Manchester University Press
2 Slaves
Abstract
This chapter identifies the characteristics of Mediterranean frontier slavery in contrast to other types of slavery, particularly (1) the age-old trans-Saharan slavery and (2) the trans-Atlantic slave trade. These as well as other kinds of slavery coexisted in the early modern Mediterranean world. Mediterranean slavery is predicated on the existence of a frontier as well as geopolitical and religious difference across spaces that were traversable and communicable: grosso modo, the enslavement of Muslims by Christians and Christians by Muslims, although accords between corsairing nations modified this general pattern. The main interest here is on a range of human experience brought about by this kind of slavery, including what it meant to suddenly become a slave and to live as one, as so many writers reveal on both sides of the divide. Given the scant documentary and scholarly attention that women slaves tend to receive, part of the chapter is devoted to the ways their slavery is represented: both in fact and fiction, men and women often experienced slavery in very different ways.
Abstract
This chapter identifies the characteristics of Mediterranean frontier slavery in contrast to other types of slavery, particularly (1) the age-old trans-Saharan slavery and (2) the trans-Atlantic slave trade. These as well as other kinds of slavery coexisted in the early modern Mediterranean world. Mediterranean slavery is predicated on the existence of a frontier as well as geopolitical and religious difference across spaces that were traversable and communicable: grosso modo, the enslavement of Muslims by Christians and Christians by Muslims, although accords between corsairing nations modified this general pattern. The main interest here is on a range of human experience brought about by this kind of slavery, including what it meant to suddenly become a slave and to live as one, as so many writers reveal on both sides of the divide. Given the scant documentary and scholarly attention that women slaves tend to receive, part of the chapter is devoted to the ways their slavery is represented: both in fact and fiction, men and women often experienced slavery in very different ways.
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures viii
- Preface ix
- Map xii
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Slaves 35
- 3 Renegades 71
- 4 Martyrs 129
- 5 Counternarratives 153
- Conclusion 194
- Bibliography 204
- Index 223
Chapters in this book
- Front matter i
- Dedication v
- Contents vii
- List of figures viii
- Preface ix
- Map xii
- 1 Introduction 1
- 2 Slaves 35
- 3 Renegades 71
- 4 Martyrs 129
- 5 Counternarratives 153
- Conclusion 194
- Bibliography 204
- Index 223
