# African Slaves in Europe? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 23, 2011, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-slaves-in-europe/572329 "2011-02-23T08:55:24Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![code\_grey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f4b2a3/32.png) [@code\_grey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/code_grey)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 6:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-slaves-in-europe/572329/21 "2011-02-25T06:53:37Z")
> [@even\_sven](#): > > The thing that made the New World slave trade exceptional was not that it existed- slavery has pretty much always existed in different forms all over the world- but rather that it was done on an industrial scale to serve large commercial interests. Through most of history, and slave would be an exotic luxury afforded only to the elite. Keeping a slave probably worked out to being more expensive than paying a regular servant, but it did have a certain appeal to have someone from the other side of the world serving your guests at dinner parties. Anyway, slaves would be an investment, and would probably be treated better than your average servant…you own the slave, but do you really care if the scullery maid can feed her kids? Slavery was not a nice institution, but it could have been worse. > > The American slave trade changed that. The land and technology was just right to start using slaves for large-scale agriculture. Slavery became an essential part of the industrial model, and so they became considered like machines or livestock- and maintained and discarded as such. It’s really a totally different phenomena…like comparing a massive modern factory farm to the retired couple that keeps some chickens as pets. no, the exceptional aspect of the American slave trade is not first and foremost the “industrial scale” but rather the utility of this topic for people who are out to continually shake down the non-black people living in certain West Hemisphere nations for money to give to the descendants of the slaves. Or at least try to start such a shake down, case in point being Brazil where the project has not yet really gotten off the ground so far. As far as the industrial scale agricultural slavery goes, how about 9th century Iraq? See here [Zanj Rebellion - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanj_Rebellion) . Judging by the numbers involved those black African slaves employed in, yes, industrial scale agriculture, constituted a huge percentage of the regional population, sort of like some areas of American Deep South or Roman Sicily in other epochs. So yeah, pretty industrial - but where is the money here? Who is going to give grants to Jessy Jackson in recognition of this Iraqi slavery of umpteen generations ago? Especially since those slaves apparently were never allowed to procreate sufficiently to survive as a distinct ethnic group, let alone as surprisingly relatively unmixed as the American blacks. When it comes to figuring out which atrocities are exceptional and which are not, it pays to go for where the money is. ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-slaves-in-europe/572329/22 "2011-02-25T07:14:35Z")
So people think the trans-Atlantic slavery is repugnant because someone is hoping against hope that will somehow net them a check? Sorry, I’m not old enough to remember when “Jessy” Jackson was considered a credible social force. You’ll have to take this up with someone else. ---
**Author:** ![Capitaine\_Zombie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e95f7d/32.png) [@Capitaine\_Zombie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capitaine_Zombie)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2011, 7:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-slaves-in-europe/572329/23 "2011-02-25T07:31:10Z")
> [@code\_grey](#): > > no, the exceptional aspect of the American slave trade is not first and foremost the “industrial scale” but rather the utility of this topic for people who are out to continually shake down the non-black people living in certain West Hemisphere nations for money to give to the descendants of the slaves. Or at least try to start such a shake down, case in point being Brazil where the project has not yet really gotten off the ground so far. > > As far as the industrial scale agricultural slavery goes, how about 9th century Iraq? See here [Zanj Rebellion - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zanj_Rebellion) . Judging by the numbers involved those black African slaves employed in, yes, industrial scale agriculture, constituted a huge percentage of the regional population, sort of like some areas of American Deep South or Roman Sicily in other epochs. So yeah, pretty industrial - but where is the money here? Who is going to give grants to Jessy Jackson in recognition of this Iraqi slavery of umpteen generations ago? Especially since those slaves apparently were never allowed to procreate sufficiently to survive as a distinct ethnic group, let alone as surprisingly relatively unmixed as the American blacks. > > When it comes to figuring out which atrocities are exceptional and which are not, it pays to go for where the money is. You might want some slave help with that chip on your shoulder, it looks heavy as a rock. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/african-slaves-in-europe/572329.md?page=1)