Customs and the Slave Trade Economy in Senegambia

Cheikh Sene holds a PhD in African history and works on the Atlantic slave trade, material culture, monetary systems, fiscal and diplomatic practices, and the legacies of slavery. He has been a research fellow at Villa I Tatti (Harvard University), the German Historical Institute in Rome, the Bonn Center for Dependency and Slavery Studies, and the Getty Research Institute.

"This is a masterful study of the economics of the slave trade in Senegambia by an outstanding young Senegalese historian. It is a major contribution to our understanding of the economics of the Atlantic slave trade." – Martin Klein, Professor Emeritus, Department of History, University of Toronto

"“Cheikh Sene's book, Customs and the Slave Trade Economy in Senegambia: A History of Taxation from the Slave Era to the Colonial Conquest (Seventeenth–Nineteenth Centuries), offers a fresh perspective on the relationship between African taxation systems and the Atlantic slave trade. The book challenges conventional narratives of the Atlantic slave trade by placing Senegambia's states at the center of the story through its taxation system. An examination of sovereignty, commerce, taxation, and power reveals how African rulers and merchants shaped the political and economic structures that sustained Atlantic slavery. By reassessing African agency, responsibility, and statecraft, the book offers a new perspective on the transformation of West Africa in the age of slavery and “legitimate” commerce”. – Makhroufi Ousmane Traoré, Pomona College, California

General Series Editor’s Foreword
Acknowledgments
List of Maps, Figures and Tables
Units of Mass, Units of Measurement and Currencies
Glossary

Introduction
 1 Rethinking a Controversial Space
 2 The Age of European Rivalries
 3 Rethinking the Role of Local Elites in the Slave Economy
 4 Sources and Methodology: Writing a History of Taxation in Precolonial Africa?
 5 Overview of Chapters

1 The Sociology of Actors and Their Conceptions of Taxation
 1 Actors Evolving in the Taxation
  1.1 Senegambian Aristocracy
   1.1.1 Kings
   1.1.2 Alkati
   1.1.3 Princes, Provincial Rulers and Minor Aristocracy
  1.2 European Actors
   1.2.1 Portuguese and Dutch: the First Actors of the Trade in Senegambia
   1.2.2 French Trading Companies
   1.2.3 English Trading Companies
 2 Senegambian Aristocracy and Its Vision of Taxation
  2.1 A Means of Legitimizing and Consolidating Power
  2.2 An Expression of Sovereignty
   2.2.1 The Right to Wreck: a Customary Law
   2.2.2 The Droit D’Aubaine
  2.3 An Economy of Predation: Enrichment and Social Rise
 3 European Vision on Taxation
  3.1 A Double Representation of Taxation
   3.1.1 Useful Spending to Facilitate Trade
   3.1.2 Expenses Deemed Onerous and Inefficient
  3.2 Under the Yoke of the Power of Local Rulers
  3.3 Taxation and Dependence of Local Sovereigns: the Policy of Loans and Hostages
   3.3.1 Loan Policy
   3.3.2 Hostages: a Common Form of Deposit

2 Presentation of Customs: Meaning, Typology and Payment
 1 Meaning of Customs
  1.1 Etymology of the Word “Coutume”
  1.2 Customs Are Not Gifts
  1.3 Gifts Transformed into Customs
 2 Typology of Customs
  2.1 Annual Customs
  2.2 Customs Duties or Casual Customs
 3 Customs Environment: Palavers, Payment Protocols and Currencies
  3.1 A Thousand Debates: Endless Palavers
  3.2 Solemn Ceremonies
  3.3 Currencies and Transactions: Nature or Cash?

3 Composition, Organization and Evolution of Customs
 1 Composition of Customs
  1.1 Textiles
  1.2 Weapons
  1.3 Iron, Brandy and Pacotille
 2 Organization and Evolution of Customs in Time and Space
  2.1 From Anarchic to Formal Organization
  2.2 Evolution of the Nature of Customs
  2.3 Evolution of the Value of Annual Customs
 3 Geopolitical Distribution of Customs
  3.1 Diversity of Customs According to Trading Sites and the Demands of Local Rulers
  3.2 Customs of the Senegal River Valley States (Northern Senegambia)
   3.2.1 Waalo: the Gatekeeper to the Senegal River
   3.2.2 Fuuta-Tooro: a River State
   3.2.3 Trarza: Master of Gum Ports of Call on the Coast and Senegal River
  3.3 Customs in Southern Senegambia
   3.3.1 Kajoor and Bawol: Two Neighboring States of the French Settlement of Gorée
   3.3.2 The State of Barra in Gambia: a Major Trading Partner for France

4 The Art of Negotiating Customs: Diplomacy and Treaties
 1 French “Indigenous Policy”
  1.1 André Brüe’s “Indigenous Policy”
  1.2 The Policy of Governor Louis Le Gardeur de Repentigny
 2 Local Practice of Diplomacy: Diplomatic Visits and Multifunctional Treaties
  2.1 Fort Saint-Louis: a Place of Diplomatic Practice
  2.2 Treaties with Multiple Issues
   2.2.1 Treaties for Easy Trade
   2.2.2 Treaties for Land
   2.2.3 Treaties for Peace
 3 The Treaty of Ndyaw and the Geopolitics of the Senegal Valley
  3.1 Loss of Sovereignty: When the Waalo Became a “French Protectorate”
  3.2 The Economic and Political Dimension of the Treaty of Ndyaw
  3.3 The Resumption of Treaties: the Lure of Customs for the Success of Agricultural Colonization

5 Customs Issues
 1 Local Issues
  1.1 The Impact of Customs on Politics
  1.2 The Socio-Economic Impact of Customs
 2 International Issues: European Customs and Rivalries
  2.1 Local Power and European Rivalry
  2.2 Customs under the British Occupations of Saint-Louis and Gorée
   2.2.1 The First British Occupation, 1758–1779
   2.2.2 The Second British Occupation (1809–1816)
 3 An Unhealthy Environment: Prevarications, Scheming and Conflicts
  3.1 Ruses, Prevarications and Scheming
  3.2 Non-Payment of Customs: between Abuse of Power and Punishment
   3.2.1 Internal Crises
   3.2.2 External Crises

6 Customs Abolition Policy
 1 Customs between Two Policies: Firmness or Reform
  1.1 Governor Bouët-Willaumez’s Firm Policy and Reform Program (1843–1844)
  1.2 Governor Protet and His Policy of “Unity of Customs” Pricing (1850–1854)
 2 The Influence of the Bordelais on the Policy of Abolishing Customs
  2.1 Maurel & Prom: a Business House with Political Ambitions
  2.2 Maurel & Prom and the Political Transition from Protet to Faidherbe
 3 Louis Faidherbe and the “Guerre Des Coutumes”
  3.1 The Suppression of Customs
  3.2 The Annexation and Capitulation of the Senegal River Valley States
   3.2.1 The Annexation of Waalo
   3.2.2 The Surrender of Trarza and Brakna
  3.3 The Beginning of the Colonial Conquest

Conclusion
 1 For Another History of European Trade in Senegambia
 2 When the States of Senegambia Impose Their Rules on Europeans
 3 Colonial Logic and the Construction of an Empire

Bibliography
Index

This book targets scholars, postgraduate students, and libraries in African, Atlantic, and economic history, slavery studies, and colonialism, especially specialized in trade, fiscal systems, diplomacy, and material culture.