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Slavery in Great Levantia: Difference between revisions
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'''Slavery in Great Levantia''' was an important social and economic institution which existed throughout much of [[Great Levantia]]'s existence. Slaves served a wide variety of purposes in ancient Levantine society, with a majority involved in hard labor related to the extraction of natural resources, though a considerable majority served in the role of {{wp|House slave|household slave}} and other urban purposes. Socially, slavery served as a means of control and also as a geopolitical tool to reduce disloyal [[Gaelic people|Gaelic peoples]] in the [[Levantia|Levantine]] hinterland and also as a means to repopulate strategically important regions. In ancient Levantine society, citizens could not be enslaved for any reason nor could an individual who served in the Levantine legions. Slaves were considered property and had no legal protections. Until 50 AD, no legal mechanism allowed for the freeing of slaves, though slaves would increasingly gain legal protections. | '''Slavery in Great Levantia''' was an important social and economic institution which existed throughout much of [[Great Levantia]]'s existence. Slaves served a wide variety of purposes in ancient Levantine society, with a majority involved in hard labor related to the extraction of natural resources, though a considerable majority served in the role of {{wp|House slave|household slave}} and other urban purposes. Socially, slavery served as a means of control and also as a geopolitical tool to reduce disloyal [[Gaelic people|Gaelic peoples]] in the [[Levantia|Levantine]] hinterland and also as a means to repopulate strategically important regions. In ancient Levantine society, citizens could not be enslaved for any reason nor could an individual who served in the Levantine legions. Slaves were considered property and had no legal protections. Until 50 AD, no legal mechanism allowed for the freeing of slaves, though slaves would increasingly gain legal protections. | ||
The original source for slaves in earliest ancient Levantia were non-citizen convicted criminals who would be sentences to various terms of enslavement to an individual or the state as part of a sentence. In time, as [[Great Levantia]] expanded, the institution changed from a primarily penal institution to a broader one, including | The original source for slaves in earliest ancient Levantia were non-citizen convicted criminals and those in debt who would be sentences to various terms of enslavement to an individual or the state as part of a sentence. In time, as [[Great Levantia]] expanded, the institution changed from a primarily penal institution to a broader one, including debtors, criminals, and those captured in war, particularly [[Gaelic people]]. In time, as Great Levantia reached its peak and prosecuted the [[Gallian Wars]], the vast majority of slaves were people captured in war. The [[Gallian Wars]] in particular lead to a historic influx of slaves, transforming the institution into a means of control of indigenous peoples while also transforming the economy to being increasingly reliant on slave labor. | ||
==Origins and history== | ==Origins and history== | ||
A major slave revolt in [[Tromarine]] in 150 AD lead to a mixed response by Levantine authorities. On the one hand, new laws were introduced against runaway slaves and a period of generally harsher enforcement was inaugurated against unruly and potentially rebellious slaves. On the other hand, new pathways to manumission and a maximum term of enslavement were both introduced in the 150s, although the latter was undermined inasmuch as an individual slave could face multiple consecutive terms of enslavement. Most historians believe more slaves were freed or gained their own freedom between 150 and 200 AD than at any other previous time in Levantine history. | Most early Levantine slaves were individuals sentenced to limited terms of enslavement as a result of a crime or more commonly due to debt arrears. The earliest instituion of slavery in Great Levantia and its predecessor cities somewhat resembled [[Slavery in Caphiria]] and was viewed mostly as a penal institution rather than a core social and economic one. Captured foreigners were always part of slavery in the greater [[Adonerum|Adonerii civilization]], with many of the earliest [[Latinic people|Latinic]] settlements in [[Levantia]] having [[Gaelic people|Gaelic]] slaves in the historical record. Regardless, until the third century BC, convicts and debtors made up the majority of the slave labor force. Although Great Levantia underwent campaigns of conquest throughout much of modern [[Urcea]] and [[Dericania]], enforced enslavement was unevenly applied, and in many cases the Republic-era leaders largely focused on attempting to integrate local conquered people into Levantine society by means other than slavery. Gaelic slaves brought back to the Levantine heartland, if serving as household or agricultural slaves, were subject to a basic form of education. While slaves were looked down upon, they did not have the severe social stigma later associated with slaves, as the fact that many were convicted individuals meant that it could be reasonably anticipated they would be productive members of society at some future point. Captured foreign slaves retained temporary terms of enslavement until around 250 BC, when life terms for foreigners became a legal option. By 150 BC, it became functionally the only term of enslavement allowed to a foreign capture. | ||
The [[Gallian Wars]] are considered by most historians to be a significant turning point in the history of Great Levantine slavery. While foreign captured slaves had become a growing contingent of those in bondage in [[Great Levantia]], the wars imported untold numbers of [[Gaelic people|Gaels]] into bondage. Historical estimates range from as low as tens of thousands to a high of about a million, instantly transforming the Levantine economy as large amounts of cheap labor were suddenly available. The influx of slaves hastened urbanization in Levantia. Due to both changing attitudes and the sheer number of slaves, cultural integration of slaves was no longer viewed as a priority, and consequently slaves began to develop a rapidly divergent culture from their Latinic overlords, blending many Gaelic traditions from different regions and tribes. Post-Gallian Wars slavery also changed the perception of slaves, and they were largely shunned by society and viewed as untouchables. Post-wars domestic slaves retained a degree of the respect that slaves had held in earlier periods but were still largely unable to engage with citizens in any meaningful way. | |||
A major slave revolt in [[Tromarine]] in 150 AD lead to a mixed response by Levantine authorities. On the one hand, new laws were introduced against runaway slaves and a period of generally harsher enforcement was inaugurated against unruly and potentially rebellious slaves. On the other hand, new pathways to manumission and a maximum term of enslavement were both introduced in the 150s, although the latter was undermined inasmuch as an individual slave could face multiple consecutive terms of enslavement. Most historians believe more slaves were freed or gained their own freedom between 150 and 200 AD than at any other previous time in Levantine history. It was also made illegal for debtors to be sold into slavery in 178 AD, changing slavery to an almost exclusively foreign or foreign-descendant institution. | |||
===Transition to serfdom=== | ===Transition to serfdom=== | ||