Slavery

I

Introduction

Slavery, social institution defined by law and custom as the most absolute involuntary form of human servitude. The definitive characteristics of slaves are as follows: their labor or services are obtained through force; their physical beings are regarded as the property of another person, their owner; and they are entirely subject to their owner's will. Since earliest times slaves have been legally defined as things; therefore, they could, among other possibilities, be bought, sold, traded, given as a gift, or pledged for a debt by their owner, usually without any recourse to personal or legal objection or restraint. See Peonage; Serfdom.

The practice of slavery dates to prehistoric times, although its institutionalization probably first occurred in early historical times, when agricultural advances made possible more highly organized societies. Slaves were needed for various specialized functions in these societies and were obtained either through raids or conquests of other peoples or within the society itself, when some people sold themselves or their family members to pay debts or were enslaved as punishment for crimes.

II

Ancient Period

Slavery was an accepted feature, often essential to the economy and society, of all ancient civilizations. The ancient Mesopotamian, Indian, and Chinese civilizations employed slaves, either domestically in homes and shops or in gangs for large-scale construction or agriculture. The ancient Egyptians used slaves on a mass scale to build the royal palaces and monuments. The ancient Hebrews also used slaves, but they were required by religious law to free slaves of their own nationality at certain fixed times. In the more advanced civilizations of pre-Columbian America, for example, those of the Aztec, Inca, and Maya, slave labor was also used on a large scale in both agriculture and warfare.

In the Homeric epics, slavery is the ordinary destiny of prisoners of war. The later Greek philosophers did not consider the condition of slavery as morally objectionable, although Aristotle went so far as to suggest that faithful slaves might be freed in reward for loyal service. With few exceptions, slaves in ancient Greece were humanely treated. However, the Helots of Sparta, descendants of an earlier, conquered race of inhabitants who were forced to labor on large estates and to fight with the Spartan armies, were severely treated, mainly because they far outnumbered their dependent masters. More typically, slaves were employed in domestic service, in trades, as laborers on country estates, and as seamen and oarsmen. Where they were employed in private domestic service, it was not uncommon to find them on friendly terms with their masters.

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Roman slavery differed in several important aspects from that of ancient Greece. Roman masters had more power over their slaves, including, by law, the power of life and death. Slavery was also far more necessary to the economy and social system of Rome, especially during the empire, than it had been in Greece. Wealthy Romans, often maintaining large city and country homes, depended on numerous slaves for the efficient operation of these households. Imperial conquests and expansion eventually strained the native Roman workforce, so great numbers of foreign slaves had to be imported to fill agricultural labor needs. The primary way of acquiring slaves was through war; tens of thousands of captured prisoners of war were brought to Rome as slaves. Other sources of slaves were debtors, who sold themselves or members of their families into slavery, and persons convicted of serious crimes. Ultimately, dependence on slavery contributed significantly to Rome's downfall.

III

Slavery in the Middle Ages

The introduction of Christianity, its adoption as the official religion of the Roman Empire, and its subsequent spread over Europe and parts of the Middle East during the Middle Ages tended to improve the conditions but did not eliminate the practice of slavery. After the fall of Rome, during the barbarian invasions that occurred at various times between the 5th and 10th centuries, the ancient institution of slavery was transformed into the generally less binding system known as serfdom.

Islam, established in the 7th century, recognized the institution of slavery from the beginning. The Prophet Muhammad urged his followers to use slaves kindly, however, and on the whole slaves owned by Muslims were comparatively well treated. Most were employed as domestic servants.

IV

Modern Period

The coastal exploration of Africa and the invasion of North and South America by Europeans in the 15th century, and the subsequent colonization of the Americas during the next three centuries, provided the impetus for the modern slave trade. Portugal, lacking in agricultural workers, was the first modern European nation to meet its labor needs by importing slaves. The Portuguese began the practice in 1444; by 1460, they were annually importing 700 to 800 slaves to Portugal from trading posts and forts established on the African coast. These were African people captured by other Africans and transported to the western coast of Africa. Spain soon followed, but for more than a century Portugal virtually monopolized the African traffic. Throughout the 15th century, Arab traders in northern Africa shipped African people taken from central Africa to markets in Arabia, Iran, and India.

In tropical Latin America during the 16th century, Spanish colonists first forced the native populations to work the land. The indigenous people, however, could not survive under conditions of slavery and were nearly exterminated, in part by exposure to European disease and excruciating labor. Africans were then brought to the Spanish colonies, primarily because it was believed that they could endure forced labor in the generally more enervating Caribbean and mainland Latin American climates.

England entered the slave trade in the latter half of the 16th century, contesting the right to supply the Spanish colonies held until then by Portugal. France, Holland, Denmark, and the American colonies themselves subsequently entered the trade as competitors. In 1713 the exclusive right to supply the Spanish colonies was granted to the British South Sea Company.

In North America the first African slaves landed at Jamestown, Virginia, in 1619. Brought by Dutch ships, they were subjected to limited servitude, a legalized status of Native American, white, and black servants preceding slavery in most, if not all, the English colonies in the New World. The number of slaves imported was small at first, and it did not seem necessary to define their legal status. Statutory recognition of slavery, however, occurred in Massachusetts in 1641, in Connecticut in 1650, and in Virginia in 1661; these statutes mainly concerned fugitive slaves.

With the development of the plantation system in the southern colonies in the latter half of the 17th century, the number of Africans imported as agricultural slave laborers increased greatly, and several northern coastal cities became centers of the slave traffic. Generally, in the northern colonies, slaves were used as domestics and in trade; in the Middle Atlantic colonies they were used more in agriculture; and in the southern colonies, where plantation agriculture was the primary occupation, almost all slaves were used to work the plantations.

As African slaves became an increasingly important element in the English colonies in America, particularly in the South, where they were fundamental to the economy and society, the laws affecting them were modified. By the time of the American Revolution (1775-1783), they were no longer indentured servants but slaves in the fullest sense of the term, and laws defining their legal, political, and social status with respect to their owners were specific.

Contrary to what is commonly believed, slaves did have some legal rights, such as support in age or sickness, a right to limited religious instruction, and the right to bring suit and give evidence in special cases. Custom gave numerous rights also, such as private property, marriage, free time, contractual ability, and, to females, domestic or lighter plantation labor, which, however, the master was not bound to respect. Brutal treatment such as mutilation, branding, chaining, and murder were regulated or prohibited by law, but instances of cruelty were common before the 19th century.

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