Discuss the reasons for the expansion of the East African slave trade from the late 18th century.

The question requires that candidates offer a considered and balanced review of the reasons why the East African slave trade expanded from the late 18th century. Candidates may refer to social, economic, political, short-term and long-term factors. They may argue that the slave trade in East Africa was an expansion of the traditional slave trade and was facilitated by the existence of trade routes and growing demands for trade in a range of items. Traditional warfare in East Africa may also be noted as a cause; it meant that prisoners of war could be sold as slaves and that there was a plentiful supply of such prisoners. The developing trade links between the coasts of east Africa and Arabia also contributed to the growing demand for slaves. The 1807 British ban on the slave trader and its enforcement in the Atlantic may also be discussed, as may the impact of the Sultans of Zanzibar.