Swift (2017) writes that slavery in Africa existed when warring political communities in the eighteenth and nineteenth century enslaved their enemies. In fact, while slavery legally ended in the United States in 1865, slavery only legally ended in West Africa in 1875. On the other hand, Koigi (n.d) mentions that the Arab slave trade primarily included taking in young girls as sex slaves while living in harems while men would work as field workers or guards of harems because these places where so important to their economy. It is notable that this form of slavery has caused the oppression of women in their lands, even until today.

            One notable difference between the aforementioned instances of slavery and New World lave systems is that in New World slavery, the slaves would always be black and the slave owners would  be white. This would show the systems of oppression created by white conquerors as they utilize Black people for their own benefit. While in the Old World, slaves and slave owners are often of the same race, the New World slavery shows the power disparity between races and cultures. Until now, the racial oppression and discrimination caused by these slave systems can be felt today.

            In New World systems of slavery, slaves would often be made to work long hours in plantations such as cotton-fields. History (2009) mentions that it would be either cotton fields or small farms, where owners would sometimes own up to fifty or more slaves. There would be many restrictive codes that oppress slaves, and those who did not abide by the rules would be punished through physical abuse or even sexually harassed. There were also hierarchies among slaves, which eventually became an incentive for them to obey their masters rather than rebel against them.