Humanities & Social Sciences

Slave trading in the Early Middle Ages

Long-distance connections in northern and east central Europe

by Janel M. Fontaine

Description

This book examines slave trading in northern and eastern central Europe from the seventh century through the eleventh century, tracing its growth, climax, and decline. Demand from the Islamic world in the ninth and tenth centuries prompted changes in warfare, trade logistics, and administrative responses to slavery in the slaving zones centred on the British Isles and the Czech lands. This study establishes slave trading as a core driver of connectivity and presents a model for this practice in politically fragmented areas of Europe.

More Information

Rights Information

Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo [DRC], Congo, Republic of the, Costa Rica, Ivory Coast, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Finland, France, French Guiana, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hongkong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, China, Macedonia [FYROM], Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Qatar, Reunion, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tokelau, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Vietnam, Western Sahara, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Sudan, Cyprus, Palestine, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Liechtenstein, Azerbaijan, Jamaica, Kyrgyzstan, Dominican Republic, Myanmar, Monaco

Reviews

This book reexamines slave trading in the early Middle Ages from a comparative perspective, situating it at the core of economic and political development in northern and eastern Europe. In focusing on the 'slaving zones' centred around the British Isles and the Czech lands, Fontaine traces the forced migration of enslaved people from the point of capture to their destinations across Europe, the North Atlantic, North Africa, and western Asia. The crux of the book are the changes of the ninth and tenth centuries prompted by increased demand, principally in the Islamic world as well as areas of Viking settlement. The desire to source more and more slaves led to changes in the practice of warfare to maximise captive taking, the logistics of slave trading and rulers' legal and economic relationships with slavery. By spanning the seventh through the eleventh centuries, this important study traces the growth, climax, and decline of slave trading in the early Middle Ages and establishes its role as a driver of connectivity.

Author Biography

Janel M. Fontaine is an archaeologist in the public sector and an Affiliate Researcher at the University of Glasgow.

Trusted Partner
Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press

Manchester University Press is a leading UK publisher known for excellent research in the humanities and social sciences.

View all titles

Bibliographic Information

  • Publisher Manchester University Press
  • Publication Date February 2025
  • Orginal LanguageEnglish
  • ISBN/Identifier 9781526160096 / 1526160099
  • Publication Country or regionUnited Kingdom
  • FormatPrint PDF
  • Pages296
  • ReadershipGeneral/trade
  • Publish StatusPublished
  • Dimensions216 X 138 mm
  • Biblio NotesDerived from Proprietary 5467
  • SeriesManchester Medieval Studies
  • Reference Code14222

Subscribe to our

newsletter