HIST 258 Final: HIST 258 Final Exam Review
Part A:
Slavery: A Working Definition.
• Providing a working definition of slavery is difficult.
• Slavery is specific to circumstances and places as well as particular historical
contexts.
• Slavery was a product of the society in which it was embedded.
• From the Bible, Aristotle, Thomas Hobbs, you can see how slavery is discussed
and against.
• The enslavement of people that were not a Jewish faith would have been longer.
• One of the fundamental rationales for slavery was that the enslavers have to
construct by necessity that the slaves are of the “other”.
• Aristotle argues that slavery is a natural condition.
o Certain people are naturally inclined to be pressed into a condition of
slavery.
o Some are intended by nature to be a slave.
o Idea that some people are predisposed to become slaves is an idea that
would resonate over space and time.
• Hobbes maintains that the fundamental of the contract of slavery is that the
owner promises to not kill the slave, therefore the slave will do what the master
wishes.
o “Conquest as contract”
• Montesquieu ridicules the idea that people tries to justify black slavery based on
the physical traits of blacks.
• He parodies the Christian slave owners.
• Slavery was an institution that existed and ubiquitous throughout world history,
throughout Greece, Romans, it was not only experienced in the new world by
blacks.
• Slavery in the North American continent was atypical in many aspects, because
slaves were completely their owner’s property, could be bought and sold.
• Distance was a key factor as American slaves could not return home, and they
spoke a different language from their master.
• Slavery in North America was atypical in manumission, (they were freed), which
was rare in history.
• Slaves were subject to the total control of their masters, they could also be
moved (movable property).
• Sexual dimension to slavery
o It was a different issue for woman and men.
• Although slaves had low social status, it was not monolithic.
• Different slaves had different experiences.
• The movement and behaviour of slaves were controlled by the masters.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• The children inherit the position from their parents.
o Usually their mothers, just in case their father is white.
• Slavery on the African continent was quite different.
Part B: Slavery prior to 1650.
• Slavery’s existence in Africa created a debate on whether the practice of slavery
was indigenous or principally imported from outside.
• But Africa was quite isolated from the rest of the world, except areas around the
regional coast or the sea.
• People in areas that were rich in gold and copper tended to have relationships
with outsiders.
• Gerontocracy
o Kinship based societies, elders had the power.
o Elder’s powers was articulated through their access to women.
o It is through women, that elders controlled the means of production and
agriculture.
o Women in these societies are also valued for their futility.
o Through these marriages, were these elders able to get control of the
societies and kinship networks.
o Access to natural resources was also important, like land, water, wild
game.
o So to, was access to slaves. Slaves added to the prestige of these elders.
o Slavery emerges as one of the many types of dependencies in these
societies. The two defining characteristics are kinship and dependency.
o Slaves did not technically have formal ties to the kinship network, the only
rights they had were rights granted through sufferance (the acceptance of
their masters).
• Sufferance.
o Accruing slaves allowed the masters to gain power.
o Slavery becomes primarily about getting social wealth instead of economic
wealth.
o No distinct economic slaves.
o Masters have other sorts of dependence.
o Emancipation upon these were possible through a gradual process, the
sale of these persons were rare.
• Paul Lovejoy,
o The existence of these slave societies based on kinship, before 1450,
Islam was the only influence.
Islam
• Grows to takeover the world. Slaves were taken through conquest of holy wars.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
• Majority of the infidels taken as slaves were black.
• Slaves are coming from Western Europe and Southern Russia.
• Some indication that the origin of the word “slave” is from Slavs,
• Slavery is seen as religious apprenticeship in the Islamic world, for non-Muslims.
• Women and children were in greater demand than men.
• Eunuchs and veral boys were pressed into military duties.
• The most attractive women were pressed into harams.
• The freeing of slaves is seen as a piety in the Qur’an.
• Islamic laws limited the number of wives a man could take, and draws a firmer
line between the enslaved and freed.
• These concubines became legally free.
• The economic aspect of slavery was more predominant than the kinship
societies.
• One of the commodities that become important is sugar.
Islamic Influence
• Becomes intertwined with slavery in Africa.
• Islamic expansion is tied to slavery in Africa.
• Muslims establish trade links called the Sudanic Belt, trans-Saharan trade routes
develop with sub-Saharan African leaders.
• Gold and slaves emerge as the most important part of these networks.
• The Caravan Trade.
• The idea of slavery gets incorporated in the African world, slave exports begin to
increase dramatically that keeps up until the 1500s.
• Slaves endure harsh conditions of heat and cold, and lack of water.
• The number of Africans moved during the trans-Atlantic trade was 4,820,000.
• In conclusion:
o Slavery was ubiquitous throughout human history.
o Slavery still exists in various parts of the world, in places such as Libya
and is very much with us, unfortunately.
o Black slavery in the new world is perhaps the most severe form of slavery.
o Slavery was not synonymous with race throughout most of human history.
o Existed in Ancient Greece, Rome, sub-Saharan Africa.
o African slaves also existed and slaves helped the power of leaders.
o Islamic slavery was based on religion primarily and not race, although
overtime, black slavery becomes a dominant feature.
o Trans-saharan slavery changes African conception of slavery, it moves
away from kinship model to a model that is economically driven.
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com