Category: Slavery in the World

Take a minute to think about this. In the world today. In 2019. In a world where slavery is not an issue that is at the forefront of the public consciousness. There are approximately 40.3 million, men, women, and children, who are victims of modern slavery. That’s almost twice the population of Australia. 40.3 million people are owned, bought, sold, and hurt and we don’t even know about it. These 40.3 million people are unable to withdraw from this arrangement as they have no power. No power to seek help. No power to make a stand. No power to think and voice their opinions freely and, no power to live.

You are probably thinking that this is crazy. And it is. It is incomprehensible that any slavery exists today. But it does. In the form of modern slavery. Modern slavery is a form of slavery; however, it is subtle and insidious. This is why there is minimal recognition of this global issue. And why we as humans, who aren’t involved with this issue, do not know about it. When most people think of slavery, they think of a person who is forced to do work and labor for another person. And this is true. However, today, slavery is less about forced work, and more about being fully owned and controlled by someone else, without being able to leave. Things such as men forced to work in agriculture or construction, girls forced to marry older men, children in sweatshops, women forced into prostitution, or people who are not receiving the correct financial pay.

Nobody chooses to be a slave. People are forced into slavery because people in positions of power abuse that power for their own ends. The masters use the slaves to rid themselves of work and make the slaves complete the horrific labor instead. None of which the work the slaves are completing is for themselves. It is purely for the benefit of their masters. Out of the 40.3 million slaves in the world, 24.9 million of them are involved in forced labor.

It is not just like the slaves can leave where they are working. They are trapped in the world of slavery and have no voice to express their feelings. They cannot quit. They cannot speak. They cannot argue. They are who they are told to be. They are told what to do and that this is their only purpose in life, and they are forced to believe it.

But this is not fair. How can anyone believe that it is right to force another to work for them for their benefit of themselves? It is against human rights to hold someone in slavery. It has been printed in books and on pages that “no one has the right to hold you in slavery.” Then how come? How come every single country in this world, has some form of modern slavery? Because people believe that they have more power. Because people believe they are better than others. Because people don’t understand that everyone has emotions and not everyone wants to do and be like them.

Take America for example. Slavery in America has been like a rollercoaster. There have been many ups and downs. Ups being they have abolished slavery in the past. Downs is that slavery was brought back after The American Civil War took place. This war caused hundreds of thousands of African Americans to be re-enslaved by white Americans in an abusive manipulation of the legal system. This was a major turning point in American history as it completely switched the amount of slavery dramatically. Over time slavery decreased in America but did not completely end until the 1940s. Nonetheless, to my disgust, in recent years, activists have said that America’s 13 Amendments do not mention prison slavery, therefore this constitutes a continuing form of modern slavery.

Slavery has been abolished in many countries in the world before. In the early 18 hundreds, there were people who saw the cruelty and inequality of slavery and decided that this global issue was something that needed to stop. Take for example, in 1834, slavery was abolished throughout the whole British Empire. In 1848, the government of France eradicated slavery in all French colonies. In 1915, the colonial government of Malaya officially ended slavery. These are all historical actions that were in the past. But even though it was in the past, it has been able to show us people today that it is possible. It is possible to make the change. It is possible to have a future where slavery will be unknown to society. It is possible to eradicate slavery and allow slaves to live and experience life how they want. Not under the control of another person.

Some progress has been made to improve modern slavery in the world. And it has been proven that this global issue can be abolished and an end to it. Many organizations are working to improve the amount of slavery in the world. These organizations are bringing more awareness to modern slavery and are attempting to help slavery in the main countries that suffer from it. But I know that this is not enough, and I know that there is more that needs to be done.

Well, this is what I have to say. To every person out there who is holding someone in slavery. I’m saying to you right now that you’re the issue. You’re the reason slavery exists and you’re the ones who have the opportunity to stop it. All we need in this world is collaboration and hope. This atrocity that we are dealing with requires not just one person, it requires a united, global response. So that someday in the future, slavery will be abolished. Slavery will be gone. And slavery will be unknown to all.

Bibliography

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Slavery can be said to be as old as human civilisation itself. From antiquity, people often ‘owned’ fellow human beings for various reasons like sexual satisfaction and free labor. Ancient historical records and most early religious materials document the vastness of slavery and slave trade among the ancient civilisations. Despite its popularity, there were often those who opposed it or sought to set rules on how people should treat their slaves. Indeed, different societies had different ways of treating their slaves. This was meant to ensure some level of humane treatment was adhered to. Perhaps such concerns and rules emanated from the general conscientious feeling about slavery as an evil practice. Yet such concerns never fully abolished slavery, as people found slaves indispensable on their farms, workshops, homes and businesses. However, slavery gained more notoriety in the last six centuries when Europeans shipped millions of African slaves across the Atlantic Ocean to work in the farms, businesses and homes in the United States of America. Within this episode of inhuman treatment of African American slaves was the issue of Christianity. During different times, Christians developed alternating views about slavery: at times justifying it and other times condemning it. Christianity and slavery have had unique levels of interaction in the centuries when African American slaves labored in the American plantations and homes.

Most of the African slaves who landed on the American soil carried with them their traditional religions, however a few brought with them Islam and even Christian faith. Christian missionaries at the beginning found it challenging to convert them into Christian faith. Furthermore, most Christian denominations also feared spreading Christianity to these people who were regarded as pagans. They felt that slaves were sinful and hence justified to be enslaved by the Europeans who practiced Christianity (Meager 2007). This was in relation to the general belief that the Christian church represented the chosen people, just as the Israelites were God’s chosen nation. Since God ‘permitted’ Israelites to enslave the heathen communities like Canaanites, so were the Christians justified by God to enslave the pagan tribes from Africa. Thus converting the African slaves into Christianity amounted to making them equal to their masters, yet the American society depended on slaves for labor. It should however be noted that Christianity and its teachings of a Supreme God closely resembled most of the African slaves’ traditional religions (Sambol-Tosco 2004). It was not therefore quite hard to convert the African slaves into Christianity. Again, some of the slaves came from African regions where Portuguese missionaries had already visited and spread Christianity; hence they readily joined the available Christian churches in America. The African slaves also came to believe that the only way to earn freedom was to convert to Christianity. However, this exodus was short-lived, as the British North American colonies like Virginia passed laws that allowed conversion of the slaves into Christianity without changing their social statuses. Despite occasional resistance by planters and slaves against Christianity, missionaries still managed to spread their religion. Their effort was partly aided by the general belief among a section of the colonialists that Christian slaves could become better workers than their pagan brethren (Gilmer 2001). Still, some of the African American slaves who voluntarily converted into Christianity found the teachings in the Bible comforting (Gilmer 2001). As exemplified by their spirituals, these slaves often regarded themselves as the Israelites under the harsh Egyptian Pharaoh. Such songs like “Swing low, Swing chariot” revealed the kind of reality the slaves faced which could be juxtaposed with the Israelites’ predicament in Egypt. In stanza two, the song talks about the African slave looking over Jordan; expecting a band of angels coming after them (James). The African slaves could also easily see beyond their oppression by the whites and behold the true nature of God whom they admired. The God of Scripture provided hope and salvation from sins and reconciliation (Stewart 2010). This God disapproved of what the whites had been doing to them and offered the slaves hope of a better future, just like Jesus who suffered and resurrected (Stewart 2010). Thus the church offered most of the slaves the comfort and hope they needed during the hard times.

It is also worth noting that some slaves only adopted Christianity for convenience, like seeking to please their masters. In real sense, they did not abandon their traditional African beliefs, hence they “Africanised” Christianity (Sambol-Tosco 2004). Most of them incorporated their traditional beliefs like polygamy into the church. Still some saw Jesus Christ as a healer, the way they regarded traditional healers in their traditional religions. This gave rise to a distinct Christian worship among African slaves that was different from the European churches. Their songs, dances and symbols were reminiscent of their traditional African religions.

It is interesting to note how some African American slaves readily accepted their condition. It is well documented how many Christian slaves believed that their slavery was God-sent, aimed to lift them from darkness into the light of Christianity (Amponsah 2013). They believed that their suffering was necessary so as they could eventually share the light with their people back in Africa at opportune time in future (Amponsah 2013, p. 438). Thus, most of these slaves endured suffering with the knowledge that their future is bright. The other explanation over the acceptance of Christianity by the African slaves is psychological in nature. Citing the psychology of colonialism, Amponsah states that colonialism “fosters the desire of the oppressed to valorise the culture of the colonizer” (p. 438). This is true, particularly with the crop of Christian slaves who ‘enjoyed’ their state in life. While they suffered under the white slave-holders, the slaves learnt to hate all that was African and embrace everything white (Amponsah 2013, p. 438). These people believed that by converting into Christianity, they would be ‘whiter’ and perhaps better individuals, regardless of their deplorable life as slaves. It is also possible that the slaves were exposed to the Slave Bible that was heavily-redacted to create harmony among the slave-holding colonies (Little 2018). The Bible often highlighted such areas like slaves obeying their masters while omitting that which showed Moses leading Israelites out of Egypt. However, some slaves criticised Christian slavery. They believed that Christianity and slavery were incompatible. To them, slavery was an invention of human beings and had no place to the Christian teachings.

History also details how the slaves interacted with Christianity and their white masters. Some of the slaves often went to church occasionally – like monthly – and they sat in separate sections with their masters (Religious Practice of Enslaved African Americans 1936-1938). Some churches even restricted slaves from attending churches, for they feared that they could know the truth and possibly repel their masters (Religious Practice of Enslaved African Americans 1936-1938, p. 3). The publication also gives firsthand account by former slaves how they were treated by their Christian masters. One particular slave by the name William Moore ridiculed the manner which their masters could urge them to “’bey our masters and work hard and sing and when we die we go to Heaven” (Religious Practice of Enslaved African Americans 1936-1938, p. 7). The fact that the slaves could respond by praying earnestly after their master, moaning: “Some day, some day, this yoke gwine be lifted often our shoulders” (Religious Practice of Enslaved African Americans 1936-1938, p. 7) demonstrate their pain even as their masters appeared justified in their guidance. The African slaves thus suffered under the system that sanctioned their suffering, backed by their Christian faith.

Most slave owners in the south justified slavery. To them, slaves were permitted even in the Bible. They therefore argued that the Church had no authority to outlaw slavery, for the Bible never condemned it (Jankiewicz 2016). Since the Bible did not consider slavery sinful, those who sought to declare it thus did so out of their human volition and not the Church (Armstrong 1857). The slave-holders argued that God instead sanctioned slavery by citing such books like Genesis and Job in the Bible. In Genesis (9:25), the Bible says: “Cursed be Canaan! The lowest of slaves will he be to his brothers”. Since the verse does not reveal any resentment against slavery, white Christians also assumed that God encouraged owning of slaves. Similarly, they cited Job (1:3) in which God appears to be discussing Job’s wealth with Satan. In the verse, God talks about Job as a very wealthy man with many slaves. Furthermore, Abraham whom Christians refer to as the father of faith owned slaves who were purchased with his own money (Jankiewicz 2016; quoting Gen. 17: 13). The white slave owners also quoted several New Testament verses that justified or even supported slavery. For instance, when Jesus healed the Centurion’s slave, he did not speak against slavery but only commended his immense faith (Jankiewicz 2016). Also, while quoting 1st Corinthians (7: 17), Jankiewicz argues that each individual will retain their place in life that the Lord assigned to them. The book of Exodus also talks about slavery, specifically how people should treat slaves. Even though the book urges people to treat their slaves humanely, it also tends to condone cruelty against them. For instance, the Bible states: “When a man strikes his slave, male or female, with a rod and the slave dies under his hand, he shall be avenged. But if the slave survives a day or two, he is not to be avenged, for the slave is his money” (Exodus 21: 20-21). This means that the slave owner could brutalise their slave the way they wanted, as long as they did not kill them. This contrast with Paul’s teaching regarding the equality of all people, free or slave. This was meant to justify the fact that God allowed people to occupy different social classes in the society, including the slaves.

The white slave owners; support for slavery was also based on wrong Biblical assumptions. Most of them cited the story of Noah’s sons and how Ham was cursed by his father. To them, Ham’s descendants were Africans who were condemned to live as slaves, working for others (Meager 2007). Thus, God cursed the Africans and hence they were inferior, only useful as slaves in the society. Such allegations helped to reinforce the importance of keeping different social groups in the society, including slavery. Hence, the slaves were to accept their positions in life without questioning. Furthermore, such arguments were aimed to silence the other group of whites that opposed slavery, especially the northerners. This subjected the slaves to the ruthless hands of their white, Christian masters.

The Christian abolitionists took a different stance from their European counterparts living in the southern states. The northern Christians believed that all people, regardless of their racial differences, were equal. They also quoted the Bible in their campaigns. To them, all people were created in the image of God and were precious in his sight (The Abolition of the Slave trade n.d: Quoting; Genesis 1: 26-27). Citing the New Testament, the abolitionists also argued that God was the “Father of all mankind, all nations were his ‘offspring’, ‘of one blood’” (The Abolition of the Slave trade n.d., Quoting Acts 17: 26). Hence it did not make sense for people who were created equal to turn against each other with such immense brutality witnessed among slaves. The abolitionists also preached Jesus’ teachings concerning love, where all were expected to love their neighbor the way they love themselves (The Abolition of the Slave trade n.d.). Similarly, they referred to the doctrines of creation, fall and redemption to underscore the fact that all humans were equal in the eyes of God. Furthermore, the abolitionists argued that it was not their role to judge fellow human beings, regarding who was cursed and who was blessed (The Abolition of the Slave trade n.d.). Instead, they were to live in harmony. This group of Christians also looked beyond the literal Biblical reference of slavery. Even though slavery was widely accepted in the Old Testament, the abolitionists argued that Christians should see slavery as sin, where every sinner was living in bondage (The Abolition of the Slave trade n.d.). Thus, they waged a campaign against slavery in the USA, urging the society to discard it as it went against God’s teachings.

Christianity meant a lot of things to African American slaves during different times. To some, it was a means by which they were redeemed from darkness into the light and civilisation. Yet to some, Christianity acted as an oppressing tool with which their masters used to control them and justify their brutality. However, it also offered solace and hope for many Christian slaves. The converts also used the Christian teachings to condemn slavery and justify their agitation for freedom. It is hard, therefore, to tell whether Christianity worked for the African slaves or against them. As summarised by historian Davidson (2018), white preachers used Christianity as a tool to justify their actions and further make the enslaved more ‘complacent to their status’.

Bibliography

1. Amponsah D K 2013, ‘Christian slavery, colonialism, and violence: The life and writings of an African ex-slave,’ 1717-1747, Journal of Africana Religions, 1(4), pp. 431-457.
2. Armstrong G D 1857, Christian doctrine of slavery, Charles Scribner, 377 & 379 Broadway, New York, NY.
3. Exodus 2016, The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Text Edition. Crossway Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers.
4. Davidson, R. Jack 2018, ‘American Slavery and the Immediate Duty of Southern Slaveholders’, A Transcription of Eli Washington Caruthers’s Unpublished Manuscript against Slavery’, Pickwick Publications.
5. Genesis 2016, The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, Text Edition. Crossway Bibles, a Publishing Ministry of Good News Publishers.
6. Gilmer C n.d., The truth about Jesus: looking at African American history, is Jesus still relevant for African Americans today? every student.
7. James, Etta, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, n.d., LyricFind. (Primary Source).
8. Jankiewicz D 2016, Hermeneutics of slavery: a “Bible-alone” faith and the problem of human enslavement, Faculty Publications 135.
9. Little B 2018, Why Bibles given to slaves omitted most of the old testament. History, Retrieved from http:// www.history.com/news/slave-bible-redacted-old-testament
10. Meager D 2007, ‘Why Did Christians Justify African Slavery?’ Reprinted from Cross Way 104.
11. Religious Practice of enslaved African Americans in the southern United States: Selections from the WPA interviews, 1936-1938, National Humanities Center Resource Toolbox.

Slavery has always been a big topic in the world of religion and across many countries and is seen in very different ways with different views on the beliefs towards it. A slave is defined as ‘a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them’. This term, in some ways can be acceptable in a just way where that person is still treated with respect with full custody of their own human rights. Slavery is often considered a thing of the past, but in contemporary society it continues to be a growing concern even in Australia.

In the bible, people were taught to obey their masters, in a way that is not seen as slavery. This was seen as an endorsement of slavery, but an appeal to Christian slaves to honour their masters and accept Thai suffering to thirst sake. Today, although Christians claim it to be ‘obeying their master’ its not found acceptable in society. The use of slavery in businesses, such as sweatshops or sex slavery, is not completely against the law and big debates arise on the punishment of this activity. Many people find themselves trapped in the use of slavery due to a number of factors including poverty, exploitive recruiters and the globalised economy demand for cheaper labour. Although the types and practises of the behaviour of slavery has changed completely in history, it is still an issue in modern. The religious society claims everyone should be treated equally and fairly or ‘treat your neighbour as you wold like to be treated’, which states the practises that should be shown in the religious community.

Maria came to Australia looking for a better life with a better job to earn an income and support her family with all her rights to do so. As her previous life was not sustainable enough to support her family and herself, it resulted In situation ethics where she was forced to have to leave her country and find somewhere that would allow her to have enough money to survive. Her friend suggested her a place in Australia that would treat her well and she would be able to earn enough to be happy. Maria’s approach of situation ethics was not what she would imagine. When she got there she was stripped of her passport and threats were made against her if she was to work for any form of freedom. Threats were immediately made against her family at home that if she disobeyed her ‘master’, they would hurt her family at home just from her actions, this forced her to constantly have that on her mind and forced to do what she was told.

The owner of this business does not show a sign of ethical thinking as they are not considering the value of another human beings life. Their moral values are almost not present in the behaviours that were shown against Maria. The business has shown complete nihilism against Maria as they don’t show any reconciliation to her life and the behaviours against her. It has shown their lack of meaning to her life and a approach to treating her with complete worthlessness. Maria choices and decisions has been stripped from her completely but the decision to start a new life was.

The actions of slavery, human trafficking and abuse are highly wrong not just in the religious community but in society and illegal no matter the circumstances. The presence of a valuable life and an aim to help others does not show In the behaviour they take part in, creating unfair and unjust decisions against Maria. Maria has started this new job to help create a new life for herself and her family. The business has created a complete authority over Maria, with no freedom to her ‘new life’.

The Australian catholic community has created many groups against slavery to stop the rates of human trafficking across the world. An example is Australian Catholic Religious Against Trafficking in Humans (ACRATH). ACRATH has a vision ‘a world free of human trafficking’ with a purpose “to stop human trafficking, and the harm it causes, in Australia, the Asia Pacific region and globally, in collaboration with others”. This group recognises the harm and presence of human trafficking and works towards eliminating it as much as possible. ACRATH uses an approach of utilitarianism where they start with things that are already good and then move to consider which actions will achieve that good to the greatest degree. ACRATH see the good in every person and use the catholic approach to ethical decision making with love, generosity and equality to stop such unjust actions.

Slavery will continue to be a growing problem across in the world and without programs like ACRATH to help people like Maria, the world will never adjust to what is so morally and ethically wrong. Millions of peoples are taking actions to live a better life but continually caught get up in the destroying world of slavery. The religious community works to get the best out of every persons life and the assurance of having the Lord as a guide has always been small light at the end of a tunnel.

Ever since slavery was introduced as an institution, many have objected to it. This was a more nuanced issue in the United States, where the issues of legislative representation for slaves and outlawing slavery were heatedly debated. Because the United States was experiencing large scale population growth from 1776 to 1852 and gaining territory all the while, issues of slavery became more prominent. Sustaining an ever growing population required steadily larger amounts of slaves, so more of the people of the United States began to have strong opinions on slavery. The growing opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852 was caused primarily by the combination of increased prevalence of anti-slavery texts and the growing economic reasons against it.

The growing opposition to slavery was especially prominent in the north, where emancipation and gradual emancipation were written into state constitutions and state laws. This can be seen in a map of early emancipation in the north from 1777-1804 (Document A). This document depicts the dates of the early emancipation of slaves in northern states. Because the majority of the northern states had significantly less agriculture than the southern states, there was less motivation to use slaves. It was not economically viable for slaves to be used in areas where agriculture was so sparse. Therefore, there was an increased opposition to slavery in the north due to economic factors. This is clear because of emancipation laws in the north shown in this document.

There were also growing concerns that slavery was economically unfavorable. Many feared economic competition, and free labor was damaging to jobs wherever they were. Many people and organizations suggested the emancipation and separation of free and enslaved black population from the United States (Document D). The American Colonization Society argued for the separation of races in order to benefit all involved parties. As the number of free blacks increased, they also posed an economic threat to other institutions, so there were even economic reasons to avoid importation of slaves in the first place. However, it is important to note that the American Colonization Society advocated and endeavored for emancipation and separation without challenging property rights or the South, and intended to compensate slave owners for their losses. This presents an inherent bias because the American Colonization society argued for the emancipation of slaves and their transportation to Africa for reasons not solely economic. However it is still important to recognize that because the purpose of the American Colonization Society in writing Document D was still to challenge slavery, the argument about the economic detriments of slavery still stand. This is because the white worker still benefits from the separation of slaves from the United States, and the audience for this article is every American who believes that there are problems with slavery. Therefore, the underlying motivations of the American Colonization Society do not detract from the argument, because the argument is relevant to the economic reasons slavery was problematic. Overall, the American Colonization Society argued that slavery was detrimental to the United States because of the detriments to all parties involved, and this included the economic impacts.

Once Congress had prohibited the importation of slaves in 1808, however, there were still economic problems with slavery. After the cotton gin had been invented in 1793, the value of cotton as a crop increased greatly. This also caused the value of slaves to increase along with it. Because of this, the number of slaves in the south increased greatly. Many people wanted to uphold the value of white labor, so this was of great detriment to them, increasing the opposition of slavery caused by economic reasons (Document H). Here, David Wilmot argues for free white labor, and how slavery utterly devalues it. Newer states, such as California, were declared as free states for this very reason, as people argued over whether or not slavery should be outlawed in new territories. Hence, it is clear that there was an increase in opposition to slavery due to economic factors. Even though David Wilmot argues for the benefit of the white laborers of the United States, he still had the purpose of ending slavery in mind. He even had introduced an amendment prohibiting slavery in any territory acquired from Mexico, a heavily debated topic after the Mexican-American War. Therefore, it is clear that Wilmot’s point of view was indeed anti-slavery, so the overall economic argument is clearly relevant to the economic reasons that opposition to slavery grew.

Even though there were strong economic reasons that opposition to slavery grew, the prevalence of anti-slavery texts played a large part in the steadily growing dissent against slavery. Many abolitionist newspapers and magazines were published in both the North and the South, until many were banned in the South. These anti-slavery texts were still standard in the North, and many newspapers in the South quoted the contents of these northern abolitionist texts, resulting in the contents of the anti-slavery texts still reaching large amounts of people. One person who wrote such abolitionist texts was Angelina Grimke, who appealed directly to women in the South (Document F). In this document, Angelina Grimke encouraged the Christian women of the south to take stronger anti-slavery stances, because she argued that slavery was immoral and harmful to women. She asked women to convince all members of their families to protest the cruel institution of slavery. As Angelina and her sister, Sarah Grimke, were well known abolitionists, it is clear that their texts had a profound impact on the stances on slavery at the time. Reformers like the Grimke sisters increased the amount of opposition to slavery by spreading such anti-slavery texts. In this text, Grimke addresses southern women in order to convince them to cast slavery aside. This was a very relevant audience to the shifting opinions of slavery from 1776 to 1852 because women often had prominent roles in the abolitionist movement at the time. This is because women at the time connected the ideas of reaching suffrage for women with the abolition of slavery. Ergo, Angelina Grimke’s text is clearly a reliable source to show how the opposition of slavery grew due to the increased prevalence of anti-slavery texts.

Other prominent abolitionist writers were former slaves who spread words of the horrors of slavery. A common pro-slavery argument of the time was that slaves were treated with kindness and educated, but many former slaves were able to easily disprove that with their firsthand accounts. The Underground Railroad provided a means of escape to the North for many of these slaves. One abolitionist writer who did not escape via the Underground Railroad, however, was Frederick Douglass. Frederick Douglass was a prominent anti-slavery activist who published many texts detailing the horrors and reasons against slavery. He even published his very own firsthand accounts (Document G). In this document, Douglass describes his fight with an overseer. He uses his emotions and pathos to show how he is no different than any other person, white or black. He explains how the institution of slavery crushes spirits and dreams. This document represents how Douglass was able to sway potential followers into opposing slavery. As a prominent abolitionist speaker, it is clear that Douglass’ purpose in this document is to sway people to the abolitionist side, so it is clear that this source is a reliable one that represents the shifting opinions about slavery at the time.

Because of the larger amounts of abolitionist sentiments at the time, ideas of immediate emancipation without any financial compensation rather than gradual emancipation were substantiated. There were also other supporters of the abolitionist movement, who were neither colored nor women. William Lloyd Garrison was one such abolitionist who wrote convincing texts to argue against slavery. He condemned the institution as a scourge and the worst thing for humanity (Document E). He appealed to the American people by using the American ideals of equality and liberty. Garrison was also a very famous abolitionist of the time, so it is clear that his works made an impact and increased the opposition to slavery. Among the other abolitionists of the time, Garrison was undoubtedly one of the more radical abolitionists, which caused more people to feel polarized about his arguments. Nevertheless, his arguments reached many people and because of them, the support for the abolitionist movement undoubtedly increased. It is clear that because of his anti-slavery texts, the opposition to slavery increased.

In conclusion, the opposition to slavery in the United States from 1776 to 1852 was caused primarily by the economic reasons against slavery and the growing prevalence of abolitionist texts. This increase in opposition to slavery eventually led to the American Civil War in the decades following, leading to the eventual abolition of slavery in the United States. It is clear that the abolitionist movement and the economic factors in the United States that favored the abolition of slavery played a large role in shaping the United States to reach the state that it is in today.

Introduction

Modern slavery is present in all societies across the world, even if governments do not want to recognize it. Moreover, no citizen wants to think that the contemporary and civilized world in which they live is as bad as the middle ages in terms of people being force to do something just due to the fact that other person is coercing them to do so. Modern slavery does not exist for a lot of people because there is not a name for it, people do not give a proper name or conceptualization to the diverse actions that are in fact, forms of slavery. It is very simple, if no one gives it a name and no one talks about it, slavery does not exist anymore and everyone can live with their conscience free of any concern. However, even if those actions do not have a name, they are what they are and they do not change its essence, because it does not matter that a world society changes its name or do not talk about it, those actions exist and they are still a form of slavery and they will forever be unless they are eradicated, which necessarily has to go through the acceptance and acknowledgement of slavery being still alive in all societies.

All of the forms of modern slavery that will be discussed have something in common, which is that they constitute a violation of human rights as they are based in a dehumanization of the human being. The modern slavery is about absolute control of the slave for economic exploitation. In that sense, slavery nowadays could be explained as the negation of the self-determination of the person that is being force to do something that he or she does not want to do and cannot escape from the situation.

Therefore, what this essay will try to achieve is a proper differentiation between the traditional forms of slavery and the ones that are taking place nowadays, even if they are not consider as such by the states or the citizens, because modern slavery exists and takes place in different ways in a lot of lives.

Additionally, after making such distinction, reviewing the different modern forms of slavery and taking in consideration what the international organizations and international law have to say about modern slavery, the essay will focus specifically in sexual exploitation through human trafficking.

The purpose of the essay will be to bring forward the different problems that international organizations and individual states should pay attention to in terms of modern slavery in order to start to eradicate it, because even if it is contemplated in the law as a punishable crime, that does not mean slavery is taking place.

Does modern slavery exist?

The justification of the existence of modern slavery comes with data from the OIT and the Walk Free Foundation, which shows that 200 years have passed since the colonial times, but over 40 million people are suffering from modern slavery.

As the Global Slavery Index evidenced, taking into account violence, coercion, abuse of power, privation of liberty and more factors, there is still an oppressive system. According to this index the governments must take responses to the modern slavery, but the problem is that they agree there is modern slavery, but most of them just not recognize that these actions are taking place in their own countries.

Modern slavery does exist, and it affects all of the citizens, even if they are not direct victims of this type of abuse, it a hidden crime that happens in front of us under may different forms, and also it constitutes a lucrative crime.

There are two major events that happened after World War II that could be described as the cause of modern slavery: on the one hand the big demographic expansion; and on the other hand the accelerated economic and social change that have enriched the dominant classes and impoverished the already poor ones, making the gap between them bigger and bigger.

In the contemporary world the modern slavery cannot be examined without taking into account the socioeconomic reality because it is interlinked directly with the economic tendencies, meaning by that the capitalism world.

Capitalism itself does not represent something good or bad, but the mechanism in which it was established harms some countries. This model might be a reason of the arising of modern slavery because it only focus on the market rules and trends, bringing a impoverishment of the third world countries, that are surrounded by their debts and obliged to follow capitalism.

Adding the demographic expansion to the economic model of capitalism and taking into account that there are a lot of people that live under critical life conditions; the result is an uprising number in the supply of people susceptible of being exploited. The emergent economies see the opportunity to exploit the labor force in less developed countries. But not only that, because there are push factors that urge migrants from poor countries to flee them not knowing that when they arrive to the developed countries they have a lot of chances to be caught into modern slavery, maybe due to the fact that only for being migrants they are going to work under bad conditions.

There is a huge problem to know how many people suffer from modern slavery considering that it is not quantifiable owing to the practices being clandestine, but without having the exact number all people know that there are a lot of cases. “the slave -in the globalization era- is invisible to the law, to society and to the world” (Casadei, 2009)

To finish this section it is of several need to introduce a proper definition of modern slavery, and considering that in the present, most of the forms of slavery carries economic reasons, the definition taken in this essay will be “the complete control of a person for economic exploitation by violence or the threat of violence” (Bales, 2000).

Introduction

In the 1950’s there was strong criticism by many people of how America and South Africa treated their black people even though slavery had been abolished in 1865. In numerous countries black people still could not vote, own land or run businesses. In 1873 Slavery was outlawed in Australia. Prior to this, Aboriginal babies were taken out of Aboriginal communities away from their families and the Aboriginals were unable to save them as they had no rights, this was later referred to as the stolen generation.

Even after slavery was abolished Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander’s did not have rights to their land. London Anti-Slavery Society threatened to bring Australia’s treatment of its Aboriginal and Torres Straight Islander peoples before the United Nations if they did not allow them land, wages and basic human rights. Martin Luther King was an amazing influence in the freedom of slavery. Martin Luther King after being sent to jail for speaking his mind, was later released and even later honoured for speaking up for black people and fighting for their rights against slavery.

Aims

Australia and New Zealand are part of the United Nations and the Countries that are part of the United Nations must uphold Human Rights. Basic human rights consist of being able to own land, work, vote an be free from discrimination. These governing arrangements are to protect all people, black, white, male, female or other, marital status and land.

Tactics

Martin Luther King influenced the population around fighting for black people’s rights. Martin Luther King lobbied governments, business and all types of people to stand up for the rights of every person in the world. Martin Luther King wanted freedom for all. When Human Rights activists lobbied for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Rights along with the freedom of slavery acts, the government stood up and listened. People could see that what the white people did to the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community was inhuman and lobbied to government to have the legislation changed. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights came out in 1948 and also some countries did not agree to sign it, a large amount did including Australia. These rights are fundamentally critical for a peaceful future. The voice of the people is finally being heard; we can vote who we want to run our country.

Outcomes

On February 13th 2008, Kevin Rudd – Priminister formally apologised to the Aboriginal people for the stolen generation. Even though there is public awareness and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders have equal rights, in some States and towns in Australia like, Northern Territory and Western Australia, blacks are still outcast and are not allowed in some places. Australia and the Western World have come along way in equality for all people, but we still have a long way to go to build relationships with our indigenous peoples and learn their traditions and cultures. The power of the people was used in Martin Luther King’s era and still used in modern times to change the policies of government. There are many strong influences that we can still see in our own legal system. We vote and it is the vote or voice of the people that elect who leads us. Mahatma Ghandi was noted as having influenced Martin Luther King to make big changes for the glory of the people. This shows that people can change government policy.

What happened to our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people was horrific and is scary to think this can happen to human beings. We can’t change the past, but we can influence the future as Martin Luther King and Mahatma Ghandi have done. Every person no mater race, colour, wealth and health, we all have the right to live, to eat, to work, to buy, to travel, to help and to give and if everyone gets together their voices will be heard.

Conclusion

From the beginning of time there have been leaders that could influence change from Jesus to Buddha, Caesar to Napoleon, all strong leader able to influence hundreds of people. Everyone can make a difference especially if you are fighting for the same thing ‘Freedom’. We are lucky in Australia to have the amazing country and freedom for our people but it wasn’t always that way, wars have been fought, lives lost which is a cost to our freedom so we can never forget the past because it is what has made our lives and our future.

Slavery was an industry all on its own, we now know this to also be a form of human trafficking, and whilst it still exists in some areas of the world it is illegal. Free the Slaves is in the vanguard of the growing global movement to end one of history’s greatest human rights abuses. Human trafficking continues to be an international problem with more than 30 million people were still enslaved as of 2013, the majority being in Asia. Within Islamic regions, women and children are often abducted and used as sex slaves.

Free the Slaves was founded in 2000, today Free The Slaves is considered a leader and pioneer in the modern abolitionist movement. They work within the locality of some of the world’s worst trafficking hot spots. The hot spots identified by them were Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Brasil within the Americas and Congo, Ghana and Senegal within Africa, and India and Nepal within Asia. Free The Slaves are helping to make the world aware that slavery still exists, why it does, and where are the worst areas. They have created a global blueprint for change to inform governments, international institutions, religious communities, businesses, and the general public about what they can do to create change.

A community-based approach has been decided as being the most effective way within strategically selected countries, to demonstrate that their model works and that it is both scalable and replicable. Free The Slaves hope to tighten anti-slavery laws and rid slavery from industrial manufacturing and business practices within the identified areas.

Within the Americas, some of the key issues faced are poor children being forced to leave home and work as domestic servants in Haiti. Migrants are enslaved in the construction, agriculture, and hospitality industries in the Dominican Republic. Farmworkers are enslaved on ranches and plantations in Brazil.

Across the African countries, it is the children who are enslaved in Ghana’s mining and fishing regions. Extreme poverty and conflict combine with weak legal protections push women and girls into forced marriages and prostitution in the Congo. Fake promises of religious education lure children into forced begging in Senegal.

Outstanding and illegal debts combines with and a lack of access to justice plague the poor and marginalized in India where often entire families are enslaved for borrowing small sums of money when they find themselves in emergencies. In Nepal, thousands leave the country to find work, many of them are tricked into this by traffickers.

“Slavery and the slave trade were the most intense and lasting cohesive activities in the Atlantic World for demographic cultural, military, social and political reasons” (Sanjurjio, 2020). For almost 500 years, from 1444 to 1926, slavery was an acceptable form of forced labour worldwide (See Appendix) but especially within Latin America. The complete launch of captured and enslaved indigenous people from less developed and third world countries within the Americas became a huge phenomenon, one that had demographically radicalised to places such as Cuba, Colombia and Brazil. Other countries were slow in comparison to the process of enslaved Africans within the Americas, but despite their slow and partial involvement, they were still not exempt from witnessing the cultural, political, economic, religious, artistic and social legacies’ effects that the slave trade and slavery held.

Modern society looks back with incredulity towards this type of trade at the thought that once upon a time it could have been classed as acceptable. This essay will examine the development of slavery and slave trade legacies within Latin America and Western society and will observe whether we have collectively forgotten the horrors of slavery and whether there can be pride is our past actions.

Spain was one of the first countries to develop a slave trade. The first documented load of captured indigenous people was in 1510 when Spain shipped them off to be slaves in the Americas (see appendix). Between 1530 and 1580 marked the new high volume phase of Spanish transatlantic slave trade (Eagle, 2019). A metaphorical game of “monopoly” (Eagle, 2019) was played on a continuous cycle during this period, because as the number of deaths rose so did the incapable demand of requesting more slaves became apparent. The journeys themselves were horrendous for the slaves. The slaves were shackled below deck with no air, little food and no exercise. Still to this day, the memory of the sufferers of the transatlantic slave trade and slavery is still apparent but through modern day actions; racism, poverty and religious syncretism.

As Sanjurjio (2020) states “slavery is not dead it’s not even past”. The public memory of slavery and slave trade within modern day society, remains, just in less obvious forms. For instance, racism is a cultural and political legacy. Due to the embedded social opinions during the times where indigenous people were seen as inferior within in every aspect of life, such judgements are now hidden amongst modern day racist comments, emphasising their race to be as “dangerous wild-beasts” (Sanjurjio, 2020).

Poverty is an economic legacy. Afro descendants within the Latin American communities are at greater risk of suffering extreme rates of poverty, nowadays more than ever. Does this not symbolise that such legacies have not been collectively erased from our memories? It is highly unlikely. After the age of 15 they are less likely to have the desire to stay in the educational system, they experience higher threats of violence and discrimination just for being black.

Nevertheless, it took almost 500 years before western society appreciated the enormous cruelty being inflicted on the peoples of our colonies and thus will probably take another 500 more or so for their legacies to be completely erased from our collective memory. With education and increasing travel, those enslaved peoples, not only resented being invaded and controlled but saw the truth behind our presence. It was only when the unfairness’s and the inequalities of the native inhabitants of the colonies became a source of resentment that Western consciences were pricked and campaigns for the abolition of slavery began, against great opposition. Gradually one by one colonies gained their independence. Therefore, do we as a western society require more knowledge and education on the subject of slavery and slave trade in order for common modern day prejudices, discriminations and racist comments to be erased, or will it remain a part of our society’s social embodiment?

As said by Sanjurjio (2020), “ a sense of the past is a way of being in the present”. Although the Spanish colonies were among the last to abolish slavery, acknowledging our faults that have taken place in the past, enables us the “best way of arguing with ourselves” (Sanjurjio, 2020). Recognising the faults at face value. Recognising slavery and slave trade has left a deep ingrained footprint within the minds of all citizens in the world will allow the future irradiation of some negative legacies left behind as a result of such events.

In conclusion, true slavery is ugly, is cruel, and is degrading. It is surely abhorrent. Slaves had no rights, they were thought of as barely human and often treated like animals. Can we possibly take pride in that trade which was so prevalent for almost 500 years; in having subjugated and exploited other human beings to such an enormous extent? The history books urge us to look outside the box, with pride and spirit, that conquistadors even dared sail across unknown lands, forgotten about the torture instigated within. Many look back on the slavery and slave trade period with nostalgia, are we as a western society proud of slavery? Surely any pride must surely be tinged with guilt? I believe the gradual appearance of slavery and slave trade legacies on today’s society has impacted the way we define pride. Such appearances are not examples of the way nations pride themselves on the torturous past events but are demonstrations of the acceptance of responsibility towards said inflicted miseries. It is the way our collective memory accepts “the responsibility of explaining what they many not want to know”.

Slavery is an issue that has existed since the 16th century and still, to this day, thrives in different forms all over the world. Contemporary slavery mainly thrives in underdeveloped and developing countries, but it is not to say that it is not present in developed countries. Modern-day slavery takes place in many forms ranging from but not limited to child slavery, debt bondage, forced labor, human trafficking, forced marriages, and the sex trade. Modern-day slavery is an illicit practice and hence, very well hidden.

The Republic of Iraq is taking numerous measures to exterminate Modern-Day slavery from its very core. The women and girls of Iraq are trafficked within Iraq as well as out of Iraq to neighboring countries under the pretense of work, fake marriages, coercion, abduction, or by families trying to escape through the clutches of debt. Organ trafficking and sexual exploitation are among the many terrors faced by young Iraqi boys. On an international level, Iraq attended the UNSC debate on the matter of trafficking, slavery, and forced labor. On World Day against TIP, a workshop was held in Erbil to serve as a platform to address counter-trafficking strategies.

According to the anti-trafficking law passed by the Iraqi government in 2012, human trafficking is considered a grave offense and will result in temporary imprisonment and a penalty of at least 5 million and not more than 10 million Iraqi dinars. Capital punishment has to be imposed if trafficking has caused the death of a victim. The Iraqi law bans the economic exploitation of children in any and every form. Article 37, part three of the 2005 Iraqi constitution prohibits forced labor, slavery, slave trade, trafficking in women or children, and the sex trade.

Despite all attempts made against modern-day slavery, it still thrives in the world. Countries must introduce and adopt anti-trafficking laws. Suitable legislative actions should also be taken to eradicate these issues. The Republic of Iraq has given relevant training to its police in the past and urges all countries to do the same. A joint effort needs to be made by all countries to abolish Modern-Day slavery. Awareness should be rose, and the victims of this cruelty should finally receive the security and the aid that they had been deprived of. Suspicions and reports of child labor, sex slavery, or similar situations must be taken seriously by the authorities and acted upon. Neighboring or ally counties must come together to share their intelligence and resources.

American slavery and the trade of Atlantic slaves in the Americas are known all over the world. Slavery was a common follow-up from 1600 to 1900 cerium in the Americas and Muslim nations. Two other trade movements similar to Atlantic trade are one across the Sahara Desert and one across the Indian Ocean. Over the years, people have moved from one place to another for numerous reasons. Migration is usually voluntary and relies on one hand, but due to slave trade, other migrants are introduced. The Americans and Muslims have the same convictions about slavery, but there is still some drastically different confidence in whether or not slave exists for work or just a human being.

Triangular trade came about in the 1500s between Europe, Asia, and the Americas. The trade network includes various goods, such as rum and cash crops. From America export sugarcane to Europe, then Europe sell arms, manufactured goods, and rum to Africa, the trade process takes place, and in return Africa sends back to them African slaves. That was the reason for the split, and many Africans took Africans out of their homes or out of war, struggle, or pursuit. Then Europeans bought them at a port on Africa’s coast in slave markets. Europeans brought these slaves to work on plantation for them. Document 4 illustrates the large number of slaves required in Cuba, which in some slave applications reached fifty thousand places.

Slavery first started in 1600 CE in Africa. Muslims also had a large number of slaves around the area at that time. A letter from the Turkish Grand Vizier Mustafa Reshid Pasha to the Governor of Tripoli, shown in Document 5, expressly stated that ‘the Holy Law allows slavery.’ The letter makes the readers feel pain in their hearts when they write about the lack of redemption of others. He thought it would be easier to have the perspective of a slave owner to answer questions about the specific uses of slaves and why they were treated with the way they were, as well as the issue of the legalism of slavery. By doing so, one would help to understand both sides of the slave party and the shareholder’s problem of slavery.

Reshid Pasha’s opinion is further corroborated by J.F. Keane’s notes from his travel journals how well-fed, blithe, well-clothed, and honored by their ‘master.’ America’s perception of slavery contrasts sharply with Muslim counterparts, as the ‘master’ has shown gross negligence towards the slaves in many cases. The master has little concern for the well-being of the slaves and treated them as an object against a human being as did the Muslims. One example of the harsh conditions a letter from an African slave in Virginia to the Bishop of London, provides a first-hand account of the harsh realities of slavery. It was shown from the point of view of a slave and explained that they robbed their mental state of mind of fundamental rights such as education and how it hurt. David Gomes Jardim’s thesis on planting diseases and what causes it, validates the strident facts. He describes why slaves were assigned to work without taking into account who died as a result of lack of consideration and how those who survived were ‘fully emancipated.’ The report continued to explain that slaves were bought ‘to use the slave to grow coffee sugar for only one year,’ as the slaves were not expected to survive through the harvest. The view is continued and reiterated Hands Sloan 1706 describes the conditions on Barbados Island as it details the cruel punishments that the slaves have been subjected to, such as ‘burning them’ and being nailed down. These acts are in contrast to those of the Muslims who reverently treated their slaves.

Muslim priest from Mali, Ahmed Baba, takes note of that the base of Muslim bondage is unbelief and that any individual who was not Muslim would fit the bill for subjugation and be free legitimately if Muslim was seen as. An extract from the book that the Austrian scholar-diplomat, ex-ambassador to Egypt, and the United States, Alfred von Kremer, wrote in 1863. On the subject of slavery, Alfred von Kremer is more neutral, although he still points out his views on the world of racism. Slavery remained an important issue in history and an essential factor. This excerpt supports the fact that American slavery, regardless of their beliefs or cultures, has used discriminatory racial practices against African Americans.

It contrasts the dates of the official end of slavery in the American and Muslim world. One reason for slavery is the effect of European colonial occupation. The end of the American slave trade in 1865 and the end of the Muslim slave trade in 1980. In fact, both areas had different views of slavery based on their beliefs, culture, and philosophies that had a major impact on the economic, cultural, and social aspects of our society.