We explain what slavery is, what its main characteristics are and its difference from feudalism.
What is slavery?
Slavery or slavery is a mode of production supported by forced laborsubjugated, who does not receive any profit or remuneration in exchange for their efforts and who also does not enjoy any type of labor, social, or political rights, being reduced to the property of the master or employer, as if it were an object.
slavery It was extremely common in ancient timesin which it even constituted a legal figure, contemplated by the State, which was imposed on those defeated in battle and their families, or on those captured and subjugated in regions conquered militarily. One could also become a slave due to debts (individual duress) or for having committed a crime.
Practically All ancient civilizations practiced slaveryand the cultural flourishing of ancient Greece and Rome were largely due to an economic system supported by slave labor. Something similar happened with the European Empires, once the Middle Ages ended, who colonized and conquered the African continent and subjected many of its inhabitants to the condition of slaves. That is why Africans arrived in America, forcibly transported by Europeans to serve as labor in the colonization of the New Continent.
slavery was abolished in most Western countries between the 19th century and the XXand today it is considered a crime against humanity, punishable internationally by treaties and global organizations.
Nevertheless, modern forms of slavery still existespecially taking advantage of the poorest and most defenseless citizens of neighboring countries, as happens in Southeast Asia and even in specific cases in Latin America. Certain forms of prostitution are also considered modern forms of sexual slavery.
Characteristics of slavery
The slaves were individuals devoid of any type of legal, union or social protection. They constituted the base of the social pyramid, and were barely above pack animals, in many cases being treated even worse than them. Their workdays were long and overwhelming, and their nature responded to the desires and needs of the master, who was their owner. These tasks could be cleaning, cooking, sexual servitude, raising the master's children, labor in construction, cultivation, demolition or even war.
The slaves did not receive wages, nor did they have labor rights of any kind; But the possession of slaves obliged the master to provide them with food, clothing, shelter and work tools. In cases where the slave could legally free himself, he had to return the value of his work in money to the master, as compensation for the loss of his property.
Besides, slave status was hereditaryand children born to slaves could also be subject to this condition. It was not unusual, in cases of indentured slavery, for children to submit as slaves to pay debts inherited from the father. Once their labor covered the equivalent of the amount owed, they could return to their freedom.
There were slave sellers and traffickerswho were in charge of supplying the masters with new slaves, captured in other cultures in remote geographies, or who could be abandoned children, unrecognized children, etc.
Slavery and feudalism
The slave system proliferated in ancient times but in the transition to the Middle Ages it suffered a setback. The feudal system, which consisted of the division of Kingdoms in small plots controlled militarily and legally by a landowner, he maintained the figure of the slave for specific cases, but preferred that of the serf who, in the end, worked voluntarily in exchange for protection and order from the feudal lord, subject to his laws and designs. .
However, the serfs were free and could choose where to gothey could choose which feudal lord to serve, and were full citizens, despite constituting the lowest social class of the Middle Ages, lorded over by the Aristocracy and controlled by the Clergy. The work of the serfs was paid with a part of their agricultural production (the rest went to the landowner) and with military protection against wars and barbarian invasions, frequent for the time.
