Slavery was more important in the Great Lakes region than often has been assumed and Africans from the interior played a more complex role than was previously recognised.
These ten 10 studies by the most prominent historians of the region. They reveal the connections between the peoples of the region as well as their encounters with conquering Europeans.
Slavery was not a uniform phenomenon and the line between enslaved and non-slave labour was fine. This book challenges the assertion that domestic slavery increased in Africa as the result of the international trade.

HENRI MEDARD is a Lecturer in History at the University of Paris I Pantheon Sorbonne and Cemaj; SHANE DOYLE is a Lecturer in History at Leeds University
Contributors include: DAVID SCHOENBRUN, JAN-GEORG DEUTSCH, MARK LEOPOLD, RICHARD REID, HOLLY HANSON, EDWARD I. STEINHART, JEAN-PIERRE CHRETIEN & SHANE DOYLE

North America: Ohio U Press; Uganda: Fountain Publishers; Kenya: EAEP

"'While this book is of significant value to scholars of Eastern and Central Africa and the Great Lakes region, [it] also speaks to larger debates on African slave trade and global slave trade ... It is an important book compiling previous research on the Great Lakes, violence, and slavery into one easy-to-use text, which has lovely flow, clear maps and easy-to-read writing styles.' African Historical Review

'The essays are excellent historical essays that provide a broad introduction to the Great Lakes region through the lens of slavery.' Journal of Colonialism and Colonial History

'An exciting new addition to the literature on slavery and servitude in Africa as well as an important contribution to the historiography of the Great Lakes.' Leeds African Studies Bulletin

'A pioneer study. A most interesting book, which breaks new ground, makes clear the inadequacy of the present sources, and above all shows the need for further interdisciplinary research.' African Studies Review"