It is believed that slavery has almost completely been eliminated on our planet . This does not mean that it is not there, it just acquired other forms, often very sophisticated. The merchants were replaced by the voluntary submission of some people to others, while the shackles became invisible, and they consist not of iron links, but of intangible habits of comfort and idleness. Modern slavery is no better than primitive or antique, and freedom still remains the destiny of a few. However, in order to understand the nature of this phenomenon, one should delve into its various aspects, the history of occurrence, and the causes.
Patriarchal version
The desire to subjugate others to itself is inherent in the very nature of man. The history of slavery is rooted in the period of the emergence of social relations, when, in addition to the tribal structure, there were no other forms of coexistence. Nevertheless, the division of labor into physical and mental began already then, and there were few hunters, as now. Therefore, the first social formation is considered to be slaveholding, in which the ruling classes exploited under the threat of physical reprisal against the rebellious. Labor productivity grew, a surplus product appeared, and, as a result, the concept of ownership arose, which extended not only to tools of production and goods, but also to people. The very first form of this relationship was the so-called patriarchal slavery. This meant the entry into the family of several new members who, however, did not have full rights, and did part of the common work, for which they were provided with food and shelter.
Antique version
In the ancient Greek and Roman states, slavery reached enormous proportions. It was here that the process of transition from a patriarchal form to a classical one took place, in which a person became a thing, suitable, depending on his value, for sale or purchase. Regulated these transactions, along with other legal issues, Roman law. Slavery became legalized around the second century BC. almost the entire Apennine peninsula and in the Greek colonies in Sicily. It is also interesting how democracy coexisted with this terrifying phenomenon. So, according to Plato, the greatest prosperity and general prosperity in democracy can be achieved if every free citizen has at least three slaves.
The main source of gratuitous labor resources at that time was the aggressive campaigns of the Roman legions. If the war in the V-IV centuries. BC e. being carried out over the territory, the later seizures of the II-I centuries already set the goal of capturing as many potential workers as possible.
Revolts
Since the classical form of slavery existed under conditions of commodity production (in contrast to the patriarchal foundation), the main purpose of exploitation was to make a profit. This circumstance led to increased coercion and the appearance of its most severe methods. In addition to the intensive methods of reducing maintenance costs and increasing cruelty, extensive was also practiced, which consisted of accelerated delivery of slaves. This ultimately led to the fact that the total number of slaves reached a critical level, and then uprisings broke out, the most famous of which led in 74 BC. e. Spartacus.
Slavery in the East
In India, China and other countries geographically and culturally related to Asia, slavery existed for a relatively long time. Slavery in the world has already given way to feudalism, then capitalism, and in the eastern states it still flourished, however, often in parallel with the emerging and developing new socio-economic relations. The main source feeding slave markets was the environment of losers who fell into debt bondage and had no other opportunity to pay off creditors, except for their own work, which sometimes was not enough even with life-long free work. In these cases, the descendants of the unfortunate also awaited hereditary slavery. Generally speaking, this was contrary to the laws of Islam (with the exception of state criminals), but it was still widely practiced. Officially considered the right to own captives captured during wars and raids.
Transition period
For many centuries, practically all over the world, various forms of slavery existed, but in many countries it gradually came into conflict with developing market production (mainly agricultural), which required ever greater efficiency. The lack of incentive methods led to reduced productivity. Slaves often fled from their masters and even put them to death, raised uprisings, and the more they became, the more dangerous the consequences of the inept management of these specific human resources could turn out to be. Gradually, in European countries, the attitude towards slaves became softer, which, of course, did not exclude merciless exploitation, but prompted greater caution. And here in the XVI century the New World was opened.
The beginning of American slavery
The vast expanses of America, the abundance of fertile and resource-rich sparsely populated territories contributed to a certain renaissance of slave relations, which seemed to smoothly fade into the past. The Indians rendered desperate resistance to the colonialists (at the first stage, mainly Spanish and Portuguese), which led to a royal ban on slavery of the indigenous population. This, combined with a shortage of labor, prompted the planters who launched activities on American soil to import slaves from Africa. It should be noted that people of an adventurous warehouse, not constrained by some moral principles, went to the New World first. The desire to get rich with them was successfully combined with the unwillingness to work. In America over a historically short period (approximately two centuries), up to ten million African slaves were imported. At the beginning of the XIX century in some countries of the West Indies they already constituted an ethnic majority.
Meanwhile in Russia
Slavery in Russia was called serfdom. It also served as a form of social relations in which people are goods and are subject to purchase, sale or exchange. For the most part, the owners, who later became known as landowners, treated their slaves in much the same way as ordinary peasants treated working cattle, that is, not without a certain degree of care and frugality. The exception was particularly outstanding cases of bullying, a textbook example of which was the noblewoman Morozova, punished for her atrocities under the laws of the Russian Empire. Nevertheless, serfdom by the middle of the 19th century already impeded the development of capitalism, and in 1861 the peasants were granted freedom, and legislative slavery was abolished. The process of emancipation was slow, meeting resistance from both landowners interested in maintaining their positions and the former slaves themselves, who for generations had weaned themselves from independent life “on free bread”. At the end of the century, Stolypin reforms were just as difficult to create the conditions for a transition from communities to an individual agricultural structure.
IN USA
At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, an industrial boom occurred in North America. The demand for agricultural raw materials (cotton, flax, etc.) has grown sharply, which in the most paradoxical way has created capitalism with slaveholding, the center of which became the southern states. Over time, however, the contradictions between two such different social formations generated strong internal tensions that led to the outbreak of the Civil War between the industrial North and the patriarchal South. This bloody and fratricidal conflict took place under the slogans of the struggle for freedom and brotherhood, on the one hand, and the protection of fundamental values, on the other. After the victory of the northerners in the United States, the abolition of slavery was officially proclaimed, but ratification by the senates of certain states of this declaration dragged on until the end of the 20th century. Legislative abolition of segregation occurred in the second half of the century. The descendants of black slaves were not allowed to sit on white benches, go to mixed schools (there were none), and even attend the same public places. Slavery in Russia was abolished a year earlier than in the United States. Liberated slaves often behaved in the same way as the Russian peasants who received the will. What to do with freedom, many of them simply did not know.
Modern history slavery
The question of when slavery was abolished in a particular country, despite its obvious simplicity (it seems enough to refer to the corresponding document or constitution), most often requires a detailed answer. The "enlightened" European powers, which owned colonies until the mid-twentieth century, proclaiming democratic principles in words, nevertheless put up with the absence of elementary civil liberties and the presence of slavery. During the Second World War, Nazi Germany made the most extensive use of the forced labor of prisoners and prisoners of war. Soviet prisoners during the years of Stalinist terror were also massively involved in solving national economic issues, and the situation of collective farmers, deprived of even passports, if it was possible to compare with the status of serfs, only with a mention of its advantages. The Japanese invaders turned the population of the occupied territories into real slaves. The anti-human regime of Pol Pot in Kampuchea managed to enslave almost the entire population without exception. Unfortunately, there are a lot of examples ...
The latest varieties
Nevertheless, the question of when slavery was abolished on an international scale has a concrete answer. It is based on a formal document. This happened in 1926 during the signing of the Slavery Convention. The agreement, signed by representatives of most countries, defines the concept as “property rights, accompanied by threats ...”, etc. Nevertheless, today many of the hidden forms that fully meet the criteria for this formulation continue to exist on the planet. It cannot be argued that they thrive - on the contrary, they are given the most negative assessment, but modern slavery exists and, most likely, will not soon disappear. It makes sense to consider some of its varieties in detail.
Bondage
So most often called debt slavery. Most state laws provide for liability for violation of the terms of repayments on loans and credits, including to individuals, but repayment conditions may often be unacceptable for an unlucky borrower. He himself offers to work off the debt and as a result finds himself in the position of a dependent laborer, who is forced to do the dirty and hard work for his “master” for the rest of his life. To deal with this phenomenon is almost impossible, the duties of a slave in this case are taken voluntarily.
Forced labor
The circumstances of slavery can be very different. Some people fall into captivity during the fighting, being military personnel or civilians. In regions where control by representatives of human rights structures is difficult or impossible, this happens, unfortunately, often. The ILO (International Labor Organization) has limited information on the increasing share of forced labor in different countries, which is not taken into account by national statistical offices and is sometimes deliberately hidden.
Violent sexual exploitation
It is a form of absolute control of one person over another, carried out in the form of creating a hopeless situation. Such enslavement is widespread in the field of illegal sexual services, when coercion to prostitution is carried out by seizing documents (especially in a foreign country), the threat of physical violence, instilling drug addiction and other inhumane methods. Such a crime is considered especially serious all over the world if minors become victims. Psychological methods of pressure, such as the “vow of silence” and the use of special rituals designed to suppress the will to resist, still play a significant role in coercion (especially in exotic countries).