White Slavery Was Much More Common Than Believed (As in enslavement of whites, not prostitution)

Newswise ^ | March 8, 2004 | Ohio State University

[quidnunc]

A new study suggests that a million or more European Christians were enslaved by Muslims in North Africa between 1530 and 1780 — a far greater number than had ever been estimated before.

In a new book, Robert Davis, professor of history at Ohio State University, developed a unique methodology to calculate the number of white Christians who were enslaved along Africa’s Barbary Coast, arriving at much higher slave population estimates than any previous studies had found.

Most other accounts of slavery along the Barbary coast didn’t try to estimate the number of slaves, or only looked at the number of slaves in particular cities, Davis said. Most previously estimated slave counts have thus tended to be in the thousands, or at most in the tens of thousands. Davis, by contrast, has calculated that between 1 million and 1.25 million European Christians were captured and forced to work in North Africa from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Davis’s new estimates appear in the book “Christian Slaves, Muslim Masters: White Slavery in the Mediterranean, the Barbary Coast, and Italy, 1500-1800” (Palgrave Macmillan).

“Much of what has been written gives the impression that there were not many slaves and minimizes the impact that slavery had on Europe,” Davis said. “Most accounts only look at slavery in one place, or only for a short period of time. But when you take a broader, longer view, the massive scope of this slavery and its powerful impact become clear.”

Davis said it is useful to compare this Mediterranean slavery to the Atlantic slave trade that brought black Africans to the Americas. Over the course of four centuries, the Atlantic slave trade was much larger — about 10 to 12 million black Africans were brought to the Americas. But from 1500 to 1650, when trans-Atlantic slaving was still in its infancy, more white Christian slaves were probably taken to Barbary than black African slaves to the Americas, according to Davis.

“One of the things that both the public and many scholars have tended to take as given is that slavery was always racial in nature — that only blacks have been slaves. But that is not true,” Davis said. “We cannot think of slavery as something that only white people did to black people.”

During the time period Davis studied, it was religion and ethnicity, as much as race, that determined who became slaves.

-snp-

[WinOne4TheGipper]

I want reparations!

[hoosierboy]

Yeah and jews were slaves in egypt according to the book of exodus.....Oh wait liberals don't believe in the bible, its a hate book. Never mind.

[eastsider]

Has the reparations gravy train left the station yet?

[BrooklynGOP]

Russia's slaves (serfs) were freed after US freed blacks.

[Clemenza]

This is a point I have been making for years.

BTW: Why does the term "white slavery" still apply to prostitution when so many of the 'hos being brought to this country are from Asia?

[CatoRenasci]

And, if I remember correctly, one could avoid slavery by becoming a Moslem.

Americans should remember the War against the Barbary Pirates (the "Shores of Tripoli..." of the Marines Hymn) which included the capture of the U.S.S Philadelphia and imprisonment (for ransom or slavery, depending) of its crew.

The Europeans venturing into Northern Africa in the early 19th century was really as much about stopping the depredations of the pirates as it was about colonization. That came later.

[xJones]

Russia's slaves (serfs) were freed after US freed blacks.

You knew that, too? 1865 was a vintage years for serfs, the 90% of the white Russian population "bound to the soil". White-on-white slavery wasn't any nicer than other varieties.

But with all my European ancestors, some of whom may been made Janissaries....oh forget it. Only the U.S. with all it's lawyers would be stupid enough to consider reparations for past centuries' enslavement.

[GrandEagle]

And, if I remember correctly, one could avoid slavery by becoming a Moslem.
Correction: And, if I remember correctly, one CAN avoid slavery by becoming a Moslem.
Christians as slaves still a fact in severaL countries, especially the Sudan.

[cake_crumb]

"White Slavery Was Much More Common Than Believed"

Correction: it was far more common than believed by brainwashed people since the agendists becan revising history decades ago.

[the OlLine Rebel]

A bit off course, but I've been saying we should recal the Barbary Pirates just cuz it was again an early show of how real but disadvantaged Americans just wouldn't "take it" any more while the all-powerful Euros were paying bully-tributes. Talk about pre-emptive action! And winning, and stopping the nonsense!

Lessons for today's mealy-mouthed pussy-footers so worried about the consequences of tough, strong decisive action.

[cake_crumb]

"And, if I remember correctly, one could avoid slavery by becoming a Moslem."

You mean unless you're a child because then you're prime for being sold as a sex slave to some other Muslim.

[per loin]

For my share of the reparations I want to be given a "breakfast only" restaurant in Mecca, where I can teach the locals the joys of bacon and eggs for breakfast.

[per loin]

Perhaps a good subject for Mel's next self-funded movie.

[Ff--150]

...and white slavery continued well into the 20th century, ladies and gentlemen...

[CatoRenasci]

You mean unless you're a child because then you're prime for being sold as a sex slave to some other Muslim.

Now, now, don't go sounding like one of those "alt.sex.stories" fantasies..... you might get the libs all hot.

[longtermmemmory]

Hello media and welcome to the Greek revolution.

some 400 years of slavery. You language and religion being illegal, children taken to be be raised as your overseers.

Christians were treated as sub human.

[ronnieb]

"one could avoid slavery by becoming a muslim"
you can't really believe that, makes no sense at all, that the slaves would undergo all that depravation, losing their families, living as slaves, JUST to be martyrs to Christianity. Any slave offered that deal, would take it so fast it would make your head spin. lets be real!

[american spirit]

Read later

[CatoRenasci]

you can't really believe that, makes no sense at all, that the slaves would undergo all that depravation, losing their families, living as slaves, JUST to be martyrs to Christianity. Any slave offered that deal, would take it so fast it would make your head spin. lets be real!

The ancient authorities are all pretty clear on the point. Besides, lots of Christians went to the lions as martyrs because they wouldn't worship the Emperor. In those days, people took religion pretty seriously. After all, just because we live in a secular age, and most people don't have any deep beliefs, doesn't make that historically true for other times and places -- if we'd had our current citizenry in 1775, we'd still be subjects of the British Crown.