Slavery - Summary on a Map
Slavery - Summary on a Map
The history of slavery, from the Neolithic Revolution until today.
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Support the channel on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/geohistory
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English translation \u0026 voiceover: Matthew Bates https://www.epicvoiceover.com/
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Original French version: • L’histoire de l’esclavage - Résumé su…
Russian version: • Рабство - история на карте
Arabic version: Coming soon
Spanish version: • Historia de la esclavitud - Resumen e…
Portuguese version (Brazil): Coming soon
Japanese version: • 奴隷の歴史
Korean version: • 노예 제도 - 지도로 알아보는 노예 제도의 역사
German version: • Sklaverei - Zusammenfassung auf einer…
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Music: Warzone - Anno Domini Beats
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Software: Adobe After Effects
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Chapters
00:00 Origins
01:25 The slave trade
02:50 The Muslim conquests
04:17 The Abbasid Caliphate
05:53 The Arab slave trade
07:10 Portugal
09:06 The triangular trade
10:23 Consequences of the triangular trade
11:31 First abolitionist movements
13:00 Saint-Domingue
14:22 Abolitions
16:51 New forms of slavery
18:48 Modern slavery
#geohistory #slavery #history
Content
0.42 -> We begin at around 10,000 BC.
3.3 -> In several places in the world, man leaves
the hunter-gatherer way of life
7.488 -> to become sedentary, developing agriculture and animal husbandry.
11.95 -> Food becomes more abundant, the population
increases, and those who are better off,
17.201 -> notably by taking over more land, form an elite, causing increasing social inequalities.
23.63 -> In Mesopotamia, the appearance of writing
offers us the first concrete evidence of slavery.
29.939 -> Slaves are either prisoners of war, who in
some cases could be bought back by their families,
35.12 -> or they are people in debt who enslave themselves
for the time it takes to pay off their debts.
40.7 -> Wealthy and powerful families own a few slaves,
while palaces could have hundreds.
46 -> The men are used for their labor force in
agricultural production or in construction,
51.26 -> while the women are often found as servants
or concubines, or working in workshops, such as weaving.
58.21 -> Around 1750 B.C., Hammurabi, the king of Babylon,
writes a code of law that details,
64.263 -> among other things, the treatment of slaves, and the penalties they face.
69.049 -> Slavery is also mentioned in different forms
in Ancient Egypt,
72.033 -> as well as in the texts of the Old Testament, which describe the treatment reserved for slaves.
77.89 -> But at present, there is no archaeological evidence of the slavery of the Hebrew people in Egypt, nor of their exodus.
88.68 -> In Ancient Greece, the island of Chios specializes
in the production of wine, which requires a large workforce.
95.869 -> Trade ships then leave to buy non-Greek slaves
who were abducted from Thrace, Scythia, and Asia Minor.
102.42 -> In Chios, some of them end up in the vineyards,
the others are sold mainly in the Aegean Sea.
108.229 -> The city specializes in this very profitable
market.
112.17 -> Other Greek cities follow suit, and the slave
population swells everywhere,
116.534 -> so much so that around 400 BC, about half of the population
of Athens is enslaved.
123.1 -> Later on, Rome follows this model.
126.01 -> Slaves come from military conquests, and from
raids organized by merchants in the border
130.72 -> regions where the so-called barbarian peoples
live.
134.13 -> The slaves are then sold in slave markets.
137.36 -> The value of a slave varies according to his
or her sex and age,
141.279 -> but around the first century AD, a slave is worth roughly about one and a half years of salary.
147.8 -> Owning one is a sign of wealth and success.
151.19 -> The richest sometimes have thousands of slaves,
who are gathered in huge domains.
156.69 -> The condition of slaves varies from place
to place.
159.89 -> Some work in mines, others are servants, and
finally the best educated
164.257 -> could occupy more important positions, such as that of an accountant, for example.
173.61 -> The 7th century marks the beginning of the
Muslim conquests.
177.48 -> The prisoners from the conquests are enslaved
to grow the Arab armies.
181.89 -> After the conquest of Egypt, the Muslims move
towards the Byzantines and the Berbers in the West
186.874 -> and towards Nubians in the South.
189.015 -> In 652, after the failure of the siege of Dongola, a peace treaty is signed with the Nubians and both parties start to trade.
197.92 -> The Nubians commit themselves to provide 360
healthy slaves, men and women, every year.
204.87 -> This treaty will last almost 7 centuries.
208.16 -> Further west, after 60 years of resistance,
the North African coasts are conquered.
214.18 -> Berbers are captured and enslaved.
216.34 -> In reaction, many convert to Islam because
it is forbidden to enslave a Muslim.
221.709 -> In Northern Europe, the Vikings dominate the
seas.
224.89 -> During raids and pillaging, captives are made slaves and are either kept by their abductors or sold in markets.
232.45 -> The best educated from the monasteries are
sold at a higher price in Venice or Constantinople.
238.71 -> In the east, Vikings, who are called Varegues, control a trade route that follows the Dnieper River to Constantinople.
245.14 -> There they sell, among other things, Slavic
slaves captured on the way.
250.909 -> In the Abbasid Caliphate, the majority of slaves from the conquests and trade routes end up in Baghdad.
261.34 -> Further south, towards Basra, there are huge
swamps.
265.639 -> Thousands of slaves are sent there to work
the land in order to make it arable.
269.669 -> The work is back-breaking, and the living
conditions are difficult.
273.92 -> In 869, Ali Ibn Muhammad, of uncertain origin,
277.862 -> takes advantage of the slaves' discontent to organize an insurrection.
282.581 -> The slaves quickly swell his army and organize a veritable guerrilla war against the large landowners
288.73 -> and the surrounding towns and villages, which are pillaged.
292.31 -> For 14 years, the Abbasid caliphate is undermined
and unable to regain control of the region.
298.869 -> Finally, the revolt is defeated and put down.
302.301 -> After the failure of mass slavery in agricultural
production, domestic slavery is favored.
308.189 -> In addition, the Caliph, to strengthen his
power, creates a personal guard.
312.978 -> Young slaves from Central Asia and the Caucasus
are converted to Islam and trained in combat
318.733 -> to form a loyal army, which is called the
Mamluk army.
322.359 -> But the Abbasid Caliphate declines due to
internal divisions, Christian crusades from Europe, and, finally,
329.576 -> Mongol conquests from Asia.
331.707 -> The Mamluk army, after repelling the seventh crusade,
335.295 -> assassinate the Ayyubid heir and found the Mamluk Sultanate.
339.436 -> A few years later, in 1258, the Mongols seize
Baghdad.
344.08 -> The Abbasid heir flees to Cairo.
346.594 -> With no more access to Asia, slaves now mainly
come from sub-Saharan Africa.
356.221 -> After the conquest of North Africa, the Arabs discovered the Berber trade routes that cross the Sahara desert
362.529 -> to trade with, among others,
the Mali empire, which is rich in gold and slaves.
367.884 -> Most are captives from animist peoples further
south.
371.46 -> The slaves are sold to Tuareg caravans that
take several months to cross the desert to reach Cairo.
377.78 -> There, the survivors are sold in markets to
become servants.
381.86 -> The majority of slaves are women who become
servants or concubines.
386.38 -> Owning a slave raises the prestige of a family, so demand increases and the Trans-Saharan slave trade grows.
393.8 -> It’s estimated that between 3.5 and 7 million
slaves passed through these routes over 1000 years.
401.16 -> To the north of the Mediterranean basin, the
Ottoman Empire creates an army of Janissaries,
406.33 -> i.e., young European Christian slaves, who are converted to Islam and then trained for war to serve the Sultan.
413.77 -> Finally, the Italian republics control the
main trade routes of the Mediterranean basin.
418.889 -> Genoa and Venice compete for the profitable
slave trade,
422.803 -> in particular by establishing trading posts in the Crimea, from where Slavic and Caucasian captives are coming.
434.01 -> All the way to the west of Europe, Portugal
takes advantage of the creation of the caravel,
439.199 -> a new, more maneuverable ship to begin explorations
along the African coast in search of new trade routes.
447.06 -> After discovering the Akan people, who own
numerous gold mines,
450.7 -> the Portuguese navigators discover an uninhabited island that they name Sao Tomé.
456.53 -> In 1483, they reach the Kingdom of Kongo,
with which they start diplomatic and commercial relations.
464.21 -> Portugal provides European goods, such as
crockery and firearms, which are exchanged for slaves.
470.88 -> These are either taken to the Iberian Peninsula,
or exchanged for gold in Elmina, to end up in the mines,
477.238 -> or sold to Portuguese settlers
in São Tomé,
480.755 -> where the climate allows for the cultivation of sugarcane,
483.825 -> sugar being then a rare and expensive product, highly prized in Europe.
489.009 -> Slaves, gold, sugar, and spices coming from
Asia are making Portugal very rich,
494.537 -> and in less than a century, Lisbon becomes the richest city in Europe.
499.25 -> Further east, the Ottoman Empire, which had
seized Constantinople, now dominates the trade routes.
505.819 -> In the Black Sea, the Crimean Tatars provide
it with slaves from abductions.
510.41 -> All around the Mediterranean basin, Catholics
and Muslims clash via raids.
515.94 -> Captured Muslims end up as oarsmen on Catholic
galleys,
519.235 -> while pirates from North Africa organize raids, also into the Atlantic Ocean,
524.005 -> to seize Christians, who end up in their slave markets.
527.966 -> In 1595 in Sao Tomé, the slaves, who are
now in the majority, revolt.
533.313 -> Portugal regains control, but the country is now giving more interest to the lands it controls in the Americas,
540.133 -> where 300,000 slaves have already been sent to work in the cultivation of sugar cane.
550.079 -> Western European countries with access to
the Atlantic Ocean gradually follow the Portuguese model
555.3 -> and set up a globalized slave trade
that takes place mainly on three continents.
560.74 -> The Netherlands, England and then France,
create companies to take over this new trade.
566.24 -> Their ships are loaded with European handicrafts,
such as textiles, metals, and weapons.
571.81 -> They leave for the African coasts to exchange
their goods for slaves.
576.209 -> The latter are either prisoners of war or
are the result of abductions.
581.029 -> Hundreds of slaves are crammed into the holds
of ships in appalling conditions
585.711 -> for voyages to America that last several months.
588.596 -> The majority end up in Brazil and the Caribbean,
where the climate is ideal for growing sugar cane,
594.039 -> but also for coffee, cotton, and tobacco.
597.058 -> The large European landowners, called planters,
exchange the slaves for precious metals and local products.
604.14 -> The ships then return to Europe to sell the
American products on the European markets.
608.72 -> The companies make large profits and organize
more and more shipments.
613.6 -> Western Europe is rapidly getting richer at the expense of the labor force of Africa and the cultivable land of America.
621.029 -> The European states, to ensure their profits,
enact new laws to control this market.
630.14 -> In Europe, the refining of sugar and the high
demand for handicrafts creates a lot of jobs,
635.39 -> while the sudden abundance of American products
on the markets brings down prices,
639.892 -> making them accessible to a larger portion of the
population.
643.68 -> In Africa, the demand for slaves becomes so
great that their value soars,
648.018 -> leading to wars for control of the trade.
651.079 -> Kidnappings are organized further and further
inland,
654.061 -> sometimes resulting in the taking of entire villages, which pass from hand to hand, to end up on European ships.
661.399 -> Finally, in America, the black population
swells rapidly in Brazil and the Caribbean.
666.639 -> Those who manage to flee are called Maroons.
669.44 -> They form communities in remote and difficult
to access areas.
673.83 -> For the European powers, the competition for
control of the cultivable land is increasing,
679.42 -> which provokes wars.
681.12 -> At the end of the Seven Years' War, France cedes its North American colonies to Great Britain and to Spain,
685.64 -> but keeps – at all costs – most of its sugar islands.
694.86 -> In 1781, the British ship Zong, recently captured
from the Dutch,
699.326 -> leaves the coast of Africa with 442 slaves on board, twice as many as its capacity.
706.07 -> After two months of sailing, the ship reaches
its destination, the island of Jamaica.
711.37 -> But the crew confuses the island with Saint-Domingue
and continues westward.
716.029 -> 500 km further on, the captain understands
his mistake, but it’s too late,
721.234 -> as it would take more than 10 days to sail back,
724.025 -> and the ship, which had not made any stopover to restock and renew its stores,
728.492 -> no longer has enough drinking water to last that long.
731.978 -> The crew decides then to throw 132 slaves,
including women and children, overboard.
738.587 -> Only 208 slaves arrive in Jamaica.
741.894 -> The company that organized the expedition turns to its insurance company for compensation,
747.094 -> but the latter refuses, and a trial begins in London.
751.08 -> The case is followed and has an impact on
public opinion, which strengthens the abolitionist movements.
757.37 -> The Society for Effecting the Abolition of
the Slave Trade is founded,
761.476 -> and, despite its still weak influence, it obtains the first
law limiting the number of slaves per ship.
768.11 -> In France, too, the first abolitionist movements
appear,
770.955 -> notably with the foundation of the Society of the Friends of the Blacks.
775.05 -> But their impact is still weak in the face
of powerful slave lobbies.
783.24 -> Until now, approximately 7,700,000 African
slaves have been deported to the Americas.
790.36 -> Great Britain and France dominate this market.
792.94 -> In the Caribbean, the French colony of Saint-Domingue,
795.739 -> where half a million slaves work, is now the world's leading exporter of sugar and coffee,
800.948 -> making it the most prosperous.
803.093 -> In 1789, the French Revolution takes place.
806.536 -> In the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, it is written that men are born and remain free and equal in rights.
814.32 -> In Saint-Domingue, these words resonate with
the slaves and freedmen, who revolt.
819.089 -> A French civil commissioner is sent to restore
order.
822.5 -> He proclaims the emancipation of the slaves,
825.126 -> obtaining their military support in the middle of the war against Great Britain and Spain.
830.11 -> The following year, in Paris, slavery is officially
abolished in all French colonies.
835.271 -> But in 1802, Napoleon, who had seized power, re-establishes slavery,
840.713 -> and tries to regain control of Saint-Domingue by sending an army, but the latter is defeated.
846.107 -> On January 1, 1804, the Republic of Haiti proclaims its independence.
851.731 -> It is the only republic to emerge from a revolt
of slaves and freedmen.
855.822 -> However, the new country will have to pay a heavy price to France, which would weaken it economically.
866.3 -> After having transported about 2,750,000 slaves,
in 1807, the United Kingdom abolishes the slave trade,
874.661 -> but not yet slavery, which remains
in force in its colonies.
878.549 -> The country now uses its influence to put a global end to the slave trade.
883.568 -> In 1815, after the fall of Napoleon, the European
powers meet in Vienna.
888.973 -> The United Kingdom obtains a commitment from
each of them to abolish the slave trade.
893.809 -> But in reality, it would take several decades
before it really stops.
898.088 -> Brazil resists and continues the massive importation
of slaves for its coffee culture.
903.942 -> Brazilian ships go directly to Africa to fetch
slaves without passing through Europe.
908.915 -> In 1833, the United Kingdom abolishes slavery
completely.
913.795 -> From then on, the country relies on the industrial
revolution.
917.701 -> The invention of the steam engine increases
production in factories.
921.888 -> The textile industry explodes, increasing the demand for cotton.
926.435 -> In the United States, slaves living near the coast are moved all along the Mississippi River
931.809 -> to work in cotton production.
933.379 -> In addition, a U.S. company, after buying land in Africa, creates Liberia to organize the return of freed blacks.
941.5 -> In 1847, Liberia gains its independence and
finds itself governed by the newcomers,
947.21 -> to the detriment of the indigenous populations.
950.69 -> In 1848, France abolishes slavery in its turn.
954.62 -> About 250,000 slaves are freed.
957.8 -> To prevent the planters from seceding, the
state compensates for their losses by paying them,
962.935 -> and facilitating the importation of
cheap labor, mainly from India and China.
968.32 -> Finally, in the United States, after the Civil
War and the victory of the northern armies,
973.63 -> slavery is abolished here too.
975.77 -> But in all the former slave territories, the
situation remains complicated for the freedmen.
981.259 -> They are often confined to ghettos, controlled, and in many cases continue to be exploited without rights or income.
989.11 -> Zanzibar is the last major slave trading port.
992.819 -> Swahili caravans set out to raid the African
Great Lakes region.
997.44 -> The captives are then sent mainly to the plantations
of Oman.
1001.459 -> In 1873, the United Kingdom obtains the end
of the slave trade there.
1006.04 -> And in 1888, Brazil is the last American country
to abolish slavery.
1014.983 -> In 1885, the European powers meet in Berlin
to divide Africa among themselves,
1018.379 -> and to regulate colonization, each committing itself
to abolish slavery.
1025.429 -> The Belgian king Leopold II obtains as his personal possession a huge territory in the heart of the continent.
1032.35 -> To consolidate his power, he receives the
services of a former powerful slave trader from Zanzibar,
1038.003 -> whom he appoints governor of
Stanley Falls District.
1041.305 -> The population is subjected to a tax in kind,
which is a form of forced labor.
1046.602 -> The population has to mainly produce rubber,
1049.407 -> which is in great demand with the booming of bicycles and the invention of the automobile.
1054.428 -> The immense territory is shared with private
companies.
1057.676 -> The population is under pressure to produce
more and more,
1061.585 -> and those who don’t meet the quotas are massacred or mutilated.
1065.212 -> In 1908, under international pressure, Leopold
II cedes the Congo to the Belgian state,
1071.441 -> which puts a direct end to these methods.
1073.758 -> In China, slavery is still legal and is facilitated
by the numerous crises that the country is going through.
1081.21 -> But under Western pressure, the country finally
abolishes slavery in 1910.
1085.77 -> In 1930 in the USSR, the Gulag administration
is created to manage the forced labor camps.
1093.09 -> Political opponents, minorities, and rich peasants are locked up and forced to work in remote and hostile areas
1099.173 -> to build railroads, canals, or exploit resources such as coal or minerals.
1104.63 -> Over 10 years, about 7 million men are locked
up.
1108.04 -> During the Second World War, the Nazis build
forced labor camps called concentration camps,
1113.919 -> which are intended to make Jews and political
prisoners work, often to death.
1118.77 -> The Empire of Japan also organizes the forced
labor of millions of prisoners,
1123.19 -> mainly Chinese in Manchukuo, or Indonesians on the island of Java.
1132.61 -> After WWII, the Gulf States abolish slavery
one by one.
1136.64 -> But they keep a law that allows employers
to confiscate the passports of migrant workers,
1142.11 -> in order to control them and prevent them
from leaving.
1145.36 -> In 1981, Mauritania becomes the last country
in the Sahel to abolish slavery,
1150.67 -> which is still deeply rooted in the culture.
1153.53 -> With some ethnic groups enslaved for generations,
slavery continues in remote areas of the Sahel.
1159.59 -> In 1992, Pakistan becomes the last country
to abolish slavery, freeing thousands of peasants
1166.01 -> who were working for powerful landowners.
1168.64 -> In North Korea, prisoners from the Korean
War and political prisoners, men, women, and children
1174.718 -> are exploited in forced labor camps.
1177.138 -> In addition, the country exports its slave labor around the world, mainly to labor camps in Russia and China,
1183.591 -> which brings in a lot of money.
1185.476 -> In 2017, the country successfully tests an intercontinental ballistic missile, directly threatening the United States.
1193.87 -> In retaliation, the UN imposes new sanctions,
including the return of North Korean workers to the country.
1200.82 -> In October 2018, China acknowledges the existence
of re-education camps in Xinjiang,
1206.864 -> where part of the Muslim Uyghur population is locked
up.
1210.49 -> Some camps are accused of organizing forced
labor in factories or in cotton fields.
1215.92 -> In 2021, according to the latest estimates
of the International Labour Organization,
1221.5 -> there are about 50 million slaves in the world,
more than ever before in history.
1227.53 -> 21.3 million are victims of forced labor,
of which 3.3 million are children,
1232.865 -> while 22 million people, mostly women, are victims
of forced marriage,
1237.253 -> which is considered a form of sexual and domestic slavery.
1241.659 -> Finally, 6.3 million people, again mainly
women, are victims of commercial sexual exploitation.
1249.333 -> In total, women represent about 70% of the
world's slaves.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40d0eDAQ3t0