Coffles

In addition to the pictures below, there are pages dedicated to images of Prisons, Slave Markets, and Coffles and slave chains; and raw Photostreams with some of my photographs.

Slave chain from Llyn Cerrig Bach, Anglesey
This chain dates from the period immediately before the Roman invasion of Britain, and was found with other sacrificial offerings in a lake on the isle of Anglesey. It is not clear whether the slaves it held were a chain gang of labourers, captives to be sacrificed themselves, or slaves to be traded for profit elsewhere.

Slave coffle
This mid-nineteenth century engraving is probably associated with David Livingston's expeditions to East Africa, partly to document and help suppress the slave trade there. Most of the men are placed in "Goree sticks", with their necks held in a Y-shaped tree branch by an iron bolt or leather strap.

Turks leading captives
This German woodcut from 1530 shows two female slaves in iron collars, being led by Turkish sipahis or landed cavalry officers, similar to medieval knights. In this period, the Ottoman Turks occupied much of south eastern Europe, and were aggressively trying to expand. When they did, their practice was to take slaves from the non-Muslim occupants of conquered territories. [more...]

Turks leading captives
Two female slaves lead by Turks with rope halters on their necks. [more...]

"Egyptian Recruits Crossing the Desert" by J.L. Gerome, 1857
Peasants conscripted from the south of the country marching north across the desert, guarded by a soldier from the Albanian province of the Ottoman Empire. The recruits are treated as little better than slaves themselves, and are paired off with their wrists in stocks. [more...]

Types of wrist and ankle irons

Types of slave shackle

Warua slave-driver and slave
A man of the warlike Warua tribe marching a hooded female slave ahead of him. I'm not familiar with any other images of slaves being transported on foot while hooded. However, it's tempting to speculate that it makes a single slave easier to manage, whereas it requires too much effort on the driver's part when a coffle of multiple slaves is involved. [more...]