Five ways to become a slave

Slaves may be acquired 5 ways.

1. By being captives in war.

• If the conqueror does not kill them, he has a right to make them slaves.

2. By being children of slaves.
3. By being guilty of crimes.

• They becames slaves to the person injured or to the public.

4. By being in debt in the ancient state of the Roman Republic.

• If they could not pay their debt, it was thought reasonable they should work for it. This still takes place in all countries where slavery is established.

5. By selling oneself

• This is a sort of voluntary slavery.

When a person sells himself for any sum, this very sum becomes the property of his buyer. But when a person was in debt and obliged to become a slave for it, he would not choose to be his creditor’s slave for fear of abuse. He would sell himself to another person, on condition that he would pay his debt.

Roman citizens were often in debt. They became entirely dependent on their superiors. The only means of subsistence of many of them was to sell their votes to candidates. This was not enough. They often borrowed from the people to whom they gave their votes.

Those people were ready to lend so that they could secure them entirely to their interest. Through this, the indebted Romas could not give their vote to other persons unless that person paid his debt. Few would be willing to do, since they usually owed more than the value of their votes.

In the middle age of the Republic, these two last methods of acquiring slaves were prohibited by express laws.

• The first was prohibited by cessio bonorum.
• The latter was prohibited by a law prohibiting any free man to sell himself.

The slavery in the West Indies took place contrary to law. When it was conquered by Spain, Isabella and Ferdinand were at the greatest pains to prevent the West-Indies natives from falling into servitude. They intended to=

• make settlements,
• trade with them, and
• instruct them.

But Columbus and Cortez were far from the law and did not obey their orders.

The state of servants

A negro in Great Britain is a free man.

• If your negro servant is stolen, you can have no action for his price, but only for damages sustained by the loss of your servant.
• If a negro is killed, the killer it is guilty of murder.

But you can oblige your negro servant to return to America and keep him as a slave. He enjoys freedom, not from Christianity, but from the laws of Great Britain because there is no such thing as slavery among us British.

The greatest dependents among us are menial servants who are bound from one term to another. They have almost the same privileges with their master, liberty, wages, etc. The master has a right to correct his servant moderately. If he should die under his correction it is not murder, unless it was done=

• with an offensive weapon, or
• with forethought and without provocation.

A servant can acquire property for his master=

• when he acts by his express authority, or
• when a tacit consent is implied.

If a servant buys or sells goods in his master’s name, his master has room for an action in case of non-payment or of non-delivery. There is a peculiar connection between master and servant. They can be vindicated in many cases where any other person would be found guilty.

If either master or servant kill any other person in defence of each other, it is justifiable homicide.

If a master dies before the term, the executors are obliged to=

• pay the servant’s wages and
• maintain him.

Apprentices are the same way with servants except that the master=

• receives a fee from the apprentice, and
• is obliged to teach him a trade.

If he refuses to do it, he may be pursued for damages and loss of time.