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| Ten things you didn't know about slavery |
SINCE 1986, December 2 has been the United Nations’ International Day For The Abolition of Slavery
1. The word ‘slave’ originally came from the Slavonic population of Eastern Europe, who were often enslaved in the middle ages.
2. The average cost of a slave in America in 1850 was about $400 (about $12,000 in today’s money).
3. Slavery was abolished in the UK in 1833 but the Modern Slavery Act, outlawing human trafficking and forced labour, was only passed in 2015.
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| The average cost of a slave in America in 1850 was about $400 (about $12,000 in today’s money) |
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| During the ancient Roman winter festival of Saturnalia, slaves and their owners swapped roles |
4. In 1452, Pope Nicholas V issued a papal bull allowing the King of Portugal to enslave pagans.
5. When Britain abolished slavery, compensation was paid to 46,000 slave owners. The 800,000 freed slaves received nothing.
6. From 1526 to 1867, some 12.5 million slaves were shipped from Africa to the Americas with only about 10.7 million surviving the journey.
7. During the ancient Roman winter festival of Saturnalia, slaves and their owners swapped roles.
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| William Shakespeare used the words 'slave' and 'slaves' 180 times in his plays |
8. The words ‘slave’ and ‘slaves’ occur only once each in the King James Bible…
9. …though Shakespeare’s plays, written around the same time, mention them around 180 times.
10. Including forced labour and human trafficking there are around 30,000 slaves in the world today, which is more than at any time in history.
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