Slavery was a widespread West African institution before European rule

Evidence

Despite their ethnic heterogeneity, the different peoples of West Africa shared certain institutions. The family was the basic unit of African social life. Most families defined themselves as either matrilineages or patrilineages. Lineage elders, usually the oldest men in the family, made decisions regarding the allocation of land, presided over marriages and funerals, and resolved disputes. Almost all societies allowed for polygyny, although the rules governing this institution varied. A second institution prevalent in West Africaand particularly in the area that today comprises Senegal, Mali, Guinea, and Benin-was slavery. — Alice L. Conklin, A Mission to Civilize_ The Republican…, 109

Categorization

• XREF: Pre-colonial West African institutions serve as baseline for assessing French republican colonial rule’s actual innovations. — connects to: Traditional African slavery was often time-limited and permitted full social integration — Rebecca A. Martusewicz, Jeff Edmundson, and John Lupinacci, EcoJustice Education: Toward Diverse,…, 1133