Brief History of slavery
Slavery began in ancient civilizations, peaked with the transatlantic trade, and persisted into the 2000s. Today, 50 million remain in modern slavery despite global abolition.
Brief History of slavery by Grok
Slavery, the practice of forcibly owning and exploiting individuals for labor, has existed since ancient times, evolving across cultures and eras. Its origins trace back to early civilizations around 10,000 BCE, when agricultural societies in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley began using captives from wars or indebted individuals as laborers. These early slaves performed tasks like farming, construction, or domestic work. In ancient Greece (5th century BCE), slaves, often war prisoners or foreigners, powered Athens’ economy, working in households, mines, or as tutors. Rome (1st century BCE–5th century CE) relied heavily on slaves, with millions laboring in agriculture, gladiatorial arenas, or administration, acquired through conquests or trade.In the medieval period, slavery persisted in various forms. In Europe, feudal serfdom replaced chattel slavery, binding peasants to land but resembling slavery in practice. The Islamic world used slaves for military (e.g., Mamluks) and domestic purposes, sourced from Africa, Europe, and Asia via trade networks. The trans-Saharan slave trade (7th–19th centuries) supplied labor to North Africa and the Middle East.The transatlantic slave trade (15th–19th centuries) marked a brutal peak, with European powers forcibly transporting over 12 million Africans to the Americas. Portuguese and Spanish colonizers initiated this in the 1440s, followed by the Dutch, British, and French. Enslaved Africans worked on plantations in the Caribbean, Brazil, and North America, enduring inhumane conditions. The trade fueled colonial economies but caused immense suffering, with millions dying during the Middle Passage.Abolitionist movements gained traction in the 19th century. Britain banned the slave trade in 1807 and slavery in its empire by 1833. The U.S. abolished slavery in 1865 via the 13th Amendment, following the Civil War. Brazil, one of the last Western nations, ended slavery in 1888. However, slavery persisted elsewhere. In Africa and Asia, colonial powers and local systems maintained forced labor into the 20th century. The Ottoman Empire abolished slavery gradually, with remnants until the 1920s.Modern slavery, though illegal globally, continues. The last known state-sanctioned slaves were in Mauritania, where chattel slavery was outlawed in 1981 but persisted into the early 2000s due to weak enforcement. Today, an estimated 50 million people are trapped in forced labor, human trafficking, or debt bondage, particularly in Asia, Africa, and the Middle East, highlighting slavery’s enduring legacy despite legal abolition.
Brief History of slavery
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