[LeoWindhorse]

can we assume from this desperate exodus that back in the old days they actually were boarding those slave ships willingly?

[Sundog]

No, They were already slaves when they were sold to those who owned the slave ships. They just dropped the ivory tusks they had been carrying from the inner jungles into huge piles bound for China, and boarded the ships. Those who had been hunting elephants and attacking villages to acquire slaves simply took the gold payments and went back to work.