1. Abductions: Enslavers, sometimes in collaboration with local rulers, would launch surprise attacks on unsuspecting villages or communities. They would capture individuals, often women, children, or those considered vulnerable or less likely to resist.
2. Trade and Commerce: Enslavers often obtained slaves through trade. West African societies, like the Fulani, were involved in the slave trade, selling captives to European traders. This resulted in the Atlantic slave trade, where enslaved individuals were transported to the Americas.
3. Wars and Raids: Wars and military conquests served as means of capturing slaves. As conquering forces subdued defeated communities, they would take prisoners to be enslaved or sold.
4. Kidnappings: Enslavers would sometimes use deceptive tactics, like pretending to offer employment or hospitality, to lure people into their grasp and then forcibly capture them.
5. Trickery and Deception: Traders or agents involved in the slave trade would sometimes trick people into believing they were being hired for work opportunities or transportation, only to detain and sell them as enslaved people.
6. Debt Bondage and Servitude: In some societies, individuals might become enslaved due to debts or as punishment for crimes. They might work as servants, laborers, or farmers for their captors.
7. Inheritance: In some cultures, slaves could be passed down as inheritance from one generation to another. Individuals enslaved this way were deprived of their freedom without ever having the opportunity to choose their circumstances.
8. Birth into Slavery: In certain societies, children born to enslaved mothers would automatically inherit the status of enslavement, perpetuating the cycle of bondage across generations.
These methods of capturing slaves reflect the cruel and exploitative nature of slavery, as people were stripped of their freedom and dignity for economic and social gain.