(1) In the introduction (pp. 11 - 20) of Basil Davidson, The African Slave Trade, the author sketches out what he sees as the central questions that need to be asked and answered about his topic. In a brief paragraph (TYPED!), summarize these questions and describe why they matter. Use your own words! You will not receive credit unless you do so.

(2) For your reading Basil Davidson, The African Slave Trade, pp. 23 - 49, we would like you to follow a different strategy in note taking. I have chunked the text into six sections , and given each section a number (marked in the margins as "Start X" and "End X").

For each section we would like you to specify on a sheet (TYPED!) to be turned into us:

1) The main idea

2) the supporting details/examples the author supplies.

Let's look at an example:

Our example can be found on page 32 of Davidson, The African Slave Trade from your readings:

The medieval states of the Western Sudan repeatedly show how closely the condition of subjugated peoples - commonly referred to alike by Arabs and Europeans, as 'slaves' - resembled that of feudal vassals. In the Songhay kingdom of the fifteenth century the Middle Niger, 'slaves' from the non-Muslim peoples of the forest verge were extensively used in agriculture. They were settled on the land and tied to it. In return for this livelihood they paid tribute to their masters both in crops and in personal services. Their bondage was relative: time and custom gave them liberties. Yet being generally restricted by custom and convenience in the varieties of work they might undertake and the peoples among whom they might seek wives, these 'slaves' tended to form occupational castes. They became blacksmiths, boatbuilders, stablemen, makers of songs, bodyguards of their lord. Along with the 'free peasants' - whose social position was really little different - these 'vassal peasants' and 'vassal artisans' formed a large part of the population.

Your task here is (A ) to identify the central idea or argument of this paragraph, and (B) to locate the details the author uses to support that argument. One way to do so might be:

Central Idea: Medieval Western Sudan had a social organization similar to that of feudal western Europe.

Supporting Details:

1) 15th century Songhay Kingdom peasants were settled and tied to land, and in return, paid tribute to their masters in crops and services (like Europe)

2) Marriage + Occupation patterns meant caste system formed (like Europe)

3) Peasants were large part of population (like Europe)

Note also that the central Idea of the paragraph might not be the first sentence of the paragraph.

(3) Sometimes authors switch voices in their writing; that is, they will speak from someone else's perspective and not their own. Often, authors do no explicitly indicate these shifts. Careful readers, however, recognize the clues and understand that the author is representing not their own opinion, but those of another thinker, writer, or group.

In the first full paragraph of page 37 of The African Slave Trade (starts "Europeans of a somewhat later day..."), Davidson switches voices.

In a brief paragraph (TYPED!), identify for us where this shift occurs, whose voice Davidson has adopted, and how it is that you know he has switched voices.

Using Quotations in your Papers

Why use quotations?

Quotations are the evidence you use to make your point. Without evidence, an argument is a windy, flimsy statement of one person’s opinion. With evidence, an argument is grounded in facts and given shape. Evidence is the critical link that helps you prove your points.

When do I use quotations?

Use quotations when you want to make a point about the text/individual you are writing about, and what that text or person says is helpful in showing your reader what you mean.


How do I use quotations?

A quotation must always form part of your own sentence. It cannot stand alone. You therefore must (a) introduce the quotation, telling the reader what it is he/she is about to read and the CLAIM that you wish the quotation to support (b) include only that part of the quote that is vital to your argument, and (c) follow the quoted material with a sentence or two explaining what is significant about the language you have chosen in terms of your main point, or argument.

For example, if I want to argue that Ghandi thought modern (Western) civilization was bad specifically because of its promotion of material greed, I might do the following:

Ghandi sees modern civilization as a threat to the Indian people because it promotes an endless cycle of selfish want. He says, "The railways, machineries and the corresponding increase of indulgent habits are the true badges of slavery of the Indian people" (p. 118). He sees such modern technologies as the railway and machines as enslaving because they require money and labor to build, solely so that such things might exist. In Ghandi’s mind, such things are not only unnecessary, they are unhelpful to a people. Happiness, he asserts, is "largely a mental condition" (p. 123). As such, it is unnecessary to acquire material goods.

(Note that in the sentences with quoted material I use an introductory phrase like "He says," or "he asserts" to introduce the quote. The quote is therefore part of my own sentence. Note also that after the quotation I place the citation outside of the quotation marks and place the period following the citation.)

Exercise A

Read this passage from Davidson, p.38:

What was true of southern Nigeria was true of other 'forest' peoples. In Ashante (Arhanti), Rattray found, 'a slave might marry; own property; himself own a slave; swear an oath; be a witness; and ultimately become heir to his master…Such briefly were the rights of an Ashanti slave. They seemed m cases practically the ordinary privileges of an Ashanti free man…An Ashanti slave, in nine cases out of ten, possibly become an adopted member of the family, and in time his so merged and intermarried with the owner’s kins-men that only a few would know their origin. . .’ Captives, that is to say, became vassals; vassals became free men; free men became chiefs.

In a brief paragraph (TYPED!):

1) identify where Davidson makes the CLAIM he wishes to support.

2) explain how Davidson interprets the quotation to demonstrate how that quotation makes or furthers his main point.

Exercise B

Using a combination of direct and indirect quotations, support the following claim about Davidson's chapter

Davidson argues that towns like Jenne and Timbuktu were exceptional rather than representative of pre-modern Africa.

In using a quotation from Davidson to support of your point, you should follow all of the guidelines described above regarding how to use quotations in a paper.

An example of one way to do this half of the exercise might be helpful:

In the readings from The African Slave Trade this week, Davidson tries to employ African sources to describe African conditions. For instance, when arguing that African social organization often resembled European feudalism, he quotes from an African oral tradition that describes one King demanding of another that he should "at once surrender, admit homage to the king of Segu, pay tribute, and be gone." (p.31) Davidson stresses that this piece of evidence is one "among many; and completely African." (p. 31) Here, Davidson makes his point that African societies were often organized along feudal lines similar to Europe by quoting from an African tradition in which Africans use essentially feudal concepts like "homage" and "tribute."