slavery

slavery, historicially, an institution based on a relationship of dominance and submission, whereby one person owns another and can exact from that person labor or other services. Slavery has been found among many groups of low material culture, as in the Malay Peninsula and among some Native Americans; it also has occurred in more highly developed societies, such as the southern United States. Since the 20th cent., the term slavery has been more broadly understood as including forced labor generally.

Sections in this article:

• Introduction
• In Other Countries
• In the United States
• In Great Britain
• The Antislavery Movement
• Modern Slavery
• Slavery after the Fall of the Roman Empire
• Slavery in the Ancient World
• History
• Bibliography

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2024, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

See more Encyclopedia articles on: Labor