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Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Population density and 'slave raiding'- the case of the middle belt of Nigeria |
Author: | Mason, M. |
Year: | 1969 |
Periodical: | The Journal of African History |
Volume: | 10 |
Issue: | 4 |
Pages: | 551-564 |
Language: | English |
Geographic term: | Nigeria |
Subjects: | slave trade population decline |
External link: | https://www.jstor.org/stable/179898 |
Abstract: | 1. Examines critically the meaning of the term 'slave-raiding' as it applies to a 19th century West African state, the armies of which are frequently described as having been engaged in it. 2. Attempts to evaluate the geographical commonplace that it was 'slave-raiding' which was the main factor responsible for the relatively low density of population in the Middle Belt as compared to the northern savanna and southern rain forest regions of Nigeria. The assumption that such slave raiding may have contributed to the depopulation of limited areas within the Middle Belt is not questioned. The moot point is whether or not this historical factor can be accepted as the main cause for the low population density of the region as a whole. Discussion will be limited to the 19th century, as before this period there is no first-hand information regarding the area. Ref., figures. |