⛓️ Slavery

What Is Slavery?

Slavery is a system where people are treated as property, denied freedom, and forced to work under coercion.

Key elements:

• Loss of legal personhood
• Violence or threat of violence
• No right to leave or refuse work

Slavery differs from harsh labor because the enslaved person’s body, time, and often descendants are owned.

Legal vs. Social Status

Enslaved people usually lack:

• Civil rights (to testify, own property, marry formally)
• Bodily autonomy (subject to sale, punishment, sexual violence)

Yet they develop families, cultures, and resistance strategies.

Slavery is both a legal status and a social condition that shapes identity, community, and power.

Key Terms to Know 📚

• Chattel slavery: People owned as movable property
• Serfdom: Unfree peasants tied to land, not fully owned
• Indentured servitude: Contract labor for fixed years
• Enslaver: Person or institution holding others in bondage

Using precise terms avoids romanticizing or minimizing unfreedom.

Coercion and Violence

Slavery depends on coercion:

• Physical punishment
• Threat of sale or separation
• Legal penalties for escape

> Slavery persists only when resistance is met with overwhelming force.

Violence is not incidental; it is structural, embedded in law, custom, and economic interest.