Slavery

Author(s): Orlando Patterson

Source: Annual Review of Sociology, Vol. 3 (1977), pp. 407-449
Published by: Annual Reviews
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Ann.Rev. Sociol. 1977. 3:407-49

(3 1977 byAnnualReviewsInc. All rightsreserved
Copyright

SLAVERY

*10546

OrlandoPatterson

02138
Massachusetts
Cambridge,
HarvardUniversity,
ofSociology,
Department

THE STUDY OF SLAVERY

ofthemodernworldand the
The studyofslaverydatesbackto theverybeginnings
rebirth
ofscholarshipin theRenaissance.Indeed,itmayevenbe said to havestarted
Malowisthas pointedout: "La discussionautourdu
earlier,foras Iza Biezutnska
et surtoutau
durantle moyen-age
incessamment
problemede l'esclavagecontinuait
debutde l'age modern'a l'epoque de grandesconquetesespagnoleset portugaises
aux Ameriqueset en Afrique."("The discussionabout the problemof slavery
ofthe
duringtheMiddleAges and especiallyat thebeginning
continuedincessantly
modernperiodofthegrandSpanishand PortugeseconquestsoftheAmericasand
in Africa.")(Malowist 1968:161)JosephVogt found96 major workswrittenbecentury,mostof
centuryand thelate eighteenth
tweenthemiddleofthesixteenth
on the problemof ancientslaveryand its moralaspects
themLatin dissertations,
(Vogt 1973:1-7).
had two majorsources:the
The modernstudyof slaveryas a social institution
and the
century,
in thelastthirdoftheeighteenth
beginning
movement,
abolitionist
similar
Marxisttheoryof history.Both sourceswereto movein two substantively
one concernedwiththeproblemsof ancientslavery,theotherwiththe
directions,
have fourbasic streamsof slave studies
problemsof modernslavery.We therefore
thesociological,to be
which
timea fifth,
century
(at
of
the
nineteenth
end
the
by
discussedlater,commenced).These fourstreamsare: (a) non-Marxianstudiesof
ancientslavery;(b) Marxianstudiesofancientslavery;(c) non-Marxianstudiesof
modernslavery;and (d) Marxianstudiesof medievaland modernslavery,or more
the applicationof the Marxianmethodto regionalstudies.
specifically,
workswereoften,in the manner
and eighteenth-century
Althoughseventeenthreportsand travelnotes
ofthetimes,called "histories,"theyweremainlyfirsthand
dressedup witha dash ofhistoricalsketches.As Goveia,speakingofthesixteenthCaribbean,observes,popularworkssuchas thoseofFernandoColon,Peter
century
Martyr,Bartolomede la Casas, and A. de Herreray Tordesillasbecamevaluable
are byno means
theirqualifications
and "as authorities,
sourcesforlaterhistorians
saw the
century
and earlyeighteenth
negligible"(Goveia 1956:11).The seventeenth
to
the
with
challenge
coincided
histories
significantly,
that,
of
emergence genuine
407

408

PATTERSON

firstin the
Spanishhegemonyin theNew World. "The foreigninvasion,reflected
groupof writers,now findsexpressionas well in the
interestof an international
of theirsubjectmatter"(Goveia 1956:18).
markeddiversification
Almostall theseworksdiscussslaveryin one formor another,but invariably
changedall this.
withinthe contextof widerissues. The abolitionistcontroversy
by
and otherpolemicalformswritten
Risingabovethenumeroustracts,narratives,
longresident"in thearea,and otherswithlessimpeccablequalifications
"gentlemen
were major worksof scholarshipand participativesocial commentarieson the
regionsof the New
nature,origins,and consequencesof slaveryin the different
World.Each area produceditsownbatchofsuperiorworksthatcontinueto be read
secondarysourcesbymodern
butas contemporary
todaynotonlyintheirownright,
scholars (for assessmentsof which,see Goveia 1956:Chap. 3-4; Saignes 1969,
McPhersonet al 1971:Pt. 1-3).

Slavery
StudiesofAncient
Non-Marxian
awakenedby thedebates
in ancientslaverywas undoubtedly
The renewedinterest
that were beingwaged about its modernforms.Studieson ancientslaverywere
in two ways. One centeredon the role of
directedat the abolitionistcontroversy
slaveryin Biblicaland earlyChristiantimes,theotheron itsrolein ancientGreece
and Rome. The first,whichwas highlypolemical,soughtto justifyor condemn
camp (on
grounds.Basically,it was arguedby thepro-slavery
slaveryon scriptural
workswereLee
which,see forexampleFletcher1852; typicalof the anti-slavery
1855,Copley 1852,Blake 1861; fora generalanalysisof the religiousanti-slavery
see Davis 1966:Chap. 10-12; Davis 1975:Chap. 11) thatsince slavery
literature,
thatwas sanctionedby theOld Testament,and
could be shownto be an institution
by Pauline theologyand the patristicthinkersof the primitivechurch,it was a
on theother
writers,
morallyacceptablepracticeforthemodernworld.Anti-slavery
was, ifnotideologicallyopposedto
Christianity
hand,triedto showthatprimitive
opposedto it,thatindeed,therewas a marked
and structurally
slavery,historically
and thedeclineof slavof Christianity
betweentheinstitutionalization
correlation
demandthesiswas themoresubtleand intellectually
ery.Because theanti-slavery
on thisaspectof ancient
of a genuinehistoriography
ing,it led to thedevelopment
of thistradislavery[on which,see Allard(1876, 1884) fortheclassicculmination
century,
tion;forone ofthebestworksofthiskindin Englishduringthenineteenth
Imbert(1949)].
see Babington1846; see, morerecently,
secularplace. It was therefore
The world,however,was becomingan increasingly
that
beganto carrymoreweight,
over
ancient
slavery
of
the
debate
thrust
thesecond
century.
and receivedthe attentionof the best classical mindsof the nineteenth
polemicalissueswerefarmorecomplex.The basic
Here,however,theunderlying
centurieswas not, surprisingly,
and earlynineteenth
issue in the late eighteenth
whetheror notancientGreeceand Rome werebased on slavery.On thecontrary,
on thispoint.The debatecenteredinsteadon the
therewas considerableunanimity
ofthisuniversally
presumeddependenceoftheancientworldon slavery.
implication
the firstmajor scholarlyforayin the debate took an extremely
Interestingly,
workon the subject,pubcriticalview of ancientGreece. Reitemeier'sinfluential

SLAVERY

409

lished in 1789 (cited in Vogt 1965:97) was firmlyrootedin the Enlightenment

andequalityand,as such,was harshlycriticalofancientGreece
tradition
offreedom
-not onlyon moral,buton culturalgrounds-foritstotalrelianceon slavery.As
forancientGreeceamong
Vogthas pointedout,however,so greatwas thereverence
that Reitemeier'scriticalstance was, even forthose
the German neo-humanists
times,rare(Vogt 1965:97).More typical,Vogttellsus, was theviewof
enlightened
von Humboldt,who,in an essay publishedin 1793,praisedGreekeducationand
ofthe
thatthegreatcivilizational
breakthroughs
characterand argued,approvingly,
forthemodernworld
Greeksweremade possibleonlybyslavery.The implications
wereobvious,and thethemewas soon pickedup by numerouslesserscholars.The
thesis,however,was soonunderattack,theearliestofthemorecapablecriticsbeing
theBritishclassicistBlair(1833). However,it was a Frenchscholar,Wallon,who,
work(Wallon 1847) broughttheskillsand eruditionof a major
in a prize-winning
on the workhe proclassicalscholarto thesubject.It is a revealingcommentary
duced that over a centuryafterit was published,Finley,currentlythe leading
classicalstudentofslavery,could stillwritethat,in spiteofinaccuracies,thework
"remainsuseful"(Finley 1960b.229).
as a generalreference
thestudyof
as the polemicalissuessurrounding
century,
In the late nineteenth
slaverywaned,the debateamongnon-Marxianclassiciststook a new turn.From
a concernwiththe moraland culturalconsequencesof slavery,interestshiftedto
thedegreeto whichancientsocietywas actuallydependenton slavery.To be sure,
oftheearlierscholars,especiallyWallon,had alreadyfound
themoresophisticated
it necessaryto defendtheassumptionthatancientsocietywas basedon slavery,but
climatethatwas stillwillingto acceptsucha view
theydid so withinan intellectual
withoutmuch argument.It was this assumptionthat was now being attacked.
Meyer,in a brilliantworkfirstpublishedin 1898 (Meyer 1910:169-212),brought
thewholeviewintoseriousquestion.By 1909,whenZimmernwrotehisinterpretive
piece "Was GreekCivilizationBased on Slave Labor?" (Zimmern1909:1-19,15976), therewas littledoubt withinthe communityof classical scholarsabout the
answer,so radicallyhad the climateof scholarlyopinionshifted.
Littlehas changedinthetermsofthedebatesinceMeyer'stime,except,ofcourse,
that
techniques.It is significant
theamountofdata availableand themethodological
a paperwiththesametitle
afterZimmern'sarticle,Finleywas writing
halfa century
(Finley 1959, 1960b:53-72).The Meyerthesis
in a tonethatwas stillcontroversial
centurybyscholarssuchas Sargent(1924),
has beensupportedduringthetwentieth
(1955), and Starr(1958). On the opposing
Jones(1952, 1955, 1956),Westermann
side have been an equally distinguishedarray of scholars,both classicistsand
includingWeber(1924, 1970),Frank(1927), Heitorientedsociologists,
historically
Finley(1959, 1960, 1964). At themoment,Finleyand
land (1921), and currently,
Yeo
seemto have carriedtheday. (See, also, amongnonclassicists,
his supporters
1952,Degler 1949.)
It is muchtoo early,however,to pass any finaljudgmenton the issue. Indeed,
it is doubtfulwhetherthedebatewillor can everbe settled.In thisregard,it should
school of Germannon-Marxianclassicistsheadedby
be notedthattheformidable
Vogthavetendedto steerclearofeitherposition,Vogt'sviewbeingthatthematter

410

PATTERSON

deservesfarmoreresearch(Vogt 1965:109).This is undoubtedly

true,but Vogt's
unobjectionable
observationnonethelessevades what may well be the key issue,
namely,thatthedebatehingesnot primarily
on an empiricalbut on a theoretical
problem.As Degler(1959a), Finley(1959), Wu Ta-Kun (1956), and Tung Shu-yeh
(1956) have pointedout,thecrucialquestioncomes down to this:whatexactlyis
meantby theexpression"based on?" That is, beforewe can answerany question
of the kind,"Was a particularsocietyXI based on a specificinstitutionYe?" we
mustfirsthave a theorythatmakesmeaningful
theexpression"X is based on E2"
It tookclassicalscholarshipoverhalfa centuryto recognizethisbasic issue.Whateverthelimitations
ofMarxianclassicalscholarship-and thereare many-Marxistswereat least aware of thistheoreticalproblemfromthe verystart.

Marxian StudiesofAncientSlavery
Marx and Engels neverwrotea systematictheoryof slave society,but thereare
numerousdetaileddiscussionsof thesubjectthroughout
theirworks,in particular
the followingones: (Marx, 1971; Engels, 1962; see the well-indexed
to
references
slaveryin Marx & Engels 1970:Vol. 1-3; see also Backhaus 1974). Slaveryplayed
a majorrolein thecrudermaterialistic
as one ofthefivecrucial
conceptionofhistory
ofsocialism.Marxhimselfclearlysaw thelimitations
stagesin theemergence
ofthis
view; at most,it referred
onlyto Westernsocieties,and it is specifically
withthe
problemofslave societyin mindthathe developedtheidea oftheAsiaticmodeof
production.
Engels,undertheunfortunate
ofMorgan,was to abandonthis
influence
important
qualification
and is largelyresponsiblefortherigid,untenableperiodizationtheory,whichholdsthatall societiesmustgo throughthefivestages,including
Marx and Engels
slavery.Untenableas thispositionis in-thelightofworldhistory,
mustbe creditedforinitiating
theall-important
discussionofjust whatis meantby
thetermslavesociety.We returnto thismatterin a latersection,sincethemodern
Marxianviewis stillthe besttheoreticalstatementon the subject.
Marxian theoryseems to have had only minorimpactduringthe nineteenth
century,the firsttwo majorworkswitha clear Marxistperspectiveappearingin
1874(See Bucher1874) and 1897 (See Cicotti1910). WhileobviouslynotMarxian
in the sense of beingderivedfromMarx, it should be notedthatCairnes'senormouslyinfluential
workon Americanslavery,publishedin 1862,was essentiallya
materialistic
conceptionofthatslavesociety(Cairnes 1969).Cairnes'sworkis little
regardedtodaybecauseironically,
like Marx and Engels,his data has been shown
to be wrong.We think,however,that Cairnes's purelytheoreticalviews on the
subjectare stillextremely
valuable,and indeed,it is thisaspectoftheworkthatwas
mostinfluential.
The truthofthematteris thatCairneshad therighttheoryofslave
slave
society,if by slave societyone means,as classical Marxistsdo, a pure-type
slave society,
system.His errorwas to assumethatthe US South was a pure-type
whichas we nowknow,itclearlywas not,althoughit was one in whichslaverywas
Cairnes'smaterialistic
predominant.
slave
theoryis moreapplicableto thepure-type
societiesof the Caribbean;indeed,it was developedoriginallywiththesesocieties
in mind.The factthathe was misledby the availabledata on the US South into
thatit was a pure-type
on his empiricalskills,
thinking
slave societyis a reflection

SLAVERY

411

his theoretical
The work,at anyrate,has clearly
insights.
butnotnecessarily
butMarxianscholarship.
notonlynon-Marxian,
influenced
development
in Marxian
therewas a disastrous
AftertheRussianrevolution
in thesubjectand even
Stalintooka deadlyinterest
studiesof ancientslavery.
on it (Stalin1938);thepartyline
of a specialist
himself
something
considered
of thelaterEngels.Therewas one major
reverted
to therigidschematization
who,
oftheStalinist
period,andthatwasChayanov,
duringtheheight
exception
ofpeasantsociety,
tookthe
as partofhissuperbseriesofstudieson thetheory
(Chayanov1966).
ofsophistication
ofslavesociety
to newheights
theory
Marxist
is
The work,fortunately,
heresies.
forhistheoretical
liquidated
He was,however,
After
farmoreattention
thanitpresently
receives.
availableinEnglish
anddeserves
oftheearlier
abandoned
thesterileschematism
Stalin'sdeath,Russianclassicists
ofSciences
ofHistory
oftheAcademy
oftheUSSR
periodandin 1960theInstitute
on almosteveryaspectofthe
ofmonographs
announced
plansfora largenumber
number
ofstudies
have
inall themajorregions
ofantiquity.
A considerable
subject
andas
veryfewofthemhavebeentranslated
Unfortunately,
sincebeenpublished.
scholars.
Reviewsofthis
inaccessible
to mostWestern
such,theyhaveremained
however
1960,1964;Kostevalov1956;Graham1967)
(see Vittinghoff
literature,
bias,manyoftheseworksare
stillnotdevoidofideological
that,although
suggest
Onemember
ofthisschooldidherearlyworkinthe
ofa highorderofscholarship.
Pacificcoast,andif
UnitedStateson slavery
amongtheIndiansofthenorthwest
1941),itis clearthattheoutrageous
tojudgeby(Averkieva
herworkis anything
on
as faras theorizing
ofthelaterEngelshavelongbeenabandoned
simplicities
and
is concerned.
The worksofLencman(1966)on Mycenaean
slavery
primitive
(1972)onHellenisGolubcova
& Pavlovskaja
Greece,andofBlavatskaja,
Homeric
inno
intoGerman.
though
havebeentranslated
Theyarebothfirst-rate,
ticslavery
generalworkson theseperiods.
waydefinitive,
onancient
hasbeenno
slavery
OutsideoftheSovietUnion,Marxianscholarship
influential
workowesas muchtoMarxas itdoestoWeber.
Walbank's
lessprolific.
in the
Finley'sworkmustbe placedfirmly
(Walbank1946)In mostrespects,
andVittinghoff
alongwithWelskopf
Marxiantradition.
Indeed,hemustbe ranked
there
isanunfortuinthisarea,although
as oneoftheleading
Marxist
theoreticians
hiswork(fora
to misunderstand
forlessimpartial
Marxist
scholars
natetendency
between
ofsuchmisunderstanding,
seetheexchange
FinleyandOliva
goodexample
worksin theMarxist
in thefollowing:
Finley1961;Oliva1960,1962).Important
as well
andothercontinential,
tradition
havealsobeenproduced
byItalian,French,
Marxistwritings
ofrepresentative
scholars.
as Oriental
[Fora usefulcompilation
(1957).]
on ancientslavery,
see thespecialissueofRecherches
has beendevotedto nonIn recentyears,a considerable
amountof attention
verymuchinthe
Dange'sworkon Indiawaswritten
Europeanareasofantiquity.
tradition
Stalinist
(Dange1949).OffarmorevalueisChananowwholly
discredited
ofthePalitexts.
Thework
onanexhaustive
analysis
na'swork(1960),basedlargely
on slavery
in bothancient
a usefulreviewoftheprevious
literature
also provides
hasmademajorcontriIndia(1960:Chap.1).RecentSovietscholarship
andmodern
thereis
ofslavery
Happily,
toourunderstanding
inancientMesopotamia.
butions

412

PATTERSON

collectionofpapersby theleadingSoviet
now availablein Englisha representative
scholarsin thisfield(See Diakonoff1969).
Over the past thirtyyearsor so, ChineseMarxistshave been lockedin a somedebateoverthenature
oftenpolemical,and alwaysfascinating
timescantankerous,
and timingof slave societyin China. Patterson,assistedby two Chinese-speaking
In thespace available,we can only
has reviewedthisliterature.
researchassistants,
hintat some of themorevigorouslydisputedissues.The debatein manyrespects
betweenthe revolutionand 1960,
directlyparallelsthatof its Sovietcounterpart
exceptthatit is farfreer,and of a muchhigherqualityof scholarship,in spiteof
the polemics.Most Chinese Marxistshold the view that therewas a period of
large-scaleslavesocietyin China; indeed,theperiodizationtheorystillseemsto be
sharply,however,overthetimingof the
dogma.Chinesescholarsdiffer
theofficial
periodof large-scaleslavery,and overtheuse of theavailableevidence.The dominant school, led by the enormouslyinfluentialKuo Mo-jo, holds that slavery
emergedduringYin and maturedduringtheChou period(see Kuo Mo-jo 1956a,b,c,
1957; Yang K'uan 1956; Li Ya-nung 1954). Severalscholarsstronglycontestthis
timing,mostnotablyJungMeng-yiian(1956), and Hsii Chung-shu(1956). They
withKuo Mo-jo's use of theevidenceof thetombs,espetakeissue,in particular,
ciallythose indicativeof humansacrifice,as the basis forgeneralizingabout the
degreeand timingofslavery.Kuo Mo-jo's schoolarguesthattheabsenceor decline
ofslavery,sinceitimplies
is indicativeofthegrowingsignificance
ofhumansacrifice
greatermaterialneed forhumanlabor; the criticsargue the opposingview,that
considerableevidenceof humansacrificeis indicativeof widespreadslaverysince
slaveryis associatedwitha contemptforhumanlife.A fewalso make the quite
sensibleargumentthattheevidencemay well be of littlevalue as faras slaveryis
concerned.
as thereare
There are, withinthe Marxistcamp, almost as manyrevisionists
on thesubjectin theUnitedStates.Thus,thereare
amongthebourgeoishistorians
those who argue thatYin was the periodof large-scaleslavery,whileChou was
feudalist(Yang K'uan 1956).Othersplace theperiodofslaveryfromYin to theend
ofWesternHan (Chou Ku-cheng1956,Tung Shu-yeh1956),and stillothersclaim
thattheperiodoftheWarringstateswas thelatestageofslavesociety(Yeh Yii-hua
1956,Huang Tzu-t'ung1956).Finally,thereare thosewho arguethattherewas no
periodof slaveryat all! (Wu Ta-kun 1956,Wang Yii-che 1956,Yang Hsiang-kuei
1956).That thelastviewis openlyadvocatedclearlyindicatesthatthedebatewithin
China,althoughdominatedby Marxistrhetoric,is nonethelessan open one, quite
unlikethe situationthatexistedin Russia priorto 1960.
Most scholarsoutsideofChina hold to theviewthattherewas neveranyhighly
slave system-although
developedsystemof slavery-no large-scaleor pure-type
was ofmorethanmarginal
fewdenythattherewereperiodsin whichtheinstitution
(see Wilbur1943,Pulleyblank1958,Wang Yi-tung1953) The same is
significance.
of
trueof mostMarxistsoutsidethe SovietUnion (see, forexample,thestatement
exception
theCzech sinologistPakora 1963;also Welskopf1957a,b).An important
is theJapaneseMarxisthistorianNoboru(1962: 5-19, 100-13,147-93),whosework
nonetheless
has someofthebestdiscussionsofthelegalaspectsofslaveryin China.

SLAVERY

413

Marx,it shouldbe recalled,did not thinkthatChina wentthrougha periodof

slavesociety,and arguedthattheAsiaticmodeofproductionwas a systemof"latent
slavery,"or generalslavery,which,as a resultof thefactthateveryonewas potentiallya slave to thedespot,neverrequiredspecificslaveryofthetypedevelopedin
fora
treatment;
classicalEurope (on which,see Erdmann1961 fora sympathetic
see Wittfogel1953). As in StalinistRussia, thisviewhas
morecriticalassessment,
Russia, however,a
not foundofficialfavorin China. Unlike post-revolutionary
of Chinesescholarsopenlyadvocatethisthesis(see, forexamminority
significant
ple, Wang, Ya-nan 1956,Hsii Chung-shu1956).

Non-MarxianStudieson ModernSlavery
As one would expect,thegreatmajorityof workson slaveryfallintothecategory
of non-Marxianworkson modernslavery.In theUnitedStatestherehas literally
been an explosionof intereston the subjectoverthe past 15 yearsor so. The first
theabolitionreactionofseriousscholarsto thediatribeson slaverythatsurrounded
although,to be sure,this
was a retreatintoextremeparticularism,
ist controversy
movementwas also partofthegeneralreactionagainstthegroundlessspeculations
positivismas well as the "Teutonic" school of historians
of nineteenth-century
(on which,see van Woodward1968:Chap. 1). The JohnsHopkinsschool of slave
studies,however,simplywenttoo far.It generateda greatdeal of facts,some of
themstilluseful,butin sucha theoreticalvacuumthatElkins'sviewthatfromthe
no dialogue,
therewas simplyno "conversation,"
pointofAmericanhistoriography
possibleon the basis of theseworks,is not unfair(Elkins 1959:8). Phillips,the
Southernhistorian,and his school wereto dominateAmericanslave
conservative
century(Phillips1918, 1929). To
studiesformostof thefirsthalfof thetwentieth
has survivedtherecentcliometwhich
work,
for
Stampp's
still
he
does,
someextent
ricassaultas thestandardworkon thesubject,in no waychangedthetermsofthe
debate over slavery.It merelyreplacedthe conservativethesisof Phillipswitha
liberalone (Stampp 1956).
US slave studiessince the turnof the centurymay be summarizedas a set of
and
variationsaroundtwo themes:(a) the problemof the economiccontribution
of slaveryand (b) the problemof the socioeconomicstabilityand
profitability
made.Phillipsand hisschoolfeltthat
oftheworldtheslaveholders
culturalintegrity
morally
sociallystable,structuallywell-integrated,
the systemwas precapitalist,
Stamppand hisliberalsupporters
progressive.
benign,and,fortheslaves,culturally
butsociallyunstable,morally
arguethatthesystemwas capitalisticand profitable,
perverse,and, for the slaves, a culturalnightmare.Fogel & Engerman(1974),
buildingon theworksof Grayand Conrad& Meyer(1958), arguethatthesystem
and, forpreciselythesereasons,sociallystable and
was capitalistand profitable,
forbothmastersand slaves. Genovesehas simplyreturned
culturallyprogressive
to the Phillipsthesis,thoughdustingoffits racistovertones,in arguingthatthe
butsociallystable,fortheslavesculturallyprogressivesystemwas precapitalist,
ofmodernblackethnicculture-and wonderfully
indeed,thefoundations
forming,
ethos(Genovese1965,1971,1974).Gutman
bymeansofitspaternalistic
integrated
(1976) and Blasingame(1972) likewiseargue for the social stabilityand moral

414

PATTERSON

butexpressless enthusiasm
integrity
oftheBlack segmentoftheslave community,
suggestthatit was brutal,although
forthesystemas a whole;indeed,theystrongly
the two thesesrestuneasilyalongsideeach other.
historianarguesforthe fourthpossible
almostno contemporary
Surprisingly,
and bothsociallyand
precapitalist,
variation,namelythatthesystemwas inefficient,
was the viewof the nineteenth-century
This, interestingly,
culturallydestructive.
politicaleconomistCairnes.Withthetriumphof thePhillipsschool,however,this
positionwas carriedforthmainlyby Black historians,especiallyFrazier (1939).
have
and stability,
ModernBlack historians,
however,in theirsearchforcontinuity
of Frazier,
tendedto rejectthe "pathological"and "catastrophic"interpretations
itsrevivalby Moynihan(Rainwater&
surrounding
especiallyafterthecontroversy
Yancey 1967; see also, Patterson1971).
Apart fromfiveotherspecial areas, the above summarizesthe main themesof
Americanslave studies.As can be seen,therehas reallybeen littlethatis new or
And yet,withinrecentyearsthere
excitingaboutthishistoriography.
theoretically
talk
thesestudies,attendedbyinflated
commotion
surrounding
has beenastonishing
For one thing,
about majorbreakthroughs.
How do we explainthisdiscrepancy?
chargedissue in
it shouldbe notedthatthestudyof slaveryis stillan emotionally
the UnitedStates(on which,see Elkins 1975). A good deal of theattentionthese
workshavereceivedhas beendue to theirpoliticalusesor abusesbyreaders,mainly
nonacademic.Second,whiletherehave been advances in the studyof American
to methodological
problems.It
slavery,theseadvanceshavebeenlargelyrestricted
the techniquesof
have revolutionized
is stilldebatablewhetherthecliometricians
is thattheyhave added littleto our
studyingslavery.What remainsincontestible
ofslavery,
issuessurrounding
theinstitution
understanding
ofthemajortheoretical
not onlybecause of theiruse of whatGutmancalls "an archaichistoricalmodel"
because of a generallack of concernforsuch
(1975:165-76),but moreimportant,
one aboutfacts(thoughpolitically
theoretical
issues.The debatehas beenessentially
explosiveones) and techniques(on which,see David & Temin 1974;Haskell 1974,
1975;Wright1974;Fogel & Engerman1976, 1977; Furet& Fogel 1974; David et
ofthecliometrial 1976;Elkins1975).Not once has anyofthecriticsor defenders
oftheirworkbeyond
ciansstoppedto ask themselves
just whatare theimplications
thepurelyparochialissuesthatfascinate
journalistsand academiciansalike.Indeed,
verymuch to the
it is doubtfulwhethercliometricstudieshave even contributed
ofthedynamicsofUS slavery,forthedimensionoftimeis woefully
understanding
absentfromtheirworks.The worksof Blasingame(1972), Genovese(1974) (on
in a more
whichwe have moreto say shortly),and Gutman(1976) have returned,
sophisticatedway,to theneglectedarea of slave lifeand culture,but the returnis
sincetheyare merelyelaborationsof thepioneerworkdone
hardlyrevolutionary,
by the groupof scholarscenteredon the Associationforthe Studyof Negro Life
and History,(on which,see in particularWoodson 1931,Wesley 1927, Franklin
neglectedwork
1947).ApartfromGutman(1976) and theverycapableyetunfairly
of Wood (1974), the temporalelementis equallyabsentfromtheirworks(on the
see Ianni 1974);and in all ofthemthereis littleconcernwith
problemofhistoricity,
and theoretical
issuesposedbyslavery.Gutmanhas
anyofthecrucialinstitutional

SLAVERY

415

a historyof slaveryand
been honestenoughto admitthathis workis not strictly
His workis, rather,
thathe has no specialconcernwiththestudyoftheinstitution.
a studyin Americanruralhistory.Much thesamecan be said formostoftherecent
workson slavery.
There are, however,some importantexceptions.First,thereis the issue of the
betweenslavery,racism,and the originsof slavery.This mighteasily
relationship
beginningwiththe
have been treatedin a purelyparochialway,but fortunately,
throughthecapaworkofHandlin& Handlin(1950) and continuing
pathbreaking
Frederickson
ble handsofDegler(1959) andJordan(1962, 1968)and morerecently,
and comparativeaspectsoftheproblemof the
institutional
(1971), thefascinating
explored.For theissue
originsofslaveryhave beensensitively
legaland attitudinal
betweenmastersand slaves,as wellas theattitude
oftheethnicand racialdifferences
slaveryas an
of masterstowardslaves, is one that is crucial in understanding
of the problem,
We owe muchto thesescholarsfortheirclarification
institution.
althougha greatdeal is stillto be done beforethemattercan be consideredsettled
(cf fortheancientworldSchlaifer1960,Snowden1970,Diller 1937,Frank 1916,
Gordon 1960,Davis 1966:Chap. 3).
and theoretiissueofcomparative
ofslaveryis anotherimportant
The psychology
Americanslave studiesowe a greatdeal to Elkinsforhis introduction
cal interest.
however,much as we may admirethe
of the issue (Elkins 1959). Unfortunately,
work'sconception,it mustbe agreedthatthisis one ofthosecases wheretheright
questionwas givena largelywronganswer.To someextentElkinswas trappedinto
errorby the veryparochialismhe deploredin his colleagues.In his eagernessto
he, on the one hand,
isolatewhatwas peculiarto the Americanslave personality,
was partiallytrue
syndromehe identified
failedto see thatthe"Sambo" personality
liberal
ofall slavesinall times,and,on theotherhand,adoptedtheall-too-American
tendencyto see theAmericanBlackexperienceas somehowworsethanthatofother
idealareas. In doingso, he embracedtheerroneousthesisand pseudo-comparative
see Lane 1971).
ism of FrankTannenbaum(forthe majorcriticisms,
The fact that Elkins fell prey to the spuriousTannenbaumthesisbetraysa
ignoranceon his partof thecomparativedata on slaveryoutsideof the
surprising
of the data on the
WesternHemisphere,not to mentionhis biased interpretation
on slaveryin classical
Americas.Had he takenthetroubleto glanceat theliterature
antiquity,he would have founda richbodyof secondaryworkson the treatment
of slave personalityamong ancientauthorsthat has a direct(thoughnegative)
bearingon his thesis."Sambo," he would have found,existed,at leastin themind
ofthemasterclass,wherever
slaveryand indeed,all otherformsofclass oppression,
existed(see, forexample,Ehrenberg1962:Chap. 7; Spranger1960). (Note: While
fromliterary
in generalizing
evidence,suchdata are no
thereare obviousdifficulties
less reliablethanthoseused by Elkins,and a good case can be made forthe view
thatin the studyof stereotype
theyare moreuseful.)
ofAmerishallownessand politicaloversensitivity
It is typicalofthetheoretical
can slave studiesthatthedebateoverthepsychologyof slaverybecameentangled
withanother,largelyunrelatedissue,theproblemof slave revolts.To assumethat
theElkinsthesis-whetherrightor wrong-has anybearingon theproblemofslave

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PATTERSON

revolts,as all ofElkins'scriticsexceptGenovesedoes,is to assumealongwithElkins

a theoryofrevolt(essentially,
thatmodalpersonality
patterns
aretheprimeexplanatoryfactors),whichfewstudentsof rebelliontake seriously,includingthosewho
attributecausal significance
to psychologicalvariables(on which,see Tilly 1970,
Skocpol 1976). Genovesegoes halfwayin recognizingthiscommonerroneousassumptionof Elkinsand his critics(Genovese 1968:Chap. 5) in notingthatmany
slavesocietieswitha tradition
ofrevoltcouldeasilybe shownto havehad a "Sambo
personality"(whateverthis means); but havingdone so, Genovese immediately
revealshis own lack of understanding
ofthestructural
factorsthatexplainrevolts
by appealingto theconservative
politicalmysticism
ofArendtas a possiblelead in
accountingforsuch resistance(Genovese1968:94).Apartfromtheworkof Kilson
(1964), thereis no satisfactory
explanationof slave rebellion(or itsabsence)in the
UnitedStates,althoughthereare numerousmonographs,
someofthemcompetently
on specificrevolts(fora usefulreviewof the literature
written,
and bibliography,
see McPhersonet al 1972:60-64).
Thistakesus to thethirdareaofAmericanslavestudiesoutsideofthemainstream
discussedabove: the comparisonof Americanand Latin Americanslave systems.
It is oftenclaimed,evenbyhiscritics,thatTannenbaummadea majorcontribution
to Americanslave studiesby introducing
thecomparativemethodto such studies,
therebyliftingit out of its traditionalparochialism(Tannenbaum1946). We can
offerno such compliment.The work,it is now clear, had a disastrouseffecton
Americanscholarship(see,forexample,Klein 1967),foritsimplygenerateda long,
confused,and unproductive
detourin whateventually
turnedoutto be an academic
red herring.(For reviewsof the debate,see Davis 1966:22343, 1968; Genovese
1968:Chap. 2) It was notevenan originalred herring,
for,as we showshortly,he
simplyborrowedthe idea fromLatin Americanromanticnationalisthistorians.
Genovese(1968:Chap. 7) has triedwithgreatingenuity,
but,we think,littlesuccess
to rescuesome partof thiseffort.
The assessmentof the relativeseverityof slave
systemsis, we think,a minorissue.The moresubstantialquestionof whetherone
formobilityamongtheslave populationthan
systemoffered
greateropportunities
anotheris a meaningful
question,but it was phrasedverybadlyby Tannenbaum:
his comparisonof the whole of Latin America and the English-speaking
slave
untenablein view of the far greaterwithin-group
systemswas methodologically
structuralvariancethanbetween-group
variancein the regionscompared;and his
relianceon culturalvariablesto explainculturaldifferences
(assumingforthemomentthatthereweresuchdifferences)
was riddledwithone ofthemostfatalflaws
of such idealisticexplanations:tautology.Subsequentcriticalstudieshave now
thoroughlydiscreditedthe whole unfortunate
episode (see Knight 1970, Degler
1970, 1971,Pescatello1975,Rout 1976,Stein 1957,Boxer 1962).
A fourtharea outsideofthemainstream
thathas receivedmuchattention
among
work
theAmericansis thestudyoftheslavetrade,beginning
withthepathbreaking
ofDuBois (DuBois 1896).By itsverynature,thisis nota subjectthatcan be treated
workon the subjectis a usefulreview
parochially.Curtin's(1969) comprehensive
and assessmentof the state of the literature.It is a point of departure,not a
conclusion,as some readersseem to think.The workhas generatedmanyuseful

SLAVERY

417

originalcontributions
on thesubjectin recentyears(see,in particular,
Anstey1975,
LeVeen 1975,Inikori1975,and otherunpublishedpaperspresentedto the MSSB
conferenceon the EconomicHistoryof the AtlanticSlave Trade, Colby College,
August20-22, 1975),althoughone unfortunate
aspect of recentstudieshas been
an undueemphasison theproblemof profitability.
We hope therewillbe a return
to otheraspectsof theproblem,especiallythosefacetsof thetribalprovenanceof
theslaves,and ofsocioculturalsurvivalsand discontinuities,
issueson whichHerskovits'searlyworkis stillvaluable.(Herskovits1941;morerecently,
Mintz& Price
1976).
Finally,thereis a substantial
bodyofworksconcernedwiththeabolitioncontroversyand itsroleintheabolitionofslavery(see McPhersonetal 1971:78-108).Most
of theseworksare quitepedestrian,
concerningthemselvesmainlywiththemovement of ideas, or worse,simplyassumingthat the movementin ideas directly
influenced
theabolitionoftheinstitution.
The worksofD. Davis are withoutdoubt
the major contributions
to this area. The firstwork (Davis 1966) posed some
potentially
interesting
questions,butthesequelis something
ofan anticlimax(Davis
1975). The basic problemof Davis's works,as faras thehistoriography
of slavery
is concerned,is thattheyare not strictly
books about slaveryat all, but about the
idea ofslaveryand theintellectual
historysurrounding
As he writes
theinstitution.
in the second majorvolume:" . . . it is an analysisof the historicalcontextsand
consequencesofa changeinmoralperception
withinthewhiteenslavingcultureand
also ofsomeofthewaysin whichblackresponses... impingedon and alteredwhite
perceptionof theproblemof slavery"(Davis 1975:11).This is all veryinteresting
in itself,but in spiteof severecriticismon the matterafterthe firstwork(see, in
particular,
Finley1969),Davis in thesequeladamantlyrefusedto takeup theissue
of relatingideas to reality.
Slave studiesin otherpartsof the New World (overwhelmingly
non-Marxian)
reflect
thespecialproblemsoftheseareasas wellas thesocialbiasesofthehistorians
involved.In LatinAmerica,romanticnationalismdominatedmodernslave studies
for a long time,typified
by the worksof Freyre(Freyre 1956, 1963). Freyre's
assimilationist
thesiswas, of course,the local counterpartand precursorof the
Tannenbaumargument.Later scholarshave rejectedthe "mythof the friendly
master,"exploringinsteadmoremeaningful
problems.Apartfromgeneralworks
thetruenatureofLatinAmericanslaveryeitheron a society-wide
delineating
basis
or withrespectto specificlocalitieswithinwidernationalboundaries,a considerable
numberofworkshaveappeareddealingwithspecificissuesthattheLatinAmerican
data nicelyilluminate,
issuessuchas theproblemofmanumission
and therelationshipbetweenslaveryand race relations(Degler 1971,Mbrner1970). Latin American scholarshavealso paid specialattention
to theproblemofthesocialand cultural
patternsoftheslavesand thematterofculturalsurvival(see, in particular,
Bastide
1972;foran assessmentofthisliterature,
see Bastide 1974). Considerableattention
has also been devotedto the problemsof the slave tradeand abolition.General
studiesof slaveryare now availableforalmosteveryLatin Americansociety(for
recentreviewsoftheliterature,
see Mbrner1969,Bowser1972,Graham 1970).Not
surprisingly,
studiesexaminingthe institution
comprehensive
of slaveryin Latin

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PATTERSON

Americahave now begunto appear, drawingupon the richand growingmonographicliterature

(see,in particular,
Mellafe1973,Rout 1976:Pt. 1; and for2 useful
collectionsof papers,see Pescatello1975,Engerman& Genovese 1975).
One conclusionthathas emergedclearlyfromboththemonographic
and general
literature
is thattheinstitution
variedconsiderably
bothin culturaland structural
termsthroughout
of the
LatinAmericain spiteoftheoutwardculturaluniformity
slave-holding
group.At one end of the spectrumthe institution
was essentiallyof
the householdtypeand of littleor no significance
economically(e.g. Hispanic
Jamaica,PuertoRico); at theotherend it was primarily
of thechattelvarietyand
playeda dominantrole (e.g. Brazil). Few scholarshave as yetisolatedthe crucial
variablesaccountingforthesedifferences.
The earliestphase of twentieth-century
historicalscholarshipon the Caribbean
was dominatedby whatFannononce called "sellerhistories,"a concernwiththe
constitutional
and politicalaspectsof thesesocietiesand theirrelationship
to the
metropolitan
center.In general,slaverywas treatedsimplyas one aspectof these
widerconcernsand, withthemajorexceptionof Gardner'swork(Gardner1873),
thelifeof theslaveswas largelyneglected.The development
ofa local historiographyand,just as important,
theentryofcertainAmericanethno-historians
intothe
field,mostnotablyHerskovits,Leyburn(1941), and Mintz,not onlychangedthe
in thearea,butalso itsmethod.The studyofslaverywas
focusofhistoricalwriting
themajorbeneficiary
ofthisdevelopment.
Not onlyhavemanysoundgeneralworks
on particularislandsor groupsofislandsappeared(see, forexample,Goveia 1965,
Dunn 1972,Debien 1974),thereis a growingand oftencontentiousliterature
on
contributions
selectedaspectsofslavesociety,amongthemoreimportant
beingthe
studyofdemographic
problemsoftheslavefamily(Higman 1973,1975,1976); the
problemofthenatureand survivalofAfricancultureamongtheslaves(Patterson,
1968, Braithwaite1971); rebellionsand maronnage(Price 1973); as well as the
problemsofemancipation
and theslave trade(fora recentreviewof theliterature
and themajorresearchproblemsof thefuture,see Engerman1976a,b).The study
of slaveryin the Caribbeandiffers
in threecrucial
fromits Americancounterpart
respects:one is thefactthatit is notplaguedwithpoliticalirrelevances;
thisis not
to say thatCaribbeanintellectuals
do not take a profoundinterestin the subject.
The second is the greaterrole of sociologyand anthropology
in Caribbeanslave
studiescomparedwithsuch worksin the UnitedStates.To theseone shouldadd
a thirddifference,
theinternational
natureofCaribbeanslavestudies.Specialistson
thearea comefromall overEuropeand theAmericas,inadditionto nativescholars.
It is rare to finda studentof Americanslaverywho is not an American.These
of Caribbeanslave studies,in
differences
accountforthefargreatersophistication
spiteoftheinfinitely
greaterfinancialresourcesoftheAmericanists.
Thus,students
ofCaribbeanslaverypioneeredtheinterdisciplinary
approachto theproblem.There
are stillfew worksin Americanslave studiesthat comparefavorablywith,say,
and his comparative
Mintz'ssuperbinterdisciplinary
studieson marketing
analyses
ofdifferent
Caribbeansocieties(Mintz 1969,1974;Mintz& Hall 1960).The recent
came over
oftheAmericanslavecommunity
spateofstudieson thesocialstructure
a decadeaftertheworksofSmith(1953, 1954),Goveia (1965),and Patterson(1967),

SLAVERY

419

and Americanscholarshavebegunto examineindepththeissuesraisedbyWilliams

(to be consideredunderanotherhead) fullythirty
yearsafterWilliams'smasterpiece
was published.
Not surprisingly,
theCaribbeancontinuesto attractsomeofthebestinterdisciplinarymindsfromthemainland.Followingin thetraditionofPitman(1917), Ragatz
(1928), Mintz(1974), and Herskovits(1966), thereare now theworksof Sheridan
(1974); Sio, an elegantand painstakinghistoricalsociologistwhose long-awaited
workon thefreecoloredsshouldbe a majorcontribution
to theliterature,
(see Sio
1976 fora preliminary
statement)of Craton,the British-Canadian
scholar(1974,
Craton& Walvin 1970),and of the AustralianHigman(1976). Justas excitingis
theapparentdecisionofEngermanto shifta majorpartofthefocusofhis research
to the Caribbeanarea: Engermanshouldbenefitfromthe moretheoretically
alert
and interdisciplinary
climate,whilestudentsof thearea shouldfindhis formidable
technicalskillsat leastchallenging.
The studyof slaveryin theDutch and Danish
Caribbeanhas been the major lacuna in thisarea, but recentworkby De Groot
(1976), Lamur (1976), van den Boogaart& Emmer(1976); Hall (1976), GreenPederson(1975),and Emmer(1975) are rapidlyclosingthegap. [For an assessment
ofthearchivalsourcesand majorsecondaryworkson Dutch Caribbeanslavery,see
van Opstall(1976).] These developments
suggestan excitingfutureforCaribbean
slave studies.
The studyof slaveryin medievaland earlymodernEurope was fora longtime
A spateofrecentworks
one ofthemostneglectedareasofEuropeanhistoriography.
are attempting
to correctthissituation.Verlinden'smajorwork(1955) stilldominatesthisfield,buta numberofothersignificant
workshaveaddedto ourknowledge
ofthesubject(see,forexample,Origo 1955,Pike 1966,King 1972:Chap. 6). There
are threemajorissueshere:first,
theproblemof thedeclineof slaveryand therise
ofserfdom.This has receivedthemostthoroughtreatment
ofthethreebasic issues
(see Bloch 1960,Finley1969,Rostovtzeff
1926,Andreev1967).Second,thereis the
of slaveryin Europeduringthisperiod.Third,thereis the
extentand distribution
degreeto whichslaveryin medievaland earlymodernEuropeforgedan historical
linkbetweenancientand modernslavery.In purelydescriptive
terms,theprevailing
view thatslaverysurvivedto its greatestdegreein the Latin rimof Europe seems
premature
and questionable.Prematurebecausethefieldstillremainslargelyunexplored,and questionablebecauseavailableworkson Britainsuggestthatas a social
and economic institution,
slaverymightwell have been most developedin the
westernstatesoftheBritishHeptarchy.Indeed,Duby arguesthatduringthetenth
century,slaverywas practiced"probablynowheremoreactivelythanon the less
advanced fringesclose to pagan lands, such as England and Germania" (Duby
1968:37).The DomesdayBook data clearlysuggeststhatduringtheeleventhcentury,at least9% ofthetotalcountedpopulationwereslaves,and thatin significant
partsofwesternEngland,as muchas 20% of thepopulationweremembersofthis
unfreecategory(Loyn 1962:86-89,351-52; Postan 1954;Bronlow1892).Legal and
otherevidence,as yetunexplored,
was byno means
also suggeststhattheinstitution
negligibleamongthe islandCelts. Piggottis certainlywrongin claimingthatthe
did notexistamongthem(1973:227). We knowfora factthattherewas
institution

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PATTERSON

slavetradeamongtheWelsh(Bromberg1942,Charles1934)and thatthe
a thriving
"caeth" or slave class playedan importantrole in theirdomesticeconomy(Lloyd
and legalsourceson medievalIrelandare moreabundant
1939:292-93).The literary
ofthefactthatthefemale
The significance
butlessdirectand oftenverytantalizing.
apparentto anyoneacquaintedwith
willbe immediately
slavewas a unitofcurrency
the comparativedata on slaveryin tribalsocieties(see, forexample,Hulstaert
suggeststhattheIrish
weightoftheevidencestrongly
1938:144-47).The cumulative
had a highlydevelopedsystemoffemaleslavery,verysimilarin natureand function
tribessuchas the
primitive
thatexistsamongmodern-day
to thekindofinstitution
Cubeo (Goldman 1963) and theTrumaiIndiansofSouthAmerica(Murphy1955).
The existenceof femaleslaveryof a highorderis clearlyimpliedin certainof the
certain
in theCainAdomnain,to citebutone tellingexample;otherwise,
statements
passagessimplymakeno sense,at leastnotin sociologicalterms(Ryan 1936:21-76).
It shouldbe noted,however,thatformanyareas ofGermanicEurope(on which,
see Wergeland1916),we can hope fornothingmorethantantalizingglimpsesof
the institution,
giventhe poor data available.It is doubtful,forexample,whether
thereis a greatdeal moreto be learnedabout slaveryin Iceland thanwhatcan be
suspectsthat
gleanedfromtheEddic poems,sagas,and laws,althoughone strongly
the institution
was more developedtherethan these sources suggest(Williams
1927). It seemshighlyprobablethattheenormouslaborshortagescreatedin Norof
of Iceland were met by massiveimportation
way as a resultof the settlement
slaves (Gjerset1924).
Third,thereis the problemof establishingthe degreeto whichslaveryin the
Americaswas largelya continuationof a traditionsurvivingthroughthe middle
oftheopinionthattherewas suchcontinuity
(Verlinden
ages. Verlindenis strongly
accepts(1966:Chap. 2). As
1949, 1964),a thesisthatDavis somewhatuncritically
Bishko has pointedout, however,Verlinden'swork, while "indispensable,"is
(Bishko 1957:91-92). AlthoughVerlindendemonstrates
"clearly not definitive"
thatslaverywas on therisein Iberiaafter1300,his accountofslavery
conclusively
in thisregionduringthecruciallatemedievalperiod,whichis ofthegreatestinterest
is based largelyon secondarysources,"whichgivesthese
to Ibero-Americanists,
and leavesunanswered
character,
familiarand superficial
chaptersa disappointingly
upontheIndies" (Bishko:93,
manyquestionsin thetwoareasofmostdirectinfluence
a purelymethodological
problemofwhich
emphasisadded). Thereis,furthermore,
both Verlindenand Davis seem unaware:thatthe simpleexistenceof slaveryin
was beingintroducedin theAmericas
Iberiaduringtheperiodwhentheinstitution
The problemofculturaltransmisdoes not,ofitself,
provethattherewas continuity.
and history.One
thornyissue in comparativeanthropology
sion is an extremely
group
are proneto do-simply assumethata migratory
cannot-as mosthistorians
withit to thenewsetting.This is
willcarrytheaboriginalmodelof its institutions
does not
not assumed.A culturalcorrespondence
somethingto be demonstrated,
it was thefailureto recognizethissimplefallacythat
necessarily
implya continuity:
and earlytwentieth-century
led to thecollapseoftheentireschooloflatenineteenthWe lack the space to explainherethe theoreticalreasonsthatmake
diffusionists.
the diffusionist
assumptionof Verlindenand Davis unacceptable,but we can hint

SLAVERY

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at one or two of the factorsinvolved:first,

a migratory
groupis not necessarilya
representative
sampleofitsparentpopulation:indeed,oftenitis not(see Eisenstadt
1954). This immediately
impliesthatthereis no reasonto assumea priorithatthe
IberianswhobecamemastersintheAmericaswereacquainted,at leastinanydepth,
withtheinstitution
in theparentsociety.Second,evenifit can be shownthatthere
in the parentsociety,it stillcannotbe
was such acquaintancewiththe institution
forthebehavassumedthattheparentinstitution
was replicatedin thenewsetting,
ior of a migrantgroupis morea functionof the exigenciesof its new settingthan
ofitsaboriginalculture.To givea tellingand well-known
example:an Englishman
or Dutchmanmay espousegenuinelyliberalviewsand upholdliberallaws in his
Black populationthere,yetbecomea
parentsocietywithrespectto theimmigrant
to South Africa.To conclude,
fanaticalwhitesupremacistshortlyaftermigrating
ofslaverybetweentheOld and theNew World
then,theproblemofthecontinuity
is by no means a closed issue,but is still one verymuch open to debate and a
considerableamountof new scholarship.
"Throughoutthe whole of Islamic history",writesBrunschvig,"down to the
nineteenthcentury,slaveryhas always been an institution
tenaciousof lifeand
deeplyrootedin custom"(1960:Vol. 1). Althoughtherehave been a considerable
numberofstudieson theAncientNear East (Mendelsohn1942,1949;Siegel 1947;
Urbach 1964;Andre1892;Diakonoff1969;Bakir 1952;Gelb 1973;Klengel 1963),
and a fairbodyofscholarshipon thepost-Islamicperiodof thisregion,muchstill
remainsto be done.Thereis no first-rate
generalstudyoftheinstitution
throughout
the Islamicworld.More problematicforthestudentof comparativeslavery,however,is thefactthatalmostall availablestudies,whetherby Europeansor Arabs,
There
stronglyemphasizethe legalisticand culturalattributesof the institution.
worksexploringthesocioeconomicdimensionsof the
have been fewsophisticated
This is vitallyneeded because, while the institution
existedin every
institution.
corneroftheIslamicworldand had remarkable
legaland religiocultural
uniformity,
its structuralsignificance
variedsharplyfromone regionto the next.It was, for
in Medieval Iraq;
example,of major social, military,and economicsignificance
indeed,in lowerMesopotamiait attainedBrazilianproportions(Popovic 1965).
And thepresentauthor,ifnotmanyothers,is strongly
oftheopinionthatitattained
an economicsignificance
amongtheKhanatesof CentralAsia greaterthanalmost
all areas of SpanishAmerica(see, forexample,Vamberg1863,Becker 1968). In
and
otherareas itseconomicsignificance
was minor,thoughitspolitical,military,
culturalrole was vital. Indeed, the trulyfascinatingthingabout slaveryin the
Islamic worldis the factthattherewas no necessarycongruencebetweenits economicsignificance
and its role in otherareas of the civilizationas we move from
one societyto thenext(on which,see Haas 1942,Forand 1962).Whatthissuggests
is thatthefieldis a goldmineofinformation
forthestudentofcomparativeslavery.
oftheJanissarTo takeone ofthemorefascinating
examples,thereis theinstitution
ies and its supportivestructure,
the devshirme.Theiroriginand statusin law and
societystillremain,in Repp's words,a "vexed" problem(Repp 1968:137).A good
part of this vexation,we think,mightbe resolvedthrougha more comparative
treatment
ofthesubject(on which,see Palmer1935,Vryonis1956,Popoulia 1963,

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PATTERSON

Menage 1966). Yet, as withotherareas of Islamicslavery,it has beenpreciselythe

comparativestudyof the institutionthat has been neglectedin the essentially
legalisticand culturalstudiesofthosewhocurrently
workin thearea (see,however,
Lewis 1971:38-89,1976; Levy 1957 is dated but stilluseful).
Sub-SaharanAfricarankssecond only to the New World in the intensity
and
rangeof modernscholarshipon the institution
of slavery.There have been three
kindsofstudies:(a) theanalysisoftheexternalslavetrade,(b) studiesoftheimpact
of the externalslave tradeon Africansocietyand on indigenousAfricanslavery,
and (c) the studyof indigenousAfricanslavery.The overwhelming
majorityof
workson theexternalslavetradehave concentrated
on thetransatlantic
movement
of Blacks fromAfricato theNew Worldslave societies.As such,such studiesare
reallyan extensionofthestudyofslaveryin theAmericas.Curtin'swork,and that
of his critics,are of relevanceto studentson bothsides of the Atlantic.From the
Africanperspective,
however,the increasingfocuson economicissues(especially
suchmattersas theprofitability
ofthetrade)decreasestherelevanceofsuchworks,
sincethe maininterestof Africanists
is understandably
on thesocial and cultural
impactof thetradeon Africansociety.Furthermore,
Africanists
arejust as interestedin the trans-Saharan
externalslave trade,whichhas relativelylittlebearing
on theinterests
ofslave studiesin theAmericas.Only recently
has thisothertrade
begunto receivetheattention
itdeserves.And thethirdtypeofexternalslavetrade
fromAfricahas beenalmostcompletely
ofAfricans
neglected:thatofthemovement
acrosstheIndianOcean,one that,frompreliminary
studies,was farmoreimportant
thanwas traditionally
thought(see Gemery& Hogendorn1974,Fyfe1976,Miller
1976, Harris 1971).
The second clusterof Africanslave studiesfocuseson a majorcontroversy
recentlyreviewedin an excellentpaperby Fage (1969). On theone hand,thereis the
Rodney (1966) thesisthat slaveryin pre-EuropeanWest Africawas of minor
and grewin importanceonlywiththecomingoftheEuropeanswhose
significance
tradingactivitiesdevastatedthe traditionalculturesof theUpperGuinea area; on
theotherhand,thereis theview,firstexplicitly
articulatedbyMungoPark(largely
undertheinfluence
of theJamaicanpro-slavery
planterhistorianBryanEdwards)
thatslaverywas alreadywell-developed
in WestAfricaand was simplyadaptedto
theneedsoftheEuropeantraders.Thereis also theviewthattheAtlanticslavetrade
had onlya marginalimpacton the developmentof West Africansocieties(see, in
particular,Mason 1969). Fage himselfpresentsa balanced middle view on the
subject,but it is highlyunlikelythathis will be the last word.
Turningto East Africa,no one disputesthe viewthatslavery,especiallyof the
chattelvariety,was entirelytheproductof Arab tradingin thearea. Recentwork
has begunto revealthehighlydevelopedstateof Arab plantationslave systemsin
thisregion.Cooper'sworkmustbe singledout as a majorcontribution
to thisstill
largelyunexploredarea of the subject(Cooper 1977; see also Landen 1967).
The studyof domesticAfricanslaveryhas only recentlybecomethe subjectof
researchefforts.
WiththeexceptionofHerskovits
full-length
(1938), Rattray(1927),
Lugard (1933), Smith(1954, 1955), and Harris (1942), studyof the subjectwas
restricted
to traditionalethnographic
was treated
worksin whichthe institution

SLAVERY

423

merelyas one minoraspectoflargerstudiesconcernedwithdifferent

issues.Meillassoux was not farwrongin observingrecentlythat "Si la traiteeuropeennea ete
l'objetnombreusesetudes,l'esclavagepratiquepar les societesafricainesresteun
champsi peu prospectede 1'ethnologie
qu'on a pu douterde son existence"("If the
Europeantradewas theobjectofnumerousstudies,slaverypracticedbytheAfrican
societiesremaineda fieldso littleviewedby ethnologythatone could doubt its
existence")(1975:11). In additionto the work of Meillassouxand his group,a
growingnumberof first-class
studieson traditionalAfricanslaveryhave begunto
appear(Ayandele1967,Polanyi1966,Grace 1975,Oroge 1971,Mason 1973,Klein
1975, Miers & Kopytoff1977,Trans-Action1967. Less scholarly,but usefulare
Fisher& Fisher1971and Derrick1975).Fromthesociologicalpointofview,many
oftheseworksare farmoresophisticated
in termsofthequestionstheyhave posed
and themethodsemployedin answeringthem.Theyare also, happily,devoidofthe
of bitterness
undercurrent
thatone sometimesfindsin the historicalliterature.
Movingto southeastAsia, thearea wherethestudyofslaveryis leastdeveloped,
althoughthereexistsone excellentand comprehensive,
thoughgreatlyneglected
workon slaveryand relatedformsof bondage(See Lasker 1950). This, however,
is no reflection
oftheactualincidenceand significance
oftheinstitution
in thearea.
We knowthatthe institution
was highlydevelopedamongmanyof the advanced
pre-industrial
statesin theregion.To citea fewexamples,theinstitution
beganto
in Thailandafterthemiddleoftheseventeenth
growin significance
centuryand by
thelate eighteenth
and earlynineteenth
of
century,estimatesplace theproportion
slavesin thetotalpopulationat between25 and 33% (Lasker 1950:56-59,Append.
A). Slaverywas also highlydevelopedin northern
Burma,especiallyin theTriangular Plateau and Hukawngvalley,whereas late as the 1920saboutone thirdof the
total populationweregenuineslaves (i.e. notjust the morecommondebt-slaves)
(League of Nations,6thAssembly1925). The Batak of Sumatraalso had a highly
developedand peculiarformofslaveryderivedlargelyfromitsrapacioussystemof
debtbondage(See Wilken1893:Chap. 18). While mostof thetribalpeoplespracticed slaveryon a minorscale or tendedto engage mainlyin debt-slavery,
it is
inthisregionthatwe findinone tribeperhapsthemosthighlydeveloped
nonetheless
systemofslaveryamongall primitive
peoples:amongcertainoftheToradja tribes,
fully50% oftheentirepopulationwereslaves.In viewofthefactthatneighboring
tribesofthesame ethnicand culturalpatternshad no slaves,thesituationpresents
the studentof comparativeslave systemswithan excellentcase study.Adriani&
Kruijt(1912:137-151),bycomparingtheslaveholding
ToLage withtheneighboring
non-slaving
ToPebato, wereable to formulateseveralfascinating
hypothesesconof slaveryon the economy,social structure,
and characterof
cerningthe effects
primitive
peoples,hypothesesthatare highlysuggestivewithrespectto the study
of the institution
amongmoreadvanced peoples.
southand east,we finda highlydevelopedsystemofslavery
Goingmuchfurther
amongthe Maori thatcould also rewardcloserstudy.The observationsof Firth
(1959) on thesubjectstrongly
suggestsome interesting
linesof inquiryconcerning
therelationship
betweenslavery,polygamy,
and chiefly,
power(cfHulstaerton this
relationship
amongthe Nkundo).

424

PATTERSON

peoplesofthearea
One featureofthedata on bondageamongthemoreprimitive
shouldbe of greatinterestto classicists,especiallythoseconcernedwiththe stillaspectsof Spartanhelotage.It is the factthatthereare severalwellmystifying
developedsystemsof communalbondagethatcan onlybe called helotage(rather
thanslavery,as manyoftheoriginalsourcesdo). A studyoftheoriginsand nature
of theseslave villageswouldcertainlythrowmuchlight,in a comparativeway,on
featuresof Spartanhelotry.The Yaps, amongwhom20% ofthe
certainstructural
populationwere helots,would seem to be a particularlyfertilegroundforsuch
of the Yaps, see Salesius 1906).
comparativework(forthe bestethnography
Finally,althoughtheEuropeanimperialpowersreliedon formsofbondageother
thanslaveryfortheirlaborin thispartoftheworld,therewas one majorexception
thatwouldcertainly
bear study.These are theBanda islands,a groupof theSpice
Islands south of Ceram. We findhere a highlydevelopedsystemof large-scale
centurieswithfeatures
and nineteenth
plantationslaverybetweentheseventeenth
Caribbeanslave societies(Lasker
almostidenticalto thoseof eighteenth-century
1950:33-34;Ponder 1944:112-13).
aspectof southeastAsia forthestudentof slavery
Perhapsthemostfascinating
and culturvariedbothstructurally
is thatit presentsa data base thatis immensely
ally, ranging,on the one hand, fromthe most primitiveto the most advanced
religiousand legal
systems,and on the otherhand, frompreliterate
preindustrial
systemsto thoseof Islam, Hinduism,and Christianity.
amongthe vast
of slaverywas, in general,of minorsignificance
The institution
majorityof Far Easternand East CentralAsian peoples and, as such, has not
attractedmuchscholarlyattentionexcept,of course,in Japan,whichwe discuss
sometraditional
peoples,suchas
century,
later.Up to themiddleofthenineteenth
theGilyakofSiberia,had a small,domesticslaveclass,comprisedmainlyofwomen
amongtheancient
(Schrenck1881-1895:646-52).Slaverywas ofsomesignificance
Manchurianand Mongolianstates;in morerecenttimesa slave class of moderate
developedamong the Buryatsof Outer Mongolia,who enslavedthe
significance
to an
Tungusicand Turkishpeoples,especiallyduringtheperiodoftransformation
economy(WashingtonStateUniversity1956:272-73,1338; Lattimore
agricultural
1929:180). Ma Ho-t'ienwritesthat in severalof the Khans of Mongolia,slaves
comprisedover20% ofthetotalpopulation,and in theTushetuKhan, "morethan
however,is
halfofall thepeoplewereslaves" (Ma Ho-t'ien1949:147).This figure,
lumpedtheslave and
quite improbable;morelikely,Ma Ho-t'ienindiscriminately
serfclasses together.
for
Therewas, however,one majorexceptionto thispattern,ofvitalsignificance
thecomparativestudyofslavery,namelyKorea. Fromas earlyas thefirstcentury
scale emergedwiththeriseoftheKoguryotribal
B.C., whenslaveryon a significant
state (Hatada 1969:10), down to the finalabolitionof the institutionwith the
Japaneseannexationin 1910,slaverypersisted,in varyingdegreesof significance,
in Korean society.With the exceptionof Egypt,which,even in Graeco-Roman
times,neverhad as highlydevelopeda system(cf Malowist1974),no othersociety
in an unbrokentraditionat
in theannalsof worldhistorypreservedtheinstitution
duringthe
thelevelattainedin Korea. The institution
grewin economicsignificance

SLAVERY

425

unifiedSilla period(Hatada 1969:Chap. 3), becamepredominant

undertheKoryo
Kingdom,duringwhichit attaineda level of significance
at least as greatas that
of ancientAthenianslaveryat its height(Unruh,1976a,personalcommunication;
foran appraisalofthesourceson Kory6slavery,see Unruh1976b),and continued
to develop duringthe Yi Dynastyto the point wherea census of northwestern
suburbanSeoul in 1663revealsthat"overfifty
per centofthehouseholdsand over
75 percentofthetotalin-residence
recordedpopulationofabout2,400" wereslaves
(Wagner1974:54).He adds that"everyindicationpointsto theconclusionthatthis
was climbingstillhigherin 1663."Shin'sstudyofthecensusreturns
highpercentage
forKumhwacountyin Kangwondosupportsthisconclusion,foritshowsa "decline
of almostone quarterof the populationto slavery"(Shin 1974:25).
Thus,quiteindependently
ofWesterninfluence,
Korean slaveryin theeighteenth
untilas lateas theAmericanRevolution,attaineda socioeconomicsignificentury,
cance greaterthanall Hispanicand otherNew WorldsocietiesexceptBrazil and
the non-LatinCaribbean.Quite apart fromits scale, Korean slaverypresentsthe
studentof comparativeslaverywithmanyfascinating
problemsand opportunities.
Its extremeisolationmakesitan idealcontrolfordiffusionary
inthestudy
influences
of the structural
correlatesof slavery.It is the onlysocietyknownto the present
authorthatreduceditsown nativepopulationto large-scaleenslavement.
The fact
thatdescendantsofslavesexperiencedrelatively
littlestigma,whilemembersofthe
despisedPaekchongethnicgroupsuffered
all the ethnicstereotypes
thatwe have
come to associatewithdescendantsof slaves in the Americas,is of extraordinary
forthe debateover the relationship
betweenslaveryand racism.The
significance
Korean data also questionssharplymanyof the generalizations
of Marxianand
non-Marxian
scholarsalikeconcerning
thenegativerelationship
betweenlarge-scale
or relatedformsof bondage,since both kindsof labor
slaveryand landlord-serf
hundredyearsin thissociety.
exploitationthrivedforsome fifteen
We are notyetable to commenton theKorean workson thesubject,butseveral
worksare availablein English,someofthemquitevaluable(see Vinton1895;Korea
Review3 1902;Hulbert1905:432-36;Osgood 1954;Hatada 1969;Shin 1973,1974;
Wagner 1974; Somerville1974; Unruh 1976a). Work in progressby Unruh on
slaveryduringthe Koryo period,and by Shin on changesin the supplyof labor
illuminatethemanycrucialissuesposed by
duringtheYi Dynastyshouldfurther
thismostextraordinary
and stilllargelyunexploredcase of large-scaleslavery.

MarxianStudiesofMedievaland ModernSlavery
Marxianstudieson modernslaveryalso began withMarx and Engels. However,
on thissubject,especiallyon theAmericanSouth,wereofa journalistheirwritings
ticnatureand weremeantmainlyforpopularconsumption
(Runkle1963).Unfortunately,early AmericanMarxistscholars have used these writingsin a wholly
dogmaticway.Genovesehas savagelycritizedthisdogmatictradition,
althoughone
wonderswhetherhis attackdoes not at timesamountto academicoverkill(Genovese 1968:Chap. 15). The mainsurvivorofthisearlyschoolofMarxistscholarship
on Americanslaveryis Aptheker(1943). Like his Russian and Germancounteron the revolutionary
parts,Apthekerhas concentrated
aspectsof Americanslave

426

PATTERSON

critique
life.The criticisms
leveledat hisworkarealmostidenticalto thedevastating
ofMarxianstudiesofancientslaverevoltsbyVogt(1957). Apthekersees revolution
and rebellionwheretheycan hardlybe said to exist,and, out ofa romanticconcepsimilarto that of Bucher's(1874), draws
tion of proletariancultureremarkably
potentialoftheAmericanslave thatin no way
conclusionsabouttherevolutionary
relateto thefactsofthecase. Even so, we thinkthatthetotalrejectionofAptheker
has gone too far.The man and his workshave literallybeen purgedfromthe
companyofpolitescholars.For all itsfaults,AmericanNegroSlave Revoltscannot
be dismissedas somemonstrousemanationof theCommunistpartyline.Like the
workof Elkins(1959), it did breaknew ground;and likethatworkit was largely
We therefore
findit
wrongin its conclusionsand biased in its interpretations.
difficult
to understandwhyit is thatElkinsremainsrepectableand continuesto be
creditedwiththe initiationof new directionsin Americanslave studies,yetApthekeris totallyrejected,even ridiculed.Somethingis amiss here.
ofwhatI can onlycall theGenoveseproblem.
This bringsme to a consideration
to Genovese'sworksundertheheadingofnon-Marxianstudies
Earlier,we referred
ofmodernslavery.This mayhave perplexedthereader,in viewofthefactthatthis
scholarhas the reputationof beingone of,if not the leading,studentof Marxian
historicalscholorshipin America,and so regardshimself.In spite of the most
carefuland repeatedreadingsof Genovese'sworks,however,we can findno trace
of whatmaybe termeda Marxianmethodin his writings,
althoughthereis ample
an awareness,however,thatoften
evidenceofan awarenessoftheMarxistliterature:
seems to be more a source of annoyancethan satisfactionforthis eminentbut
erroneouslyclassifiedscholar.We readilyconcede thatthismay be due to gross,
dialecticalobtusenesson our part,but in our defensewe may point out that a
conditionofall Marxianscholarshipis theuse ofa conflict
necessaryifnotsufficient
model of societyas opposed to a consensusmodel,and a theoryof class that,as
Dahrendorfnotes (1959:19), is "not guided by the question,'How does a given
societyin factlook at a givenpointin time?',but by the question,'How does the
ofthereaderunacquaintedwiththis
ofa societychange?'" For thebenefit
structure
thefollowing
crucialdistinction,
quotationfromAppelbaummightbe useful.In all
organismictheories:
in a system
offunctional
to 'hangtogether'
interdependence,
Thepartsarepostulated
Different
theorists
have
machine.
bodyora relatively
smooth-running
muchlikea human
ofas altering
the
different
regarding
change,
butchangeis seldomconceived
positions
focuses
onchange
however,
fundamental
ofsociety.
Another
classoftheories,
structure
... Conflict
theories
constitute
as inherent
inall socialorganisms
itself,
regarding
change
the legacyof Karl Marx ... (Appelbaum 1970:81).

There is, of course,a greatdeal moreto the Marxianmethodthanthis,and it is

commonknowledgethatthereare a fewconflicttheoristswho rejecttherestofthe
Marxist paradigm(on which,see Zeitlin 1967, Havens 1972); however,since
Genovese'sapproachdoes not even meetthisinitialcondition,thereis no need to
featureof Genovese'sworksis thattheyrelywholly
elaborate.The moststriking

SLAVERY

427

on theequilibrium
ororganismic
method.
Thiswasalready
inhisearliest
apparent
volume,ThePolitical
Economy
ofSlavery(1961)andit is difficult
to finda more
perfect
specimen
offunctionalist
analysis
thanhislatest,
Roll,Jordan,
Roll(1974).
Thisis not,we shouldemphasize,
to denigrate
theworkin anyway.It is simply
to pointoutthelargely
unrecognized
fact,onethathasbeenthesourceofmuch
thatas faras thestudyofslavery
is concerned,
confusion,
is mostdecidGenovese
edlynota Marxistscholar,whatever
he maylabelhimself,
or however
he may
subtitle
hisworks(fora morespecific
ofthe"problem,"
discussion
see Patterson
1974).
ApartfromtheworksofCardoso(1962)andlanni(1962)on Brazil,itis to the
Caribbean
thatwemustturnforthetwoleadingMarxist
ofslavery
interpretations
amongNewWorldscholars.
James's(1963)studyoftheHaitianslaverevolution,
in spiteofmanyscholarly
shortcomings,
is thestandard
Marxiananalysisofany
Negroslaverevolt.
Patterson's
analysis
ofJamaican
slaverevolts
is alsowritten
in
thistradition
(Patterson
1970).It wasJameswhoinfluenced
thewriting
ofwhatis
stillthebestMarxian
analysis
oftherelationship
between
slavery
andthedevelopmentofcapitalism:
Williams's
masterful
treatise
on thesubject(1944).It is truly
remarkable
thatafter
thirty
yearstheWilliams
thesis(thatCaribbean
slavery
played
a critical
roleingenerating
thecapitalneededfortheindustrial
andthat
revolution
theabolition
ofslavery
wasduetotheshift
ofimperial
andeconomic
interests
from
theNewWorldtotheOrient)
isstillthesubject
ofmajordebate(Anstey
1968,1972,
1975;Fogel& Engerman
1974;Engerman
1975).
For theothermajorsourceof Marxianscholarship
on thelatemedievaland
modern
world,wemustturnto Russia.Onewouldhavethought
thatthetremenofMarxist
dousconcern
withslavery
ina considerscholarship
wouldhaveresulted
ofworksonslavery
inmedieval
ablenumber
andearlymodern
Russia.It hasonly
beenduring
thelastdecadeorso,however,
thatsuchstudieshaveappeared
inany
numbers.
significant
thishasbeendue,as Helliehaspointed
Partly,
out(1976),to
Stalinist
dogma,
formalized
academically
byGrekovintheviewthatfeudalism
was
thedominant
andall-pervasive
inRussiaall through
form
ofsociety
thelatemedieval and earlymodernperiod.Anotherreason,however,
was Soviet,especially
GreatRussiannationalism
ofwhich,
initsrelation
(fora penetrating
discussion
to
thestudyofslavery,
seeSchteppa1962:250-64):
theviewthatitwasan offense
to
nationalhonorto admitthatat a timewhentheWestEuropeancountries
were
abolishing
serfdom,
notonlyserfdom,
butslavery
wason theriseinRussia.After
Stalin,however,
thereappeareda "burstofstudieson slavery"
that,according
to
Hellie,"exceedsbothin qualityand in interest
recentstudieson theoriginof
serfdom."
Themajorconcern
ofthepost-Grekov
(andpost-Stalinist)
scholars,
Hellietells
thepresence
us,"hasbeenhowto reconcile
withtherising
ofslavery
dogmathat
theperiodunderreview
isformally
a 'feudal'one"(1976:2).Russianhistorians
have
within
thiscontext,
onproblems
concentrated,
suchas thedefinition
ofthedifferent
typesofslaves,on thesocialoriginandbenefits
oftheslave-owning
class,andon
theproblem
of therelationship
between
and slavery.
The workis still
serfdom

428

PATTERSON

significant
stageandhasyettotackleanytheoretically
inthemonographic
largely
in Russiaduringthis
ofslavery
dynamics
issuesuchas thecausesandstructural
period.
byMarxianscholars,
dominated
inJapanhasbeenlargely
Thestudyofslavery
skepticism
andgeneral
ofthecriticisms
herethedebatehastotakeaccount
although
in
slavery
itwouldseemthatat itsheight,
Surprisingly,
historians.
ofnon-Marxian
periodin China.Jiro's
Japanwas farmoredevelopedthanat anycomparable
in 1937,is stilltheprevailing
published
originally
balancedpaperon thesubject,
and Marxianscholars.He
of thenon-Marxian
viewamongthemoremoderate
thelateNaraandearly
during
reacheditspeakofsignificance
arguedthatslavery
of slaves
750 and 900 A.D.), whenthenumber
between
Heianperiod(roughly,
Sanson
(Jiro1972:107-8).
10and 15% ofthetotalpopulation
between
constituted
Japanese
mostmodern
non-Marxian
although
(1936:214),
agreedwiththisestimate
7 and 10%.
ofbetween
estimate
themoreconservative
toward
areinclined
scholars
prehistoric
from
existed
form,
initshousehold
thattheinstitution,
Thereisevidence
times(Munro1911:494-96).
slavery,
ofa periodoflarge-scale
insiston theexistence
ManyMarxianscholars
fromthat
different
wassomething
slavery
theyadmitthatthisJapanese
"although
1960:41).
society"(ComiteJaponaisdes SciencesHistoriques
of Graeco-Roman
center
on twobasicissues:thenatureofthelaborforceknown
Marxiandialectics
andearly
ancient
groupduring
as thebe,thegroupofpeopleruledbytheujikinship
ofthe
equivalent
oftheshoen,theJapanese
medieval
times,andthecomposition
andsixteenth
theeighth
whichexistedin Japanbetween
Europeanfeudalmanor,
claimthatthepeopleof
Watanabe
suchas Yoshimichi
Marxist
scholars
centuries.
claimthattheywereserfs.Thereare
thebe wereslaves;almostall non-Marxists
theshoen.Thmaheadstheschoolthatarguesthat
threeMarxianviewsconcerning
theshoenwascultivated
byslaveswhowere
theeighth
andtenth
centuries,
between
onward.Ishimodaarguesthe
century
fromtheeleventh
byfreepeasants
replaced
andninth
theeighth
ontheshoenwereslavesbetween
secondview,thattheworkers
onward.
and thattheywerereplacedby serfsfromthetenthcentury
centuries
that"slavery
wasthe
position
anduntenable,
Arakitakesthemostextreme,
Finally,
dissolved"
whenitfinally
century
basisoftheshoenuntiltheendofthesixteenth
ofthe
assessment
1960:42;fora general
Historiques
desSciences
(ComiteJaponais
see Pt. 1, Chap.3 of thiswork;see also Mitsusoda1965:1-22).Nonliterature,
andpersuasively
Murai,andToshiostrongly
suchas Funakoshi,
Marxianscholars
usefulcollection
of
Marxianviews.(For an extremely
attackthesemoreextreme
see RekishiKagakuKyogikai1972).
slavery,
paperson Japanese
GeneralHistoriesof Slavery
thenineteenth
during
scalewascommon
Thestudyofslavery
ona grandhistorical
atsuchmonumenattempt
No significant
andtheearlypartsofthiscentury.
century
In a
sincethethirddecadeof thiscentury.
haveappeared,
however,
tal efforts
up to the
workson slaverywritten
reviewof generaland comparative
scathing
all of themas
verynearlydismissed
Verlinden
middleof thetwentieth
century,
it
agreewithhisassessment,
and"confused"
(1955).Whilewelargely
"mediocre"

SLAVERY

429

is necessary
to qualityhisjudgment
withrespect
to a fewofthegeneralhistories
on thecomparative
andto sharply
qualify
hisremarks
anthropological
literature,
whichheis clearly
notqualified
tojudge.Thelatter
worksarediscussed
inthenext
section.Workssuchas thoseofCopley(1852)and Fletcher
(1852)can safelybe
dismissed
as ill-informed
propaganda,
inspiteoftheirscholarly
pretensions.
Biot's
is a general
work(1840),inspiteofitstitle,
studyofslavery
and,as evenVerlinden
concedes,
a verycompetent
workofscholarship
foritstime.It is interesting
that
as earlyas 1840,Biotcouldwritethattheprobelm
oftheoriginofslavery
was
a "controversial"
issue(1840:viii).
estla premiere
already
Biot'sviewthat"la femme
esclave"("The womanis thefirst
slave")(1840:4),has,forobviousreasons,an
laterpositivist
extremely
modern
ringto it,and was to influence
writings
on the
Thework,on thewhole,suffers
subjectofslavery.
froma toopro-Christian
bias.
Without
doubt,
themostambitious
general
history
ofslavery
everattempted
was
Saco's multi-volumed
workon thesubject(1936-1945).Bornofa wealthy
slaveholding
family
inCuba,Saco,though
neveran abolitionist
activist,
wasopposedto
slavery
andas a resultofhiswritings
wasbanished
fromCuba.In 1834hebegan
hishistory
inSpain.Theplanwastoproduce
writing
soonafter
arriving
three
major
works,
eacha multi-volumed
project:
oneon thehistory
oftheinstitution
from
the
dawnofantiquity
to themodernperiodoftheOld World;thesecondon Black
in theAmericas.
in theNewWorld;andthethirdon Indianslavery
The
slavery
workwas nevercompleted.
The first
project,
on ancientand medieval
European
between
volumeIV,thefirst
slavery,
appeared
1875and 1877inthreevolumes;
part
of thesecondprojecton blackslaverywas concerned
mainlywiththeSpanish
Americas,
especially
Cuba,and was published
in 1879.VolumesV and VI, pubofhismaterials.
lishedposthumously,
aremerely
collections
Howevermuchone
itis a grossexaggeration
tocalltheworkoneof"the
mayadmireSaco'sindustry,
informative
review
offormer
times"as Corbitt
doesin an otherwise
masterpieces
littlethatwas newon thesubjectof the
of thework(1944).VolumeI offered
and literary
Oriental
world,and was soonmadeobsoletebymajorarcheological
hisdeath.Thesecond,
after
ontheAncient
NearEastthatappeared
findings
shortly
anddoesnotcompare
onmedieval
Europe,wasweak,evenforthetimes,
favorably
Andthebulkofthisfirst
withtheworks
ofGuerard
orBiot,published
yearsearlier.
withclassicalslavery,
project,
concerned
simplydoesnotcomparewithWallon's
first
in 1847,a secondedition
ofwhichappearedtwoyears
masterpiece,
published
afterSaco'sownwork.Ofmuchgreater
valuewas thefourth
volumeon modern
whichuntilthe1940swasstilla majorreference.
Onecannothelp
Hispanicslavery,
thatSaco wouldhaveproduced
a farmoresignificant
workhadhe sethis
feeling
a littlemoremodestly.
theworkalsosuffers
sights
Apartfromitsincompleteness,
interest
andpolitical
Thereis littleoftheoretical
froma toolegalistic
orientation.
factthatSaco was
to thestudent
ofcomparative
slavery,
excepttheunfortunate
thesisthat
thenowdiscredited
perhapsthefirst
important
scholarto formulate
counterLatinAmerican
wasmorehumane
thanthatofitsWestEuropean
slavery
partin theNewWorld.
withgenTourmagne's
history
(1880),unlikeSaco's,wasverymuchconcerned
oftheoriginof
eraltheoretical
withthethen-popular
issues,especially
problem

430

PATTERSON

slavery,
buttheworkoffers
littlethatwasoriginal
inthepositivistic
literature
and
as a workofscholarship
waslargely
derivative.
Allard'swork(1884)pretended
to
be nothing
morethana "modest
volume"intheauthor's
ownwords(p. 3). It drew
almostentirely
on theauthor's
earlierwork(1876)andon Wallon,andexplained
theending
ofslavesociety
insimplistic
evolutionary
terms,
i.e.hesawitcoming
to
an endas a resultoftheadvanceofcivilization,
an extraordinary
conclusion
for
anyone
acquainted
withtheliterature
onantiquity.
Verlinden's
judgment
onLetourneau'sgeneralhistory
(1897),thatit was a "travailinfinitment
mediocre"
("extremely
mediocre
work"),though
harsh,is notunjust.Bronlow's
work(1892)on
slavery
andserfdom
in Europehassomeusefulinsights
on slavery
in Britain,
but
is otherwise
quiteinconsequential.
Withthedeclineofpositivism
inthetwentieth
century,
thiskindofgrandoverviewofthesubject
wentoutoffashion.
Since1900,almostallsuchgeneral
histories
havebeenwritten
bynonspecialists
andhavebeenaimedata general
audience.
Even
withthislimitedobjective,
however,
manyof themleavemuchto be desired.
Ingram'swork,written
at theturnof thecentury
(1895),was notevena good
of thethen-available
summary
secondary
literature.
GeorgeMacMunn'sSlavery
through
theAges(1938)is anecdotal
andoften
inaccurate.
Mostrecently
published
general
workshavebeenaimedat thelayman
audience.
Ofthelot,Bonilla's(1961)
and Metzer's(1971)popularworksare perhapsthemostcompetent.
Whatthisreviewstrongly
suggests
is thatthereis currently
a greatneedfora
In viewofthegreat
comprehensive,
scholarly,
interpretive
studyoftheinstitution.
ofslavery
anditsalmostuniversal
thisisclearly
a formidable
antiquity
distribution,
task.Thesecondary
andmonographic
literature
aloneis quitestaggering
(wehave
themorerepresentative
onlyexamined
worksin thispaper).It is no wonder,
thatno onehasseenfitto takeup thechallenge
in recenttimes.
therefore,
Key Issues in theComparative
Studyof Slavery
So far,wehaveexamined
thesubject
theviewpoint
oftheintellectual
ofslavery
from
andregional
In thisfinalsectionwe
orientation
ofthescholarsinvolved.
emphasis
turnourattention
to thosegroupsofscholarswhoseprimary
interests
focused
on
thetheoretical
issuesposedbytheinstitution
oftheir
ofslavery.
Bytheverynature
suchscholars
interests,
tendto havetwothingsin common:
first,
theyalmostall
thecomparative
employ
trained
in the
method;
andsecond,theytendtobe either
socialsciences
oraregreatly
influenced
at thisbodyofworks,
bythem.In looking
weconsider
someofthecentral
themes
orissuesin thestudyofslavery,
including
thefollowing:
ofthe
of thenatureofslavery;
(a) The problem
(b) theproblem
causesofslavery;
evolutionary
origins
ofslavery;
(c) theproblem
ofthestructural
i.e.that
and(d) theproblem
ofthestructure
anddynamics
ofslavesociety
proper,
inwhichslavery
is thedominant
modeofproduction.
specialcategory
ofsocieties
Almosteveryscholarwhohaswritten
hasfeltitneceson thesubjectofslavery
Thedifficulty
ofdefining
itstruenature.
saryto agonizeovertheproblem
springs
fromthefactthatslavery
is so closelyrelatedto otherforms
ofbondagesuchas
andpeonage.
alsocloudtheissue:the
serfdom,
helotage,
Purelysemantic
problems
termslavery,
isoften
usedtodescribe
anemotionally
charged
oneinmostsocieties,

SLAVERY

431

on theotherhand,other
laborthatareclearlynotslavery;
forms
ofinvoluntary
theclassic
a slaverelationship,
whatis obviously
terms
areoftenusedto describe
Russia.
casebeingeighteenth-century
thesubject.One is the
to define
prevailin theattempt
traditions
Two distinct
that
relationship:
thefactthatslaveryis a property
whichemphasizes
legalistic,
orbya groupofpersons.
in whicha humanbeingis ownedbyanother
condition
was theone acceptedbythe
century,
duringthenineteenth
Thisviewprevailed
scholars
viewamongsuchdistinguished
andisstillthedominant
LeagueofNations,
The
ofthisproblem).
(SeeSio 1965fora discussion
Davis,andGenovese
as Stampp,
(1908:Vol 1, pp. 670-710),
byWestermark
introduced
wasfirst
secondtradition
Firstthere
grounds.
onvarious
interpretation
thelegalistic
questioned
whostrongly
theownerdidnot
existed,
clearly
whereslavery
wasthefactthatinmanysocieties
shortofindicatstopped
overtheslave.Westermark
rights
property
haveexclusive
are eithernotfully
rights
thatproperty
ingthereasonsforthis,whichare,first,
extend
equallytomany
theyoften
insuchsocieties,
orwheredeveloped,
developed
ofusufruct
ritualobjectsorobjectsinwhichrights
forexample,
nonhuman
objects,
of
as "thechiefcharacteristic
emphasizes
exist.Westermark
butnotownership
to hismaster"(p. 671).
natureoftheslave'srelation
slavery. .. thecompulsory
ofthetwo.It is the
viewis byfarthemoresatisifactory
Westermark's
We think
haveaccepted
andbuilton.As Herskoanthropologists
definition
thatmostmodern
ofacquisithemanner
"whatever
societies,
vits(1965:387)notes,innonindustrial
their
statusas humanbeings
ofthem,
theworkrequired
tionofslaves,andwhatever
Leach,inan important,
theirstatusas property."
extent
invadedtoa considerable
clarification
by
has addeda significant
oftheinstitution,
discussion
thoughbrief,
is perhapsthesinglequalitythatslaves
rights
notingthattheabsenceofkinship
do (Leach 1967:14).We haveusedin our
sharethatno othergroupofbondsmen
in which
ofthesubject:thatcondition
definition
working
ownworkthefollowing
To say
therights
oflaborandkinship.
alienation
from
thereis an institutionalized
theydo
note,is notto saythatin practice
rights,
thatslavesdo nothavekinship
in
however,
We knowofno society,
to havefamilies.
notand arenotpermitted
kinship
rights,
recognized
calledslaveshaveformally
whichthegroupofpersons
whatever
cannotbe violated,
or in whichsuchrights
thoseofcustody,
especially
weknowofnoother
andalternatively,
mayhavebeenpermitted;
customary
practice
thealienainvolves
whoseexploitation
inanysociety
laborers
groupofinvoluntary
ofkinship.
tionoftherights
ones,inwhichthelegaladvanced
especially
manysocieties,
Thereare,however,
Whatthisimmediately
acquiremajorsignificance.
isticandproprietorial
elements
thatin
twobasickindsofslavery:
distinction
between
is an elementary
suggests
andthatinwhichproperty
rights,
invades
property
whichsocialstatus
substantially
havebeen
The twotypesso distinguished
invadesocialrights.
substantially
rights
andchattel
(SeeSiegel1946).Theterm"household,"
slavery
household
designated
inourview,forthesimplereasonthatweknowofmany
isunsatisfactory,
however,
itis possible
to
Conversely,
households
whoarechattels.
instances
ofslaveswithin
remain
outsidethehousehold.
ofassimilated
slaveswhononetheless
citeinstances
wouldbe moreappropriate.
The termdomestic
slavery

432

PATTERSON

Thisdistinction
bearsdirectly
on oneofthemostcommonly
acceptedviewsin
theliterature
on slavery:
theclaimthatslaveryalwayspresents
enormous
and
wherethereis a strong
uniquemoralproblems
fortheslaveholding
class,especially
theargument
legalistic
emphasis
on theslaveas a chattel.It is difficult,
goes,to
Thisso-called
reconcile
theviewoftheslaveas humanbeingandas chattel.
dilemma
was,indeed,
theleitmotiv
ofDavis'sfirst
majorwork.Fromourowncomparative
we havebeenforced
studyofslavery,
however,
to concludethatthisis essentially
a non-problem.
Wheredomestic
theproblem
slavery
exists,
simply
doesnotarise,
ifoneacceptsa purely
Ofcourse,
forthere
isnoattempt
totreattheslaveas a thing.
legalistic
definition
ofslavery,
thentheanswer
wouldbethatdomestic
slavery
is not
infactslavery.
Theissuethenbecomes
a purely
semantic
one,and,from
ourpoint
ofview,worthless.
Nor,further,
havewefoundinthecomparative
dataon advancedslavesystems
wherethelegalistic
feature
dominates,
anymoralagonizing
overtheproblem
of
In modern
defining
a humanbeingas boththing
andperson.
legalterms,
theremay
isa product
appeartobeaninconsistency;
however,
thiswayofviewing
theproblem
oftheEuropean
It isanachronistic
historians
toassume
formodern
Enlightenment.
in thesamelight(on which,
thatancientRomansandGreeksviewedthematter
itpossible
seeLouffer
1960).Theavailable
datasuggest
thattheyfound
tolivequite
withthisdualism
comfortably
(Raymer1940;Vogt1965:69-82;
butseealsoSchae1956review).
Andevenwhenthedualism
inmodern
hermeyer's
surfaced
moraland
fewproblems
it stillseemedto havepresented
to theslaveholding
legalthought,
no evidence
whatever
classesofthemodern
world.We can find,forexample,
to
theslightest
ofmoral
thattheJamaican
everexperienced
suggest
slaveholder
twinge
in thefields
andas persons
doubtconcerning
histreatment
ofhisslavesas things
in bed.It maybe,however,
thatourresearches
havebeendeficient.
theconcern
Theproblem
waslargely
ofthe
oftheevolutionary
origins
ofslavery
latenineteenthandearlytwentieth-century
positivists,
especially
thecomparative
The mainscholarsinvolvedwereSpencer(1893),Hobhouseet al
ethnologists.
werelargely
(1930),Thurnwald
(1932),andLandtman
(1938).Theseworks
speculativeand basedon questionable
to
data,so thereis an understandable
tendency
dismissthemtoday.We do notsharetheviewthattheseworkswereuseless,
itmustbe addedimmediately,
wedo notthinkthattherecaneverbe a
although,
finalanswer
withwhichtheywereconcerned.
Evenso,someoftheir
tothequestion
werehighly
thatslavery
wasthe
generalizations
suggestive.
Spencerhypothesized
It wasduring
thecritical
ofwarfare
andcannibalism.
jointproduct
periodofdelay
between
captureandpreparation
forsacrifice-which
sometimes
mayhavelasted
forseveral
thecaptive
months-that
theideapresented
itself
ofmaking
atleastwork
forhis keep.Undertherightsocioeconomic
circumstances,
namelywherethe
theconquering
condemned
personcouldproducemorethanhe consumed,
group
thecaptivea
be gainedbymaking
wouldeventually
cometo see thatmoremight
itcertainly
slavethancouldbefrom
him.Speculative
orsacrificing
permanent
eating
theleastbitludicrous
in thishypothesis.
was,butI canfindnothing
Hobhouseet
likeSpencer,
andThurnwald,
in hisearlierworkon thesubject,
al, Westermark,
warandconquest
emphasized
as themajorcausesofslavery,
although
theywent

SLAVERY

433

underwhichthesenconditions
thesocioeconomic
beyondSpencerin specifying
Westerservitude.
involuntary
to permanent
tenceofdeathwouldbe commuted
between
external
andinternal
in distinguishing
markmadea crucialcontribution
a tribethatcouldlead to
notingthattherewereeventswithin
causesofslavery,
havethesameeffect
kinds)andtherefore
ofvarious
fordeath(crimes
condemnation
espeontheseearlier
studies,
workdrewheavily
Landtman's
slavery.
ofsuggesting
anthropoas wellas themoresophisticated
andNieboer,
ciallythoseofWestermark
century.
ofthetwentieth
third
thefirst
during
thathadappeared
logicalmonographs
slavery.
orintratribal
intertribal
wastodecidewhichcamefirst,
His mainconcern
source,"
anddominant
itsveritable
inwar"constitutes
thatcaptivity
He concluded
theconquering
within
developed
hadalready
ofinequality
a condition
butonlyafter
purely
forexcluding
thatthereareno goodgrounds
group.In theendhesuggests
external
theviewthatemphasizes
butfavors
as thecausesofslavery,
factors
internal
workin the
We havenotheardmuchon thissubjectsinceLandtman's
origins.
againstsuchstudies.
had reactedviolently
1930s,forbythattimeanthropology
theissueofthe
neglect
causesofslavery
withthestructural
concerned
Students
isknown
thatslavery
Theybeginbyassuming
oftheinstitution.
origins
evolutionary
the
creates
howandwhya givensociety
withexplaining
toexistandareconcerned
in sucha waythatitbecomes
thatenhanceandsustaintheinstitution
conditions
There
functioning.
notnecessarily
dominant)
partofthesociety's
a vital(though
First,thereis theNieboerintheliterature
onthissubject.
aresixmajorhypotheses
willexistto a signifithatslavery
Domar(Nieboer1910,Domar1970)hypothesis
existsin abundance
cantdegreeonlywherelandor someothercrucialresource
itisargued,
freelaborwillnotbeavailable,
tolabor.Undersuchconditions,
relative
laborwillhaveto be
Thus,unfree
sinceeverypersoncanbecomehisownmaster.
existed
on a largescale.The hypothesis
areto be developed
usediftheresources
(1849),
in theworksofWakefield
especially
Nieboer,
in theliterature
longbefore
and
formalized
Loria(1899),and Merivale(1928).Butit was Nieboerwhofirst
afterNieboer'swork,the
Overhalfa century
to testit scientifically.
attempted
in a well-known
paper.Apartfromthe
revived
thehypothesis
M.I.T. economist
hasrecently
thehypothesis
anthropologists,
criticisms
ofcertain
neglected
largely
Engerman
comeundersevereattackfromtwosources:theeconomichistorian
theoretical
criticizes
iton mainly
grounds.
(1977).Engerman
(1973)andPatterson
data
bythecomparative
thatitis notsupported
inaddition
toshowing
Patterson,
causesofslav"Whatarethestructural
alsoarguesthatthequestion,
on slavery,
developed
one,inviewofthefactthatslavery
ery?"maywellnotbe a meaningful
different
reasons.
kindsofsocialsystems
forentirely
indifferent
andwassustained
literature,
Criticism
oftheNieboerthesisappearedearlyintheanthropological
(1932),in
withWestermark
(1908),thenlatercomingfromThurnwald
beginning
anthropological
his laterwork,and fromMcCleod(1929).The mostimportant
was madeby Siegel(1946),who notonly
however,
assaulton thehypothesis,
themajor
butoffered
andalternative
explanations,
earliercriticisms
incorporated
weconForthesereasons,
literature.
intheanthropological
alternative
hypothesis
thedistinction
Siegelbeginsbyclarifying
centrate
onSiegel'sworkinwhatfollows.
He thenexamearlier.
whichwediscussed
slavery,
between
household
andchattel

434

PATTERSON

ines the separatefunctionsof householdand chattelslavery.The difference,

he
argues,has littleto do withnumbersor sources[as Thurnwald(1928) had argued]:
Rather,
thesetwoaspectsofcompulsory
servitude
canbestbe evaluated
on thebasisof
theirdifferential
functional
integration
withthesocialstructure.
In brief,
chattel
slavery
maybe expected
to occurin thosesocietieswherethereis a tendency
to reinforce
autocratic
rulebymeansofwealthsymbols,
andwherethatprocessresults
in a rather
strongly
demarcated
classstructure.
Household
slavery,
on theotherhand,is likelyto
occuringroupswhereautocratic
control
tendstobe generalized
tofamily
(orextended
family)
organization
so thatcompulsory
servitude
strengthens
an existing
or potential
patriapotestas.
Itfollows
thattherelationships
between
master
andslaveinthelatter
case
aremuchmorepersonal
thanin theformer
(p. 382).
This is clearlya standardpiece of functionalist
analysisand suffers
frommanyof
the well-knownerrorsof such works.For one thing,it merelydescribesa set of
and explainslittleor nothing.We are leftin thedarkas to whyor how
relationships
slaveryreinforces
autocraticrulewithdemarcatedclass structures,
or its relationshipwithhouseholdslavery.Second,evenas a description
ofa relationship,
itis too
vagueand limitedin itsapplication.We knowfora factthattherewerenumerous
societieswithautocraticruleand class systemsbased on wealthin whichslavery
was insignificant.
Thereis no measureof thetendencyhe asserts.The argumentis
also likelyto be tautologous,
sincein manytraditional
societies,as Henshawargues
forIndianslaveryin NorthAmerica(1907-1910),itis slaverythatis themaincause
of theveryclass stratification
thatSiegelgivesas a precondition
ofslavery.Siegel's

workalsosuffers
a problem
from
inNieboer,
thefactthatitsgeneralfoundearlier
aredrawnalmostentirely
izations
from
Ifone
small-scale,
tribal
societies.
essentially
includes
thewholerangeofsocieties
inwhichslavery
hasbeenknowntoexist,the
fallsflat,
hypothesis
sincethegreatmajority
ofsocieties
intheOriental
(especially
werethoseinwhichhousehold
world),
existed
slavery
alongwithhighly
developed,
wealth-basedclass systems.Clearly,whatis called foris a comparativeanalysisof
a representative
sampleofslavesocietiesin whicha setofcarefully
selectedvariables
can be subjectedto some formof multivariateanalysis.Only by a process of
statisticalspecification
can one everhope to come up witha meaningful
statement

theconditions
underwhichslavery
is likelytoexist,whether
concerning
generally
or withrespect
to a clearlydefined
typeofsocialsystem.
Fourothertheorists
areworth
underthishead.TheseareSumner
mentioning
and
hisassociates(1927),theArabsociologist
Elwahed(1931),Levy-Bruhl
(1934,in
Finley1964),andWeber(1924,1964,1970).Liketheearlier
comparative
ethnolo-

gists,Sumneret al attribute
theoriginofslaveryto warfare,
butadd twonecessary
conditions:theexistenceof regulatory
powersand an economybeyondthesubsistencestageamongtheslaveholding
groups.Theyargue,further,
thatslaveryalways
has a profoundeffect
on the institutions
of marriageand thefamily,especiallyin
thewayitinfluences
thestatusofwomen.By relieving
womenofdrudgework,they
argue,theinstitution
"bothelevatedand lowered"women'sstatus.Her lifebecomes
moreleisurely,
butalso moreirrelevant.
Slaveryalso bearsa significant
relationship
to religion,especiallythoseemploying
and to thedevelopment
ofcivilizasacrifices,

SLAVERY

435

would
whichculture
without
organization
force
andproduces
tion.It "accumulates
nothavebeenwon,andthenit turnsintoa sortofsocietaldiseasewhichis fatal
suggesarehighly
Although
someoftheseremarks
andorganization."
to strength
Andon
derivative.
andfrequently
intheirsupport
areflimsy
tive,thedataoffered
Sumandfemale
status,
between
slavery
oftherelationship
theinteresting
question
whichcauseswhich-isit the
a crucialissue,namely,
neret al failto consider
oris itviceversa?
thelaborforcethatinducesslavery
withdrawal
ofwomenfrom
what
societies,
variesin different
-and if,as we suspect,thecausaldirection
accountsforsuchdifferences?
analysis
basedona comparative
ofslavery
todevelopa theory
Elwahedattempts
IsGreeks,Romans,medieval
theancientHebrews,
societies:
offiveslaveholding
tothe
thecontribution
Theworkis hardly
andtheFrenchAntilles.
lamicsociety,
andcontrastofcommon
description
itclaimstobe,butisa simple
ofslavery
theory
modesof
onthedifferent
concentrating
mentioned,
ofthefivesocieties
ingfeatures
in thesocialfateofslavesofbirthas
elements
ofslavesandcommon
recruitment
discussion
of
inotherways.Thereis alsoan appended
opposedtoslavesrecruited
with
especially
slavesinthefivesocieties,
ofmaleandfemale
treatment
thedifferent
doesnot
Elwahed'swork,unfortunately,
ofmanumission.
respect
totheexperience
tothewholly
amounts
ofitsearlypages.Hisfinaltheory
liveuptotheexpectations
... n'est,en derniere
formes
sousses diverses
idea that"L'esclavage,
unoriginal
a la mortreelle"(p. 243) and that"la principale
analyse,qu'unesubstitution
beneathits
de l'homme."("Slavery,
de l'esclavageest la preservation
fonction
foractualdeath"(p.
... is only,in thefinalanalysis,
a substitution
diverse
forms
ofman.").He
is thepreservation
function
ofslavery
243) andthat"theprincipal
ofthefiner
inthedevelopment
themajorroleoftheinstitution
celebrates
virtually
Onecannot
itsdestructive
aspects.
butcompletely
ofcivilization,
underplays
aspects
of
Islamic"theory"
andpeculiarly
thatthisis a conservative
resisttheconclusion
slavery.
based
and Weberwerereallygeneralizations
ofbothLevy-Bruhl
The theories
ontheirvastknowlbothmendrewimplicitly
ontheRomandata,although
largely
wasessentially
literature.
arguedthatslavery
Levy-Bruhl
edgeofthecomparative
"l'escharacter.
DuringtheRomanepoch,we wrote,
an institution
ofinterethnic
morethan
sansdroits"("Theslaveis nothing
claven'estrienoutrequ'unetranger
persontonotetheimpora foreigner
without
(p. 152)He wasnotthefirst
rights")
buthecertainly
ofslavery,
inthedevelopment
andmaintenance
tanceofethnicity
Thetheory
inhis"theorie."
thesis
tomakeitthepivotal
andonlyauthor
wasthefirst
is neatlysummedup in thefollowingaphorism:....

toutesclaveest un etranger;

is a slave")
every
foreigner
estunesclave"("every
slaveis a foreigner;
toutetranger
evena half-truth.
Gallicones,thisis hardly
especially
(p. 152).Likeall aphorisms,
qualificamakessomesense,andwithconsiderable
Thefirst
partofthestatement
de forcerun peu le sensdes mots,"
"Si je ne craignais
tions,can be defended.
etparla-meme
ethnique
a uncaractere
"je diroisquel'esclavage
wrote,
Levy-Bruhl
a bitthesenseofthewords,I wouldsay
("IfI didn'tbelieveinforcing
indel6bile"
character")
(p. 158).He claims,
hasan ethnicand,as such,indelible
thatslavery
est
de touteendo-servitude
"l'exclusion
thatthisis trueofall cultures:
incredibly,

436

PATTERSON

here")(p. 160).
isindisputable
ofallintraservitude
("theexclusion
iciincontestable"
ofKorea.It
internal
slavery
nottrue,apartfromthelarge-scale
Thisis certainly
whilenormally
ofpeoples,
thatmostethnic
factthattheGreeks,
isa well-established
notfellow
though,
ofcourse,
Greeks,
fellow
enslaved
todo so,nonetheless
reluctant
todemonstrate
Romewouldseemto havebeena bad choiceofexamples
citizens.
wearehardputtoexplain
Ifslavery
ethnic,
wasso indelibly
thisshaky"theory."
in Romanimperial
society(Duff
ofex-slaves
rateofassimilation
theremarkable
estunesclave,"
that,"toutetranger
1928).As forthesecondpartoftheaphorism,
tothemostancient
ourselves
evenifwerestrict
cannotbetakenseriously,
itsimply
ofP.O.W.sin
thereis therapidabsorption
ofsocieties.
To citeonlyoneexample,
(Gelb 1973).
stateslavery
aftera periodoftemporary
earlyMesopotamia
Hismosttheoretiinseveral
ofhisworks.
ofslavery
tothesubject
Weberreturned
His
is to be foundin the TheoryofSocial and EconomicOrganization.
cal statement

essay,"TheSocialCausesoftheDecay
is hisfamous
oftheproblem
analysis
finest
ofthesubject
treatment
andhismostdetailedempirical
ofAncient
Civilization,"
within
thecontext
slavery
He examined
ofantiquity.
history
agrarian
is hisgeneral
ofcapitalaccountrationality
formal
ofmaximum
ofwhathecalled"thecondition
on a largescalewaspossibleonlyunderthreecondithatslavery
ing"concluding
tions:". . . (a) Whereithas beenpossibleto maintainslavesverycheaply;(b) where

slave
recruitment
a well-supplied
through
forregular
therehasbeenanopportunity
type,orin
on a largescaleoftheplantation
production
(c) inagricultural
market;
every
one
tochallenge
Itispossible
(1964:276-77).
processes"
industrial
verysimple
thantheUS Southanditsrich
conditions.
Weneedgonofurther
oftheseso-called
(a) and(b) do nothold.The
thatconditions
torecognize
historiography
economic
of
has shownthefalseness
ifit has demonstrated
anything,
cliometric
literature,
unlesswe
to contest
(c), it is difficult
As forcondition
thesefirst
twoconditions.
Theproducindustrial
processes."
by"verysimple
whatWebermeant
knowexactly
wasan agroindustrial
century
theeighteenth
during
tionofsugarintheCaribbean
be described
as "verysimple."In
processrunbyslavesthatcouldnotreasonably
on
tohaveexisted
whichmustbe considered
thedataonGreekslavery,
anyevent,
thethirdcondition.
"a largescale,"clearlyundermine
ofcomparative
facingthestudent
problem
Without
doubtthemostimportant
oflarge-scale
anddynamics
nature,
is theneedto understand
theorigins,
slavery
between
what
out,itis crucialtodistinguish
As Finley(1968)haspointed
systems.
"(suchas) classicalGreeceandRome,theAmerislavesocieties"
hecalls"genuine
as found
societies
canSouthandtheCaribbean-ontheonehand,andslave-owning
in theancientNearEast,Indiaor China,on theotherhand.)"Thisis a crucial
suggests.
thanthisinitial
distinction
buttheproblem
isfarmorecomplex
beginning,
suspect,a clear-cut
It lies in thefactthatthereis not,as one wouldinitially
role,or,
anditseconomic
ofslavery
thedegreeofsignificance
relationship
between
andthegeneral
ofslavery
evenmoreproblematic,
between
thelevelofdevelopment
Patterson
first,
To takethesecondproblem
levelofdevelopment
ofhumansocieties.
that,with
withtheroughassumption
studyofslavery
hadbegunhiscomparative
or genuineslave
thatcouldbe easilyhandled,large-scale
one or twoexceptions
A thorough
reviewof
societies.
societies
wouldnotbe foundto existin primitive

SLAVERY

437

soon shatteredthisassumption.Whilenotnumerous,
literature
theanthropological
numberof thoroughlyprimitivesocietiesthatnonetheless
thereare a significant
of slaves thatplaycrucialrolesin theireconomies.With
containvast proportions
respectto the firstproblem,it soon became clear to the author(especiallyin his
reviewof thedata on Islamicsocieties),thata societycan be totallydependenton
of slaveryevenwhereslaveryplaysa marginalrolein its economy.
the institution
then,to thinkin termsnotonlyofeconomicdependence,
It soon becamenecessary,
but also in such termsas political,cultural,or civilizationaldependence.In order
theauthorhas foundit necessaryto developa special
to getaroundtheseproblems,
framework
sensitiveto both the degreeand typeof dependenceon
classificatory
slavery.
is thatgroupof"genuine"slavesocietiesthat,
ofthisclassification
At one extreme
slave societies.In such societiesusingWeberianjargon,one may call pure-type
Iraq, Brazilin the
AD, ninth-century
Bc-endoffirst-century
Rome,second-century
the Banda Islandsof theeighteenth
centuries,
and earlynineteenth
late eighteenth
non-LatinCaribbeansocieties(but nottheUS South!)
eighteenth-century
century,
-slave labordominatestheeconomy,slaves greatlyoutnumberfreepersons,and
and collapse.
maturity,
thereis a recognizablepatternof development,
slave societiesthatMarx had in mind,we think,in his
It is just such pure-type
on slave society.The same was true,thoughto a lesserextent,
occasionalwritings
thatit is onlyin theMarxistliterature
ofChayanovand Cairnes.It is extraordinary
thenatureand dynamicsofsuchpure-type
thatone findsanyattemptto understand
slavesystems.Marxists,alongwithall otherstudentsofthesubject,tendto neglect
ofslaverywas ofsecondaryeconomicimporthosesocietiesin whichtheinstitution
workis stillthestandard
tance,butvitalin otherrespects.Welskopf'smonumental
on thesubject(1957). The neglectofthisworkbyAnglo-AmeriMarxiansynthesis
conIt is a subtle,brilliantly
can so-calledMarxistsis simplyincomprehensible.
slaveryin
researchedanalysisof theoriginsof pure-type
ceived,and painstakingly
thecrucialroleofforceand imperialexpansion,the
classicalantiquity,
emphasizing
and truecapitalwaysin whichsucha systemretardedtechnologicaldevelopment,
of"theoriginalaccumufora perpetuation
ism(especiallyinitsbuilt-inrequirement
ofsuch
theinternalcontradictions
demonstrates
lation"ofcapital).It also skillfully
a system,takingaccountof factorssuch as absenteeismand the social lifeof the
the vulgarEngelianview of slave
slaves. She dismissesas "banal simplification"
societyas thestrugglebetweenmastersand slaves. In a typicalpassage,she notes
thatMarx, in a letterto Engels,statedquite clearlythatthe "innerhistory"of
was thestruggle
betweenthesmalland largeownersofland.And she adds
antiquity
(1957:217)
builtthebroadbasis
ofGreeceandRomethepeasantry
In thecenturies
ofascendancy
thedirection
ofdevelopwhileslavery
wasthedriving
forcethatdetermined
ofsociety,
thepeasantry.
thatin theenddestroyed
ment.Slavery
wastheforceofprogress
For any seriousstudentof comparativeslavery,thisworkmustbe a major point
of departure.

438

PATTERSON

CONCLUSION
hasbeentheobject
hasshownthattheinstitution
ofthestudy
ofslavery
Thisreview
progress
hasbeenmade
forat least125years.Considerable
ofseriousscholarship
inmethods
hasbeengreatprogress
surveyed,
andthere
andregions
insomeperiods
and
oftheinstitution,
Evenso,thereremain
largegapsinourknowledge
employed.
in ourtheoretical
approaches.
majordeficiencies
unstudstillremain
flourished
theinstitution
In regional
terms,
manyareaswhere
hasbeenskewed
ofscholarship
Thedistribution
barely
touched.
ied,ortheground
especially
theUnited
infavorofthemodern
slavesystems
oftheAmericas,
heavily
thepointofbeingoverstudied.
approaching
States,whichis rapidly
have
innovations
ofthecliometricians
thatthemethodological
It wasnoaccident
itis intheverynature
slavery;
beencloselyassociated
withthestudyofAmerican
to suchstatistical
form,
thatit lendsitself
oftheinstitution,
at leastinitsmodern
pricetag.
andhada measured
werecounted
Slaves,beingproperty,
manipulations.
thanon any
byeconomists,
Thereis thusmoredataon them,ofthetypefavored
tradein theold imperial
sysothercontemporaneous
group.As theflagfollowed
Thishasbeengood
certain
kindsoffacts.
follow
so itseemsthecliometricians
tems,
butitsvalueforthecomparative
expansion,
fortheflag-carriers
ofthecliometric
remains
Wewouldnotgo so faras somecritics
limited,
although
studyofslavery
andwe
Weareindeedverymuchinfavorofquantitative
studies,
ofthemovement.
intheir
understandable
whoruleoutallsuchstudies
thattraditional
historians
think
outthebabywiththebathwamaywellbe throwing
aboutcliometrics
reservations
thatgo bythenameof
analyses
ter.Whatweobjecttoarethekindofquantitative
and
sterile,
theoretically
narrow,
cliometrics.
We findtheirconcerns
empirically
Apartfrom
theUnitedStatesandoneortwooftheother
limited.
methodologically
because
oftheAmericas,
aregenerally
uselesssimply
their
slavesocieties
techniques
do notexist.
thekindofdatatheyrequire
data;
as currently
interval-type
defined,
requires
In statistical
cliometrics,
terms,
forthevast
modelsareonlypossiblewheresuchdataexist.However,
regression
ofslavesocieties
we possessonlynominaldata,and,to a lesserdegree,
majority
can be quantified.
Indeed,ifthecomparative
ordinaldata.Suchdata,however,
wefavor,
that
in thedirection
itis imperative
is to moveforward
studyofslavery
andothersocialscientists
withitsstudylearnthestatistical
historians
concerned
thathavebeendeveloped
data.Untila few
to analyzesuchqualitative
techniques
whencompared
wereadmittedly
withthose
primitive
yearsago suchtechniques
allthishaschanged
within
fortheanalysis
ofinterval-type
data.Happily,
developed
recentyears,thankspartlyto theworkofGoodmanand hisleadinginterpreter
anthropologists,
Davis (1973-1974),and to themodernschoolof cross-cultural
in thetradition
of Murdock& White(1969; see also
thoseworking
especially
thecomparative
studyofslavery
areadopted,
1969).Untilsuchtechniques
Whiting
at theturnofthe
willremainwhereNieboerleftit in hisclassicworkpublished
century.
present
is theneedfornew
however,
thantheneedfornewtechniques,
Moreimportant
and
theoretical
orientations.
It is nowtimeto movefrompurelymonographic

SLAVERY

439

descriptive
studiestowardthekindofworksthatpose issuesgermaneto theinstitutionofslavery,problemsthatcan onlybe answeredbya theoretically
informed
and
methodologically
comparativeapproach to the subject.We are still in the dark
concerningsuch vitalissuesas theconditionsunderwhichslaverydevelopedand
was maintainedin different
social systems,and the dynamicsof large-scaleslave
systems.We haveyetto probesuchfascinating
problemsas therelationship
between
slaveryand technology,
marriageand familyforms,the rise of civilizations,the
intheworkforce),and theemergence
statusofwomen(especiallytheirparticipation
of the idea of freedom.On the microsociologicallevel,numerousissues,some of
themalreadyposed in the literature,remainperplexing:factorsaccountingfor
ratesof manumission;the social psychologyof slavery;the propensity
differential
to servileresistance.The listis endless.However,none of thesequestionscan be
answeredbysingle-society,
descriptive
studies;and, withone or twonotableexceptions,themuddledmethodsand ill-conceivedresearchdesignsofthosefewstudies
thatcurrently
pass themselves
offas comparativeanalysesensurethattheanswers
givenwillbe thewrongones.Indeed,itis ironicthatwhennottheoretically
oriented
and methodologically
rigorous,
comparativeworkcan and oftendoes becomeparochial. What van Woodward(1968:12) shrewdlyobservesabout some comparative
studiesis stilllargelytrueofsuch worksin thestudyofslavery:". . . in spiteofthe
expectedand indeedpredominant
ofturning
effect
historicalthoughtoutward,some
of the comparativestudieshave had the tendencyof enhancingthe emphasison
uniquenessformerly
associatedwiththe subjectiveand inwardanalysis."
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This papergrewout ofa comparativestudyofslavery,now nearingitscompletion,

funded in part by the National Endowmentfor the Humanities,grant no.
R0949913499. I would like to thankProfessorB. Lewis of the InstituteforAdvancedStudy,Princeton,
forhisassistancein myreviewofworkson Islamicslavery,
and ProfessorE. Wagnerof the East Asian ResearchCenter,Harvard,as well as
Ms. E. Unruhfordrawingmyattentionto important
sourcesand issueson Korean
slavery.Mrs. A. Puseyand Dr. Paul Chen providedvaluableassistanceby translatingseveralof themoreimportant
Chineseand Japaneseworkson slaveryforme.
A partof the researchupon whichthispaper drewwas conductedwhileI was a
visitingmemberof the InstituteforAdvancedStudyat Princeton.

440

PATTERSON

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