Repercussions of the Atlantic Slave Trade: The Interior of the Bight of Biafra and the Africa Diaspora. Conference held in Enugu, Nigeria July 2000.

• Project Directors: Dr Paul Lovejoy and Dr. Carolyn A. Brown
• Project Coordinator: Anayo Enechukwu
• Sponsors: Rutgers Center for African Studies, Rutgers- Department of History, Ford Foundation - West Africa Office, UNESCO/York
• University Nigerian Hinterland Project, Enugu Historical Documentation Center, Nigerian Archives, Enugu, Abia State University, University of Nigeria, Nsukka

This was an international conference on the impact of the slave trade in southeastern Nigeria which brought a number of eminent scholars from North America and Europe to meet with their counterparts from southeastern Nigeria. It’s purpose was to stimulate primary research on the slave trade within the scholarly community in Nigeria, to introduce them to the most recent research and scholarly initiatives in slave trade studies and to encourage international collaborations.

A generous grant from the Ford Foundation - West Africa paid for the transportation, room and board of all Nigerian scholars and approximately 30 Nigerian graduate students. The conference was hosted by the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Chimaroke Nnamani, in a government owned hotel and was coordinated by Enugu Historical Documentation Centre.

The conference revealed an astounding quality of research by Nigerian scholars involving intensive collection of oral material, often in remote communities. This was especially encouraging given the harsh economic conditions in Nigeria, the decline in the quality of higher education and the isolation of Nigerian scholars during the extended period of military rule.

There were several other events concurrent with the conference. A book fair of local publishers was very successful and permitted foreign scholars to purchase books not available abroad. There was also a workshop on grant writing and opportunities for research in the United States conducted by representatives of the Ford Foundation West Africa office and the Cultural Affairs Office of the U. S. Consulate in Lagos. This was very successful and has encouraged Nigerian scholars to seek Fulbright grants to come to the United States.

The group also had a post-conference tour ‘The Slave Trade in Southeastern Nigeria’ where participants visited villages that were active as participants in the trade. such as Arochukwu, Bende, Uzuakoli and Southern Nkanu communities. A number of valuable interviews were conducted with communities about their involvement and will be added to the oral history project.

Current Status:

• Camera ready copy, edited by Carolyn Brown, Anayo Enechukwu, Paul E. Lovejoy and Renee Soulodre-La France, has been delivered to the publisher, Africa World Press, New Jersey, USA. The papers are also on the web site www.yorku.ca/nhp.
• Once published, Africana Research Centre will distribute it to interested parties in Nigeria, especially to the contributors.
• Several collaborations have followed initial contacts between U.S. based scholars and Nigerian counterparts and several Nigerians were brought to a subsequent conference at Rutgers (Fighting Back: African Strategies Against Slave Trade, February 16 - 17, 2001) and to a workshop at Dartmouth College, ‘Atlantic Crossings: Women’s Voices, Women’s Stories from the Caribbean and the Nigerian Hinterland’ May 18-20th, 2001.