160 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY
Africa continues. All these considerations render the labor ques- tion in Africa exceedingly intricate and difficult.
In all discussions of African slavery it is very important to distinguish between the slave-trade and domestic serfdom. We have already described the suffering and desolation wrought in large parts of Africa by slave-raids and transportation. Through the efforts of a number of humanitarian spirits, like Cardinal Lavigerie, the public opinion of Europe has been directed toward the extirpation of the slave-trade, and by international agreement the traffic is now forbidden throughout the European dominions in Africa. It has not, however, been possible as yet entirely to suppress it; in fact, such a radical cure could be hoped for only after a total revolution in the methods of African trade has been accomplished. Today the slave-trade is carried on covertly, under the name of "contract labor," even by Europeans in their own colonies, especially in the Congo Free State and in the Portuguese possessions.
When we consider the real nature of the African slave-trade, we shall see how completely its existence is conditioned by the general character of African economic life. As slaves are the only beasts of burden that can be used in the interior, so they are also the most universal and satisfactory currency. At present, when the slave-trade cannot be openly carried on in the coast towns, the trader will start with a consignment of powder and guns, which are comparatively easy to transport. When he reaches the confines of the slave-holding regions, he will begin to purchase slaves, whom he carries with him on his journey, and uses partly to pay for the ivory and rubber which he buys, partly to convey these purchased goods back to the trading-stations. An example of the status of African currency is given by Miss Kingsley, when she describes the fine paid by a local chieftain to a British com- missioner for having killed and eaten several converts. It con- sisted of one hundred balls of rubber, six ivory teeth, four bundles of fiber, three cheeses, a canoe, two china basins, and five " ladies in rather bad repair." The commissioner, being a newcomer, was much astonished, especially at the last item, but Miss Kingsley assured him that they were perfectly "correct" and could be
