LIFE IN AFRICAN KINGDOMS

The African slave trade refers to the historic slave trade within Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were common in many parts of the continent, as they were in much of the ancient world. In some African societies, the enslaved people were also indentured servants and fully integrated; in others, they were treated much worse. When the Arab slave trade and Atlantic slave trade began, many local slave systems changed and began supplying captives for slave markets outside of Africa.
In certain African societies, there was very little difference between the free peasants and the feudal vassal peasants. Enslaved people of the Songhai Empire were used primarily in agriculture; they paid tribute to their masters in crop and service but they were slightly restricted in custom and convenience. These non-free people were more an occupational caste, as their bondage was relative.