奴隶制(slavery)

一个人被另一个人占有的状况。奴隶在法律上被视作财产或物件，并被剥夺自由人一般拥有的大部分权利。在各个大陆和几乎整个有记载的历史上都存在着奴隶制，尤其出现在能生产剩余产品的市场经济社会，在这种情况下，奴隶成为用於买卖的商品。希腊、罗马、马雅、印加和阿兹特克人过去都是奴隶制。美洲大陆的欧洲人16世纪开始从非洲贩运奴隶（参阅slave trade）。到19世纪中期，美国的奴隶已达到四百多万人，大部分在南方种植园工作，其身分受「奴隶法规」的限制。随着废奴主义的兴起，1833年英国废除了其殖民地的奴隶制，法国1848年也采取同样的做法。在美国，「解放黑人奴隶宣言」（1863）标志着奴隶制的正式废除。今天世界上的任何国家都不承认奴隶制。亦请参阅Dred Scott decision、Fugitive Slave Acts、serfdom、Underground Railroad。

English version：

slavery

Condition in which one human being is owned by another. A slave was considered in law as property, or chattel, and was deprived of most rights ordinarily held by free persons. Slavery has existed on nearly every continent and throughout most of recorded history. It typically occurs in societies whose economy is of a market type capable of producing surpluses: in that context the slave becomes a commodity who is bought and sold for profit. The Greeks and Romans accepted the institution of slavery, as did the Maya, Inca, and Aztecs. Europeans in the New World began importing slaves from Africa in the 16th century (see slave trade). By the mid-19th century, the slave population in the U.S. had risen to more than 4 million. Most worked on plantations in the South, their status governed by slave codes. Following the rise of abolitionism, Britain abolished slavery in its colonies in 1833; France did the same in 1848. In the U.S. slavery was formally abolished by the Emancipation Proclamation (1863). Today slavery is not legally recognized by any government in the world. See also Dred Scott decision, Fugitive Slave Acts, serfdom, Underground Railroad.