The last country to officially abolish slavery was mauritania in 1981. Slavery in americaeuropean explorers first enslaved individuals and groups native to the american continent during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries in a drive for the accumulation of capital wealth. The slaves were transported on a ship on which slaves lived in bad conditions. Atlantic slave trade simple english wikipedia, the free. With 400 crossreferenced entries, antislavery provides a global look at efforts to combat slavery. A slave is usually acquired by purchase and legally described as chattel or a tangible form of movable property. Domestic slavery financial definition of domestic slavery.
History of slavery definition of history of slavery by. Slavery definition of slavery by the free dictionary. The story of slavery in the roman empire at the time of the new testament is a complicated one. Twenty and odd africans arrived in virginia aboard a dutch vessel in 1619 shortly after permanent colonization of the english americas began. William wilberforce, born august 24, 1759, hull, yorkshire, englanddied july 29, 1833, london, british politician and philanthropist who from 1787 was prominent in the struggle to abolish the slave trade and then to abolish slavery itself in british overseas possessions he studied at st. Slavery was a major cause of the american civil war, which ended slavery there in 1865. Slavery is when a person is treated as the property of another person. Sometimes this system involves perpetual slavery mandating that the children of a slave woman became slaves. Many have asked why the early church didnt universally denounce slavery, but the characteristics of slavery were not universal enough to allow for such a simple, sweeping response. The international scientific committee was established by unesco in 1994 the role of this advisory body is to advise unesco on the implementation of the project, in particular with regard to the development of educational material and programmes, research into various aspects of the slave trade and slavery and the formation of new partnerships to promote. During the decade before the civil war threequarters of southern whites did not own slaves, and 72 percent of those who did owned fewer than ten. The historical encyclopedia of world slavery presents 700 topics of world slavery in 500 to 1,500word entries that are extensively crossreferenced with.
According to the encyclopedia of african history, it is estimated that by the 1890s. Slavery is the unconditional servitude of one individual to another. Dictionary, thesaurus, medical, financial, encyclopedia, wikipedia. For much of human history, slavery has constituted an important dimension of social and occupational organization. Slave definition is a person held in servitude as the chattel of another. American chattel slavery was a unique institution that emerged in the english colonies in america in the seventeenth century. Domestic slavery and sometimes concubine slavery appeared among the nomadic arabs, among native americans primarily devoted to hunting, and among the seafaring vikings. As was the case for rice production, cotton planters relied upon the labor of enslaved african and african american people. Source for information on slavery and the african slave trade. The slaves were one element of a threepart economic cyclethe triangular trade and its infamous middle passagewhich ultimately involved four continents, four centuries and the lives and fortunes of millions of people records of the era were kept erratically, if at all. Slave trade, the capturing, selling, and buying of slaves. Slavery definition is the practice of slaveholding. Slavery existed in many cultures, dating back to early human civilizations. Such slavery, however, was more humane than wholesale butchery according to the customs of earlier times numbers 31.
Slaves dont have the freedom to make decisions about their work because they are. Slavery traces back to the earliest records, such as the bible and the code of hammurabi ca. In africa, slaves were often taken by other africans by means of capture in warfare. Slated article about slated by the free dictionary. Ten books on slavery you need to read politico magazine. Encyclopedia of antislavery and abolition 2 volumes. Reviewed in conjunction with encyclopedia of slave resistance and rebellion, rodrigues, greenwood press library journal. Slavery and the slave trade were central to the history of eighteenth and nineteenthcentury philadelphia as the region economically benefited from the institution and dealt with tensions created by slave trading, slave holding, and abolitionism. After the american revolution, as the country became polarized over the issue of slavery, slavery supporters in the south worked to clear the southern states of anti slavery leaders and their forces.
Slavery definition and meaning collins english dictionary. The underground railroad by colson whitehead, the invention of wings by sue monk kidd, the kitchen house by kathleen grissom, b. The history of slavery originally was the history of the governments laws and policies toward slavery, and the political debates about it. A slave is unable to withdraw unilaterally from such an arrangement and works without remuneration.
Slavery is a social system that grants individuals legal rights in property ownership over others. Learn more about the history, legality, and sociology of slavery in this article. Lovejoy, slavery in west africa, in the uncommon market. The encyclopedia contains 100 illustrations, with maps accompanying core essays involving specific geographic locations. French esclave, dutch slaaf, swedish slaf, spanish esclavo. List of books and articles about slavery online research.
Search the worlds most comprehensive index of fulltext books. It often means that slaves are forced to work, or else they will be punished by the law if slavery is legal in that place or by their master. World book online is an engaging, verified, and trustworthy digital resource for grades prek through high school. States have long demanded reparations from other states at the end of wars. Slavery existed in preislamic arabia, and muhammad himself a slave owner never expressed any intention of abolishing the practice, as he saw it as part of the natural order of. Slavery can be traced back to the earliest records, such as the code of hammurabi c. The historical encyclopedia of world slavery presents 700 topics of world slavery in 500 to 1,500word entries that are extensively crossreferenced with bibliographical citations for further research. History of slavery synonyms, history of slavery pronunciation, history of slavery translation, english dictionary definition of history of slavery. A civil relationship in which one person has absolute power over the life, fortune, and liberty of another.
This was seen by the laws in the bible book of deuteronomy as a legal form of slavery. Slavery has been found among many groups of low material culture, as in the malay peninsula and among some native americans. Enslaved peoples were held involuntarily as property by slave owners who controlled their labor and freedom. Slavery was practiced in the american colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries, and helped propel the united states into the civil war. Slavery article about slavery by the free dictionary. One abolitionist, for example, was beaten, tarred and feathered, set afire, doused in water, and whipped. Islamic views on slavery represent a complex and multifaceted body of islamic thought, with various islamic groups or thinkers espousing views on the matter which have been radically different throughout history. Slavery is the system by which people are owned by other people as slaves. More than half of the nearly four million slaves in the south lived on plantations with more than twenty slaves. Slaves were transported to the cape from a wide range of areas in the indian ocean world, including south and southeast asia, madagascar, and mozambique. Encyclopedia of greater philadelphia slavery and the.
By the eighteenth century, slavery had assumed racial tones as white colonists had come to consider only africans who had been brought to the americas as peoples. Slavery was the prototype of a relationship defined by domination and power. The institution had an enormous economic impact and was central to the wealth of the agrarian south. Check out these retro videos from encyclopedia britannicas archives. Some ascribe the beginnings of slavery to war and the consequent subjection of one group by another. The practice of slavery continued in many countries illegally into the 21st century. Some initial reflections on slavery in the new testament. Recommended for high school, college, and large public libraries. The situation changed dramatically with the coming of the civil rights movement of the 1950s. Reviewed in conjunction with encyclopedia of slave resistance and rebellion, rodrigues, greenwood press library journal this set covers the ideology and activism of the various international movements that resisted and ultimately led to the repeal of slavery. The historical encyclopedia of world slavery 2 volume set. Slavery or owning another person made no sense to these people. In fact, half of the slave owners in the south had fewer than five.
This is when the earliest forms of slavery appeared. Literature the origin of the term slave is traced to the german sklave, meaning a captive of the slavonic race who had been forced into servitude compare slav. Slavery today different types of human trafficking end. Reconstruction made the freedmen citizens in 1866 and voters in 1867. The following information has been prepared to assist those interested in this topic. Slavery is a system that includes forced labor in which people are held against their will. Accordingly, the slave population of georgia increased dramatically during the early decades of the nineteenth century. It was a specific organizational response to a specific labor scarcity. Slavery during the civil war encyclopedia virginia. This person is usually called a slave, with the owner being called a slavemaster. Slavery in early roman history seems to have been of the same type as in greece, but by the 1st cent. Popular slavery books meet your next favorite book.
It had as great an impact on american culture, cementing. As usual the unfortunate female slave got the full measure of inhuman cruelty. Essays in the economic history of the atlantic slave trade, ed. The atlantic slave trade was the selling of african slaves by europeans that happened in and around the atlantic ocean. Slavery was legal in most societies at some time in the past but is now outlawed in all recognized countries. Of course a slave was a slave, and there were masters who disobeyed god and even abused their brothers in bonds.
A person could become enslaved from the time of their birth, capture, or purchase. Slavery in the americas was a patently artificial social and political construct, not a natural condition. As i write in my book, empire of cotton, american slavery and the cotton it produced was crucial to the development of global capitalism. Once men gathered in cities and towns and there was more than enough food, having a cheap supply of labor made sense. Emeritus professor of sociology roehampton university. Race and the origins of plantation slavery oxford research.
Most slaves were shipped from west africa and brought over to the new world on a slave ship. Encyclopedia of the material life of slaves in the united states kindle edition by kym s. Slavery at the cape oxford research encyclopedia of. They are social outsiders who are alien by origin or who had been denied their heritage through judicial or other sanctions. In 1790, just before the explosion in cotton production, some 29,264 slaves resided in the state. Slavery, condition in which one human being was owned by another.
The first work of its kind to document slavery on a global scale, the historical encyclopedia of world slavery is a two volume set that provides an in depth portrayal of human bondage and the slave trade from ancient times to the present. Encyclopedia of greater philadelphia slavery and the slave. Stay up to speed on all we have to offerplus activities, crafts, and blogs for parents and educators in our newsletter. More recently nonstate actors such as the aborigines of australia, the maori of new zealand, and the native americans of north america are demanding the return of their tribal lands from europeans as reparation. The condition in which one person is owned as property by another and is under the owners control, especially in involuntary. Johns college at the university of cambridge, where he became a close friend of the future prime. Slavery law and legal definition a slave is a person owned by someone and slavery is the state of being under the control of someone where a person is forced to work for another. In england about 10 percent of the population entered in the domesday book in 1086 were. Slavery simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Slavery is the social or defacto status of specific persons, known as slaves who are under the control of another person. Domestic slavery in africa, having existed long before its atlantic counterpart, is also discussed in the book. Certain rights were discretionary, it is true, but many hebrew. According to the biblical book of exodus, moses led israelite slaves from. As shown by the following passages adapted from noel raes new book the great stain, which uses firsthand accounts to tell the story of slavery in america for some of them that.
The anti slavery movement will welcome this important compilation of work on debt bondage slavery. The historical encyclopedia of world slavery presents 700 topics of world. A slave was considered by law as property, or chattel, and was deprived of most of the rights ordinarily held by free persons. In the academic and policy analysis of contemporary slavery, many of the fundamental areas. Then, in 1956, goveia published an outstanding book, slave society in the british. Slavery was a species of dependent labour differentiated from other forms primarily by the fact that in any society it was the most degrading and most severe. Dictionary of about 4,000 entries covering the slang, nicknames, military jargon and terminology, idioms, colloquialisms, and other words or. Males were usually slain and females kept for slavery and concubinage deuteronomy 21. At some point in history, slavery has plagued nearly every part of the world. Demands for reparations and apologies for american slavery waxed and waned from the 1880s to the present.
Slavery in the first century was quite different from slavery in early american history. Slavery was a mainstay of the labor force of the cape colony between its foundation by the dutch east india company voc in 1652 and abolition in 1834, by which date the cape was under british rule. Slavery has existed throughout the world since ancient times, and trading in slaves has been equally universal. The historical encyclopedia of world slavery junius p. Though the focus is mainly on the atlantic world in the 1700s and 1800s. A comprehensive, contextual presentation of all aspectssocial, political, and economicof slavery in the united states, from the first colonization through reconstruction. Eastern europeans dispossessed by socialist governments are demanding the return of their property as. Information or research assistance regarding american slavery is frequently requested from the smithsonian institution. Definitions of slavery slavery is a form of extreme exploitation. Though the focus is mainly on the atlantic world in the 1700s and 1800s, entries trace the changing fortunes of slavery worldwide, from early beliefs in the necessity, righteousness, and divine approval of the peculiar institution to the later beliefs in the mid. For one thing, roman slaves were either taken as the spoils of war or were such because they sold themselves into slavery known as bondservant.
Virginia had the largest population of enslaved african americans of any state in the confederacy, and those slaves responded to the american civil war 18611865 in a variety of ways. Thousands of men, women and children were taken in war as captives and reduced, sometimes, to most menial slavery. Historically, slavery has generally occurred as a means of securing the labour of the slave, without the right of the slave to refuse, leave or receive anything in return for thier labour other than food, accommodation and clothing. The atlantic slave trade was the capture and transport of black africans into bondage and servitude in the new world.
Slaves fought against their subhuman treatment in a myriad of ways, from passive resistance to armed insurrection. How christian slaveholders used the bible to justify slavery. Black history was promoted very largely at black colleges. Jul 26, 2015 ten books on slavery you need to read. Slave definition, a person who is the property of and wholly subject to another.
History of slavery definition of history of slavery by the. However, the reconstruction of the americas after 1492 led to a system of slavery quite unprecedented in human experience. In so doing, they were specifying the definition of slavery in america. Black reparations stanford encyclopedia of philosophy. For 250 years, slavery was part of the fabric of american life.
In the ancient near east, captives obtained through warfare often became slaves. Slavery in antebellum georgia new georgia encyclopedia. From ancient greece to the modern americas, innumerable governments have. Frederick cooper, plantation slavery on the east coast of africa new haven, ct. New book reopens old arguments about slave raids on europe. Slavery is any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing. A slave is considered as a property of another as the one controlling them purchases them or owns them from their birth.
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