The history of slavery: From antiquity to the present

Slavery has existed since ancient times and has been used in societies as diverse as Ancient Rome and modern India, medieval Europe and nineteenth-century America. It still exists, in various forms, today. The unit investigates the meaning and experience of enslavement in a range of historical contexts. How and why have people been enslaved and what did it mean to live in slavery? How might slaves understand and achieve their freedom? Why have so many societies used slave labour? In recent times, attitudes to enslavement have changed, leading to campaigns against slavery in modern times: why did this happen, and to what extent have these campaigns been successful?