Every Periphery is Its Own Center

Abstract

The article discusses the social, political, and economic aspects of Northwestern Ghana during the 19th century, exploring how the decentralized political culture of Ghana affected the international slave trade. Using data from archaeological surveys and excavations in Gurunsiland, the article describes the relationship between the occupations of marginal Ghanan peoples and slave raids emanating from Niger, the political response to Zaberma slave raiding, and the overall economic benefit of the slave trade to Ghana. Other subjects under discussion include the relationship between village sovereignty and the central government, the scholarship of West African social scientists Kasja Ekholm Friedman and Jonathan Friedman, and the the Sisala, the Konkomba, and Tallensi tribes.