Description: This book examines the decline of slavery in Northern Nigeria during the first forty years of colonial rule. At the time of the British conquest, the Sokoto Caliphate was one of the largest slave societies in modern history. Rather than emancipate slaves, the colonial state abolished the legal status of slavery, encouraging them to buy their freedom. Many were unable to do so, and slavery was not finally abolished until l936. The authors have written a provocative book, raising doubts over the moral legitimacy of both the Sokoto Caliphate and the colonial state.
Review Quotes: "This volume presents a wealth of meticulous research in order to readjust the commonly accepted textbook view that Britain was the major actor in the abolition of slavery in modern times. In carefully constructed and supported arguments that proceed clearly and logically from chapter to chapter, the authors establish that offical British policy in its portions of the former Sokoto Caliphate in northern Nigeria successfully and deliberately maintained the institution of slavery from the early days of military conquest in 1897 until 1936." International Journal of African Historical Studies