Continuing the discussion initiated by Suzanne Miers and Igor Kopytoff's seminal study Slavery in Africa (University of Wisconsin Press, 1980), this volume of academic essays gives a nuanced understanding of African institutions of subordination. Containing new insights from some of the original contributors, as well as essays from promising newcomers, the main thread of argument running through this collection is that while some historical situations can be compared to Western or Islamic concepts of slavery, others cannot and must be approached on their own terms.