The Long History of Slavery - Essay Example

HISTORY OF WORLD SLAVERY by Date Introduction Slavery has had a long history from ancient civilizations to colonization. Slavery is a legally recognized system whereby people are regarded not as human beings, but as property or chattel of another person (Seignobos, 1997). Slavery began with growth of agriculture in Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia, Nile in Egypt, earliest African civilizations and budding civilizations of India and China. It grew into an established institution during Greek civilization. According to Forsythe (2009: 139) by the” beginning of nineteenth century, three-quarters of all people alive were trapped in bondage against their will." The purpose of this essay is to outline the development of slavery from ancient civilization through Islamic period, medieval ages, transatlantic slavery and colonization. Ancient Civilization In ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, slavery was used as punishment for breaking laws and customs of the polity and also as a form of organized labor so as to improve the welfare of society (Rodriguez, 1997: Xiv). During this period, race or ethnicity was not important thus slaves were indistinguishable from their masters. Most of these slaves were prisoners of war or were conquered during wars. Slavery also grew out of social stratification such as in the Americas pre-Columbian indigenous peoples. By 170 B.C slavery was already an established institution as evidenced by presence of the Code of Hammurabi. This code entailed Babylonian laws to regulate slavery. It regarded slaves as merchandise or chattel but these slaves unlike in later years could marry, own property or purchase own freedom (1997: Xiv). The Hittite code was also prevalent in seventeenth to fourteenth century B.C and unlike Hammurabi code; it recognized slaves as human beings but of inferior status. Each civilization had its own way of treating slaves thus the legal, social, and economic position of slaves was different in different systems and different times and places. For example, the Hebrews freed their slaves after six years of servitude while the Egyptians had less need of slaves. This is because Egypt did not have large agricultural lands. Furthermore, some practiced voluntary servitude to pay debts (Bernard, 1994). The only problem with Egypt was murdering slaves of the deceased so as to join their loved ones in the afterlife. Otherwise, slaves were used in temples or projects. In Rome, children of slave mothers were born as slaves. However, most slaves were conquered during war. Unlike in Babylon they could not marry and most of the men were castrated before being transported. As in most civilizations, slaves belonged to the master thus their duty was to obey their masters. They had no right to own property nor could they gain citizenship of that country they served as slaves (Seignobos, 1997). Most of the rich men owned slaves and I Rome having few slaves was regarded as poverty. These slaves were used in both rural and urban areas. In rural areas they used to till, gardening, fishing, and as shepherd. In urban areas, they were used as carpenters, cooks, copyists, secretaries, teachers, actors and artisans of different trades. They were not allowed to run away and those who gave them refuge would be charged for theft. Slaves could also be bought and sold in the market since they were property of the owner or made to work without pay. Another feature of ancient slavery is that the states which practiced slavery could not be regarded as slave societies. This according to Rodriguez (1997: XV) is due to the fact that the percentage of slaves was very small compared to the whole population. In other words, slaves did not constitute majority population. Even though most of them were engaged in labor, the economic value of their labor was insignificant to influence the economy thus were not slave societies. Slavery was considered natural and necessary, it was a cultural phenomenon. According to Rodriguez (1997: XV) true slave societies emerged during Greece and Rome civilizations. These two civilizations used human capital to unprecedented extent to grow their economies. The Greeks used philosophy to rationalize acceptance of slavery. In Athens, majority of the citizens had one slave and slave and slave labor was vital for the economy. In Rome some slaves were just kept for amusement (sexual pleasure). These slaves were obtained mostly from Europe and the Mediterranean. Slavery and Islam Slavery was also connected to Islam as Muslims captured Christians into slavery. However, Islam was humane as it had laws governing the treatment of slaves. Furthermore, not everybody could become slaves but those captured outside the borders of Islam world (Bernard, 1994). According to the Quran it was permissible to enslave free men or those who had faith in God or other religions provided they paid taxes. If a slave converted to Muslim, he was supposed to be freed. However, slaves had no right to be heard in courts, to own property, or to marry without owner’s permission, since they were considered as chattel (Boddy-Evans, 2014). Though laws were clear and humane, it all depended on the owner as many Muslims did not heed to these laws especially for economic purposes. Converting to a Muslim did not thus guarantee freedom. Slaves in Islamic world were acquired through conquest, tribute from vassal states, offspring, and purchases (Boddy-Evans, 2014). There were constant warfare between Muslims and Christians especially in Ottoman Empire where Christians were captured and sold to Islamic world. The Islamic slavery according to Boddy-Evans was prevalent 600 years before the Europeans arrived in Africa. The Ottoman Empire carried out raids in North Africa to capture slaves’ even places where Europeans would not dare venture. This explains the prevalence of Muslim religion in North Africa. These were transported through the Sahara to Morocco and Tunisia and West Africa. Some slaves came from East Africa where they were sold by neighbors or enemies. Muslims also bought slaves from European merchants. These slaves were re-exported to Islamic world and were used to do menial jobs. The Eunuchs were valued hence sold at higher price and were used as bodyguards (Boddy-Evans, 2014). Some like women were used for sexual pleasure and as concubines. The slavery only declined with the naval decline of the Ottoman Empire in the seventeenth century which was very supportive of Muslim slavery. Intervention by America in North Africa also helped to lessen the trade. Medieval Era The collapse of the Roman Empire marked the beginning of the medieval period and was marked by evolution of slavery. Slavery in this period transformed into serfdom, and serfdom into wage labor (Rodriguez, 1997: Xvii). Western Europe became a feudal society and relied on serfs for labor. These serfs produced food for the landowners but gave a certain percentage of produce to the owner. In return, the owner provided the serf with tools and equipments as well as seeds. The period also witnesses expansion of Islam to various parts of the world such as Africa and Europe thus emergence of slave societies such as Sudan, Ghana and Mali. In the middle Ages, slavery was enhanced by wars whereby the victorious ones took slaves. These slaves captured in European countries were kept by owners or sold to the Islamic world. In Great Britain and Ireland, some slaves were under voluntary servitude or debt slavery and Ireland served as the market for captured Anglo-Saxon slaves (Bernard, 1994). Items traded during medieval era included gold, ivory, salt and slaves through trans-Sahara (Rodriguez, 1997: Xvii). This form of slavery was harsher than earlier forms of slavery especially because it resulted in antagonisms between slave owners and slaves or capitalists and wage laborers in capitalistic economies. There were also those sympathetic to plight of slaves and fought to free them but Vikings in Europe still kept some slaves and sold some to Islamic markets for those who had been kept captives. Most of these enslaved were Irish, English and Scottish. The trade ended gradually in eleventh century as Vikings settled in European territories and converted serfs into Christianity (Bernard, 1994). Transatlantic Slavery The Portuguese were great explorers and leaders in European colonization. They were the first to explore the African coast hence enhancing slavery in Africa as pagans and unbelievers were sold to the Portuguese as slaves. Africa thus became the greatest source of slaves and so were Native Americans. Moreover, most European countries had abolished slave trade especially of fellow Europeans (Seymour, 2009). Portugal was the first market for sale of imported African slaves. Transportation of slaves to colonies of Americas was also prominent during this period through the Atlantic. The Spanish colonists were also much involved in Atlantic slave trade. Slaves became household servants or were taken to sugar-producing Islands in the Mediterranean (Rodriguez, 1997). British engaged in Atlantic slave trade after 1600 and slaves acted as the backbone of British economy by working in American colonies. However, slave trade was abolished in 1807 since even Britain itself had already banned slavery in its own territory. Transportation of Africans as slaves across the Atlantic continued until the Atlantic abolitionist movement forced an end to it in early-nineteenth century (Rodriguez, 1997: XX). More that 11 million slaves were transported through this route as Europeans favored Africans as slaves rather than the indigenous people. They were also supported by Africans who trafficked slaves and also helped the Europeans who were searching for captured Africans. It was thus the doing of West Africans themselves that made the trade to spread. Even today, some Africans do traffic their fellow Africans to earn a living. It was a triangular trade that provided all colonists with slave labor or forced labor from Africa. Their economies were expanding and labor was much needed. References Bernard, Lewis. 1994. Race and Slavery in Middle East: An Historical Enquiry. Oxford University Press. Boddy-Evans, Alistair. 2014. The Role of Islam in African Slavery. About.com. http://africanhistory.about.com/od/slavery/a/IslamRoleSlavery01.htm David P. Forsythe. 2009. Encyclopedia of Human Rights, Volume I. Oxford University Press. Rodriguez, Junius P. 1997. The Historical Encyclopedia of World Slavery, Volume I. ABC-CLIO. Seignobos, Charles. History of Ancient Civilization. USA: University of Alexandria. Seymour, Drescher. 2009. Abolition: A History of Slavery and Antislavery. Read More