Why did the slave trade increase in Malawi between 1790 and 1860?

The slave trade in the Malawi region increased dramatically between 1790 and 1860 primarily due to a growing demand for enslaved people on Africa’s east coast.12

This expansion was driven by several key factors:

• Market Demand: As British antislavery patrols disrupted established trade routes elsewhere, slave traders increasingly turned their attention to the coast of Mozambique to supply French sugar plantations in Réunion and Mauritius, as well as markets in Cuba and Brazil.3
• Involvement of New Groups: Between 1830 and 1860, Swahili-speaking traders from the coast, along with the Yao and Ngoni peoples, entered the region. The Yao, who had been established ivory traders, began engaging in slave raiding to obtain firearms from the Arabs, which they used to subjugate local agriculturalists like the Chewa.134
• Regional Turmoil: The arrival of armed refugees and military leaders created new spheres of influence. These predatory groups devastated wide areas, transforming the political geography as populations were forced into stockaded villages to defend against raids.13

The slave trade was often closely linked to the ivory trade, with captives frequently used as porters to transport goods to the coast.35