Slavery

Origins (-10 000 > -600)

We begin at around 10,000 BC. In several places in the world, man leaves the hunter-gatherer way of life to become sedentary, developing agriculture and animal husbandry. Food becomes more abundant, the population increases, and those who are better off, notably by taking over more land, form an elite, causing increasing social inequalities. In Mesopotamia, the appearance of writing offers us the first concrete evidence of slavery. Slaves are either prisoners of war, who in some cases could be bought back by their families, or they are people in debt who enslave themselves for the time it takes to pay off their debts. Wealthy and powerful families own a few slaves, while palaces could have hundreds. The men are used for their labor force in agricultural production or in construction, while the women are often found as servants or concubines, or working in workshops, such as weaving. Around 1750 B.C., Hammurabi, the king of Babylon, writes a code of law that details, among other things, the treatment of slaves, and the penalties they face. Slavery is also mentioned in different forms in Ancient Egypt, as well as in the texts of the Old Testament, which describe the treatment reserved for slaves. But at present, there is no archaeological evidence of the slavery of the Hebrew people in Egypt, nor of their exodus.

The commerce of slaves (593 > 110)

In Ancient Greece, the island of Chios specializes in the production of wine, which requires a large workforce. Trade ships then leave to buy non-Greek slaves who were abducted from Thrace, Scythia, and Asia Minor. In Chios, some of them end up in the vineyards, the others are sold mainly in the Aegean Sea. The city specializes in this very profitable market. Other Greek cities follow suit, and the slave population swells everywhere, so much so that around 400 BC, about half of the population of Athens is enslaved. Later on, Rome follows this model. Slaves come from military conquests, and from raids organized by merchants in the border regions where the so-called barbarian peoples live. The slaves are then sold in slave markets. The value of a slave varies according to his or her sex and age, but around the first century AD, a slave is worth roughly about one and a half years of salary. Owning one is a sign of wealth and success. The richest sometimes have thousands of slaves, who are gathered in huge domains. The condition of slaves varies from place to place. Some work in mines, others are servants, and finally the best educated could occupy more important positions, such as that of an accountant, for example.

The Muslim conquests (622 > 863)

The 7th century marks the beginning of the Muslim conquests. The prisoners from the conquests are enslaved to grow the Arab armies. After the conquest of Egypt, the Muslims move towards the Byzantines and the Berbers in the West and towards Nubians in the South. In 652, after the failure of the siege of Dongola, a peace treaty is signed with the Nubians and both parties start to trade. The Nubians commit themselves to provide 360 healthy slaves, men and women, every year. This treaty will last almost 7 centuries. Further west, after 60 years of resistance, the North African coasts are conquered. Berbers are captured and enslaved. In reaction, many convert to Islam because it is forbidden to enslave a Muslim. In Northern Europe, the Vikings dominate the seas. During raids and pillaging, captives are made slaves and are either kept by their abductors or sold in markets. The best educated from the monasteries are sold at a higher price in Venice or Constantinople. In the east, Vikings, who are called Varegues, control a trade route that follows the Dnieper River to Constantinople. There they sell, among other things, Slavic slaves captured on the way. In the Abbasid Caliphate, the majority of slaves from the conquests and trade routes end up in Baghdad.

The Abbasid Caliphate (863 > 1269)

Further south, towards Basra, there are huge swamps. Thousands of slaves are sent there to work the land in order to make it arable. The work is back-breaking, and the living conditions are difficult. In 869, Ali Ibn Muhammad, of uncertain origin, takes advantage of the slaves' discontent to organize an insurrection. The slaves quickly swell his army and organize a veritable guerrilla war against the large landowners and the surrounding towns and villages, which are pillaged. For 14 years, the Abbasid caliphate is undermined and unable to regain control of the region. Finally, the revolt is defeated and put down. After the failure of mass slavery in agricultural production, domestic slavery is favored. In addition, the Caliph, to strengthen his power, creates a personal guard. Young slaves from Central Asia and the Caucasus are converted to Islam and trained in combat to form a loyal army, which is called the Mamluk army. But the Abbasid Caliphate declines due to internal divisions, Christian crusades from Europe, and, finally, Mongol conquests from Asia. The Mamluk army, after repelling the seventh crusade, assassinate the Ayyubid heir and found the Mamluk Sultanate. A few years later, in 1258, the Mongols seize Baghdad. The Abbasid heir flees to Cairo. With no more access to Asia, slaves now mainly come from sub-Saharan Africa.

The Arab slave trade (1269 > 1420)

After the conquest of North Africa, the Arabs discovered the Berber trade routes that cross the Sahara desert to trade with, among others, the Mali empire, which is rich in gold and slaves. Most are captives from animist peoples further south. The slaves are sold to Tuareg caravans that take several months to cross the desert to reach Cairo. There, the survivors are sold in markets to become servants. The majority of slaves are women who become servants or concubines. Owning a slave raises the prestige of a family, so demand increases and the Trans-Saharan slave trade grows. It’s estimated that between 3.5 and 7 million slaves passed through these routes over 1000 years. To the north of the Mediterranean basin, the Ottoman Empire creates an army of Janissaries, i.e., young European Christian slaves, who are converted to Islam and then trained for war to serve the Sultan. Finally, the Italian republics control the main trade routes of the Mediterranean basin. Genoa and Venice compete for the profitable slave trade, in particular by establishing trading posts in the Crimea, from where Slavic and Caucasian captives are coming.

Portugal (1420 > 1620)

All the way to the west of Europe, Portugal takes advantage of the creation of the caravel, a new, more maneuverable ship to begin explorations along the African coast in search of new trade routes. After discovering the Akan people, who own numerous gold mines, the Portuguese navigators discover an uninhabited island that they name Sao Tomé. In 1483, they reach the Kingdom of Kongo, with which they start diplomatic and commercial relations. Portugal provides European goods, such as crockery and firearms, which are exchanged for slaves. These are either taken to the Iberian Peninsula, or exchanged for gold in Elmina, to end up in the mines, or sold to Portuguese settlers in São Tomé, where the climate allows for the cultivation of sugarcane, sugar being then a rare and expensive product, highly prized in Europe. Slaves, gold, sugar, and spices coming from Asia are making Portugal very rich, and in less than a century, Lisbon becomes the richest city in Europe. Further east, the Ottoman Empire, which had seized Constantinople, now dominates the trade routes. In the Black Sea, the Crimean Tatars provide it with slaves from abductions. All around the Mediterranean basin, Catholics and Muslims clash via raids. Captured Muslims end up as oarsmen on Catholic galleys, while pirates from North Africa organize raids, also into the Atlantic Ocean, to seize Christians, who end up in their slave markets. In 1595 in Sao Tomé, the slaves, who are now in the majority, revolt. Portugal regains control, but the country is now giving more interest to the lands it controls in the Americas, where 300,000 slaves have already been sent to work in the cultivation of sugar cane.

The triangular trade (1620 > 1685)

Western European countries with access to the Atlantic Ocean gradually follow the Portuguese model and set up a globalized slave trade that takes place mainly on three continents. The Netherlands, England and then France, create companies to take over this new trade. Their ships are loaded with European handicrafts, such as textiles, metals, and weapons. They leave for the African coasts to exchange their goods for slaves. The latter are either prisoners of war or are the result of abductions. Hundreds of slaves are crammed into the holds of ships in appalling conditions for voyages to America that last several months. The majority end up in Brazil and the Caribbean, where the climate is ideal for growing sugar cane, but also for coffee, cotton, and tobacco. The large European landowners, called planters, exchange the slaves for precious metals and local products. The ships then return to Europe to sell the American products on the European markets. The companies make large profits and organize more and more shipments. Western Europe is rapidly getting richer at the expense of the labor force of Africa and the cultivable land of America. The European states, to ensure their profits, enact new laws to control this market.

Consequences of the triangular trade (1685 > 1781)

In Europe, the refining of sugar and the high demand for handicrafts creates a lot of jobs, while the sudden abundance of American products on the markets brings down prices, making them accessible to a larger portion of the population. In Africa, the demand for slaves becomes so great that their value soars, leading to wars for control of the trade. Kidnappings are organized further and further inland, sometimes resulting in the taking of entire villages, which pass from hand to hand, to end up on European ships. Finally, in America, the black population swells rapidly in Brazil and the Caribbean. Those who manage to flee are called Maroons. They form communities in remote and difficult to access areas. For the European powers, the competition for control of the cultivable land is increasing, which provokes wars. At the end of the Seven Years' War, France cedes its North American colonies to Great Britain and to Spain, but keeps – at all costs – most of its sugar islands.

First abolitionist movements (1781 > 1788)

In 1781, the British ship Zong, recently captured from the Dutch, leaves the coast of Africa with 442 slaves on board, twice as many as its capacity. After two months of sailing, the ship reaches its destination, the island of Jamaica. But the crew confuses the island with Saint-Domingue and continues westward. 500 km further on, the captain understands his mistake, but it’s too late, as it would take more than 10 days to sail back, and the ship, which had not made any stopover to restock and renew its stores, no longer has enough drinking water to last that long. The crew decides then to throw 132 slaves, including women and children, overboard. Only 208 slaves arrive in Jamaica. The company that organized the expedition turns to its insurance company for compensation, but the latter refuses, and a trial begins in London. The case is followed and has an impact on public opinion, which strengthens the abolitionist movements. The Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade is founded, and, despite its still weak influence, it obtains the first law limiting the number of slaves per ship. In France, too, the first abolitionist movements appear, notably with the foundation of the Society of the Friends of the Blacks. But their impact is still weak in the face of powerful slave lobbies.

Saint-Domingue (1788 > 1804)

Until now, approximately 7,700,000 African slaves have been deported to the Americas. Great Britain and France dominate this market. In the Caribbean, the French colony of Saint-Domingue, where half a million slaves work, is now the world's leading exporter of sugar and coffee, making it the most prosperous. In 1789, the French Revolution takes place. In the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, it is written that men are born and remain free and equal in rights. In Saint-Domingue, these words resonate with the slaves and freedmen, who revolt. A French civil commissioner is sent to restore order. He proclaims the emancipation of the slaves, obtaining their military support in the middle of the war against Great Britain and Spain. The following year, in Paris, slavery is officially abolished in all French colonies. But in 1802, Napoleon, who had seized power, re-establishes slavery, and tries to regain control of Saint-Domingue by sending an army, but the latter is defeated. On January 1, 1804, the Republic of Haiti proclaims its independence. It is the only republic to emerge from a revolt of slaves and freedmen. However, the new country will have to pay a heavy price to France, which would weaken it economically.

Abolitions (1807 > 1888)

After having transported about 2,750,000 slaves, in 1807, the United Kingdom abolishes the slave trade, but not yet slavery, which remains in force in its colonies. The country now uses its influence to put a global end to the slave trade. In 1815, after the fall of Napoleon, the European powers meet in Vienna. The United Kingdom obtains a commitment from each of them to abolish the slave trade. But in reality, it would take several decades before it really stops. Brazil resists and continues the massive importation of slaves for its coffee culture. Brazilian ships go directly to Africa to fetch slaves without passing through Europe. In 1833, the United Kingdom abolishes slavery completely. From then on, the country relies on the industrial revolution. The invention of the steam engine increases production in factories. The textile industry explodes, increasing the demand for cotton. In the United States, slaves living near the coast are moved all along the Mississippi River to work in cotton production. In addition, a U.S. company, after buying land in Africa, creates Liberia to organize the return of freed blacks. In 1847, Liberia gains its independence and finds itself governed by the newcomers, to the detriment of the indigenous populations. In 1848, France abolishes slavery in its turn. About 250,000 slaves are freed. To prevent the planters from seceding, the state compensates for their losses by paying them, and facilitating the importation of cheap labor, mainly from India and China. Finally, in the United States, after the Civil War and the victory of the northern armies, slavery is abolished here too. But in all the former slave territories, the situation remains complicated for the freedmen. They are often confined to ghettos, controlled, and in many cases continue to be exploited without rights or income. Zanzibar is the last major slave trading port. Swahili caravans set out to raid the African Great Lakes region. The captives are then sent mainly to the plantations of Oman. In 1873, the United Kingdom obtains the end of the slave trade there. And in 1888, Brazil is the last American country to abolish slavery.

New forms of slavery (1885 > 1945)

In 1885, the European powers meet in Berlin to divide Africa among themselves, and to regulate colonization, each committing itself to abolish slavery. The Belgian king Leopold II obtains as his personal possession a huge territory in the heart of the continent. To consolidate his power, he receives the services of a former powerful slave trader from Zanzibar, whom he appoints governor of Stanley Falls District. The population is subjected to a tax in kind, which is a form of forced labor. The population has to mainly produce rubber, which is in great demand with the booming of bicycles and the invention of the automobile. The immense territory is shared with private companies. The population is under pressure to produce more and more, and those who don’t meet the quotas are massacred or mutilated. In 1908, under international pressure, Leopold II cedes the Congo to the Belgian state, which puts a direct end to these methods. In China, slavery is still legal and is facilitated by the numerous crises that the country is going through. But under Western pressure, the country finally abolishes slavery in 1910. In 1930 in the USSR, the Gulag administration is created to manage the forced labor camps. Political opponents, minorities, and rich peasants are locked up and forced to work in remote and hostile areas to build railroads, canals, or exploit resources such as coal or minerals. Over 10 years, about 7 million men are locked up. During the Second World War, the Nazis build forced labor camps called concentration camps, which are intended to make Jews and political prisoners work, often to death. The Empire of Japan also organizes the forced labor of millions of prisoners, mainly Chinese in Manchukuo, or Indonesians on the island of Java.

Modern slavery (1945 > 2022)

After WWII, the Gulf States abolish slavery one by one. But they keep a law that allows employers to confiscate the passports of migrant workers, in order to control them and prevent them from leaving. In 1981, Mauritania becomes the last country in the Sahel to abolish slavery, which is still deeply rooted in the culture. With some ethnic groups enslaved for generations, slavery continues in remote areas of the Sahel. In 1992, Pakistan becomes the last country to abolish slavery, freeing thousands of peasants who were working for powerful landowners. In North Korea, prisoners from the Korean War and political prisoners, men, women, and children are exploited in forced labor camps. In addition, the country exports its slave labor around the world, mainly to labor camps in Russia and China, which brings in a lot of money. In 2017, the country successfully tests an intercontinental ballistic missile, directly threatening the United States. In retaliation, the UN imposes new sanctions, including the return of North Korean workers to the country. In October 2018, China acknowledges the existence of re-education camps in Xinjiang, where part of the Muslim Uyghur population is locked up. Some camps are accused of organizing forced labor in factories or in cotton fields. In 2021, according to the latest estimates of the International Labour Organization, there are about 50 million slaves in the world, more than ever before in history. 21.3 million are victims of forced labor, of which 3.3 million are children, while 22 million people, mostly women, are victims of forced marriage, which is considered a form of sexual and domestic slavery. Finally, 6.3 million people, again mainly women, are victims of commercial sexual exploitation. In total, women represent about 70% of the world's slaves.