Figure 1.--Here is a depiction of a slave coffle in Africa moving toward the coast. It appeared Slaves being transported in Africa. It appeared in a book by William Rednbacher, "Lehrbuch der Weltgeschichte oder Die Geschichte der Menschheit" -- Text Book of World History) (1890). We do not know who the illustrator. There appers to be a sinature in the lower lefthand corner, but we can not make it out. Nor do we know when it was drawn. Thus we do not know if it was based on anactual observation or is imaginative. An illustrator of course can draw what ever he wants. The illustration seems to depict the basic fact of these coffles in that the men were commonly chained in some way. Here the children are depicted as secured to the adults. This may not have always been necessary, depending on their age. We are less sure about the European depicted. Our understanding is that the Europeans were no commonly involved in the slave raids and interior transport of slaves. Rather the Europeans primarily obtained slaves by purchasing them with trade goods at coastal trading centers.

In our modern world there are few human practices that inspire such profound outrage as the practice of one human being enslaving another. This is, however, a very modern sentiment. The institution of slavery probably predates civilization itself. Slvery was an accepted institution and central to the economies of most major world civilization. The onset of Christianity meant and end to widespread slavery in Europe, although feudal serfs were only slightly more elevated than slaves. The European countries which conquered native American civilizations in the 16th century enslaved millions in Brazil and South America to work in mines and the tremendously profitable sugar plantations. The conditions were so brutal and European disesases so virlulent that native American populations were descimated. The Spanish and Portuguese turned Africans. Millions of Africans were transported across the Atlantic and sold into slavery in the Americas. Slavery in earlier epochs had no racial connotations. With the growth of the African slave trade, slavery in the Western mind became associated with race as with the collapse of Native American populations, it was Africans who were enslaved in huge numbers. European Christian who would not have tolerated the enslavement of other Europeans found little objecting to enslaving black Africans.

Ancient Civilizations

In our modern world there are few human practices that inspire such profound outrage as the practice of one human being enslaving another. This is, however, a very modern sentiment. The institution of slavery probably predates civilization itself. Slavery was an accepted institution and central to the economies of most major world civilization. Slaves were were often war captives, both captured wariors and the women and children of conquered populations. The offspring of these enslaved people provided a vast slave work force. The victors in battle might enslave the losers rather than kill them. Slavery in many early civilizations is poorly understood. Slavery in ancient Egypt is a poorly understood topic. We have done some work on Egyptian social classes, but destinguishing slaves from other groups with limited freedom is a chllenging task that sgors have found very difficult. The same is true for the many civilizations od Mesopotamia. Slavery in both Greece and Rome are much better understood and were major components of the work force. Slaves in Greece and Rome were drawn from widly differing peoples and there was no association with race. Slaves might be blond, blue eyed Anglo-Saxons from Britania or blacks from Sahara as well as evry other racial type. Slavery in Rome had no racial basis. Even those of Italian stock were enslaved. It was thus impossible to tell from one's look id they were a slave. This complicated control. The Senate debated establishiung a destinctive dress for slaves. In the end, the Senate decided against a slave attire, partly because they decided it was dangerous vecause it would show the slaves just how numerous they were. As in the Americn South, slavery was justified on the basis of the natural inferiority of certain individuals.

China

All of the great early river valley civilizations developed in contact with each other, except for China. Even so we see many of the same human instititions developing in China and the West. One of those institutions is slavery. Slavery does not seem to have been as important in China, however, as it was in Western societies like Greece and Rome or the ante-Nellum South in America. Slavery in China dates back to the Shang dynasty in China (18th-12th century BC). One estimate suggests that about 5 percent of Shang China's population was enslaved. This relatively small proprtion appears to have been the case is subsequent Chinese civilizations. People became slaves through the same mechanisms as in the West, through slave raiding and militry captives and debtors. Impoverished individuals could sell themselves or their wives and children into debt. China never develop into a slave society largely because of its large population which offered ampel labor which could be exploited through serfdom. Affluent Chinese families may have slaves to do menial labor, both field work and house servants. The Emperor and his nobels would the largest slave holders. The Emperor's slaves might be castrated to become court eunuchs. The Republic of China abolished slavery (March 10, 1910). The practice, however, continued in China, especially in remote areas. We note captives being turned into slaves by Lolo Tribesmen. Traditional slavery was ended by the Communists after the Revolution (1948). Even after the Revolution tere is concer about forced labor in modern Chinese prison camps.

Religion

Religion has played a major role in justifying and perpetuating slavery. It hs also played a major role in largely ending slavery. The major religions have taken different views on slavery which affected the nature of the institution.

Judaism

Slavery was a widespread practice in the Middle Eastern world (both Mesopotamia and Egypt) from which the Hebrews emerged. The early Hebrews accepted the practice. Slavery is mentioned in various Old Testament passages. Slavery was still widespread in Palestine and other areas of the Roman world at the time of Jesus' ministry. Slavery as it had evolved ea Jewish Palestine, however, was different than the more severe Roman form of slavery. The Mosaic Law was much merciful to slaves (Exodus 21; Leviticus 25; Deuteronomy 15:21). Central to the milder Jewish concept of slavery is that the Jews did not scorn manual labor.

Christianity

The onset of Christianity did not mean an abrupt end to widespread slavery. Jesus as far as we know did not address the subject. The New Testament does not provide any indication as to Jesus' assessment of slavery. Jesus did speak to human dignity and the value of the individual. And the early Church was influenced by the more benigh Jewish concept of slavery. Jesus and his early deciples spoke with passion about social inequities. And the early Church following its Jewish roots did not denigrate mannual labor. Jesus himself was a carpenter like his father Joseph. Thus the slaves and poor of the Roman world were early adherents to Chritianity. With the conversion of Constantine, the Christian emperors began to legislate the more humanitarian tratment of slaves. The number os slaves began to decline, but this changed with the Barabarian invasions. Barbarian Empires enslaved people in large numbers. Gradually the Feudal system emerged in Europe. Slavery continued in Byzantium, but in the Roman West the enslavement of fellow Christians gradually disappeared with the advent of Feudalism. Although feudal serfs were only slightly more elevated than slaves. Feudalism survived into our modern era as serfdom in Russia. While slavery largely disappeared in Europe, Europeans with the colonization of the New World used Africans as a major source of slave labor. There was for three centuries no substantial opposition from Christian churches. It was the churches, however, that were to prove the foundation od the abolitionist movement rgat finally ended slavery in the 19th century.

Islam

Islam from the very beginning accepted slavery and Mohammed in effect institutionalized it in the Koran. This reflected accepted practices in pre-Islamic Arabia. Arabs commonly made captives taking in raids against neigboring tribes into slaves. Also prisionors taken in wars were commonly made slaves. Islam was spread by warriors who had little regard for mannual laborers. This basic fact strongly colored slavery in the Islamuc world. Muhammad after he escaped to Medina and begun to acquire power began taking slaves in conformance with existing practice. Islam permits the taking of slaves as "booty" in war or as a reward to warriors. The Koran justifies the taking of slaves and there are numerous references to slavery in the Koran. For example Koran 33:50: "Prophet, We have made lawful to you the wives to whom you have granted dowries and the slave girls whom God has given you as booty." Nowhere in the Koran as in the Bible is slavery described as bad or whicked. The Koran does state that one duty of a good Muslim is to free one of his slaves. If you cannot for some reason free one of your slaves, you're required to fast for two consecutive months (Koran 4:92). The Koran permits a master to marry a slave (Koran 4:3). The Arabian practice of raids on neigboring tribes was over time adjusted to attacks on non-Muslim states and taking those peoples as slaves. Islamic jurisprudence gradually developed a code for the treatment of slaves. The regulations, however, have been variously enforced. Given the time period involved, there is very limited information on slavery in Muslim countries until the movern era. Slavery played important roles in several Muslim countries. The Mamelukes in Egypt for example were children of non-Muslim slaves, raised by Islamic priests. The famous Janassary soldiers of the Ottoman Empire were in fact children of Christian parents who were made the Sultan's slaves. One of the best studied instances of Muslim slavery was the Arab Indian Ocean slave trade that the British Royal Navy confronted in the 19th century.

Medievel Europe

Rome was a society built on slacery. After the fall of Rome slavery gradually disappeared. The peasants of the feudal system were similar in many ways to slaves, but Christian theology based on the value of individual souls did not support slavery and as a result slavery gradually disappeared in Europe. With the European explosion into foreifn lands in the 16th century there was a revival of slavery. There was slavery permitted in colonies which became race based. This was in part justified by denying the essential humanity of the enslaved people. A major debate occurred in Spain over the issue of whether the Native Americans were human. Similar attitudes were directed at Africans although there was never any formalized legal debate. There were, however, still some remants of both slavery and slave trading. In addition, the Mongols and Ottoman Turks conquered large areas of southern and eastern Europe. There was also Arab slave trading into Europe,

Africa

Slavery was an institution throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. It was largely related to wars among tribes. Slave might be taken in raids, especially women. The status of these slaves differed from the system of chattel slavery that developed in America. Men captured by battle by also be made into slaves. This helped reduce the military potential of opposing tribes. They were also a source of wealth.

African Slave Trade

The African slave trade is generlly viewed as a European undertaking. In fact both African chiefs and Arabs played major roles. The Arabs were the first to enter the African slave trade. Arabs after their emergence grom the Arabian Peninsula in the 7th century not only moved into Mesopotamia and North Africa, but also dominated the eastern Indian Ocean, Arabs traders gradually established trading posts along the African Indian Ocean ports. Slaves could be sold to the Arab traders operating from Indian Ocean ports. As the powers of the Arabs increased they began raids on villages to seizes blacks that could be sold in Middle Eastern slave markets. A new outlet appeared in the 15th century. Portuguese explorers began voyages south along the Atlantic coast of Africa. The Portuguese were looking for a route to Asia, but as they moved south they began setting up trading posts. First the Portuguese established trading posts along the coast of West Africa, but gradually moved further south along the coast. Other European maritime powers followed suit. This was the beginning of the African slave trade. The Europeans differed from the Arabs in that they did not normally conduct raids themselves, but usually bougth slaves from Arab slave brokers and African chiefs. As the demand for slaves expanded, whole areas of Africa were depopulated.

Europe

Slavery in Christian Europe largely died out afterthe fall of Rome and the rise of the feudal system. Feudl serfdom was not far removed from slavery, but sefs did have some rights. And slavery did not entirely disappear. As Muslims took Christian slaves, some Christian states held Mulims in slavery. The perpetuation os slavery and the legal and historical framework varied from country to country. Slavery, however, after the European discovery of the America became largely race based and mosly restructed to the New World, especially the Caribbean, Brazil, and the southern colonies of North America. It was most important in the major colonial powers (England, France, the Netherlands, Portugal, and Spain). The history of slavery , its economic importance, and the campaign for abolition varied greatly in each European country.

Slavery in the Americas

The Portuguese as they pushed south along the coast of West Africa were the first Europeans to come into contact with the people of Sub-Saharan Africa. Thus when Portugal and Spain established the first American colonies, they first introduced Africans as a labor source in the New World. It was sugar that first made slavery important and Caribbean sugar islands became enormously important. The European countries which conquered native American civilizations in the 16th century enslaved millions in Brazil and South America to work in mines and the tremendously profitable sugar plantations. The conditions were so brutal and European disesases so virlulent that native American populations were descimated. The Spanish and Portuguese turned Africans. Millions of Africans were transported across the Atlantic and sold into slavery in the Americas. Slavery in earlier epochs had no racial connotations. With the growth of the African slave trade, slavery in the Western mind became associated with race as with the collapse of Native American populations, it was Africans who were enslaved in huge numbers. European Christian who would not have tolerated the enslavement of other Europeans found little objection to enslaving black Africans.

Ending the African Slave Trade

The United States banned the importation of slaves (1808). There was, however, only minimal enforcement by the U.S. Navy. It was the Royal Navy that eventually ended the slave trade. The slave trade had been a lynch pin in thr triangular trade that has been a key element of the British economy and helped bring great wealth to Britain. It had in part helped to finance the growth of the Royal Navy. The expansion of the British merchant fleet under the protection of the Royal Navy resulted in Britain dominating the slave trade by the 18th century. British ships beginning about 1650 are believed to have transported as many as 4 million Africans to the New World and slavery. The British Parliament during the Napoleonic Wars banned the slave trade (1807). This was a decession made on moral grounds after a long campaign in Britain against slavery at considerable cost at a time of War. After Trafalgur (1805) the powerful British Royal Navy could intercept suspected slave ships under belligerent rights. After the cesation of hostilities this became more complicated. The only internationally recognized reason for boarding foreign ships was suspected piracy. Thus Britain had to persue a major diplomatic effort to convince other countries to sign anti-slavery treaties which permitted the Royal Navy to board their vessels if suspected of transporting slaves. Nearly 30 countries eventually signed these treaties. The anti-slavery effort required a substantial effort on the part of the Royal Navy. The major effort was carried out by the West Coast of Africa Station which the Admiralty referred to as the ‘preventive squadron’. The Royal Navy from this station for 50 years conducted operations to intercept slavers.

Modern Slavery

Slavery did not end with abolution in America and somewhat later in Brazil. Slavery has continued into the modern world, especially child slavery. It continues in India as a form of indentured servitude where porr families sell their children for work as weavers or even worse. Child slavery is a serious problem in several Islamic countries. Islam for reasons I do not fully understand seems more tolerant of slavery than any other modern religion. Some Arabs appear to believe that it is acceptable to capture non-Moslem children and make them slaves. For the most part this involves Arabs capturing Black African children. This practice has been reported in the Western press to widespread condemnation. It appears to cause little concern in Arab countries. Actual slavery continues in the Arab world. Often it is not enforced by statue, but some Arab countries take no steps against it. The problem of child slavery is especially serious in Sudan. Mauritania is another country in which the practice is widespread. One of the most moving accounts that we have noted is an account by a Nubian girl. She and 31 other children were captured in a 1993 Arab raid on their village. She was sold to a family in Khartoum where she was terribly treated and abused. [Nazer and Lewis]

Sources

Nazer, Mende and Damien Lewis. Slave: My True Story (Public Affairs: 2004), 350p.

Created: May 25, 2002
Last updated: 1:17 AM 2/26/2008