Slavery

The U.S. banned the importation of slaves in 1808, fifty three years before our civil war. After that time, slave numbers increased only due to natural population growth. The English outlawed slavery and simultaneously freed all slaves throughout the Commonwealth, estimated at 800,000, in 1834. No civil war, rather they compensated slave owners for the value of their slaves. The total cost was 20 million pounds, a sum equal to 40 percent of the English budget for that year. They borrowed most of the money and the debt was not totally paid off till 2015. Which means that English taxpayers today helped to end English slavery. A common misunderstanding today is that Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves with his Emancipation Proclamation in 1863. Actually, the proclamation did not apply to slaves in northern states. It only applied to those states “in rebellion”and since those Confederate states did not free any of their slaves, the proclamation was only a symbolic gesture. The real date for the end of slavery in the United States is 6 December, 1865, when the states ratified the 13th amendment. The “Underground Railroad” led not only to northern states and Canada but also to Mexico where slavery was illegal. Four countries; Portugal, Britain, Spain and France conducted almost all the slave trade from Africa to the New World. It was for many years a profitable enterprise. Slavery is as old as mankind. As far back as 1750 BC, the Code of Hammurabi described slavery as “an established institution”. Both the Old and New Testament address slavery without taking issue with it. Many biblical figures held slaves. The Old Testament says that Israelites were allowed to buy and inherit non-Israelite slaves as property. Today, when slavery is discussed we usually think of black slaves. In fact, slaves have been people of all colors and nationality throughout history. Closely related to slavery is “Indentured Servitude”, a practice common in Western Europe and America during the 17th and 18th Centuries. A person usually became an indentured servant because of debt or in exchange for passage to America. The period of indentured servitude was often seven years. During that period the owner could transfer indentured servants to other owners and the servant was little more than a slave. Indentured servants were not paid. Slavery officially no longer exists. Various human rights organizations estimate as many as 50 million people today live in some form of slavery. Most often forced labor from workers who will never be able to pay off their debt or child marriages. Migrants are the most vulnerable to slavery as there are few governments interested in protecting non-citizens.

Slavery

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