Institute for Development Studies, University of Nairobi

This study attempts to trace the response of the West African Slave Industry to changing economics and political circumstances during the years 1441 to 1850. It concludes that the adaptations found in the structure and techniques of the industry depict a strong economic rationale, and that the African merchants on the Coast were able to, and did in fact, exploit their market power over both suppliers from the interior and Trans-Atlantic shippers.