Slavery

Slavery existed in Europe in ancient times and continued in some regions for centuries. By the time of the Renaissance, it could still be found in Italy, Spain, and Portugal but was uncommon in the rest of Europe. Slavery also existed in the Muslim world, and contact with Muslim communities reinforced the practice in Europe. In the 1500s the slave trade spread to the Americas. Europeans carried great numbers of African slaves across the ocean to work in colonies in the New World.

Conditions of Slavery. Ancient Roman law included a set of rules governing the ownership and treatment of slaves. During the Renaissance, interest in ancient cultures strengthened the influence of Roman law on European society. Although all slaves had the same or similar status under the law, their circumstances varied.

Slavery was different in rural and urban areas. Most rural slaves labored on farms, though some worked in manufacturing on country estates. Most urban slaves served as servants, guards, or sexual partners. Those owned by artisans* often worked in their masters' workshops. Other slaves provided labor in city ports, factories, warehouses, or markets. In both Europe and the Muslim world, slavery took place on a small scale. Artisans bought one or two slaves and wealthy families had a few more. Large-scale or gang slavery, as practiced in ancient Rome and the Americas, did not exist in Europe.

In Renaissance Europe slaves were either born into slavery or captured in a war or raid. Masters had legal control over slaves and could sell or transfer them as they pleased. Still, the law allowed slaves to become free in several ways. Masters could set them free, and slaves who had been captured might be ransomed or exchanged for other prisoners. In addition, slaves could purchase their freedom. Although former slaves never had the full legal standing of those born into freedom, their children were completely free under the law.

Slavery increased in Italy, Spain, and Portugal in the late 1300s. This was partly due to the Black Death*, which swept across Europe and killed as much as one-third of the population. The loss of large numbers of workers created a labor shortage that allowed individuals who might have become servants to find better jobs. People were needed to take over the lowest level of work. Meanwhile, some well-to-do survivors were able to hire more workers or purchase slaves with riches inherited from deceased relatives. These two factors produced a demand for slaves.

Italy. In 1363 the Italian city of Florence allowed residents to import slaves, as long as the slaves were not Christians. Venice, Genoa, and other Italian cities also permitted slave trading. Although Venice banned slave auctions in 1366, citizens could still buy slaves privately.

Slaves in Italy came from a variety of racial and ethnic groups, such as Russians or other peoples from the region around the Black Sea. They also included Muslims purchased from North Africa, Spain, or Portugal. Black slaves were fairly common in Sicily and southern Italy but rare in the northern Italian cities.

Spain and Portugal. Spain and Portugal were close to the Muslim lands of North Africa, which served as a source of non-Christians who could be captured or enslaved. This ready supply of slaves meant that slavery gained a stronger hold in Spain and Portugal than elsewhere.

Portugal and Spain were the first European nations to become involved in the slave trade in black Africans. Some Africans were taken to islands in the Atlantic and others to the Americas. Blacks had been present in Europe in small numbers since ancient times, and since the 800s Muslim traders had brought black slaves across the Sahara desert for sale in Mediterranean ports. Still, during the Renaissance blacks remained rare in Europe outside of Spain, Portugal, and Italy.

The Portuguese were the main slave traders of Europe in the late 1400s and early 1500s. In the capital city of Lisbon, the crown administered the slave trade. By the mid-1500s black slaves and former slaves made up 2.5 to 3 percent of the total population of Portugal. In southern Portugal and Lisbon, the figure was as high as 10 percent.

The Spanish city of Seville was also noted for its many black and Muslim slaves—7.4 percent of the city's inhabitants in 1565. During much of the Middle Ages, large areas of Spain—including Seville—were under Muslim rule. The population at that time included large numbers of slaves. Later, the Christians fought to regain control of Spain, and many Muslims were captured and enslaved.

(See alsoAgriculture; Economy and Trade; Servants; Social Status. )

* artisan

skilled worker or craftsperson

* Black Death

epidemic of the plague, a highly contagious and often fatal disease, which spread throughout Europe from 1348 to 1350