History of Slavery 8-24-08

     Throughout History there have been people taking the Liberty of other People. All cultures have trafficked in slaves. The impact on the lives of the slaves varied. Some slavery was meant to subdue conquered people. Taking slaves showed the conquered what could happen if they did not behave.

     Slavery as an Institution has serious drawbacks as an Economic work force. Slavery moves into the Economically feasible if you have an endless supply of fresh slaves to fill spaces as your expendable workforce is disabled or die.

     Some cultures used slaves as an expendable commodity to appease gods. Hawaiian deities often called for the sacrifice of their slaves. They were called the Walking Dead, because their lives were forfeit anytime the masters chose. The Aztecs also had a sacrifice of slaves gained in battle to be the blood sacrifice for their worship.

     The Romans had a bounty of war slaves from peoples they conquered. They used an expedient of turning many of these slaves into Legions to fight their own peoples and future conquered. The Romans also had the expendable version to man Galley ships, they generally died quickly. Some could earn their freedom through the training to be a Gladiator. Very few lived long enough but both men and women gained freedom in this fashion.

     Jews were also made slaves by Egypt. It is a great deal cheaper to let the slaves find their own food and housing. It frees the owners from the need to spend money on “Unnecessary” maintenance. If they lived, they lived if they died there were more waiting to be pressed into service. Without the bricks, stone cutting skills, and labor of the Jews no pyramid would have gotten built before the death of the Pharaoh it was to house or the granary to hold the stored grain.

     In the raids of the Vikings many prisoners were made slaves. An interesting twist in this slavery system was that like some Native American Tribes a Slave could gain status and freedom through heroic Actions and Loyalty. If a slave fought side by side with their owners they could prove to be valuable additions to the tribe. When they were freed they were of equal standing with their now fellow tribe members.

     I have been dismayed by the constant focus on people in the USA who have an ancestor who had been a slave. It is highlighted as an Us Against Them situation many times alienating the very people who otherwise would be sympathetic. Some of my family is descended Native American. And some are of Jewish Descent. The Native Americans proved to be very poor slaves. They were just killed off the old fashioned way by disease. As far as I know there is no African Descent blood in my family but it would not be seen as negative if there was.

     In the arguments I hear regularly there are many falsehoods. For one thing the Africans who were sold to Europeans were enslaved by fellow Africans. To blame Europeans for slavery in general is misleading. They bought the slaves because they were cheap expendable labor, they did not start it. The Africans had; like every other culture in the World had; bought and sold other people for 10,000 years.  Slavery is still practiced today in many parts of the World.

     I recently saw a documentary about slaves being sold in the open by just about anyone you asked. The Documentary was an expose of the slave market just off our USA Coastline. It was filmed in Haiti. The reporter wanted to examine how easy it would be to buy a child in Haiti. A meeting was set up with a couple of notable officials. Though the price varied wildly it was well within the means of most Americans who could afford to travel to Haiti. The bitter Irony here is the sellers were all black. The Irony comes from Haiti’s History. It is governed and populated almost solely by the Descendants of Liberated Slaves.

     On top of that it was so well entrenched as a way of life that the purchase of a child “broken in” for sex could be had for $100 dollars. All of the waiters in the area when the “officials” did their negotiating later offered lower prices with no hassle. They were falling all over themselves to provide a sex slave child to the reporter.

     It was so much a way of life in Haiti that nothing was done when the local Child Protective Service was informed of a child they had identified as a slave who was also being beaten and mistreated. The Social Workers did not return the calls. These Social Workers are all Black too. The Minister who Preached against slavery had “Adopted” the slave he had Purchased.

     Some examples may shed some light on the practice of modern slavery. Cocoa Beans are mostly harvested by enslaved children in Africa. Those beautiful rugs and silver items from India are often woven or crafted by slaves who are mostly women and children. In Asia the Child Sex Industry is powered by children sold to pay their parents debts. When a Pedophile wants to party this is where they have gone for many years. In Japan the “Cure” for HIV had been advertised as having sex with an untouched little girl. Non Japanese Asian girls were bought for this very purpose.

     Cheap clothing for a whole range of price tags is produced in China and India by slaves that are sometimes called sweatshop workers. Many of the cheap products we love to purchase have origins based on some form of slave labor.

     In the USA, the slavery that exists comes in basically 2 forms. The Illegal Immigrant workers from Mexico and Latin America fill a very low paid niche that needs to toe the line or be sent back where there are no jobs. The other groups are from any Country where slavery is still practiced. The easiest way to have a “Domestic Worker”; who will not move on is a slave. Some of the worst offenders in this trafficking are the very people who say it is wrong to enslave others. There have been notable Politicians and Business people who when investigated were found to have “Hired” undocumented nannies and housekeepers. When the papers these slaves arrived with are confiscated they become slaves.

     If you will notice 99 percent of the Slavery is accepted in the culture involved. The Slaves and the slavers are almost always of the same race, religion, and background. Much of the slavery is expressed as a financial necessity. Families sell their Daughters and sons for sex and labor. An inability to stop having children is also seen as a root cause.

      Slavery is wrong, it always has been. Slavery is a current event not in the blighted past. If you had Ancestors who were enslaved be grateful for your freedom. There are many who did not survive to have any Descendants at all. Make the most of your gift of Freedom. There are many people who deserve attention who are still enslaved. These are the people I want to free.

God Bless the Whole World, No exceptions.

Angel Eliza