Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Perhaps the oldest form of human oppression is that of slavery. Slavery, with its roots in antiquity (e.g., Egypt, Babylon, Assyria, Israel, and Greece), is defined as the forced labor of one group by another. The institution of slavery, where the slave was considered merely a piece of animate property or chattel, was first developed by the Greeks. Brutality, to include whipping, humiliation, and alienation, has been part of slavery from its inception. Slaves, stripped of their human dignity and title, were forced to abandon their family, culture, and personhood, as another owned their very being. Women, doubly exploited, were subject to sexual exploitation where they could be forced into prostitution or to submit to the sexual demands of their masters or their guests. Slaves during these periods, often accorded higher status, could be adopted and become legal heirs of the masters. Typically, these slaves were vested with special duties owing to their unique talents (such as teachers, actors, fighters, etc.). The modern system of slavery, a direct result of European imperialistic expansion, provided even harsher levels and degrees of exploitation, humiliation, and degradation. The modern slave system beginning with the start of the Atlantic slave trade preserved many of the earlier exploitative conditions while creating unique variations of its own. Similar practices included the ... log in or subscribe to read full text