Chapter XXVII: Slavery (1)

SLAVERY is essentially an industrial institution, which implies compulsory labour beyond the limits of family relations. The master has a right to avail himself of the working power of his slave, without previous agreement on the part of the latter. This I take to be the essence of slavery; but connected with such a right there are others which hardly admit of a strict definition, or which belong to the master in some cases though not in all. He is entitled to claim obedience and to enforce this claim with more or less severity, but his authority is not necessarily absolute, and the restrictions imposed on it are not everywhere the same. According to a common definition of slavery, the slave is the property of his master,[1] but this definition is hardly accurate. It is true that even in the case of inanimate property the notion of ownership does not involve that the owner of a thing is always entitled to do with it whatever he likes; a person may own a thing and yet be prohibited by law from destroying it. But it seems that the owner's right over his property, even when not absolute, is at all events exclusive, that is, that nobody but the owner has a right to the disposal of it. Now the master's right of disposing of his slave is not necessarily {671} exclusive; custom or law may grant the latter a certain amount of liberty, and in such a case his condition differs essentially from that of a piece of property. The chief characteristic of slavery is the compulsory nature of the slave's relation to his master. Voluntary slavery, as when a person sells himself as a slave, is only an imitation of slavery true and proper; the person who gives up his liberty confers upon another, by contract, either for a limited period or for ever, the same rights over himself as a master possesses over his slave. If slavery proper could be based upon a contract between the parties concerned, I fail to see how to distinguish between a servant and a slave.

[Footnote 1: Nieboer, _Slavery as an Industrial System_, p. 4 _sqq._ Dr. Nieboer himself defines slavery as "the fact, that one man is the property or possession of another beyond the limits of the family proper" (_ibid._ p. 29).]

Dr. Nieboer has recently with much minuteness examined the distribution of slavery and its causes among savage races. It appears from his work that slavery is unknown in Australia, and in Oceania restricted to certain islands. In the Malay Archipelago, on the other hand, it prevails very extensively. Among the aboriginal tribes of India and the Indo-Chinese Peninsula it is fairly common, whereas no certain traces of it are found among the lower races of Central Asia and Siberia, with the exception of the Kamchadales. In North America it exists along the Pacific Coast from Behring Strait to the northern boundary of California, but beyond this district it seems to be unknown. In Central and South America there are at any rate several scattered cases of it, and if our knowledge of the South American Indians were less fragmentary, many other instances might perhaps be added. In savage Africa there are only one or two districts where no certain cases of slavery are encountered, whilst large agglomerations of slave-keeping tribes occur on the Coast of Guinea and in the district formed by Lower Guinea and the territories bordering the Congo.[2]

[Footnote 2: Nieboer, _op. cit._ p. 47 _sqq._]

Slaves are kept only where there is employment for them, and where the circumstances are otherwise favourable to the growth of slavery. Its existence or non-existence {672} in a tribe largely depends on the manner in which that tribe lives. Among hunters it hardly occurs at all. Mr. Spencer justly observes that, "in the absence of industrial activity, slaves are almost useless; and, indeed, where game is scarce, are not worth their food."[3] Moreover, they would have to be procured from foreign tribes, and to prevent such slaves from running away would be almost impossible for hunters who roam over vast tracts of land in pursuit of game, especially if the slaves also were engaged in hunting. For a small community of hunters--and their communities generally are small[4]--it might even be dangerous to keep foreign slaves in their midst.[5] Among fishing tribes, on the other hand, slavery is much more common, attaining a special importance among those who live on or near the Pacific Coast of North-Western America. These tribes have an abundance of food, they have fixed habitations, they live in comparatively large groups, and trade and industry, property and wealth, are well developed among them. In consequence, they find the services of slaves useful, and, at the same time, the slaves have little chance of making their escape.[6]

[Footnote 3: Spencer, _Principles of Sociology_, iii. 459.]

[Footnote 4: Westermarck, _History of Human Marriage_, p. 43 _sqq._ Hildebrand, _Recht und Sitte_, p. 1 _sqq._]

[Footnote 5: Nieboer, _op. cit._, p. 191 _sqq._]

[Footnote 6: _Ibid._ p. 199 _sqq._]

Of the pastoral tribes referred to in Dr. Nieboer's list only one half keep slaves, and among some of these slave-keeping is said to be a mere luxury. To pastoral peoples, as such, slave labour is of little moment. Among them subsistence depends much more on capital than on labour, and for the small amount of work which is required free labourers are easily procured. As Dr. Nieboer observes, "among people who live upon the produce of their cattle, a man who owns no cattle, _i.e._ no capital, has no means of subsistence. Accordingly, among pastoral tribes we find rich and poor men; and the poor often offer themselves as labourers to the rich."[7] Pastoral peoples have thus no strong motives for making slaves, but at the same {673} time "there are no causes preventing them from keeping slaves. These tribes are, so to speak, in a state of equilibrium; a small additional cause on either side turns the balance. One such additional cause is the slave-trade; another is the neighbourhood of inferior races." All those pastoral peoples who keep slaves live in districts where an extensive slave-trade has for a long time been carried on. The slaves are often purchased from slave-traders, and in several cases they belong to an inferior race.[8]

[Footnote 7: See also Hildebrand, _op. cit._ p. 38 _sq._]

[Footnote 8: Nieboer, _op. cit._ p. 261 _sqq._]

Among agricultural peoples slavery prevails more extensively; further, it is more common among such tribes as subsist chiefly by agriculture than among incipient agriculturists, who still depend on hunting or fishing for a large portion of their food. In primitive agricultural communities nobody voluntarily serves another, because subsistence is independent of capital and easy to procure. "All freemen in new countries," says Mr. Bagehot, "must be pretty equal; every one has labour, and every one has land; capital, at least in agricultural countries (for pastoral countries are very different), is of little use; it cannot hire labour; the labourers go and work for themselves."[9] Hence in such countries, if a man wants another to work for him, he must compel him to do it--that is, he must make him his slave. This holds true of most savage countries, namely, of all those in which there is much more fertile land than is required to be cultivated for the support of the actual population; but it does not hold true of all. Where every piece of land fit for cultivation has been appropriated, a man who owns no land cannot earn his subsistence independently of a landlord; hence free labourers are available, slaves are not wanted, and slavery is not likely to exist. And even where there are no poor persons, but everybody has a share in the resources of the country, the use of slaves cannot be great, since a man who owns a limited capital, or a limited quantity of land, can only employ a limited number of labourers. {674} For instance, the absence of slavery in many Oceanic islands may be accounted for by the fact that all land had been appropriated, which led to a state of things inconsistent with slavery as a social system.[10]

[Footnote 9: Bagehot, _Physics and Politics_, p. 72.]

[Footnote 10: Nieboer, _op. cit._ pp. 294-347, 420 _sq._]

These are the main conclusions at which Dr. Nieboer has arrived by means of much admirable and painstaking research. Most of them, I think, are undoubtedly correct; yet it seems to me that the influence of economic conditions upon the institution of slavery has perhaps been emphasised too much at the cost of other factors. The prevalence of slavery in a savage tribe and the extent to which it is practised must also depend upon the ability of the tribe to procure slaves from foreign communities and upon its willingness to allow its own members to be kept as slaves within the tribe. It may be very useful for a group of savages to have a certain number of slaves, and yet they may not have them, for the reason that no slaves are to be had. It is only in extraordinary cases that a person is allowed to enslave a member of his own community. Intra-tribal slavery is a question not only of economic but of moral concern, whilst extra-tribal slavery originally depends upon success in war.

We have reason to believe that the earliest source of slavery was war or conquest, and that slavery in many cases was a substitution for putting prisoners of war to death.[11] Savages, who have little mercy on their enemies, naturally make no scruple in reducing them to slavery whenever they find their advantage in doing so. Among existing savages, in fact, prisoners of war are very frequently enslaved.[12] They and their descendants, together {675} with persons kidnapped or purchased from foreign tribes, seem generally to form by far the majority of the slave population in uncivilised countries.

[Footnote 11: _Cf._ Millar, _Origin of the Distinction of Ranks_, p. 245; Jacob, _Historical Inquiry into the Production and Consumption of the Precious Metals_, i. 136; Buckle, _Miscellaneous and Posthumous Works_, iii. 413; Comte, _Cours de philosophie positive_, v. 186 _sqq._; Cibrario, _Della schiavitù e del servaggio_, i. 16.]

[Footnote 12: Rink, _Eskimo Tribes_, p. 28 (Western Eskimo). Petroff, 'Report on Alaska,' in _Tenth Census of the United States_, pp. 152 (Aleuts), 165 (Thlinkets). Richardson, _Arctic Searching Expedition_, i. 412 (Kutchin). Gibbs, 'Tribes of Western Washington and Northwestern Oregon,' in _Contributions to North American Ethnology_, i. 188. von Martius _Beiträge zur Ethnographie Amerika's_, i. 232 (Guaycurus), 298 (Carajás). Azara, _Voyages dans l'Amérique métridionale_, ii. 109 _sq._ (Mbayas). Lewin, _Hill Tracts of Chittagong_, p. 35. _Idem_, _Wild Races of South-Eastern India_, p. 194 (Toungtha). Modigliani, _Viaggio a Nías_, p. 521. Kohler, 'Recht der Papuas auf Neu-Guinea,' in _Zeitschr. f. vergl. Rechtswiss._ vii. 370. Williams and Calvert, _Fiji_, p. 25. Polack, _Manners and Customs of the New Zealanders_, ii. 52; Hale, _U.S. Exploring Expedition. Vol. VI.--Ethnography and Philology_, p. 33 (New Zealanders). Ellis, _History of Madagascar_, i. 192. Andersson, _Lake Ngami_, p. 231; Kohler, in _Zeitschr. f. vergl. Rechtswiss._ xiv. 311 (Herero). Velten, _Sitten und Gebräuche der Suaheli_, p. 305. Baumann, _Usambara_, p. 141 (Wabondei). Felkin, 'Notes on the Waganda Tribe,' in _Proceed. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh_, xiii. 746. Mungo Park, _Travels in the Interior of Africa_, p. 19 (Mandingoes). Rowley, _Africa Unveiled_, p. 176. Tuckey, _Expedition to Explore the River Zaire_, p. 367 (Negroes of Congo). Sarbah, _Fanti Customary Laws_, p. 6. Burton, _Abeokuta_, i. 301. Ellis, _Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast_, p. 289. Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 309 _sq._ (Beni Amer). Mademba, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse von eingeborenen Völkern in Afrika und Ozeanien_, p. 83 (natives of the Sansanding States). Nicole, _ibid._ p. 118 _sq._ (Diakité-Sarracolese). Tellier, _ibid._ pp. 168, 171 (Kreis Kita of the French Soudan). Beverley, _ibid._ p. 213 (Wagogo). Lang, _ibid._ p. 241 (Washambala). Desoignies, _ibid._ p. 278 (Msalala). Nieboer _op. cit._ pp. 49, 52, 73-76, 78, 100.]

Whilst little regard is paid to the liberty of strangers, custom everywhere, as a rule, forbids the enslaving of tribesmen. Yet sometimes a father's power over his children,[13] as also a husband's power over his wife,[14] involves the right of selling them as slaves; and among various peoples a person may be reduced to slavery for committing a crime,[15] or for insolvency.[16] Among the tribes of Western {676} Washington and North-Western Oregon, if an Indian has wronged another and failed to make compensation, he may be taken as a slave.[17] The Papuans of Dorey had a law according to which an incendiary with his family became the slave of the late proprietor of the burned house.[18] Among the Line Islanders of Micronesia, if a man of low class stole some food from a person belonging to the "gentry," he became the slave of the latter and lost all his property.[19] Sometimes a man is induced by great poverty to sell himself as a slave.[20] But most intra-tribal slaves are born unfree, being the offspring of parents one or both of whom are slaves.[21]

[Footnote 13: _Supra_, p. 599.]

[Footnote 14: _Supra_, p. 629 _sq._]

[Footnote 15: Butler, _Travels and Adventures in Assam_, p. 94 (Kukis). Mason, 'Dwellings, &c., of the Karens,' in _Jour. Asiatic Soc. Bengal_, xxxvii. pt. ii. p. 146 _sq._; Smeaton, _Loyal Karens of Burma_, p. 86. Wilken, 'Het strafrecht bij de volken van het maleische ras,' in _Bijdragen tot de taal- land- en volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië_, 1883, Land- en volkenkunde, p. 108 _sq._ Junghuhn, _Die Battalander auf Sumatra_, ii. 145 _sq._ (Bataks). Raffles, _History of Java_, ii. p. ccxxxv. (people of Bali). Forbes, _A Naturalist's Wanderings in the Eastern Archipelago_, p. 320 (people of Timor-laut). von Rosenberg, _Der malayische Archipel_, p. 166 (Niase). Hickson, _A Naturalist in North Celebes_, p. 194 (Sangirese). Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, ii. 87. Paulitschke, _Ethnographie Nordost-Afrikas_, p. 261. Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 244 _sq._ (Marca). Petherick, _Travels in Central Africa_, ii. 3 (Shilluk of the White Nile). Bowdich, _Mission to Ashantee_, p. 258 n. * (Fantis). Hübbe-Schleiden, _Ethiopien_, p. 152 (Mpongwe). Burton, _Abeokuta_, i. 301. Tuckey, _op. cit._ p. 367 (Negroes of Congo). Mungo Park, _op. cit._ p. 19 (Mandingoes). Tellier, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 171 (Kreis Kita of the French Soudan). Lang, _ibid._ p. 241 (Washambala). Dale, 'Customs of the Natives inhabiting the Bondei Country,' in _Jour. Anthr. Inst._ xxv. 230, Ellis, _History of Madagascar_, i. 193. Velten, _op. cit._ p. 305 _sq._ (Waswahili).]

[Footnote 16: Gibbs, _loc. cit._ p. 188 (Indians of Western Washington and North-western Oregon), Lewin, _Hill Tracts of Chittagong_, p. 34. _Idem_, _Wild Races of South-Eastern India_, pp. 194 (Khyoungtha), 235 (Mrús). Mason, 'Religion, &c., of the Karens,' in _Jour. Asiatic Soc. Bengal_, xxxiv. pt. ii. 216. Blumentritt, 'Die Sitten und Bräuche der alten Tagalen,' in _Zeitschr. f. Ethnol._ xxv. 13 _sqq._ Lala, _Philippine Islands_, p. 111 (natives of Sulu). Low, _Sarawak_, p. 301. Bock, _Head-Hunters of Borneo_, p. 210 (Dyak tribes). Junghuhn, _op. cit._ ii. 151 _sq._ Raffles, _op. cit._ i. 353 n. (Javanese); ii. p. ccxxxv. (people of Bali). Nieboer, _op. cit._ pp. 110, 111, 114, 119 _sq._ (various peoples in the Malay Archipelago). Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, pp. 207 (Takue), 245 (Marea). Kingsley, _West African Studies_, p. 370, Hübbe-Schleiden, _op. cit._ p. 152 (Mpongwe). Burton, _Abeokuta_, i. 301. Mungo Park, _op. cit._ p. 19 (Mandingoes). Dale, in _Jour. Anthr. Inst._ xxv. 230 (Wabondei). Baskerville, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 193 _sq._ (Waganda), Lang, _ibid._ p. 240 (Washambala). Walter, _ibid._ p. 381 (Natives of Nossi-Bé and Mayotte, Madagascar). Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 90 _sq._ _Idem_, _Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz_, i. 363 _sqq._; ii. 564 _sqq._ Kohler, _Shakespeare vor dem Forum der Jurisprudenz_, p. 14 _sq._]

[Footnote 17: Gibbs, _loc. cit._ p. 188.]

[Footnote 18: Earl, _Papuans_, p. 83.]

[Footnote 19: Tutuila, in _Jour. Polynesian Soc._ i. 268 _sq._]

[Footnote 20: Azara, _op. cit._ ii. 109 (Mbayas). Hale, _op. cit._ p. 96 (Kingsmill Islanders). Burton, _Abeokuta_, i. 301. Andersson, _Lake Ngami_, p. 231 (Herero). Ellis, _History of Madagascar_, i. 192 _sq._]

[Footnote 21: _Cf._ Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 89 _sq._; Mademba, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 83 (natives of the Sansanding States); Nicole, _ibid._ p. 119 (Diakité-Sarracolese); Baskerville, _ibid._ p. 194 (Waganda); Desoignies, _ibid._ p. 278 (Malala); Dale, in _Jour. Anthr. Inst._ xxv. 230 (Wabondei); Ellis, _History of Madagascar_, i. 193.]

In descriptions of slave-holding savages it is often said that a master has absolute power over his slave. But even in such instances, when details are scrutinised, it frequently appears that custom or public opinion does not allow a person to treat his slave just as he pleases. We have noticed above that in many cases the master is expressly denied the right of killing him at his own discretion.[22] More commonly than one would imagine the master has not {677} even an unlimited right to sell his slave. Among some peoples he may sell at will such slaves only as have been captured in war or purchased, not such as have been born in the house.[23] In several instances a slave, and especially a domestic slave, cannot be sold unless he has been guilty of some crime or misdemeanour.[24] Among the Banaka and Bapuku in the Cameroons the master may chastise or send away a slave who has behaved badly, but is not allowed to sell him.[25] There are, moreover, instances in which the master is entitled not to all the services of his slave, but only to a limited portion of them. In some parts of Africa the slave is obliged to work for his master on certain days of the week or a certain number of hours, but has the rest of his time free.[26] In the highlands of Palembang, Sumatra, a slave may carry on trade and hire himself out as a day labourer on his own behalf, and when he works in the field one-half of his harvesting belongs to him and the other half to his master.[27] Where the slave is allowed to possess property of his own he may in some cases,[28] though not in all,[29] buy his freedom; and debtor-slaves are as a rule entitled to regain their liberty by paying off the debt.[30] Many peoples even permit a dissatisfied slave to change his master. Among the Washambala, if a person does not fulfil his duties towards any of his slaves, the latter has a right to complain of him to the chief, and should the accusation prove true the chief buys the slave of his master for an ox and two cows, and keeps {678} him for himself.[31] Among other peoples a slave, in order to get a new master, has only to cause a slight damage to somebody's property, or to commit some other trifling offence, in which case he must be given up to the person he "injured."[32] It is astonishing to notice how readily, in many African countries, slaves are allowed by custom to rid themselves of tyrannical or neglectful masters.[33] The Barea and Bazes have a law according to which a slave becomes free by simply leaving his lord.[34] Among the Manipuris, in Further India, if a slave flies from one master and selects for himself another, it is presumed that he has been badly treated by the first one, and the fugitive can consequently not be reclaimed.[35]

[Footnote 22: _Supra_, p. 422 _sq._]

[Footnote 23: Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 95 _sqq._]

[Footnote 24: _Ibid._ i. 96 _sq._ Tellier, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 169 (Kreis Kita). Lang, _ibid._ p. 241 (Washambala).]

[Footnote 25: Steinmetz, _Rechtsvershältnisse_, p. 43.]

[Footnote 26: Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 101. Mademba, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 83 (natives of the Sansanding States). Nicole, _ibid._ p. 118 (Diakité-Sarracolese). Tellier, _ibid._ p. 169 _sqq._ (Kreis Kita).]

[Footnote 27: _Glimpses of the Eastern Archipelago_, p. 106.]

[Footnote 28: Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 111 _sq._]

[Footnote 29: _Ibid._ i. 111 _sq._ Tellier, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 170 (Kreis Kita), Senfft, _ibid._ p. 442 (Marshall Islanders).]

[Footnote 30: Post, _Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz_, i. 366. Nieboer, _op. cit._ pp. 38, 432. Nicole, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 118 (Diakité-Sarracolese). Baskervilie, _ibid._ p. 194 (Waganda). Lang, _ibid._ p. 240 _sqq._ (Washambala).]

[Footnote 31: Lang, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 242.]

[Footnote 32: Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 102 _sqq._ _Idem_, _Grundriss der ethnologischen Jurisprudenz_, i. 377. Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 168. Pechuel-Loesche, 'Aus dem Leben der Loango-Neger,' in _Globus_, xxxii. 238.]

[Footnote 33: See also Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 102 _sqq._; Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 309 (Beni Amer); _Idem_, _Die Sitten und das Recht der Bogos_, p. 43.]

[Footnote 34: Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 484.]

[Footnote 35: Dalton, _Descriptive Ethnology of Bengal_, p. 51.]

A slave among the lower races can thus by no means be described as a being destitute of all rights. As a rule, it seems, he is treated kindly, very commonly as an inferior member of the family.[36] Among the Aleuts a slave suffering want would bring dishonour upon his master.[37] The South American Mbayás, says Azara, {679} "aiment extraordinairement tous leurs esclaves; jamais ils ne leur commandent d'un ton imperieux; jamais ils ne les reprimandent, ni ne les châtient, ni ne les vendent, quand même ce seraient des prisonniers de guerre. . . . Quel contraste avec le traitement que les européens font éprouver aux africains!"[38] In West Africa "the condition of slavery is not regarded as degrading, and a slave is not considered an inferior being."[39] On the Gold Coast, with the exception of the unpleasant liability of being sent at any moment to serve his master in the other world, the lot of a slave is not generally one of hardship, but is on the whole far better than that of the agricultural labourer in England. The slave is generally considered a member of the family, and if native-born succeeds in some cases in default of an heir to the property of his master.[40] In the Yoruba country it was quite common for a slave to be named by his master in his last will to be the factor or general manager of the estate, and to be left to take care of the entire establishment.[41] Among the Kreis Kita, of the French Soudan, the master calls his domestic slaves his sons, and they call him their father; nay, the natural guardian of an heir who is not yet of age is not his mother, but the eldest domestic slave of the household.[42] Speaking of the natives in the region of Lake Nyassa, Mr. Macdonald remarks that most Africans like to see their slaves become rich; "Are they not," they say, "our own children?"[43] Among the Wabondei, "if a man buys a slave, he calls his own children and says, 'Behold your brother.' The slave is treated as a son, and is neither beaten nor tied."[44] In Madagascar the slaves "are kindly treated by their masters, they are considered as a kind of inferior members of the family to whom they belong, and many of the slaves have a {680} practical freedom of action to which the free population are quite strangers."[45] The slavery prevalent among the native races of the Malay Archipelago is generally mild. In Borneo, says Mr. Boyle, "we always found a difficulty in distinguishing the servile portion of a household from the freeborn population, and the honours and distinctions open to the latter class are likewise accessible to the former."[46] The slave-debtors of the Dyaks are "just as happy in this state--living in their creditors' houses and working on their farms--as if perfectly free, enjoying all the liberty of their masters."[47] Among the Chittagong Hill tribes the debtor-slaves were treated as members of the creditor's family, and were never exposed to harsh usage.[48] Among the Káfirs of the Hindu-Kush slaves are sometimes chosen among the annually elected magistracy, and Sir Scott Robertson knew of a case in which a master and his slave went through the ceremony of brotherhood together.[49]

[Footnote 36: _Ibid._ pp. 51 (Manipuris), 58 (Garos). Lewin, _Hill Tracts of Chittagong_, p. 34 _sq._ _Idem_, _Wild Races of South-Eastern India_, p. 90 (Chittagong Hill tribes). Colquhoun, _Amongst the Shans_, p. 267. Mouhot, _Travels in the Central Parts of Indo-China_, i. 250 (Stiêns). Riedel, _De sluik- en kroesharige rassen tusschen Selebes en Papua_, pp. 194 (Watubela Islanders), 293 (people of Tenimber and Timor-laut), 434 (people of Wetter). Earl, _op. cit._ p. 81 (Papuans of Dorey). New, _Life, Wanderings, and Labours in Eastern Africa_, p. 128 (Wanika). Chanler, _Through Jungle and Desert_, p. 404 (Eastern Africans). Baumann, _Usambara_, p. 141 (Wabondei). Felkin, in _Proceed. Roy. Soc. Edinburgh_, xiii. 746; Baskerville, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 194 (Waganda). _Ibid._ p. 43 (Banaka and Bapuku). Mademba, _ibid._ p. 84 (natives of the Sansanding States). Nicole, _ibid._ p. 118 (Diakité-Sarracolese). Lang, _ibid._ p. 242 (Washambala). Desoignies, _ibid._ p. 278 (Msalala). Kraft, _ibid._ p. 291 (Wapokomo). Reade, _Savage Africa_, p. 582. Rowley, _Africa Unveiled_, pp. 174, 176. Steinmetz, _Ethnologische Studien zur ersten Entwicklung der Strafe_, i. 313. Nieboer, _op. cit._ pp. 52, 78, 79, 81, 141-143, 305, 439, _sq._]

[Footnote 37: Veniaminof, quoted by Petroff, _loc. cit._ p. 152.]

[Footnote 38: Azara, _op. cit._ ii. 110.]

[Footnote 39: Ellis, _E[(w]e-speaking Peoples of the Slave Coast_, p. 219. See also Wilson, _Western Africa_, pp. 179, 180, 271 _sq._]

[Footnote 40: Ellis, _Tshi-speaking Peoples of the Gold Coast_, p. 290.]

[Footnote 41: MacGregor, 'Lagos, Abeokuta, and the Alake,' in _Jour. African Soc._ 1904, p. 473.]

[Footnote 42: Tellier, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 169.]

[Footnote 43: Macdonald, in _Jour. Anthr. Inst._ xxii. 102.]

[Footnote 44: Dale, _ibid._ xxv. 230.]

[Footnote 45: Sibree, _The Great African Island_, p. 181. See also Little, _Madagascar_, p. 77; Ellis, _History of Madagascar_, i. 196.]

[Footnote 46: Boyle, _Adventures among the Dyaks of Borneo_, p. 284.]

[Footnote 47: Low, _Sarawak_, p. 302. See also St. John, _Life in the Forests of the Far East_, i. 83; Bock, _Head-Hunters of Borneo_, p. 210; Kükenthal, _Ergebnisse einer zoologischen Forschungsreise in den Molukken und Borneo_, i. 276 (Kyans); Crawford, _History of the Indian Archipelago_, i. 52; Raffles, _op. cit._ i. 352; Marsden, _History of Sumatra_, p. 253; Junghuhn, _op. cit._ ii. 150 (Bataks).]

[Footnote 48: Lewin, _Hill Tracts of Chittagong_, p. 34.]

[Footnote 49: Scott Robertson, _Káfirs of the Hindu-Kush_, p. 100 _sq._]

It appears that intra-tribal slaves, especially such as are born in the house, are generally treated better than extra-tribal or purchased slaves,[50] and that slaves are most oppressed by their masters when they belong to a different race.[51] We are told that among the South American Guaycurus the two causes of slavery, captivity and birth, imply a certain difference of caste, which is maintained {681} with great rigour.[52] Mungo Park observes that in Africa the domestic slaves or such as are born in their master's house are treated more leniently than those who are purchased.[53] "I was told," he says, "that the Mandingo master can neither deprive his slave of life, nor sell him to a stranger, without first calling a palaver on his conduct, or, in other words, bringing him to a public trial; but this degree of protection is extended only to the native or domestic slave."[54] Tuckey makes exactly the same observation as regards the natives of Congo.[55] On the Gold Coast slaves are of three kinds--native-born, imported, and prisoners of war; and "a distinction is always made between the first and the two latter, who are treated with far less consideration."[56] Speaking of the Central African tribes generally, Mr. Rowley states that slavery assumes a much severer character among the pastoral than among the agricultural tribes, because the slaves of the former are for the most part captives of war, whereas those of the latter have rarely been acquired by conquest but mostly by inheritance. Among the agricultural tribes, he adds, persons who are in bondage are not called slaves but children, and those to whom they are in bondage are not called masters but fathers.[57] Among the Káfirs of the Hindu-Kush all slaves "are not of the same social position, for the house slave is said to be much higher in grade than the artisan slave. . . . The domestic slaves live with their masters."[58]

[Footnote 50: Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 484 _sq._ (Barea and Kunáma). New, _op. cit._ p. 56 (Waswahili). Baumann, _Usambara_, p. 61 (natives of the Tanga Coast). Sarbah, _op. cit._ p. 6 _sq._ (Fantis). Nicole, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_ p. 118 _sq._ (Diakité-Sarracolese). Tellier, _ibid._ p. 169 (Kreis Kita). Beverley, _ibid._ p. 213 (Wagogo). Sibree, _op. cit._ p. 256 _sq._ (natives of Madagascar). Post, _Afrikanische Jurisprudenz_, i. 88 _sq._]

[Footnote 51: Mademba, in Steinmetz, _Rechtsverhältnisse_, p. 84 (natives of the Sansanding States). Sibree, _op. cit._ p. 181 (natives of Madagascar).]

[Footnote 52: von Spix and von Martius, _Travels in Brazil_, ii. 74.]

[Footnote 53: Mungo Park, _op. cit._ p. 262.]

[Footnote 54: _Ibid._ p. 19.]

[Footnote 55: Tuckey, _op. cit._ p. 367.]

[Footnote 56: Ellis, _Tshi-speaking Peoples_, p. 289.]

[Footnote 57: Rowley, _Africa Unveiled_, p. 174 _sqq._]

[Footnote 58: Scott Robertson, _op. cit._ p. 99 _sq._]

Among the nations of archaic civilisation slavery presents essentially the same characteristics as among the lower races. In ancient Mexico there were various classes of slaves--prisoners of war, criminals condemned to lose their freedom, children sold by their parents, and persons who had sold themselves. The relations between master and slave are represented as friendly.[59] "Slavery {682} in Mexico." says Mr. Bancroft, "was, according to all accounts, a moderate subjection, consisting merely of an obligation to render personal service, nor could that be exacted without allowing the slave a certain amount of time to labour for his own advantage."[60] Masters could not sell their slaves without their consent, unless they were slaves with a collar, that is, runaway, rebellious, or vicious slaves, who in spite of two or three warnings did not mend their behaviour.[61] Their children were invariably born free;[62] and when their masters died they generally became free themselves.[63]

[Footnote 59: Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 217, 221.]

[Footnote 60: Bancroft, _Native Races of the Pacific States_, ii. 220 _sq._]

[Footnote 61: Clavigero, _History of Mexico_, i. 360.]

[Footnote 62: Bancroft, _op. cit._ ii. 221.]

[Footnote 63: Clavigero, _op. cit._ i. 360.]

In China the slave class is composed of prisoners of war, of persons who sell themselves or are sold by others, and of the children of slaves;[64] and in former days public slavery was a punishment for crime.[65] It is true that the penal code forbids the sale of free persons; according to the letter of the text even the father of a family must not sell his children,[66] and persons who voluntarily submit themselves to be sold are punished by law.[67] But these regulations are frequently transgressed; in times of distress children are often sold by their parents, and the kidnapping of children is an even more common source from which the supply of slaves is kept up.[68] The master's power over his slave is not quite absolute,[69] but it seems to be fully as great as the father's power over his child.[70] A master who falsely accuses his slave suffers no punishment for it; on the other hand, a slave cannot complain in a court of justice of ill-treatment from his master.[71] Yet the condition of slaves in China is generally easy enough.[72] "In all Chinese families of 'the upper ten {683} thousand,' an intimacy exists between masters and men-servants on the one hand, and mistresses and female servants on the other. Servants not unfrequently make suggestions in reference to the well-being of the family, and in many instances, domestic matters of a grave nature are discussed before them."[73] In Chinese novels the servant is the confidant of his master, and harsh behaviour towards slaves is only attributed to vicious persons;[74] according to the Divine Panorama, he who beats or injures his slave without estimating the punishment by the fault is tormented in hell.[75] Many travellers have pointed out the difference between the comparatively happy condition of slaves in China and the degraded position of the former negro slaves in European colonies and the United States of America.[76] "In China," it is observed, "the identity of blood, colour, race, and habit between master and servant, operates as a restraint on the avarice, vices, and cruelty of the former, which would not be the case if they were of different races as in America."[77]

[Footnote 64: Biot, 'Mémoire sur la condition des esclaves et des serviteurs gagés en Chine,' in _Journal Asiatique_, ser. iii. vol. iii. 257 _sqq._]

[Footnote 65: _Ibid._ p. 249 _sqq._]

[Footnote 66: _Supra_, p. 607.]

[Footnote 67: _Ta Tsing Leu Lee_, sec. cclxxv. p. 201.]

[Footnote 68: Biot, _loc. cit._ p. 260. Giles, _Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio_, p. 211, n. 8. Gray, _China_, i. 241, 242, 246.]

[Footnote 69: _Supra_, p. 424.]

[Footnote 70: Gray, _op. cit._ i. 243 _sqq._]

[Footnote 71: Biot, _op. cit._ p. 292. _Ta Tsing Leu Lee_, sec. cccxxxvii. p. 373.]

[Footnote 72: Biot, _loc. cit._ p. 296 _sq._ Giles, _op. cit._ i. 211 _sq._ n. 8. Gray, _op. cit._ i. 245. Wells Williams, _The Middle Kingdom_, i. 413. Douglas, _Society in China_, p. 349.]

[Footnote 73: Gray, _op. cit._ i. 247.]

[Footnote 74: Biot, _loc. cit._ p. 296.]

[Footnote 75: Giles, _op. cit._ ii. 377.]

[Footnote 76: Biot, _loc. cit._ p. 297 _sq._]

[Footnote 77: _Chinese Repository_, xviii. 362.]

It has been suggested that in ancient Egypt the aboriginal inhabitants of the country were made slaves by the conquering race. "Si nous consultons les monuments," says M. Amélineau, "nous remarquons dans les peintures qui ornent les parois des tombeaux de Saqqarah une certaine race d'hommes sur laquelle Mariette avait déjà appelé l'attention. . . . Je crois que ce sont là des esclaves, vieux restes des populations primitives soumises par les conquérants nouvellement arrivés dans la vallée du Nil, descendants des premières tribus humaines qui s'étaient installées en Égypt."[78] During the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, which form the chief period of Egypt's foreign conquests, mention is frequently made of the employment of prisoners of war as slaves. Every Pharao of these dynasties recounts how he filled the god Amon's storehouses with male and female slaves from his {684} spoil. These slaves are occasionally represented in tombs; thus in the tomb of Rekhmere some slaves who are making bricks and building a wall are designated as "the spoil which his Majesty brought for the construction of the temple of Amon."[79] M. Amélineau believes that slavery was in Egypt milder than in Greece and Rome.[80] According to the Book of the Dead, the pity of the god extends to slaves; not only does he command that no one should ill-treat them himself, but he forbids that their masters should be led to ill-treat them.[81]

[Footnote 78: Amélineau, _Essai sur l'évolution des idées morales dans l'Égypt Ancienne_, p. 78.]

[Footnote 79: For these statements I am indebted to my friend Dr. Alan Gardiner.]

[Footnote 80: Amélineau, _op. cit._ p. 349.]

[Footnote 81: _Book of the Dead_, ch. 125. _Cf._ Maspero, _Dawn of Civilization_, p. 191.]

In ancient Chaldæa, beneath the free Semite and Sumerian population, there was a class of slaves largely consisting of captives from foreign races and their descendants, but continually reinforced by individuals of the native race such as foundlings, women sold by their husbands, children sold by their fathers, and probably debtors whom their creditors had deprived of their liberty.[82] Their position was evidently not one of excessive hardship.[83] As a rule, they were permitted to marry and bring up a family; and it seems that masters, when selling their slaves, as much as possible avoided separating parents and children.[84] The master often apprenticed the children of his slaves, and as soon as they knew a trade he set them up in business in his own name, allowing them a share in the profits.[85] A slave could hire himself out for wages, and could himself acquire slaves to work for him.[86] He was even entitled to purchase his freedom.[87] "La loi babylonienne," says M. Oppert, "lassait aux esclaves sur quelques points {685} plus de prérogatives que le Code français n'en accorde à nos épouses."[88]

[Footnote 82: Meissner, _Beiträge zur altbabylonischen Privatrecht_, p. 6. Oppert, 'La condition des esclaves à Babylone,' in _Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres--Comptes rendus des séances de l'année_ 1888, ser. iv. vol. xvi. 122. Maspero, _op. cit._ p. 743.]

[Footnote 83: Meissner, _op. cit._ p. 7. Oppert, _loc. cit._ p. 121 _sqq._]

[Footnote 84: Oppert, _loc. cit._ p. 125 _sqq._]

[Footnote 85: Kohler and Peiser, _Aus dem babylonischen Rechtsleben_, ii, 52 _sqq._]

[Footnote 86: Oppert, _loc. cit._ pp. 122, 128.]

[Footnote 87: Meissner, _op. cit._ p. 7. Oppert, _loc. cit._ p. 122. Oppert and Ménant, _Documents juridiques de l'Assyrie et de la Chaldée_, p. 14.]

[Footnote 88: Oppert, _loc. cit._ p. 121.]

Among the Hebrews the slave class consisted of captives taken in war;[89] of persons bought with money from neighbouring nations or from foreign residents in the land;[90] of children of slaves born in the house;[91] of native Hebrews who had been sold by their fathers,[92] or who either alone or with their wives and children had fallen into slavery in consequence of poverty,[93] or who had been sold by the authorities as slaves on account of theft when unable to pay compensation for the stolen property.[94] To deprive an Israelite of his freedom for any other reason, to steal him, use him as a slave, or sell him, was a crime punishable with death.[95] And even the Israelite who lost his liberty because he had become poor on account of poverty was not to be treated in the same way as the slave of foreign origin. He could not be compelled to serve as a bondservant, only as a hired servant.[96] He should not be ruled over with rigour.[97] He might not only be redeemed at any time by his relatives, but if not redeemed he was bound to receive his freedom without payment in the seventh year, and then the master should not let him go away empty, but furnish him liberally out of his flock, his floor, and his wine-press.[98] Slaves of foreign extraction, on the other hand, were not to be emancipated, but should remain slaves for ever, descending to children and children's children.[99] But in no case had the master absolute power over his slave. Whether the latter was an Israelite or a foreigner, his life, and to some extent his body, were protected by law;[100] and if a slave escaped from a hard master, he {686} should not be given up, but be allowed to live unmolested in the place which he should choose in one of the cities of Israel.[101] From everything that we read about slaves among the Hebrews it appears that they were regarded as inferior members of the family, and that the house-father cared for their well-being hardly less than for that of his own children.[102] In the Talmud masters are repeatedly admonished to treat their slaves with kindness;[103] traffic in human beings is regarded as an occupation which incapacitates the dealer to sit as judge;[104] and emancipation of slaves is practically encouraged in various ways,[105] in spite of the dictum of certain rabbis that he who emancipates his slave transgresses the positive precept of Leviticus xxv. 46, "They shall be your bondmen for ever."[106]

[Footnote 89: _Deuteronomy_, xx. 14.]

[Footnote 90: _Leviticus_, xxv. 44 _sqq._]

[Footnote 91: _Genesis_, xiv. 14.]

[Footnote 92: _Exodus_, xxi. 7.]

[Footnote 93: _Ibid._ xxi. 2 _sq._ _Leviticus_, xxv. 39, 47.]

[Footnote 94: _Exodus_, xxii. 3.]

[Footnote 95: _Ibid._ xxi. 16. _Deuteronomy_, xxiv. 7.]

[Footnote 96: _Leviticus_, xxv. 39, 40, 53.]

[Footnote 97: _Ibid._ xxv. 43, 46, 53.]

[Footnote 98: _Exodus_, xxi. 2. _Leviticus_, xxv. 40, 41, 48 _sqq._ _Deuteronomy_, xv. 12 _sqq._]

[Footnote 99: _Leviticus_, xxv. 44 _sqq._]

[Footnote 100: _Supra_, pp. 424, 516.]

[Footnote 101: _Deuteronomy_, xxiii. 15 _sq._]

[Footnote 102: See Mielziner, _Die Verhältnisse der Sklaven bei den alten Hebräern_, p. 61 _sqq._; André, _L'esclavage chez les anciens Hébreux_, p. 149 _sqq._; Benzinger, 'Slavery,' in Cheyne and Black, _Encyclopædia Biblica_, iv. 4657 _sq._]

[Footnote 103: Katz, _Der wahre Talmudjude_, p. 59 _sqq._ See also _Ecclesiasticus_, xxxiii. 31:--"If thou have a servant, entreat him as a brother: for thou hast need of him as of thine own soul."]

[Footnote 104: Benny, _Criminal Code of the Jews according to the Talmud Massecheth Synhedrin_, p. 36.]

[Footnote 105: Winter, _Die Stellung der Sklaven bei den Juden_, p. 41.]

[Footnote 106: _Berakhoth_, fol. 47 B, quoted by Hershon, _Treasures of the Talmud_, p. 81. _R. Samuel_, quoted by André, _op. cit._ p. 180 _sq._]

According to Islam, a Muhammedan who is born free can never become a slave. "The slave," says Mr. Lane, "is either a person taken captive in war or carried off by force from a foreign country, and being at the time of capture an infidel; or the offspring of a female slave by another slave, or by any man who is not her owner, or by her owner if he do not acknowledge himself to be the father."[107] The slave should be treated with kindness; the Prophet said, "A man who behaves ill to his slave will not enter into Paradise."[108] The master should give to his slaves of the food which he eats himself, and of the clothes with which he clothes himself.[109] He should not {687} order them to do anything beyond their power, and in the hot season, during the hottest hours of the day, he should let them rest.[110] He may marry them to whom he will, but he may not separate them when married.[111] He may, generally, give them away or sell them as he pleases, but he must not separate a mother from her child. The Prophet said, "Whoever is the cause of separation between mother and child, by selling or giving, God will separate him from his friends on the day of resurrection."[112] Nor is a master allowed to alienate a female slave who has borne to him a child which he recognises as his own; and at his death the mother is entitled to emancipation.[113] To liberate a slave is regarded as an act highly acceptable to God, and as an expiation for certain sins.[114] These rules, it should be added, are not only recognised in theory, but derive additional support from general usage. In the Muhammedan world the slave generally lives on easy terms with his master. He is often treated as a member of the family, and occasionally exercises much influence upon its affairs.[115] In certain countries at least, it is held disreputable or disgraceful for a person to sell his slave, except perhaps in case of absolute necessity or in consequence of intolerable behaviour on the part of the slave.[116] In Persia custom demands that on certain festive occasions, such as the birth of a child or a wedding, one {688} or several of the slaves of the family should be set free;[117] and both there and in other Muhammedan countries testamentary manumissions are of frequent occurrence.[118] In Morocco a slave is sometimes allowed a certain amount of liberty that he may earn enough to buy his freedom;[119] whilst among the Bedouins of the Arabian Desert described by Burckhardt, slaves are always emancipated after a certain lapse of time.[120] No stigma attaches to the emancipated slave. It has been truly said that in Islam slavery is regarded as an accident, not as a "constitution of nature,"[121] hence the freedman is socially on an equal footing with a free-born citizen. He may without discredit marry his former master's daughter, and become the head of the family. Emancipated slaves have repeatedly risen to the highest offices, they have ruled kingdoms and founded dynasties.[122]

[Footnote 107: Lane, _Manners and Customs of the Modern Egyptians_, p. 116. _Cf._ Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 245 _sq._; Ameer Ali, _Life and Teachings of Mohammed_, p. 376 _sq._]

[Footnote 108: Lane, _Arabian Society in the Middle Ages_, p. 255. Lane-Poole, _Speeches and Table-Talk of the Prophet Mohammad_, p. 163.]

[Footnote 109: Lane, _Arabian Society_, p. 254. Lane-Poole, _Speeches_, p. 163.]

[Footnote 110: Lane, _Arabian Society_, p. 254. Lane-Poole, _Speeches_, p. 163. Sachau, _Muhammedanisches Recht_, pp. 18, 102.]

[Footnote 111: Lane, _Modern Egyptians_, p. 115.]

[Footnote 112: _Ibid._ p. 115. Lane, _Arabian Society_, p. 255. Ameer All, _Life of Mohammed_, p. 374 _sq._]

[Footnote 113: Lane, _Modern Egyptians_, p. 116.]

[Footnote 114: _Koran_, xxiv. 33. Ameer Ali, _Life of Mohammed_, pp. 373, 377. Beltrame, _Il Sènnaar e lo Sciangàllah_, i. 46. Lane, _Modern Egyptians_, p. 119.]

[Footnote 115: Lane, _Arabian Society_, p. 253 _sqq._ Polak, _Persien_, i. 251, 255. Urquhart, _Spirit of the East_, ii. 403. Burton, _Pilgrimage to Al-Madinah & Mecca_, i. 61. Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 155. Beltrame, _Il Sènnaar_, i. 46 _sqq._ Loir, 'L'esclavage en Tunisie,' in _Revue scientifique_, ser. iv. vol. xii. 592 _sq._ Villot, _M[oe]urs, coutumes et institutions des indigènes de l'Algérie_, p. 250. Meakin, _Moors_, p. 133. Chavanne, _Die Sahara_, p. 389 (Arabs of the Sahara). Pommerol, _Among the Women of the Sahara_, p. 161 _sqq._ Dyveyrier, _Exploration du Sahara_, p. 339. Hourst, _Sur le Niger et au pays des Touaregs_, p. 206 (Touareg). Hanoteau and Letourneux, _La Kabylie_, ii. 143. Reade, _Savage Africa_, p. 582.]

[Footnote 116: Polak, _Persien_, i. 250. Beltrame, _Il Sènnaar_, i. 47, 248. Munzinger, _Ostafrikanische Studien_, p. 155.]

[Footnote 117: Polak, _op. cit._ i. 250.]

[Footnote 118: _Ibid._ i. 250. Meakin, _op. cit._ p. 139.]

[Footnote 119: Meakin, _op. cit._ p. 139.]

[Footnote 120: Burckhardt, _Notes on the Bedouins and Wahábys_, p. 202.]

[Footnote 121: Ameer Ali, _Life of Mohammed_, p. 375.]

[Footnote 122: _Ibid._ p. 375 _sq._ Bosworth Smith, _Mohammed and Mohammedanism_, pp. 206, 211 _sq._]

According to the Laws of Manu, the mythical legislator of ancient India, there are slaves of seven kinds, namely, "he who is made a captive under a standard, he who serves for his daily food, he who is born in the house, he who is bought and he who is given, he who is inherited from ancestors, and he who is enslaved by way of punishment."[123] The last mentioned class consists of persons who have lost their freedom because they have been unable to pay a debt or a fine, or because they have left a religious order.[124] The slave is not necessarily a Sûdra, or member of the lowest of the four Indian castes, but Kshatriyas may become the slaves of Brâhmanas and Vaisyas of Brâhmanas and Kshatriyas.[125] On the other hand, the Sûdras as such were not slaves, though it was their duty to serve the other castes; they chose the persons to whom they would offer service, and claimed adequate compensation.[126] {689} The power which a house-holder in India possessed over his slaves is not exactly defined; but he is admonished not to have quarrels with them, and if offended by any of them, to bear it without resentment.[127] In Âpastamba's Aphorisms it is said that a person may at his pleasure stint himself, his wife, or his children, "but by no means a slave who does his work."[128] Elphinstone wrote in 1839 in his 'History of India':--"Domestic slaves are treated exactly like servants, except that they are more regarded as belonging to the family. I doubt if they are ever sold; and they attract little observation, as there is nothing apparent to distinguish them from freemen."[129] The priesthood of modern Buddhism teach that there are five ways in which a master ought to assist his slave:--"He must not appoint the work of children to men, or of men to children, but to each according to his strength; he must give each one his food and wages, according as they are required; when sick, he must free him from work, and provide him with proper medicine; when the master has any agreeable and savoury food, he must not consume the whole himself, but must impart a portion to others, even to his slaves; and if they work properly for a long period, or for a given period, they must be set free."[130]

[Footnote 123: _Laws of Manu_, viii. 415.]

[Footnote 124: Bühler, in his translation of the Laws of Manu, in _Sacred Books of the East_, xxv. 326, n. 415.]

[Footnote 125: _Ibid._ p. 326, n. 415.]

[Footnote 126: Ingram, _History of Slavery and Serfdom_, p. 272.]

[Footnote 127: _Laws of Manu_, iv. 180, 185.]

[Footnote 128: _Âpastamba_, ii. 4. 9. 11.]

[Footnote 129: Elphinstone, _History of India_, p. 203.]

[Footnote 130: Hardy, _Manual of Budhism_, p. 500.]

In Greece, especially in earlier times, capture in war, piracy, and kidnapping were common causes of slavery,[131] and the condition was hereditary. Other legitimate sources were exposure of infants, except at Thebes,[132] and sale of children by their parents.[133] At Athens insolvent debtors became the slaves of their creditors up to the time of Solon;[134] and metics--that is, resident aliens--who did not discharge the obligations imposed on them by the State, {690} were sold as slaves, as were also foreigners who had fraudulently possessed themselves of the rights of citizens.[135] At least in a later age the majority of slaves seem to have been of barbarian origin;[136] indeed, after the Peloponnesian war the principle that captives taken in wars between Greek states should be ransomed and not enslaved was commonly recognised, though not always followed in practice.[137] As we have seen, the master had not the power of life and death over his slave.[138] At sanctuaries the latter found a refuge from cruel oppression.[139] If maltreated he could demand to be sold; and he could purchase his liberty with his _peculium_ by agreement with his master.[140] But by manumission he only entered into an intermediate condition between slavery and complete freedom; thus, at Athens the freedman was in relation to the State a metic and in relation to his master a client.[141] Domestic slaves often lived on terms of intimacy with their masters,[142] but as a class slaves were regarded with contempt even by men like Plato and Aristotle. The former, whilst warning his hearers against insolent and unjust behaviour towards slaves, observes that they should be treated with severity, not admonished as if they were freemen, but punished, and only addressed in words of command.[143] Aristotle compares the relation of the master to his slave with that of the soul to the body and of the craftsman to his tool, and adds that there can be friendship between them only in so far as the slave is regarded not as a slave but as a fellow human being.[144] But whilst the state of slavery always entailed disgrace, the question was raised whether the master's power over his slave was based on justice or {691} on force, and in Greece, for the first time, we meet with the opinion that the institution of slavery is contrary to Nature, and that it is the law which, unjustly, makes one man a slave and another free.[145] However, Aristotle was no doubt in general agreement with his age when he declared that the barbarians, on account of their inferiority, are intended by Nature to be the slaves of the Greeks.[146]

[Footnote 131: Wallon, _Histoire de l'esclavage dans l'antiquité_, i. 161 _sqq._ Richter, _Die Sklaverei im griechischen Altertume_, p. 39 _sqq._]

[Footnote 132: Aelian, _Historia varia_, ii. 7.]

[Footnote 133: Wallon. _op. cit._ i. 159 _sq._]

[Footnote 134: Plutarch, _Vita Solonis_, xiii. 4.]

[Footnote 135: Wallon, _op. cit._ i. 160 _sq._ Richter, _op. cit._ p. 46.]

[Footnote 136: Hermann-Blümner, _Lehrbuch der griechischen Privatalterthümer_, p. 86. Richter, _op. cit._ p. 48.]

[Footnote 137: Schmidt, _Ethik der alten Griechen_, ii. 204, 205, 283. Hermann-Blümner, _op. cit._ p. 86 _sq._]

[Footnote 138: _Supra_, p. 425.]

[Footnote 139: Wallon, _op. cit._ i. 310 _sq._ Schmidt, _op. cit._ ii. 218 _sq._ Richter, _op. cit._ p. 140 _sq._]

[Footnote 140: Ingram, _op. cit._ p. 27 _sq._ Wallon, _op. cit._ i. 335 _sq._ Richter, _op. cit._ p. 151.]

[Footnote 141: Richter, _op. cit._ p. 157. Wallon, _op. cit._ i. 346 _sqq._]

[Footnote 142: Schmidt, _op. cit._ ii. 212. Richter, _op. cit._ p. 151.]

[Footnote 143: Plato, _Leges_, vi. 777 _sq._]

[Footnote 144: Aristotle, _Ethica Nicomachea_, viii. 11. 6 _sq._ _Idem_, _Politica_, i. 5, p. 1254.]

[Footnote 145: _Idem_, _Politica_, i. 3, p. 1253 b.]

[Footnote 146: _Ibid._ i. 2, 6, pp. 1252 b, 1255 a. See Euripides, _Iphigenia in Aulide_, 1400 _sq._]