It is believed that slavery is almost completely eliminated on our planet. This does not mean that it does not exist, it just has 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 do not consist of iron links, but of intangible habits of comfort and idleness. Modern slavery is no better than primitive or ancient, and freedom still remains the lot of the few. However, in order to understand the nature of this phenomenon, one should delve into its various aspects, the history of occurrence and causes.
Patriarchal variant
The desire to subjugate others lies in the very nature of man. The history of slavery goes back to the period of the birth of social relations, when, apart from the tribal structure, there were no other forms of coexistence. Nevertheless, they began to divide labor into physical and mental even then, and there were few hunters to work hard, as now. Therefore, the first social formation is considered to be precisely the slave-owning one, in which the exploitation by the ruling classes was carried out under the threat of physical reprisal against the recalcitrant. Labor productivity grew, a surplus product appeared, and, as a result,the concept of property arose, extending not only to the instruments of production and goods, but also to people. The very first form of these relations 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 performed 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 a huge scale. It was here that the process of transition from the patriarchal form to the classical one took place, in which a person became a thing suitable - depending on its value - for sale or purchase. Regulated these transactions, along with other legal issues, Roman law. Slavery became legal around the second century B. C. practically throughout the 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 flourishing and general prosperity under democracy can be achieved if every free citizen has at least three slaves.
The main source of gratuitous labor resources at that time were the aggressive campaigns of the Roman legions. If the wars in the V-IV centuries. BC e. were carried out for territories, then the later captures 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 in thecommodity production (as opposed to the patriarchal foundation), then the main goal of exploitation was to make a profit. This circumstance led to the intensification of coercion and the appearance of its most severe methods. In addition to intensive methods, which consisted in reducing maintenance costs and increasing cruelty, an extensive one was also practiced, which consisted in the accelerated importation of slaves. This eventually led to the fact that the total number of slaves reached a critical level, and then rebellions began to break out, the most famous of which was led in 74 BC. e. Spartacus.
Slavery in the East
In India, China and other countries geographically and culturally related to Asia, slavery has existed for a relatively long time. Slavery in the world has already given way to feudalism, then to 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 fueling the slave markets was the environment of losers who fell into debt bondage and had no other way to pay off creditors, except for their own labor, which sometimes was not enough even with a lifetime of free work. In these cases, the descendants of the unfortunate also waited for hereditary slavery. This, generally speaking, was against the laws of Islam (with the exception of state criminals), but was still widely practiced. The right to own prisoners captured during wars and raids was considered official.
Transition period
For many centuries, some form of slavery existed almost all over the world, but in many countries it gradually came into conflict with the developing market production (mainly agricultural), requiring ever greater efficiency. The lack of incentive methods led to a decrease in productivity. Slaves often fled from their masters and even killed them, raised uprisings, and the more they became, the more dangerous the consequences of the mismanagement of these specific human resources could be. Gradually, in European countries, the attitude towards slaves became softer, which, of course, did not exclude merciless exploitation, but it encouraged greater caution. And then, in the 16th century, the New World was discovered.
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 slaveholding relations, which seemed to be smoothly fading into the past. The Indians offered the colonialists (at the first stage, mainly Spanish and Portuguese) fierce resistance, which led to a royal ban on enslaving the indigenous population. This, combined with a shortage of labor, prompted planters operating on American soil to import slaves from Africa. It should be noted that it was primarily adventurous people who went to the New World, not constrained by any moral principles. Striving to get richthey were successfully combined with an unwillingness to work. Up to ten million African slaves were imported into America in a historically short period (about two centuries). At the beginning of the 19th 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 acted as a form of social relations in which people are a commodity and are subject to purchase, sale or exchange. For the most part, the owners, who eventually became known as landowners, treated their serfs in much the same way as ordinary peasants treat working cattle, that is, not without a certain amount of care and thrift. The exception was particularly outstanding cases of bullying, a textbook example of which was the noblewoman Morozova, punished for her fanaticism under the laws of the Russian Empire. Nevertheless, by the middle of the 19th century, serfdom was already hindering the development of capitalism, and in 1861 the peasants were granted freedom, and slavery was legally abolished. The process of emancipation proceeded slowly, encountering resistance both from the landlords, who were interested in maintaining their positions, and from the former slaves themselves, who for generations weaned themselves from independent life “on free bread”. Just as difficult were the Stolypin reforms at the end of the century, designed to create conditions for the transition from communities to an individual agricultural way of life.
USA
At the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries, an industrial boom took place in North America. Demand for agricultural raw materials (cotton, flax, etc.) increased sharply, which, in the most paradoxical way, related capitalism to slavery, the center of which was the southern states. Over time, however, the contradictions between the two so different social formations gave rise to 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 the ratification by the Senates of individual states of this declaration was delayed 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 the benches for whites, go to mixed schools (there were none), and even visit the same public places. Slavery in Russia was abolished a year earlier than in the United States. Freed slaves often behaved in the same way as Russian peasants who received their will. What to do with freedom, many of them simply did not know.
Slavery in recent history
The question of when slavery was abolished in a particular country, despite its obvious simplicity (it seems to be enough to refer to the relevant document or constitution), most often requires a detailed answer. The "enlightened" European powers that owned colonies until the middle of the twentieth century, proclaiming in wordsdemocratic principles, however, put up with the lack of elementary civil liberties and the presence of slavery. During the Second World War, Nazi Germany made extensive use of the forced labor of prisoners and prisoners of war. During the years of Stalinist terror, Soviet prisoners 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, then only with a mention of its advantages. The Japanese invaders turned the population of the occupied territories into real slaves. The inhumane regime of Pol Pot in Kampuchea managed to enslave almost the entire population without exception. Unfortunately, there are a lot of examples…
Modern varieties
And yet the question of when slavery was abolished internationally has a concrete answer. It is based on an official document. This happened in 1926 during the signing of the Slavery Convention. The agreement signed by representatives of most countries contains a definition of the concept itself as “property rights accompanied by threats…”, etc. Nevertheless, even today many of the hidden forms that fully meet the criteria of this formulation continue to exist on the planet. It cannot be argued that they are flourishing - on the contrary, they are given the most negative assessment, but modern slavery exists and, apparently, will not disappear soon. It makes sense to consider some of its varieties in detail.
Cabal
So most oftencalled debt slavery. Most state laws provide for liability for late payments on loans and credits, including to individuals, but repayment terms can 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 farm laborer, forced to do dirty and hard work for his “master” for the rest of his life. It is almost impossible to fight this phenomenon, the duties of a slave in this case are taken voluntarily.
Forced labor
The circumstances of falling into slavery can be very different. Some people end up in captivity during the fighting, either as military personnel or civilians. In regions where it is difficult or impossible for representatives of human rights structures to control, this happens, unfortunately, often. The ILO (International Labor Organization) has limited information on the increase in the share of forced labor in different countries, not recorded by national statistical offices and sometimes deliberately hidden.
Forced sexual exploitation
Is a form of absolute control of one person over another, carried out in the form of creating a hopeless situation. Such enslavement has become widespread in the field of illegal sexual services, when forced prostitution is carried out by taking away documents (especially in a foreign country), the threat of physical violence, inoculationdrug addiction and other inhumane methods. Such a crime is considered especially serious all over the world if minors become victims. A significant role in coercion (especially in exotic countries) is still played by psychological methods of pressure, such as the "vow of silence" and the use of special rituals designed to suppress the will to resist.
