Slavery in the Comoros: From origins to denial

This article traces the history and the origins of slavery in the Comoros, up to how it came to be abolished, in order to explain how a collective denial of this past appears to have taken root. A site of slave trading and exploitation, the archipelago played an active role in this human trade, acting as both an importer and exporter of captives. Based on these historical elements, we reflect on the relationship with Africa and with Africanness in Mayotte. Marked by ambiguity, the complex relationship with one’s origins underlies the relationship to both near and distant forms of otherness, revealing the violence of a racialized society.