Teachable Moment

the

Where did the word “slave” come from?

Slavery is one of the oldest enterprises known to man, including all races and all civilizations. White Europeans such as the Romans enslaved millions of White Slavs, or Germanic tribes, for the Roman Empire. In fact, the word “slave” comes from the word “Slav,” because the strong, White Slavic “barbarians” were also a favorite choice for Asian, Turkish, and Arab slave traders.

In Europe, the Romans enslaved the Slavs and the British, who enslaved the Irish. The Anglo-Saxons and the Danish Vikings enslaved the Ancient Britons. Conquerors enslaved the Jews throughout the centuries. Before the appearance of the White man in those areas, the native tribes in Asia, Australia, Africa and the Americas enslaved members of enemy tribes.

In the Middle East Muslims enslaved millions of White Europeans and Black Africans. The Muslim slave trade has lasted far longer than that of other nations, as it still exists today.

India and China now have millions of people in modern slavery, now called human trafficking, including the forced labor of men, women and children in manual labor, domestic servitude, mining, forced begging, sexual exploitation, and forced marriage.

In historic and modern slavery children are easy prey. Over 400 years ago, Christian children were taken from their homes, forced to convert to Islam and put to work as soldiers in the army of the Ottoman Empire. Recently, at least 30,000 children were abducted and forced to labor in the armies of Northern Uganda.

Slavery has existed in the world for thousands of years. In the United States it lasted for fewer than 100 years. What is unique is that White Europeans and Americans were the first to abolish slavery in their countries, while other nations still have not.