scientific institutions and academia.
The project entitled l'Utile...1761, Esclaves oubliés (Forgotten slaves) includes a component for underwater archaeological research on a slave ship that sank off the coast of Tromelin Island, abandoning its cargo of slaves from Madagascar on the island.
(17–19 May 2007, Rabat
and Marrakech
, Morocco
) in the framework of the Slave Route Project, in cooperation with the Moroccan National Commission for UNESCO
and the UNESCO Office Rabat. This international encounter aimed to reinforce the activities of the project in lesser-studied regions, in particular the Arab–Muslim World.
The Colloquium brought together experts from sub-Saharan Africa
, the Maghreb
and the Middle East
, selected on the basis of their expertise and experience in issues related to the slave trade and slavery in this part of the world.
colonies were frequently disrupted by slave revolts or threats of revolt. The first fighters for the abolition of slavery were the captives and slaves themselves, who adopted various methods of resistance throughout their enslavement, from their capture in Africa to their sale and exploitation on plantations in the Americas
and the Caribbean
. Main forms of resistance included rebellion and also suicide.
As early as the late seventeenth century, individuals, as well as the various abolitionist societies that had been established, began condemning slavery and the slave trade. This essentially originated from the English-speaking countries. Up until the end of the nineteenth century British, French and North American abolitionists devised a set of moral, religious and occasionally economic arguments as a means of combating the slave trade and slavery.
An Irreversible Process
The destruction of the slave systems began in the French colony of Santo Domingo towards the end of the eighteenth century. The slave rebellion on Santo Domingo in August 1791 profoundly weakened the Caribbean colonial system, sparking a general insurrection that lead to the abolition of slavery and the independence of the island. It marked the beginning of a triple process of destruction of the slavery system, the slave trade and colonialism. Slavery was abolished in 1886 in Cuba and 1888 in Brazil.
Two outstanding decrees for abolition were produced during the nineteenth century, including the Abolition Bill passed by the British Parliament in August 1833 and the French decree signed by the Provisional Government in April 1848. In the United States, the Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, extended the abolition of slavery to the whole Union in the wake of the Civil War in 1865. The abolition of slavery in the United States – which at the time concerned approximately 4 million people - became the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
For information on some important abolitionists of the time, see:
Such commemorative days include:
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed on 17 December 2007 Resolution A/RES/62/122 adopting the 25 March as the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade.The goal of this commemoration is to focus on the 400 years that lasted transatlantic slave trade as well as its long term consequences in the world.
As an answer to the growing interest to and expectations generated by the launching in 1994 of The Slave Route Project, UNESCO’s General Conference, by its Resolution29/C40, proclaimed the 23 August International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and of its Abolition.
The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, recalls the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (Resolution 317(IV)) of 2 December 1949).
By its Resolution 57/195, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2004 International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition. This Year marked the bicentenary and the creation of the first black State, Haiti. This country symbolises the struggle and resistance of slaves that enabled the triumph of principles of freedom, equality, dignity and individual’s rights. This commemoration has also provided an avenue for a fraternal gathering between Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas.
Similar Commemorations include:
UNESCO
's "Project to Fight Human Trafficking in Africa" aims to promote effective and culturally appropriate policy-making to combat the trafficking of women and children in Western and Southern Africa. Through policy-oriented research on factors relating to trafficking, the project collects best practice models to fight trafficking at its roots. Various training workshops are organized to present these results to policymakers, NGOs, community leaders and the media.
Furthermore, building on UNESCO’s regional pillar of "extending international protection to endangered, vulnerable and minority cultures and cultural expressions", the "Trafficking and HIV/AIDS Project" based at the UNESCO Bangkok Office tackles the linked triad of problems-HIV/AIDS, trafficking, and non-traditional drug use-in the Greater Mekong Subregion. For this project, research is conducted and programs are developed to crosscut these issues and to address the needs of at-risk and vulnerable populations.
Today various international conventions define slavery and human trafficking as a "crime against humanity" punishable by international law. See legal instruments.
Furthermore, in cooperation with the UNESCO Office in San José (Costa Rica), work on a series of four educational works and a didactic guide entitled Del olvido a la memoria [From Oblivion to Memory], designed for Central American countries, has begun under the project in order to improve knowledge of the particular features of slavery in that subregion and of the various contributions of people of African descent. The four works have just been published and a popularization drive is under way so that they may be used officially in some Central American countries.
Alongside these intiatives, the project is cooperating with the National Maritime Museum in London to produce and disseminate education and information kits on the slave trade and on slavery which will be used by students and teachers. The purpose of this programme is to facilitate the teaching of the subject through interesting and documented material.
UNHCR – 2011 International Year for People of African Descent
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
initiative that was officially launched in 1994 in Ouidah, Benin
Benin
Benin , officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. It borders Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east and Burkina Faso and Niger to the north. Its small southern coastline on the Bight of Benin is where a majority of the population is located...
. It is rooted in the mandate of the Organization which believes that ignorance or concealment of major historical events constitutes an obstacle to mutual understanding, reconciliation and cooperation among peoples. The project breaks the silence surrounding the slave trade and slavery that has affected all continents and caused great upheavals that have shaped our modern societies. In studying the causes, the modalities and the consequences of slavery and the slave trade, the project seeks to enhance the understanding of diverse histories and heritages stemming from this global tragedy.
Objectives and Main Themes
-
-
-
- “The Slave Route Project is a highly ambitious initiative with its sights set resolutely on the future, to the extent that it contributes in the long term to enhancing mutual understanding and intercultural dialogue. The challenge of “living together” in our multicultural societies implies recognition of each person’s history and memory, and at the same time the sharing of a common heritage, in order to transcend past tragedies.” [1]
-
-
The concept of a route seeks to reflect the dynamics of the movement of peoples, civilizations and cultures. The concept of slave focuses on the universal phenomenon of slavery, and in particular, the transatlantic, Indian Ocean and Trans Saharan slave trades. The Slave Route Project has three main objectives:
-
-
- To assist in providing a better understanding of the causes, forms of operation, issues and consequences of slavery in the world (specifically AfricaAfricaAfrica is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, EuropeEuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, the Americas, the CaribbeanCaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, the Indian OceanIndian OceanThe Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, the Middle EastMiddle EastThe Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
and AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
); - To present the some of the global transformations and cultural interactions that have resulted from this history and
- To contribute to a culture of peace by promoting reflection on cultural pluralism, intercultural dialogue and the construction of new identities and citizenships.
- To assist in providing a better understanding of the causes, forms of operation, issues and consequences of slavery in the world (specifically Africa
-
Drawing on the ideas and work of an International Scientific Committee, the project deals with various aspects of the slave trade, and in particular provides:
- Support for scientific research through a network of international institutions and specialists;
- Development of educational materials;
- Collection and preservation of written archives and oral traditions;
- Inventory and preservation of memorial sites and places;
- Promotion of living cultures;
- Promotion of diverse contributions from the African diaspora;
- Promotion of standard-setting instruments. [2]
The Slave Route
Transatlantic Trade
The transatlantic slave trade is unique within the universal history of slavery for three main reasons. Firstly, it endured for approximately four centuries. Secondly, the victims of this trade were exclusively black African men, women and children. Finally, its intellectual legitimization - the development of an anti-black ideology and its legal organization through the notorious Code noir. [2]As a commercial and economic enterprise, the slave trade provides a dramatic example of the consequences resulting from particular intersections of history and geography. It involved several regions and continents: Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
. This slave trade is often considered one of the first systems of globalization. This 'triangular' trade connected the economies of three continents.
The transatlantic slave trade was the biggest deportation in history and a determining factor in the world economy of the 18th century. It is estimated that between 25 and 30 million people were deported from their homes and sold as slaves in the different slave trading systems. It is estimated that 17 million of these people were traded in the transatlantic route. These figures exclude those who died aboard the ships and in the course of wars and raids connected to the trade.
The trade proceeded in three steps. The ships left Western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
for Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
loaded with goods which were to be exchanged for slaves. Upon their arrival in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, the captains traded their merchandise for captive slaves. Weapons and gun powder were the most important commodities but textiles, pearls and other manufactured goods, as well as rum, were also in high demand. The exchange could last from one week to several months. The second step was the crossing of the Atlantic. Africans were transported to Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
to be sold throughout the continent. The third step connected Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The slave traders brought back mostly agricultural products, produced by the slaves. The main product was sugar, followed by cotton, coffee, tobacco and rice. [3]
Trade in the Indian Ocean
The societies of the Indian OceanIndian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, including Comoros
Comoros
The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar...
, Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, came into being at different times through ancient slave trades and the migrations of populations from Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
, Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Systems of slavery had existed in the islands of the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
since before colonization. This was particularly the case in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Comoros Islands, where slaves were brought by Swahili
Swahili people
The Swahili people are a Bantu ethnic group and culture found in East Africa, mainly in the coastal regions and the islands of Kenya, Tanzania and north Mozambique. According to JoshuaProject, the Swahili number in at around 1,328,000. The name Swahili is derived from the Arabic word Sawahil,...
traders from the east coast of Africa
East Africa
East Africa or Eastern Africa is the easterly region of the African continent, variably defined by geography or geopolitics. In the UN scheme of geographic regions, 19 territories constitute Eastern Africa:...
.
The arrival of Europeans to the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries saw the revitalization of the slave trade in this region and at heightened levels. This led to the population and exploitation of the Mascarene Islands
Mascarene Islands
The Mascarene Islands is a group of islands in the Indian Ocean east of Madagascar comprising Mauritius, Réunion, Rodrigues, Cargados Carajos shoals, plus the former islands of the Saya de Malha, Nazareth and Soudan banks...
. Severing millions of people from their roots, this system of slavery saw the establishment of a new society. For example, new oral traditions developed throughout the period of slavery as slaves were forbidden to read and write up to the time of the abolitions.
- The Oral Tradition
UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
’s research program that seeks to identify and register the oral memory of the islands of the south-western Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, working from within the framework of The Slave Route Project, has highlighted the need to safeguard the oral heritage of the islands that have experienced the slave trade and slavery. [4]
Additionally, UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
’s programme to trace oral memory has generated growing interest in the preservation of memory among populations effected by the trade [5]. As such, in 2001 and 2002 documentary programs were launched at the University of Mauritius, the Nelson Mandela Centre, the Seychelles National Institute of Education, the Abro in Rodrigues and the CNDRS in the Comoros. These programmes are continuing with both inventory and field training activities, and important documents have been digitized and stored in archives of the national institutions of the islands and can be accessed by the general public.
- An Inventory of Sites of Memory in the Indian Ocean Region
Significant results have been achieved through the programme developed in collaboration with UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
that identified and catalogued oral heritages. These results are particularly visible in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
region (Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, the Comoros Islands, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
and Rodrigues
Rodrigues
Rodrigues is a common surname in the Portuguese language. It was originally a Patronymic, meaning Son of Rodrigo or Son of Rui. The "es" signifies "son of". The name Rodrigo is the Portuguese form of Roderick, meaning "famous power" or "famous ruler", from the Germanic elements "hrod" and "ric" ,...
, the Seychelles Islands and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
). It is now possible to envision the drafting of an exhaustive list of all sites linked to the memory of the slave trade. To fully achieve this, the programme must take into account the specificity of the slave trade in the region such as its development over a thousand years, and its continuation after the legal abolition of slavery under the guise of recruiting. Some of the islands of the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
, such as Réunion
Réunion
Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France...
, Mauritius
Mauritius
Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar...
, and the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....
, have already registered some of the sites linked to the slave trade. The project, which will be implemented during the 2006-2007 biennium, will begin by listing sites in Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
and the Comoros Islands, as they have not yet established an exhaustive list of their sites and places of memory.
The project will be coordinated by the UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
Chair after a regional scientific committee has been established. The committee is to be supported by local authorities as well as regional scientific institutions and academia.
- Underwater Archaeology
The project entitled l'Utile...1761, Esclaves oubliés (Forgotten slaves) includes a component for underwater archaeological research on a slave ship that sank off the coast of Tromelin Island, abandoning its cargo of slaves from Madagascar on the island.
Trade in the Arab-Muslim World
The international seminar on "Cultural interactions generated by the slave trade and slavery in the Arab-Muslim World" was organized by UNESCOUNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
(17–19 May 2007, Rabat
Rabat
Rabat , is the capital and third largest city of the Kingdom of Morocco with a population of approximately 650,000...
and Marrakech
Marrakech
Marrakech or Marrakesh , known as the "Ochre city", is the most important former imperial city in Morocco's history...
, Morocco
Morocco
Morocco , officially the Kingdom of Morocco , is a country located in North Africa. It has a population of more than 32 million and an area of 710,850 km², and also primarily administers the disputed region of the Western Sahara...
) in the framework of the Slave Route Project, in cooperation with the Moroccan National Commission for UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
and the UNESCO Office Rabat. This international encounter aimed to reinforce the activities of the project in lesser-studied regions, in particular the Arab–Muslim World.
The Colloquium brought together experts from sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara...
, the Maghreb
Maghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
and the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
, selected on the basis of their expertise and experience in issues related to the slave trade and slavery in this part of the world.
Resistances and Abolitions
The AmericanUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
colonies were frequently disrupted by slave revolts or threats of revolt. The first fighters for the abolition of slavery were the captives and slaves themselves, who adopted various methods of resistance throughout their enslavement, from their capture in Africa to their sale and exploitation on plantations in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
and the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
. Main forms of resistance included rebellion and also suicide.
As early as the late seventeenth century, individuals, as well as the various abolitionist societies that had been established, began condemning slavery and the slave trade. This essentially originated from the English-speaking countries. Up until the end of the nineteenth century British, French and North American abolitionists devised a set of moral, religious and occasionally economic arguments as a means of combating the slave trade and slavery.
An Irreversible Process
The destruction of the slave systems began in the French colony of Santo Domingo towards the end of the eighteenth century. The slave rebellion on Santo Domingo in August 1791 profoundly weakened the Caribbean colonial system, sparking a general insurrection that lead to the abolition of slavery and the independence of the island. It marked the beginning of a triple process of destruction of the slavery system, the slave trade and colonialism. Slavery was abolished in 1886 in Cuba and 1888 in Brazil.
Two outstanding decrees for abolition were produced during the nineteenth century, including the Abolition Bill passed by the British Parliament in August 1833 and the French decree signed by the Provisional Government in April 1848. In the United States, the Republican President, Abraham Lincoln, extended the abolition of slavery to the whole Union in the wake of the Civil War in 1865. The abolition of slavery in the United States – which at the time concerned approximately 4 million people - became the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
For information on some important abolitionists of the time, see:
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- Toussaint-Louverture
- Harriet TubmanHarriet TubmanHarriet Tubman Harriet Tubman Harriet Tubman (born Araminta Harriet Ross; (1820 – 1913) was an African-American abolitionist, humanitarian, and Union spy during the American Civil War. After escaping from slavery, into which she was born, she made thirteen missions to rescue more than 70 slaves...
- Frederick DouglassFrederick DouglassFrederick Douglass was an American social reformer, orator, writer and statesman. After escaping from slavery, he became a leader of the abolitionist movement, gaining note for his dazzling oratory and incisive antislavery writing...
- Victor SchoelcherVictor SchoelcherVictor Schoelcher was a French abolitionist writer in the 19th century and the main spokesman for a group from Paris who worked for the abolition of slavery, and formed an abolition society in 1834...
- William WilberforceWilliam WilberforceWilliam Wilberforce was a British politician, a philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade. A native of Kingston upon Hull, Yorkshire, he began his political career in 1780, eventually becoming the independent Member of Parliament for Yorkshire...
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Commemorations
Commemorative days seek to deepen the reflection on the contemporary consequences of the slave trade and its implications in society today. Such implications include racism, racial discrimination, intolerance, and also modern forms of slavery, exploitation and human bondage. Commemorative days offer the international community occasion to meet on issues around the slave trade and slavery. They provide necessary opportunities to honour all the victims of four centuries of human tragedy, and to also celebrate those who opposed and triumphed over this “crime against humanity”.Such commemorative days include:
- International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade (25 March)
The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed on 17 December 2007 Resolution A/RES/62/122 adopting the 25 March as the International Day of Remembrance of Victims of Slavery and Transatlantic Slave Trade.The goal of this commemoration is to focus on the 400 years that lasted transatlantic slave trade as well as its long term consequences in the world.
- International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and of its Abolition (23 August)
As an answer to the growing interest to and expectations generated by the launching in 1994 of The Slave Route Project, UNESCO’s General Conference, by its Resolution29/C40, proclaimed the 23 August International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and of its Abolition.
- International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (2 December)
The International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, 2 December, recalls the date of the adoption, by the General Assembly, of the United Nations Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others (Resolution 317(IV)) of 2 December 1949).
- International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition (2004)
By its Resolution 57/195, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2004 International Year to Commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition. This Year marked the bicentenary and the creation of the first black State, Haiti. This country symbolises the struggle and resistance of slaves that enabled the triumph of principles of freedom, equality, dignity and individual’s rights. This commemoration has also provided an avenue for a fraternal gathering between Africa, Europe, the Caribbean and the Americas.
Similar Commemorations include:
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- International Day of Commemoration in memory of the victims of the Holocaust (27 January)
- International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (21 March)
- International Day for Tolerance (16 November)
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Modern Forms of Slavery
As declared in the 1948 United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights, although the means and specificities of modern and traditional forms of slavery differ considerably, the violation of human rights and human dignity are central issues in both practices. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), millions of people - primarily women and children - are subjected to modern forms of slavery and human trafficking. Human trafficking can be defined as "the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation." (UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons) [5].UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's "Project to Fight Human Trafficking in Africa" aims to promote effective and culturally appropriate policy-making to combat the trafficking of women and children in Western and Southern Africa. Through policy-oriented research on factors relating to trafficking, the project collects best practice models to fight trafficking at its roots. Various training workshops are organized to present these results to policymakers, NGOs, community leaders and the media.
Furthermore, building on UNESCO’s regional pillar of "extending international protection to endangered, vulnerable and minority cultures and cultural expressions", the "Trafficking and HIV/AIDS Project" based at the UNESCO Bangkok Office tackles the linked triad of problems-HIV/AIDS, trafficking, and non-traditional drug use-in the Greater Mekong Subregion. For this project, research is conducted and programs are developed to crosscut these issues and to address the needs of at-risk and vulnerable populations.
- For further information, refer to:
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- Project to fight human trafficking in Africa
- UNESCO Bangkok Trafficking and HIV/AIDS Project
- Standards and Fundamental principles and rights at work (International Labour Organisation)
- Child Labour (United Nations Children's Fund)
- Human Rights Committee (United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights)
- Human Rights (UNESCO Sector for Social and Human Sciences)
Today various international conventions define slavery and human trafficking as a "crime against humanity" punishable by international law. See legal instruments.
Pedagogical Intitiatives
The Slave Route Project places great importance on the development of materials to suit educational purposes to improve teaching about the slave trade and its consequences. Continuing the work initiated under the ASPnet Transatlantic Slave Trade (TST) Education Project, The Slave Route Project has contributed to several initiatives to develop educational/teaching materials on the slave trade and slavery for use by pupils, teachers and the general public. For example, contributions have been made to the development of content for primary and seconday school textbooks particularly in France, the United Kingdom, the Caribbean and several countries in Africa. It has also contributed to the publication of two books for young people on the subject: "Tell me about… the Slave Trade and L’esclavage raconté à nos enfants"(Telling our Children about Slavery).Furthermore, in cooperation with the UNESCO Office in San José (Costa Rica), work on a series of four educational works and a didactic guide entitled Del olvido a la memoria [From Oblivion to Memory], designed for Central American countries, has begun under the project in order to improve knowledge of the particular features of slavery in that subregion and of the various contributions of people of African descent. The four works have just been published and a popularization drive is under way so that they may be used officially in some Central American countries.
Alongside these intiatives, the project is cooperating with the National Maritime Museum in London to produce and disseminate education and information kits on the slave trade and on slavery which will be used by students and teachers. The purpose of this programme is to facilitate the teaching of the subject through interesting and documented material.
Links
UNESCO Slave Route Project- http://portal.unesco.org/culture/en/ev.php-URL_ID=25659&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html
UNHCR – 2011 International Year for People of African Descent
- http://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/IntlYearPeopleAfricanDescent.aspx