How did slavery begin |
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Slavery, a form of forced labor, has existed since before written records, even playing a large role in Biblical times, and was mentioned heavily in the Old Testament. Contrary to common belief in the USA, slavery did not start in the Americas, nor was it restricted to black African people; it has existed in almost all cultures and continents, and even exists to this day, in one form or another, in some places.Answer
In fact, in Africa slavery was common: the tribes would fight each other, and whichever tribe won would either vote to kill the other tribe, or have the tribe be their slaves. If the tribe that won the battle opted to have the other tribe be their slaves, each member would be sent to serve a house. Prisoners from other tribes or outlaws were also kept as slaves, but forced service was often negotiable, meaning they could be freed at some time or another.In many ways it was just like the slavery that was in the US as well as all over the world. However, it is noted that plantation slavery in the American south was much more different than that of traditional African slavery. Slavery in the Americas was passed from parent to child, something that didn't happen in Africa (children weren't usually born into slavery). The Atlantic Slave Trade and the slavery in the Americas, particularly in the southern regions, remains some of the most brutal and cruel acts in human history. Though no one is completely sure when slavery started, having been a part of almost all human history.
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Two basic comments need to be added to the original postings. Many but not all scholars believe African slavery was introduced to the sub-Sahara region by Greek traders. Even then, it was only used during periods of warfare as a more humane alternative for prisoners of war than outright execution.Until European contact, the best estimates on the numbers of slaves in Africa were under 10,000. With the beginning of European slavery in the 1300s, it began an intolerable exploitation of human labor to work on sugar cane plantations and other Atlantic, West Indian, and American plantations, which only Africans knew how to cultivate prior to 1400. By its end in the 1800s, some 12 million had been enslaved in the Americas. The greater numbers going to the plantations of Brazil and the West Indies. During this period the Muslim slavers transported 17 million Africans to North Africa, the Middle East, and India.
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Slavery began with the advent of the earliest tribes and civilizations. When one tribe defeated another, the defeated who were not killed often ended up being enslaved by the victors.As for U.S. history, slavery began with the Spanish in what is now the southwestern part of the U.S., Native Americans were essentially enslaved by the Spanish through their policy of encomienda.
In the U.S. colonies, slavery was begun over 300 years ago, with the west African slave trade.
It was started almost as soon after Spanish revolutionaries discovered America. However, they failed in bringing africans over the water and white revolutionaries saw this as an oppurtunity to make these darker skinned human beings work for them.
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