Introduction:
Following the recent events of Israel-Palestine unending conflict, colonialism and slavery has been brought back into our remembrance and some wounds have been exposed. I’ve heard and learned the terms colonialism and slavery since I was a teenager. Since then, I have been introduced to newer terms like Trans-Atlantic slavery, modern slavery, neo-colonialism and repatriation: In the spirit of exploration, I decided to give history a second chance.
All of the above words revolve around one word: Slavery: What is it? and Why is it a big deal today?
The word slavery, in an interesting but disputed theory, is said to be derived from ‘Slav’ describing the Slavic people of Europe who were often used to serve as labourers. They were often captured and sold after conquests by the Vikings, byzantine empire and ottoman empire in the Middle Ages. The word evolved into ‘Slave’ in association, and was later associated with ‘other’ people who were being captured and sold for labour. Colonialism is just slavery at a national scope.
It’s a strange question but, why do people care so much about slavery-today? I mean slavery has been a norm since the beginning of humanity, right? Have you heard about the slavery by the romans or ottomans? (many many more societies can be used as examples). The kind of slavery that was characterised by forced labour, cruelty, beatings, sexual violence towards the slaves: men women and children. Human beings are cruel and have always been; slavery is just part of it. Maybe people forgot? What changed? Is it that they were personally affected that they started to care? Is it that people are in love with justice and freedom? What do you think? When did slavery become wrong? Why is it even wrong?- Because of human rights?
These are some of the questions that I belaboured myself to answer. Join me and lets unravel this here in the next few posts together.
In the meantime, check out the post below if you haven’t. It’s about how humans are made in the image of God, which was the foundation of what ‘ended’ slavery in Europe and the Americas but that’s another day’s story.
Image of God: Invisible God made Visible
“I prayed for twenty years but received no answer, until I prayed with my legs.”
Frederick Douglass