Assignment

Course: HIS 102.4

Prepared by
NAME ID
Md Khairul Islam Pranto 1530 685 030

Prepared For

Abdul Bhuiyan

North South University

Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Date of Submission: 04 June 2020

Slavery in History
Introduction

Slavery enters human history with civilization. Hunter-gatherers and primitive farmers have
no use for a slave. They collect or grow just enough food for themselves. One more pair of
hands is one more mouth. There is no economic advantage in owning another human being.

Once people gather in towns and cities, a surplus of food created in the countryside (often
now on large estates) makes possible a wide range of crafts in the town. On a large farm or
in a workshop there is real benefit in a reliable source of cheap labour, costing no more than
the minimum of food and lodging. These are the conditions for slavery. Every ancient
civilization uses slaves. And it proves easy to acquire them. Hisotyworld

Link: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ac41

Objective

War is the main source of supply, and wars are frequent and brutal in early civilizations.
When a town falls to a hostile army, it is normal to take into slavery those inhabitants who
will make useful workers and to kill the rest.

There are several other ways in which slaves are acquired. Pirates offer their captives for
sale. A criminal may be sentenced to slavery. An unpayable debt can bring the end of
liberty. The impoverished sell their own children. And the children of slaves are themselves
slaves - though with a cheap supply of labour available through war, not many owners will
allow their slaves the diversion of raising a family. Hisotyworld

Link: http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?
historyid=ac41#ixzz6Ms6AHYHA

Methodology

There is a process for everything nothing comes in a simple way. So, to make this report
complete proper information was needed.

I used the secondary source for collecting information about the topic, where i have used
the slides provided by my respected faculty and also i have used some informations from
the internet.

Discussion
Slavery Throughout the Ancient World

The practice of human slavery grew as the world became more civilized and organized cities
and farms were developed. Sumer or Sumeria is still thought to be the birthplace of slavery,
which grew out of Sumer into Greece and other parts of ancient Mesopotamia. The Ancient
East, specifically China and India, didn’t adopt the practice of slavery until much later, as late
as the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC. Historians debate whether or not the practice of slavery in
India existed before this time, but many believe argue against its existence as there is no
word in ancient Sanskrit that can be translated as “slave.”

The Life of a Slave in Ancient Times

Slavery in ancient times typically came about as a result of debt, birth into a slave family,
child abandonment, war, or as a punishment for crime. At the outset, the slave trade wasn’t
very popular and was certainly not a booming global business. Rather, slavers would often
seek out a buyer who could use the specific skills of a slave, matching supply with demand
on a local and personal level. According to historical texts, the lives of slaves in ancient times
were typically better than that of peasants in the same era, as they had regular care, food,
shelter and clothing. Slaves rarely attempted to run away unless their masters were
atypically cruel.

THE MIDDLE AGES

Throughout the Middle Ages, (defined by historians as a three-part time period between
500 AD and 1500 AD) the practice of slavery changed dramatically as global warfare, raiding
and conquering spanned across continents. This led to chaos and confusion as the citizens of
conquered regions were taken as slaves and transported across many miles to work as
slaves for their captors.

Medieval Slavery in Europe

King Charlemagne is responsible for uniting large parts of West and Central Europe at the
outset of the Middle Ages. This unification came about through war and violence and many
of his campaigns involved taking slaves and selling them to the highest bidders. Throughout
his reign, European slaves became wildly popular throughout Muslim countries, marking the
true beginning of the global slave trade. Throughout this period in history, Vikings were also
taking slaves across Europe, concentrating heavily on The British Isles. Additionally, Spain
and Portugal were in an almost constant state of Holy War between Muslims and Christians,
leading to many women and children being taken into slavery in the name of God or Allah.

Medieval Slavery in Asia

Throughout the Middle Ages slavery was also taking root in Asia as Islamic invasions of India
resulted in the enslavement of hundreds of thousands of Indians. One historical record
show that in the year 1001 the armies of Mahmud of Ghazna conquered Peshawar and
Waihand, capturing and enslaving roughly 100,000 children and young people.

During this same time period in China, documents show that royals from the Tang Dynasty
purchased many European and Jewish slaves. The soldiers and pirates who serve the Tang
Dynasty also took countless slaves in raids on Korea, Turkey, Persia and Indonesia as well as
thousands of slaves taken from indigenous Aboriginal tribes.

SLAVERY IN THE AMERICAS

The story of the American slave trade is the first chapter in the history of slavery where
most of us already have some familiarity. Whether it be from graphic films on the
transportation of Africans aboard slave ships or your high school American history class,
most adults are aware of the origins of slavery in the United States. The long story of slavery
has not yet come to a close as many, including children, still find themselves enslaved.

Link: https://restavekfreedom.org/2018/09/11/the-history-of-slavery/

Interpretation:
In this modern age slavery is the extreme oppression to personal or commercial benefit of
powerless men. It is still practiced around us in this modern age but mostly out of our sight.
Now we see that there are a small number of citizens of the lower class who work under us,
but for them they are not compelled to work it is their own option, so it does not look like
modern day slavery. Slavery is still practiced in many countries around the world but they're
hidden under this working-class lower class.

Child labor: In many renowned factories, people still practice child labor in many countries,
and these working children's parents happily consent to let their children work, which is
much heavier than their age.

Many countries around the world still perceive human trafficking. Abuse, murder,
transplantation of human organs, sex workers, etc. ... These are all still practiced, and for
many reasons, humans are still traded.

Debt bondage is still seen, poor people are forced to work when they cannot repay their
debt with time. People are often made part of false debt due to analphabetism, and they
are forced to work.

Child Marriage: In many countries it is still practiced particularly in the Asian continent.
Young girls' parents strongly marry their daughters to someone who is twice the age of girls.
This in the future leads the young wife to give birth to unhealthy babies and several other
illnesses caused to both mother and son.

The domestic workers are often forced to work by their masters and the family members
often beat them. Many cases are seen where the masters beat down domestic workers to
death.

Conclusion:
"Slavery" represents an unforgivable crime. It is still done in this modern age and it is still
not seen or tried to disregard. Each single human being deserves fair care. Each being in this
universe as the Creator 's best creation has a right to live in complete freedom. Not only
humans but also the wildlife. No one should try to take advantage of the helplessness of
someone, and harm them in any way, or make them do something that would benefit the
other party. Instead of being selfish, we should come forward and help each other and help
those who are still stuck in this system of slavery and remove from our dictionary this word
of "slavery" If we do that we can have a happy world in which everybody will be the king or
queen of their own life.

Bibliography:

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?historyid=ac41
http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/plaintexthistories.asp?
historyid=ac41#ixzz6Ms6AHYHA

https://restavekfreedom.org/2018/09/11/the-history-of-slavery/

http://umich.edu/~ece/student_projects/slavery/erica.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Slavery-Abolition-Act