What role did slavery play in early human history? Well it played a huge role in its history. Slavery existed before written history and was use in many cultures. Slavery at the end of the day, is used as an source of income. Slavery is the ownership, and the buying and selling of another human being, it has existed since the time of ancient Sumaria, ancient Greece, and ancient Rome. Slavery has happened all over the world and is still going on even though it is known to be illegal. I personally believe slavery is totally wrong. If slavery had not of happen we would be better as a whole today in this entire planet.
Segregation might have happen if slavery didn’t exist in America. Maybe it could have been a chance that all people would be considered equal. Also even though slavery begun way before the civil war I think that slavery played a huge role in sparking the civil war, maybe if slavery had never existed there would of never been a civil war. But I do believe if there wasn’t no slavery I didn’t think we would be as advanced as we are with technology in America , because slavery did create the capital to finance the industrial revolution in America. Slavery became a huge role in the economy in many societies.
If slavery was not brought into human existence I believe the world would be a better place right now, particularly in the United States. Everyone that had slaves just wanted to do things as cheaply as they could and all slaves were treated poorly, not just Africans. Many individuals of power and stature back then looked at how much they could benefit off slavery and used it as a tactic. Many African American people in today’s society have a lost idea of their culture, mainly because they have adapted to the European ways since their ancestors were forced to learn and practice different traditions and way.
The world that we live in today might be might not be as separated as it is had not slavery came along. Slavery was basically the rich or higher class controlling the low class. Most people with lack of education or lived in poverty fell under the categories’ of the lower weak individuals. Just as you see in today’s society the rich get richer and the poor stay poor. Due to the lack of knowledge most slaves had it wasn’t easy to take advantage or manipulate them. Most civilizations in early human history practiced sedentism, so surviving off the land and agriculture meant their survival.
This is one of the main reasons civilizations turned slavery into a business. The prices and value of the slaves varied depending on the health condition that the slave was in. In order to gain maximum profit of their workers, many owners and civilizations provided the least food and shelter as possible. What most people do not realize is that slavery came in many forms besides just forced labor. Slaves were used in sex trafficking, also in domestic servitude. Another form of slavery used in early history is debt bondage; individuals would agree to do labor in return for debt that Their in. ost slaves entered agree to debt bondage believing that they will get out, to find out that the labor is close to impossible to complete.
This is how slave owners exploited the workers because now the debt that hasn’t been payed will eventually be passed through generations due to the in completion. Slavery can be traced back to the earliest records, such as the Code of Hammurabi. There were slaves in the 7th century before Christ in Greece; Greece was actually the 1st dominant slave society. The two head states in Greece at that point of time Sparta and Athens both depended entirely on forced labor.
In the land of Sparta their slaves weren’t treated as harshly as the ones in Athens. Called the helots are people whom were taken over by Sparta. The crazy thing about this is that the helots had the Spartans vastly outnumbered and still managed to get conquered. The helots were still able to live on their own land; the downside was they were forced to work it for their Spartan masters. The slaves of Athens were domestic slaves their earning and rewards all came down to their personal relationship with their slave owners.
So if the slave owner wanted to mistreat his property he would do so very often. On average majority of citizens owned or had in their life at least one slave. Back then Greece considered slavery not only natural but necessary. About 35 percent of Greece’s population made up of slaves. On a large farm or in a workshop there is real benefit in a reliable source of cheap labor or slavery, costing no more than the minimum of food and lodging. Even sometimes the slaves wouldn’t receive any food or care. They would often be worn out until death.
One would think that the slave owners would try to save their slaves because of the great benefits they get out of them. One main reason that they could care less about them is that they were very easy to replace and acquire, since were born into slavery they came a dime a dozen. The Tiring and backbreaking labor was needed to be done in order to gain maximum profit; these are the conditions for slavery. Every ancient civilization uses slaves. And it proves very easy to acquire them. There are several other ways in which slaves are acquired. Pirates who ailed the waters looking for things to conquer offer their captives for sale.
A person who is suspected as a criminal may be sentenced to slavery depending on the on the crime he committed. Often time’s children were born into slavery, and separated from their families in the process. The Roman Empire also was very brutal when it came to the use of slavery Thousands of thousands of slaves were worked to death mining gold and silver for the Empire. Slaves in Rome used to indulge their every whim and need. Most of the romans empire wealth was gained during the slave conquest.
The romans had so many slaves the slaves began to be used a source of entertainment. When the romans looked for and source of entertainment or excitement they began to use the slaves they captured as gladiators fighting to the death for public entertainment. Slavery was also used in the middle ages of human history, even after the Roman Empire slavery continues in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea. More than anywhere else, the Mediterranean Sea provides the geographical and economic environment to encourage a slave trade.
The north and south areas populated by relatively unsophisticated tribes. The warfare’s going on within the borders resulted in many tribal captives being enslaved. To the south of the Mediterranean Sea Slavery is an accepted part of life in Arabia culture during the time of the ruler Muhammad, in the 7th century, and the Qur’an which is the religious practice throughout that culture offers no arguments against the practice of slavery. Since there were no arguments about it, the Arabs felt slavery was right as it needed to happen.
Even some slaves didn’t have the will power or motive to fight back because they felt it should be a part of their life they were being manipulated. The Quran basically stated particularly in relation to female slaves, that they must be well treated and not abused. All in all slavery is something that most people don’t want to talk about or acknowledge. But the fact of the matter is that this world was built around slavery and control over the weak. Many used slavery to gain and retain power and authority. In early human civilizations were used to gain the upper edge on anyone they could take over.