Slavery and related practices of forced labor varied greatly between regions and over time. In some instances, traditional practices may have continued after European colonisation.
North America
Slaves were traded across trans-continental trade networks in North America before European arrival.[1]
Many of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, such as the Haida and Tlingit, were traditionally known as fierce warriors and slave-traders, raiding as far south as California.[2][3][4] Slavery was hereditary, the slaves being prisoners of war. Their targets often included members of the Coast Salish groups. Among some tribes about a quarter of the population were slaves.[5][6] One slave narrative was composed by an Englishman, John R. Jewitt, who had been taken alive when his ship was captured in 1802; his memoir provides a detailed look at life as a slave, and explains that among his slavemasters, the main tribal chief had 50 slaves and his deputies up to a dozen each.[7]
In this illustration from the Ramírez Codex, the three men in the background represent slaves who were sacrificed as part of the funeral rites for the Aztec Emperor Auitzotl.
In Mesoamerica, the most common forms of slavery were those of prisoners of war and debtors. People unable to pay back debts could be sentenced to work as slaves to the persons owed until the debts were worked off. Enslavement was also a possible sentence for the crimes of thievery, rape and poaching.[11]
The Mayan[12][13] and Aztec[14] civilizations both practiced slavery. Warfare was important to Maya society, because raids on surrounding areas provided the victims required for human sacrifice, as well as slaves for the construction of temples.[15] Among the Maya, slavery was inherited, unless a ransom was paid.[16] Most victims of human sacrifice were prisoners of war or slaves.[17] Among the Aztecs, white collar crime such as embezzlement, breach of trust, and theft could be penalized with enslavement.[18] The Nahuas traded child slaves.[19]
The Kalinago of Dominica were known to keep slaves.[20]
In the Inca Empire, workers were subject to a Mit'a in lieu of taxes which they paid by working for the government, a form of corvée labor.[21] Each ayllu, or extended family, would decide which family member to send to do the work. It is debated whether this system of forced labor counts as slavery.[citation needed]
The Arawak, Caribs, Waraos and Akawaio of the Dutch Guiana captured people from other tribes. Most males were executed, but some were enslaved or sold repeatedly, often across great distances.[22]
^Ames, Kenneth M.; Maschner, Herbert D. G. (1999). Peoples of the northwest coast: their archaeology and prehistory. London: Thames & Hudson, p. 196.
^Green, Jonathan S. (1915). Journal of a tour on the north west coast of America in the year 1829, containing a description of a part of Oregon, California and the north west coast and the numbers, manners and customs of the native tribes. New York city: Reprinted for C. F. Heartman, p. 45.
^Ames, Kenneth M. (2001). "Slaves, Chiefs and Labour on the Northern Northwest Coast". World Archaeology 33 (1): 1–17., p. 3.
^BROWN, ROBERT, ed. (1896). "VIII. MUSIC—MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS—SLAVES [...]". THE ADVENTURES OF JOHN JEWITT. London: CLEMENT WILSON. Retrieved 27 May 2023. Maquina had nearly fifty, male and female, in his house, a number constituting about one half of its inhabitants, comprehending those obtained by war and purchase; whereas none of the other chiefs had more than twelve
^Helle, Richard. "Slavery". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
^Burkholder, Mark A.; Johnson, Lyman L. (2019). Colonial Latin America (10th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 137. thieves, rapists, and poachers, among others, could be sentenced to enslavement for crimes.
^Burkholder, Mark A.; Johnson, Lyman L. (2019). "1. America, Iberia, and Africa Before the Conquest". Colonial Latin America (10th ed.). Oxford University Press. p. 10. the Maya […] once enslaved, the status could become hereditary unless the slave were ransomed
^"Aztec". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
^Velázquez Hernández, Martha Alicia (2020). "Historia del derecho prehispánico. El derecho en el pueblo azteca"(PDF). Revista ExLege. 5. Universidad de La Salle Bajío: 163. Retrieved 7 February 2024. Con la esclavitud se castigaban el abuso de confianza, la malversación de fondos, el robo, dependiento de la gravedad.
^Helle, Richard. "Slavery". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
^Canseco 1999, p. 63. sfn error: no target: CITEREFCanseco1999 (help)
^Marjoleine Kars (2020). "2 - Amerindians on the Wild Coast". Blood on the River. New York: The New Press. p. 37. dominated by Arawaks […] Caribs […] Waraos […] Akawaio […] Native men added regularly to the population of their villages by capturing people […] Women were forced to marry into the village to perform domestic and sexual duties […] Male prisoners of war were more likely to be killed […] Some captives became servants or slaves or they found themselves repeatedly traded, often across great distances
^Helle, Richard. "Slavery". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
Bibliography
Palmié, Stephan, ed. (1995). Slave Cultures and the Cultures of Slavery (2nd. printing [1997], 1st. ed.). Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press. p. 283.
