Editing Slavery

[[File:Colosseum.png|thumb|The Colosseum in Rome, built in the slave society of the [[Roman Empire (27 BCE–395 CE)|Roman Empire]]]]
Slavery is a [[Relations of production|relation of production]] and [[mode of production]] characterised by the ownership of humans and forced labour.

Slavery is the oldest form of [[exploitation]] and [[class society]]. The [[Slavemaster|master]] is the owner of the [[slave]]. Slave labor is not capable of creating serious technological progress because of its low productivity. Slaves had no motivation to work besides avoiding punishment and often protested by damaging the [[means of production]].<ref name=":0" />

By the fourth millennium BCE, slave states existed in [[Mesopotamia]] ([[Sumer]], [[Bablyonia]], and [[Assyria]]), [[Prehistoric Egypt|Egypt]], India, and China. Slavery also existed in Urarta in the [[Caucasus]] during the first millennium BCE and in Khwarazm (now [[Republic of Uzbekistan|Uzbekistan]]) in the fifth and sixth centuries CE.<ref name=":0">{{Citation|author=Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R|year=1954|title=Political Economy|chapter=The Slave-Owning Mode of Production|page=|pdf=https://revolutionarydemocracy.org/archive/PoliticalEconomy.pdf|city=London|publisher=Lawrence & Wishart|chapter-url=https://www.marxists.org/subject/economy/authors/pe/pe-ch02.htm|mia=https://www.marxists.org/subject/economy/authors/pe/index.htm}}</ref>

== Mode of production ==

Since ancient times, the [[slave]] was legally defined as a commodity that the owner could sell, buy, give away or exchange for a debt, without the slave being able to exercise any appeal or objections. Most of the time there were ethnic differences between the slave trader and the slave, since slavery is usually based on a strong racial prejudice, according to which the ethnic group to which the trader belongs is considered superior to that of the slaves.

This racial component of slavery informs us on the [[Base and superstructure|superstructure]] prevalent in this mode of production: to establish power over slaves (the [[Base and superstructure|base]], as the mode of production), laws were required to make a distinction between slave owners and slaves. It is very likely that in the earliest forms of slavery, a racial component was not present and only developed later as slavery became more institutionalised under the [[state]] and bigger empires emerged, that needed a way to control their large slave population.

The practice of slavery dates from prehistoric times, although its institutionalization probably occurred when agricultural advances made possible more organized societies that required slaves for certain functions. To obtain them other towns were conquered; however, some individuals sold themselves or their family members to pay outstanding debts; slavery was also a punishment for those who committed a crime.

Slavery was an accepted and often essential part of the economy and society of ancient civilizations. In ancient Mesopotamia, [[India]] and [[China]] slaves were used in households, in commerce, in large-scale construction, and in [[agriculture]]. The ancient Egyptians used them to build royal palaces and monuments. The ancient Hebrews also used slaves, but their religion required them to free their own people on certain dates. In South American civilizations ([[Aztecas |Aztec]], [[Incas |Inca]] and [[Mayas |Mayan]]), they were used in agriculture and the army. Among the Aztecs, practitioners of different trades bought slaves to offer them in sacrifice to their patron god.

== Status of slaves ==
After the full development of class society, owners had complete control over their slaves. They were bought and sold like livestock and could be killed without punishment. Owners whipped their slaves to make them work and only fed them enough to keep them alive.<ref name=":0" />

== Historical development ==

=== Early slavery ===
Slavery began on a small scale and boosted production for patriarchal families that emerged after the fall of [[primitive communism]].  It was not the main source of economic production and had limited applications during this period. Slaves during this period were not treated as badly and were considered members of the family.<ref name=":0" />

=== European slavery ===
In Homer's epic poems, slavery is the logical fate of prisoners of war. The Greek philosophers did not regard the condition of slave as morally reprehensible, even though [[Aristotle]] proposed freeing faithful slaves. In ancient [[Greece]], slaves, with rare exceptions, were treated with consideration. However, the Helots of Sparta (descendants of a conquered people and forced to work hard in the fields and fight in the Spartan armies) were treated with great severity, mainly because their population was larger than that of their rulers.

Generally, slaves were used as domestic workers, in urban trades, and in the countryside, in the marine and transportation. Domestic slavery, in general, was less harsh, since the treatment they received was usually very familiar. Greek slaves often worked in groups in workshops and mines, while slave labor in Rome was widely used for agriculture. Roman slavery differed from Greek in several respects, but both Greece and Rome relied on war for their supply of slaves.<ref name=":0" />

==== Roman slavery ====
The [[Roman Empire (27 BCE–395 CE)|Romans]] had more rights over their slaves, including life and death. Slavery was in Rome much more necessary to the economy and the social system than in ancient Greece, especially during the Empire period. The wealthy Romans, who owned large mansions in the city and in the countryside, depended on large numbers of slaves to maintain their homes and agricultural estates. The Roman aristocracy seized land from [[Peasantry|peasants]] and the state to create large estates called latifundia with hundreds or thousands of slaves.<ref name=":0" />

The imperial conquests decimated the Roman armies, so that it became necessary to import large numbers of foreign slaves to carry out the work in the fields. The main source of slaves was war: tens of thousands of prisoners were brought to Rome as slaves; However, all those convicted of serious crimes and the debtors, who sold themselves or their family members to pay their debts, became slaves.

Eventually, it became difficult (if not impossible) to keep importing slaves from conquered territories, especially as Rome also carried a policy of Romanisation: conquered territories were integrated as Roman, were taught Latin, were subjected to Roman law and paid taxes. The Roman economy however also required growth to keep up with their conquests and the administration of their huge territory. This contradiction was one factor in the decline of the Roman civilisation. Another big factor was the [[Migration period]], when Germanic tribes migrated all over Europe (and beyond) which, with sheer numbers, were able to steal territory from a declining Rome and settle there.

=== Non-European slavery ===
In slave states in [[Asia]], communal and state ownership of land was more common, and construction was centralized to create irrigation dams and canals. Peasants payed very high taxes to an autocratic monarch.<ref name=":0" />

=== End of slavery as a mode of production ===

==== Europe ====
During the fall of the Roman Empire between the 5th and 10th centuries, the institution of slavery in Europe was slowly replaced by [[feudalism]]. This spelled the end of slavery as a major mode of production at least in Europe (it continued to varying degrees in other parts of the world).

Feudalism replaced slavery during the Migration period. According to the textbook of [[Library:Political economy|political economy]] (by the Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (1922–1991)|USSR]]):<blockquote>Feudalism arose on the basis of the disintegration of slave-owning society and the break-up of the village community of the tribes which conquered the slave-owning States. In those countries where there had been no slave-owning system, feudalism arose on the basis of the break-up of the primitive community system. The clan aristocracy and military leaders of the tribes took into their hands a great quantity of lands and distributed them among their followers. The gradual enserfing of the peasants took place.<ref>{{Citation|author=Economics Institute of the Academy of Sciences of the U.S.S.R|year=1954|title=Political Economy|title-url=https://www.marxists.org/subject/economy/authors/pe/index.htm|chapter=The feudal mode of production|chapter-url=https://www.marxists.org/subject/economy/authors/pe/pe-ch03.htm|section=Brief conclusions}}</ref></blockquote>By 1250, slavery had disappeared from Europe.<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Domenico Losurdo]]|year=2011|title=Liberalism: A Counter-History|chapter=What Is Liberalism?|page=32|publisher=Verso|isbn=9781844676934|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=5BB3406BC2E64972831A1C00D5D4BFE4|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacebhsj2yxuoudkhkjp6lzgr5jvgyhu76zxe4gw3d65gpg32a6nded4?filename=Domenico%20Losurdo%2C%20Gregory%20Elliott%20-%20Liberalism_%20A%20Counter-History-Verso%20%282011%29.pdf}}</ref>

=== Modern slavery ===
Since the rise of feudalism, the practice of slavery has still continued, albeit not as the dominant mode of production. 

The exploration of the coasts of Africa and European contact with the Americas in the 15th century greatly boosted the modern trade in slaves. Following the [[Bourgeois revolution|liberal revolutions]] in Europe, slavery reached its maximum development, rising from 330,000 slaves in America in 1700 to almost three million 1800 and over six million by 1850. In the mid-18th century, [[Kingdom of Great Britain (1707–1801)|Britain]] (878,000) had the most slaves, followed by [[Kingdom of Portugal (1139–1910)|Portugal]] (700,000).<ref>{{Citation|author=[[Domenico Losurdo]]|year=2011|title=Liberalism: A Counter-History|chapter=Liberalism and Racial Slavery: A Unique Twin Birth|page=35|publisher=Verso|isbn=9781844676934|lg=https://libgen.rs/book/index.php?md5=5BB3406BC2E64972831A1C00D5D4BFE4|pdf=https://cloudflare-ipfs.com/ipfs/bafykbzacebhsj2yxuoudkhkjp6lzgr5jvgyhu76zxe4gw3d65gpg32a6nded4?filename=Domenico%20Losurdo%2C%20Gregory%20Elliott%20-%20Liberalism_%20A%20Counter-History-Verso%20%282011%29.pdf}}</ref>

== Further reading ==
*Ali, Miriam. ''Sin compasión: la lucha de una mujer contra la esclavitud actual. Barcelona: Editorial Seix Barral, 2ª ed., 1996. Importante análisis de la situación de la mujer ante la esclavitud.''
*Sandoval, Alonso de. ''Un tratado sobre la esclavitud. Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1987. Un tratado clásico sobre la esclavitud y la condición de los esclavos.''
*[https://www.ecured.cu/Esclavitud Ecured].

== References ==
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[[Category:Relation of production]]
[[Category:Ancient history]]
[[Category:Modes of production]]