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Slavery is a relation of production and mode of production, characterized by the private ownership of a human.
History
Origin
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 personal or legal rights or objections. Most of the time there are 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. It is very rare for slaves to be members of the same ethnic group as the owner, but one of the few exceptions occurred in Russia during the 17th century and 18th century .
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 the punishment for those who committed a crime.
Age
Slavery was an accepted and often essential situation for 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 pre-Columbian civilizations ( Aztec, Inca and 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.
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. Roman slavery differed from Greek in several respects. The 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. 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 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.
Middle age
The adoption of the Christian religion as an official religion by the Roman Empire and its subsequent spread during the Middle Ages by Europe and part of the Middle East, was an attempt to improve the conditions of the slaves, although it failed to eliminate the practice of slavery. After the fall of the Roman Empire, during the barbarian invasions between the 5th and 10th centuries, the institution of slavery was transformed into a less binding system: serfdom. The Islam in the 7th century recognized the institution of slavery from its origins, although the prophet Muhammad exhorted his followers to maintain a correct relationship with them. Generally speaking, the slaves of the Arab s, who mostly did domestic work, were treated with greater respect.
Modern era
The exploration of the coasts of Africa, the discovery of America in the 15th century and its colonization in the following three centuries, greatly boosted the modern trade in slave
Sources
- 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.
- Ecured.