They also found evidence that there was significant gene flow into Scandinavia from the British Isles, Southern Europe, and Asia before and during the Viking Age, which further undermines the image of the Vikings as ‘pure’ Scandinavians.
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Dayum. Academics are odd folks.
Never heard of slaves? and the children they might spawn that earn their way up out of slavery? Or genetic “contributions” left behind on raids through rape?
Also, those who went on the Vik were not necessarily the creme de la creme -- any cutthroat who could make himself understood and liked the action would wind up in the crew.
“Never heard of slaves? and the children they might spawn that earn their way up out of slavery? Or genetic “contributions” left behind on raids through rape?”
Silly Rabbit! Only Americans ever practiced slavery.
Actually, I am writing a paper on the world-wide practice of slavery (which will assuredly never be presented or accepted at my current institution). Slavery existed in every culture on every continent at some point (excluding Antarctica, at least so far, but no doubt some explorer dragged a slave along with him at some point and I’ll find a reference to it), sometimes their own people, sometimes enemy prisoners, sometimes both.
Nobody has “clean hands”. But looking at the aggregate data, the Anglosphere led the way in eliminating the scourge of slavery. And it is an ongoing battle. Muslims still widely practice slavery, as do the Chinese and North Koreans. And assorted other groups.
Also, don’t buy the line that serfs weren’t slaves. They were simply slaves tied to the land, and not even that in some cases (Russia and Poland). Many American blacks that were slaves had more rights than most serfs. Indentured servants were not much better off (sometimes worse). The enslavement of “whites” by Arabs and Berbers preceded any practice of the enslavement of blacks by Europeans. Chinese, Africans, Persians, Mongols, Aztecs, Ottomans, Japanese, Mayans, Incans and countless other cultures practiced slavery and in fact slaves in those cultures were often sacrificed. While atrocious, it’s just a thing that was, a barbarism from our (collective human) history.
So I am not making excuses for anybody, but it is a gross distortion of history to say that Americans are more to blame, or, in fact, to claim that Americans were not at the forefront of eliminating the practice (once we had our own house sorted). Example - the Portuguese slave trade from Africa to Brazil was still ongoing after the American Civil War (even though it had been outlawed in Portugal proper) until American and British navies actively disrupted and interfered with it. Slavery in Brazil was gradually abolished and was finally completely outlawed in 1888. Not that that actually stopped it completely. There are claims that it still exists in the remote jungles to some degree today.