The slaves brought from sub-Saharan Africa and transported under the brutal forms through the desert to Tripoli. 


From there they were shipped on the sea route to the Levant, almost exclusively on European ships. 


The scale was modest compared with the slave trade across the Atlantic to America, and that most, this was about 2000 people per year. 

A large proportion of transit traffic went under the French flag, but from the early 1740s and a few decades were also Swedish ships involved in the slave traffic. The conflict between the Muslim Ottoman Empire and the various Christian states was in full swing at this time – and Sweden had peace treaties with several of them. 

In addition, Sweden had entered into agreements with Barbary, which meant that Swedish ships were not “taken as a prize” and the Swedish sailors could not be done “to slaves.” This meant that many traders saw neutral Swedish ships particularly attractive for transport in the turbulent Mediterranean Sea. 

Swedish neutrality was simply a contributing factor to Sweden’s involvement in the slave trade. – Swedish ships sailed straight into a major political conflict and the environment was neutral one trump card. The risk that the precious cargo would be cut or postponed in penalties were simply less if it went under the Swedish flag, says Joachim Ostlund. 

There are several examples of Swedish ships which were rented out on contract and the captain took the load that was offered. It is not unreasonable to assume that they were even slaves on board. Previous research shows that about two-thirds of the slaves who were transported via Tripoli were women. 

The fate that awaited them when they sold to their new, Ottoman owners can not say with certainty – but the possible that they ended up in some form of service role and / or concubines, ie sex slaves. 

– Many were bought to work as domestic servants in Ottoman homes. But it was almost inevitable that they also landed into the role of concubines, said John Wright, a British historian and expert on the North African slave trade. 

Among the men, there were also eunuchs, that is, castrated men who were sought after for service in the Ottoman harem of great men, and often procured at a high price in the slave market.
This article was taken from www.dn.se

Swedish ships transported slaves.