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Running head: HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS History of slavery and its impacts in contemporary society
Trevin Johnson
DeVry
6/9/2017 2 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS Introduction
Slavery history spans various religions, cultures, and nationalities from old days to
today’s world. Although the legal, economic and social slaves positions were widely varying in
different slavery systems in different places and times. Slavery existed in many cultures all along
the world (Ross, 2016). Slavery is a system in which individuals buy, own and sell individuals.
Slaves are forced to work against their will while the forms of slavery vary from human
trafficking, chattel slavery, all the way to forced labor amongst many others. Slavery began over
10000 years ago in Mesopotamia, which is known today as Iraq, where a slave in male gender
was the one worth date palms orchard (Kaye, 2014). Female slaves were taken as sexual objects
and offered the sexual services and gained their freedom once their masters passed out
Slavery in Greece
Slavery began with civilization. Shifting from hunting and gathering to farming brought
the introduction of slavery. Greece civilization was based on slavery. Slaves in Greece would
work as shopkeepers, miner workers and farm workers (Freund, 2016). In Greece one acquired
slavery or became a slave through various ways such as; being born by a mother and father who
are already slaves, that child became a slave by birth and would live a slavery life. Children were
taken as prisoners when cities were attacked during battlefields; parents would abandon their
babies upon a cities hillside or at gates to be taken by passersby.
Parents would also sell their children when they needed money (Kaye, 2014). The
kidnapping of children was another form of obtaining slaves. Slaves in ancient Greece were
treated differently depending on the purpose which they were intended to fulfill. Household 3 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS servants were treated fairly. They were considered as members of the family and given same
services as original members of that particular family. They would be given permission to
participate in the rituals of a family such as; sacrifices wealthy household had 10-20 households’
servants. Slaves were limited to do certain things. They could not enter public assembly and
gymnasium (Ross, 2016). Slaves were assigned names by their masters in ancient Greece since
they were not allowed to use their names. Slaves in ancient Greece did not have a long life span
since they were exposed to harsh environmental conditions. Slavery in Europe
According to Eltic et al., 2017, slavery began even before the start of Trans-Atlantic slave
trade.it began due to the rise of rising conflicts between Christians and Muslims around the black
sea in Mediterranean. Transatlantic trade has its roots in Europe. Africans were shipped to
America to work in farm plantations. A monarchical and aristocratic form of Governors existed
in Europe. The government ruled via traditional royalties at home and through dynastic linked
abroad. During 15 century and 16th century it was realized that global trade and conquest outside
Europe sphere of operation could be more productive in comparison to the older trading system.
Wealth gained from these global trade was used to greatly enhance the political powers at their
native homes (Ditlmann et al., 2017).
The use of Africans as slaves by Europeans was not due to the availability of Africans is
such large economic numbers but due to Europeans ideas about slavery. European rivalry among
different powers introduced the differences and rivalries or wars and lasted for the many passing 4 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS centuries (Hernandez & Rudolph, 2015). However, Europeans would be united in one thing. It
was difficult for a European to use his fellow European as his slave. They were not willing to
send their fellow European brothers and sisters, as slaves even though they caused the death of
each other in welfare or wars. Europeans were not also well suited to tropical climate due to
tropical diseases. Slavery in Africa
The history of slavery in Africa started along before even the start of European
colonization. Africans were subjected to a different form of slavery by their fellow Africans over
the centuries. These led to the development of Trans- Saharan slave trade. Slaves among
different kingdoms were used to increase the influence of a person (Everett, 2014). Children who
were born to slave parents could be adopted and integrated into their masters’ kinship group.
Among these kingdoms and societies, forced labor was the major form of slavery.
Around the 8th and 9th century Indian Ocean slave trade was introduced in Africa.
Islamic laws were set in which they prohibited the use of Muslims as slaves, and as a result, they
focused on other means of obtaining slaves. The main source of these slaves was Africans. Indian
Ocean trade was also due to the factor that Muslims wanted control of sea routes in the Indian
Ocean. Slaves from Africa were taken through these sea routes and taken to Middle East
(Freund, 2016). Development of more superior ship and also increased demand for labor in
plantations in the Middle East and to increased Indian Ocean trading activities. In 1800s Indian 5 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS Ocean trade was at its peak. Around 1850 this trade declined due to the emergence of European
colonization in Africa.
The Trans- Atlantic slave trade took placed across the Atlantic Ocean between 15th and
19th century. This trade led to increased agricultural plantation and also became an important
aspect in many societies. In 19 century the Portuguese settlers found that inhibited Sao Rome
were more productive in sugar production (Hernandez & Rudolph, 2015). Sugar production was
labor intensive, and the Portuguese could not work in these farms due to extreme heat in the
land.
They turned to Africa where they obtained and enslaved Africans. Trans- Atlantic trade
increased significantly in the lasted 18th century when most slaves were raided in parts of West
Africa. Expansion of colonial powers also led to the rapid demand of slaves. Abolition of transAtlantic started in the 19th century (Ross, 2016). Major trans- Atlantic trade participants passed
laws burning slave trade. The British also introduced approaches to stop these trade. Anti-slavery
treaties and agreements were signed by most African rulers. The Trans-Atlantic slave trade
database estimate that 12.8 million people were involved between 1450 and 1900. Impacts of Slavery to Contemporary Society
Although slave trade does not exist since it is considered illegal in many parts of the
world, human trafficking remains a huge problem. It is estimated 24 t0 40 million are enslaved
today through human trafficking. 6 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS Slavery led to hatred and bitterness among people in the society. People were bitter about
their love ones taken far away from them and forced to do heavy duties. This has therefore
brought mistrust among people in the society and hence war and conflicts among the society
members. Slavery has also brought fear in the societies (Ditlmann et al., 2017).
Slavery led to emergence and expansion of different cultures. For instance, Americans
were introduced to African cultures that the slaves brought with them. Slaves in Brazil were told
they had to follow the religion of their master. Africans Americans formed their culture which
was more supportive of human dignity (Eltic et al., 2017). They also employed religion which
played an important role in helping them to survive the miserable life of slavery.
Slavery brought a variation on economies. It benefited owners of plantation since they
had access to cheap labor. These owners used slaves until they exhausted due to harsh
environmental working conditions. Slave trade undermined local economies and increased
political instability in different parts of the world (Kaye, 2014). According to Karl Marx in his
economic history of capitalism claimed that, “…turning of Africa into warren for the commercial
hunting of slaves signed the rosy dawn of the era of capitalist production.”
Slavery brought about racial segregation in most parts of the world. Recently, the big
issues in America are how Africa Americans are depicted in the media. Racial segregation has
led to a differentiation in social, economic culture and religious background (Freund, 2016).
Equality due to racial segregation remains a huge problem for most nations in the world. Racial
segregation has led to huge disparities between incomes of different individuals from different
races. 7 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS Slavery changed the women role in society. Women who ran households in the absence of
the husband became more confident. This led to the emergence of powerful and outspoken
women in modern society who some of them have become key world leaders. Chattel Slavery by
colonial government influenced modern societies (Hernandez & Rudolph, 2015). North
American slaves gave the settlers free access to factors of production such as labor. These labor
force meant that America would have advantages in the world economies which led to the
emergence of USA as a super power. The Trans-Atlantic trade which involved three continents
laid the basis for the demand-supply mechanism. Europeans developed demands which triggered
the supply of Africans as laborers (Everett, 2014).
In conclusion, it is worth noting that slavery never ends it just evolves. It changes its look
and fills but its effect remains. Its effect is still felt today and some suffering because of what
was done thousands of years ago. 8 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS References
Ditlmann, R. K., Purdie-Vaughns, V., Dovidio, J. F., & Naft, M. J. (2017). The implicit power
motive in intergroup dialogues about the history of slavery.Journal of personality and
social psychology, 112(1), 116.
Eltis, D., Engerman, S. L., Drescher, S., & Richardson, D. (Eds.). (2017).The Cambridge World
History of Slavery: Volume 4, AD 1804–AD 2016. Cambridge University Press.
Everett, S. (2014). History of Slavery: An Illustrated History of the Monstrous Evil. Chartwell
Books.
Freund, B. (2016). The making of contemporary Africa: the development of African society since
1800. Palgrave Macmillan.
Hernandez, D., & Rudolph, A. (2015). Modern day slavery: What drives human trafficking in
Europe?. European Journal of Political Economy, 38, 118-139.
Kaye, A. E. (2014). The Problem of Slavery as History: A Global Approach.The Journal of
Southern History, 80(3), 679.
Ross, R. (2016). Slavery and Slaving in African History, written by Sean Stilwell. Journal of
Global Slavery, 1(1), 126-127. 9 HISTORY OF SLAVERY AND ITS IMPACTS
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