Slavery
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Slavery has existed in many forms throughout history. It involves treating people as property by forcing them to work against their will through means such as chattel slavery, debt bondage, or forced labor. While slavery has been abolished in every country, there are still an estimated 12 to 27 million slaves worldwide today, primarily in the forms of debt bondage and human trafficking forcing people into sex work. Historically, slaves made up most of the population in pre-industrial societies and supported economies, though mechanization has reduced the need for forced labor.
Slavery
- 2. Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation. Historically, slavery was institutionally recognized by many societies; in more recent times slavery has been outlawed in most societies but continues through the practices of debt bondage, indentured servitude, serfdom, domestic servants kept in captivity, certain adoptions in which children are forced to work as slaves, child soldiers, and forced marriage. Slavery is illegal in every country in the world, but there are still an estimated 27 million slaves worldwide; some opponents are hopeful that slavery can be eradicated by 2042.
- 3. Slavery predates written records and has existed in many cultures. The number of slaves today remains as high as 12 million to 27 million. Most are debt slaves, largely in South Asia, who are under debt bondage incurred by lenders, sometimes even for generations. Human trafficking is primarily used for forcing women and children into sex industries. In pre-industrial societies, slaves and their labour were economically extremely important to those who benefitted from them. Slaves and serfs made up around three-quarters of the world's population at the beginning of the 19th century. In modern mechanised societies, there is less need for sheer massive manpower; Norbert Wiener wrote that "mechanical labor has most of the economic properties of slave labor, though. it does not involve the direct demoralizing effects of human cruelty.
- 4. While many politicians and historians are now troubled about celebrating the French Revolution because of the violence of 1793 and 1794, Robespierre's Constitution of the Year III attempted to guarantee men and women the right to work, the right to eat and the right to public assistance if they could not work or eat. Robespierre's government reaffirmed the right of Protestants and Jews to citizenship in France and abolished slavery in 1794. Though obviously in response to a slave revolt in Saint Domingue, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture (1743-1803), the decision to abolish slavery was not uncontroversial. Many colonial interests opposed ending slavery, and Napoleon's armies lost many lives trying to reestablish it in the 1800s.
- 5. Evidence of slavery predates written records, and has existed in many cultures. Prehistoric graves from about 8000 BC in Lower Egypt suggest that a Libyan people enslaved a San-like tribe. Slavery is rare among hunter- gatherer populations. Mass slavery also requires economic surpluses and a high population density to be viable. Due to these factors, the practice of slavery would have only proliferated after the invention of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution about 11,000 years ago. In the earliest known records slavery is treated as an established institution. The Code of Hammurabi (ca. 1760 BC), for example, prescribed death for anyone who helped a slave to escape or who sheltered a fugitive. The Hebrew Bible refers uncritically to slavery as an established institution.
- 6. 1. Chattel slavery. 2. Bonded labor. 3. Forced labor. Chattel slavery : Chattel slavery, so named because people are treated as the personal property, chattels, of an owner and are bought and sold as if commodities, is the original form of slavery. When taking these chattels across national borders it is referred to as human trafficking especially when these slaves provide sexual services. Bonded labor : Debt bondage or bonded labor occurs when a person pledges himself or herself against a loan. The services required to repay the debt, and their duration, may be undefined. Debt bondage can be passed on from generation to generation, with children required to pay off their parents' debt. It is the most widespread form of slavery today.
- 7. Forced labor : Forced labor occurs when an individual is forced to work against his or her will, under threat of violence or other punishment, with restrictions on their freedom. It is also used to describe all types of slavery and may also include institutions not commonly classified as slavery, such as serfdom, conscription and penal labor.