Earlier scholarship explored the enslavement of women in Yoruba by considering themes of gender, family, and political upheaval. In contrast, my investigation unveiled that the amalgamation of warfare and cultural customs led to an escalation in domestic enslavement for Yoruba women during the nineteenth century. Consequently, this study contends that the collapse of the Oyo Empire severely impacted the domestic enslavement women in Yorubaland due to warfare and slave raids; and yet, the perpetuation of this enslavement throughout the nineteenth century was propelled by the entrenched marriage and patrilineage customs in Yoruba society.

My investigation into the Yoruba society posed challenges due to the specific nature of the topic and the accessibility of relevant sources. Initially, I began my research in the footnotes and bibliographies of secondary sources. However, I soon broadened my search to online archives such as Harvard Digital, Library of Congress, and Hathi Trust and became more creative with my keywords. It became evident that while authors discussed groups of people in the geographical bounds of Yorubaland, they did not consistently assign the term "Yoruba" but instead attributed tribe names or more specific locations. While many travelers and missionaries discussed the nature of enslavement, marriage traditions, and the impact of warfare, these details were not always distinctly outlined, requiring hours of reading and scrutiny. 

This research process significantly stretched my skills as a researcher, writer, and historian. Unlike previous research I encountered, there was no written language for Yorubaland in the nineteenth century. Therefore, the voices of my subjects remained silent. In addition, the lack of written language removed almost all quantitative data describing the value of enslaved women and cost of dowries. This challenged me to stretch my historical method, to ensure the story of women's enslavement in Yorubaland was represented accurately. While working with archival silences was challenging, it was also satisfying and humbling to glean a small understand into the vast and corrupt system of Yoruba slavery during  the nineteenth century.