Historical accounts and traveler reports from the 19th and early 20th centuries indicate that the trans-Saharan routes of the Arab slave trade were often lined with the skeletons of enslaved Africans who died from exhaustion, dehydration, and abuse. The routes, which stretched across the desert to North Africa and the Middle East, saw a mortality rate estimated as high as 50% for the captives.
Key Details on the Arab Slave Route Deaths:
- Conditions of the Journey: Enslaved individuals were marched in caravans across the Sahara, often in leg and neck chains, or in large forked sticks (scaffold-like yokes) to prevent escape.
- "Line of Bones": Travelers frequently reported that the caravan trails were "lined with the parched skeletons" of those who fell behind due to thirst and exhaustion.
- High Mortality: Due to extreme heat, insufficient water, and malnutrition, massive losses of life occurred. It is estimated that up to 50% of enslaved people died before reaching their destination, often leaving bodies to be buried by sand along the way.
- Extensive Time Period: The Trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean routes operated for over 13 centuries (approximately 7th century to 20th century), transporting roughly 10 to 18 million people.
- Evidence of Brutality: In addition to desert routes, sites such as the Deim Zubeir slave trench in South Sudan remain as evidence of this history, including trees used for hangings, testifying to the brutal treatment of captives.
The transatlantic trade primarily focused on moving strong men, while the Arab trade, which operated extensively across the Sahara and from the East African coast, targeted a high number of women and girls for domestic service and concubinage.
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