The Arab slave trade had certain aspects that made it particularly severe.

The Arab slave trade had certain aspects that made it particularly severe.

Firstly, the Arab slave trade spanned a much longer period, lasting for 1300 years, whereas the transatlantic slave trade was concentrated in a few centuries, mainly the 16th thru 18th This prolonged duration allowed for a greater number of people to be enslaved and a longer-lasting impact on the affected regions.

Secondly, the Arab slave trade often targeted women and children, with a focus on the domestic and sexual servitude of female slaves in Harems. This gendered aspect exacerbated the suffering and dehumanization of individuals.

A black sex slave and child slave in an Arab harem:

Additionally, the Arab slave trade had a significant impact on Africa, where millions of Africans were captured and transported across the Sahara Desert, leading to the depopulation and destabilization of entire regions.

Arabs round up African slaves:

Lastly, the Arabs had to be forced to stop the slave trade as opposed to the Europeans who voluntarily stopped it recognising it for the evil it was.

The Battle of Zanzibar, 1896:

These factors, coupled with the long-lasting nature and scale of the Arab slave trade, contribute to the argument that it was exceptionally devastating and evil.