Unbroken Chains: A 5,000-Year History of African Enslavement

Speaker: Martin Plaut

Slavery has profoundly impacted African societies over the past 5,000 years, from Egypt to the Cape of Good Hope and from Mauritania to Somalia.

Most discussions have focused on the horrors of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, but Indian Ocean slavery was just as extensive and endured for far longer. Likewise, North Africa’s Barbary corsairs raided as far as Britain and the Caribbean, enslaving hundreds of thousands of Europeans. The continent’s internal enslavement practices are similarly overlooked.

In this powerful talk, Martin Plaut presents a comprehensive account of the bondage systems that have scarred African communities throughout history, drawing special attention to the many Africans still enslaved today.

• Talk
• £12.00
• 26 September 2025
• 60 minutes
• 12:00
• National Army Museum
• Foyle 2