Slave Labor

Slave Labor

Overview

Through most of human history societies have used slavery as a form of labor. The ancient Greeks, Native American tribes, the Roman Empire, the ancient Egyptians, Nazi Germany, and even European nations of the Renaissance and the Enlightenment were slave-owning societies. In fact, it is only very recently in human history that slavery has become illegal in most of the world. The questions to ask are why slavery has been so widespread through history and how this affected the societies that used and owned these slaves.

Background

Slavery is one of the most reviled institutions in human history. Slaves are owned, they have no personal freedom, and are often asked to do menial or backbreaking work with no pay other than their food and shelter. Slavery has also been with humanity throughout recorded history and, likely, much earlier. It was largely accepted by the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religions, and, in some societies, over half the population consisted of slaves.

People entered into slavery in myriad ways. Most frequently, slaves were captured enemy soldiers or enemy populations. In the minds of the conquering soldiers, this was appropriate—by enslaving enemy soldiers, they could not be formed into another army, and they could help to work the fields of those killed in the wars.

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