Customs and the Slave Trade Economy in Senegambia by Cheikh Sene

Customs and the Slave Trade Economy in Senegambia by Cheikh Sene

Between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries, from the era of the Atlantic slave trade to colonial conquest, the trade economy of Senegambia underwent two major phases: the slave trade (seventeenth to early nineteenth century) and the so-called “legitimate” commerce (early nineteenth century). From the seventeenth century onward, European trading companies established themselves along the Senegambian coast with the consent of local rulers, who granted them the right to build forts, trade, and navigate inland waterways in exchange for dues, most often paid in kind. These dues, known as “customs”, were governed by rules that varied according to economic, political, and social contexts.
In Senegambia, customs profoundly structured the political, economic, and social life of states, notably by regulating European access to trade, from the founding of Saint-Louis, the first permanent French settlement established in 1659. However, in the second half of the nineteenth century, recurring conflicts, abuses associated with these levies, and the failure of some local leaders to uphold security commitments fueled policies challenging—and ultimately abolishing—customs.
Long neglected by a historiography focused on European statistics and profits, customs nonetheless constituted a key marker of the Atlantic economy. Their study makes it possible to renew the history of maritime exchange and trade economies by focusing on their most granular components.

"This is a masterful study of the economics of the slave trade in Senegambia by an outstanding young Senegalese historianIt 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

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.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9789004764330
ISBN 10	900476433X
Title	Customs and the Slave Trade Economy in Senegambia
Author	Cheikh Sene
Series	European Expansion And Indigenous Response
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Brill
Year published	2026-08-20
Number of pages	260
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.