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Title: An essay on the slave trade
Author: Grímur Jónsson Thorkelín
Release date: September 1, 2026 [eBook #79495]
Language: English
Original publication: London: G. Nicol, 1788
Other information and formats: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/79495
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*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK AN ESSAY ON THE SLAVE TRADE ***
AN
ESSAY
ON THE
SLAVE TRADE.
[Illustration]
LONDON:
Printed for G. NICOL, Bookseller to His Majesty.
M.DCC.LXXXVIII.
A Pamphlet intitled a “Proposal for the Consideration of those, who
interest themselves in the Abolition or Preservation of the Slave
Trade, written by a Clergyman,” has given me the greatest pleasure.
The anonymous author is through the whole guided by philanthropy and
historical knowledge; and he has founded his proposals upon such
principles as I find have been laid down by our ancestors of the middle
ages, when employed in the abolition of a traffic, so highly important to
them.
Human beings were of old the principal stock in trade, and the system of
raising this valuable article for an extensive market had its source in
that degree of civilization, which borders upon the savage state of human
nature, and prevails on the conqueror, rather to sell his prisoners to
foreign buyers, than to put them to the sword, a practice common to all
barbarous nations.
Various as the claims and titles were, by which our ancestors came to
their slaves, I have no doubt but that the same still prevail among
the Africans, and will continue to prevail till the blessings of our
sacred religion, the knowledge of common duties, and a fixed love for
agriculture, arts, and manufactures, spread themselves among those
millions, who at present are sunk into ignorance.
Before the Christian religion was universally received in Europe,
slave-markets were regularly established at Rome[1], at Bristol[2], at
Micklenburgk[3], at Skonor[4], and in the islands of Brenneyar[5], near
Gottenborgh. The history of this last market has been handed down to us
in the Icelandic language, from which I shall translate the following
account, as it throws no inconsiderable light upon the state of those
times with respect to commerce and manners. “Hoskold, of Hoskoldstad,”
says the author, “went to the islands of Brenneyar, it being esteemed the
highest pleasure to attend an assembly crowded with the chiefs of every
nation of whom we have any knowledge: for here the kings of Gothic race
were obliged, according to a standing law, to meet every third year, for
the purpose of establishing mutual peace throughout their dominions.
The market was exceedingly numerous, and at the same time as splendid
and attractive, every pause of business being filled with banquetting,
interludes, plays, and a variety of other entertainments equally
enchanting. One day as Hoskold took a walk with some of his attendants,
he chanced to see a neat tent at a distance from the rest; curiosity
induced him to go that way. Having come up to it, he met with a man at
the door, cloathed in purple, with a Russian hat on his head. On enquiry,
he found that his name was Gilli, the Russian.—Hoskold said, he had
often heard his name, and that his fortune was superior to that of any
other merchant; in consequence of which he expected to find every thing
in his possession which he might wish to buy.—Gilli enquired what he
wanted:—one of Hoskold’s attendants answered that he wanted to purchase
a maid-slave, if he had any. Gilli replied, No doubt you intend to rally
me, for you probably guess that I have not what you ask for; but in that
you are perhaps mistaken. Hoskold having cast his eyes round the tent,
observed it to be divided with a curtain suspended in the middle, which
on being drawn up disclosed twelve women. Gilli on this invited Hoskold
to approach, and take his choice. Hoskold accepted the invitation; and,
after a close inspection, fixed on one, seated last of all next the
tent, and of course less conspicuous,—notwithstanding the meanness of
her dress, her beauty shone throughout so irresistibly, that Hoskold
was immediately captivated with her charms, which convinced him of her
illustrious descent. The price set on her amounted to the weight of three
marks of silver. It seems to me, said Hoskold, that you place too high a
value on her, in as much as this appears to be triple the price. Gilli
acknowledged he was in the right, as he esteemed her beyond the rest; at
the same time acquainting Hoskold, that if he gave her up, and chose any
one of the rest, he should have one of them for one mark of silver. I
will see, said Hoskold, the quantity of silver at present in my purse,
which was _hung on his girdle_, then _he called for the scales_. Gilli
seeing this, observed, that no imposition in this affair should be laid
to his charge; on account of which he thought it but just to acquaint the
intended purchaser, that the woman was subject to a remarkable defect.
Hoskold was impatient to know what it might be. Gilli soon gratified him,
in letting him know that she was dumb: and notwithstanding, continued the
merchant, I have endeavoured by various means to induce her to speak,
these have all proved ineffectual.—Hoskold again demanded the scales, and
desired to see how much the purse contained. Gilli obeyed; and having
weighed the silver, found it exactly to amount to three marks. Having
closed the bargain, Hoskold took the female slave, and acknowledged, that
Gilli throughout the whole had dealt with candour.”
In all the places aforesaid, human beings were however as often exchanged
for horses, arms, and loaves of bread and meat, as sold for money. Thus
Lullus, the archbishop of Mentz, asserts, that he saw a horse exchanged
for a male slave[6]; and, according to Schannat, a female one was sold
for a horse, a shield, and a spear[7]. But Saint Rembert, archbishop of
Hambourgh, made a far better bargain, receiving from the heathen Danes
a great number of their slaves for the horse he rode upon[8]. Nor were
the slaves of higher value among the Goths; for Jornandes tells us, that
they exchanged their slaves for a piece of bread and meat[9]. Among the
Francs the price of a skilful slave was 10 skillings of gold, but in
Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, the regular price never exceeded one mark
silver, _i. e._ one pound twelve shillings sterling[10]; and in Wales
a slave was equal to a head of cattle[11]. As to the personal rights,
a slave was every where sold with the same forms[12] and solemnities
as a horse, or any other beast; except in Denmark, where a proclamation
before a court of law was ordered to precede the sale[13]. According to
such principles, the same custom was paid for an imported slave as for
an ox, _viz._ a saiga, or a penny, if the slave was to be sold[14]. The
slaves being chained together, were brought to market, and sold in lots,
each lot containing a number of slaves, which number was very various
and uncertain[15]. Thus Saint Elegius, bishop of Noyons, bought often
twenty, thirty, fifty, nay whole ship loads in such lots, consisting
of men, women, and children, from Germany, Britain, Italy, and the
Levant[16]. Helmold beheld at once in the market at Micklinburgk no less
than seven thousand Danes exposed to sale[17]. And at that time certain
merchants embraced only this branch of trade, which to them proved highly
beneficial. Yet of all nations, none was more savage than the inhabitants
of Verdun, who having emasculated the boys, sold them at an immense price
to the Arabs, who were then settled in Spain[18]. The Slave Trade was
otherwise the business of the Jews, particularly in France, which gave
Agobard, the archbishop of Lyon, occasion to reproach the Christians in
several of his sermons[19] for permitting the Jews to traffick in slaves.
On the other hand the Saracens raised an incredible number of slaves for
the Venetians, who sold them publicly at Rome[20]. But this market being
stopped, the Venetians bought Christian slaves on board the privateers
infesting the Mediterranean, and brought them to their own market[21].
At length the Doge interfered, and at once put an end to this shameful
traffic.
The Christian religion being at length received by the different nations
of Europe, totally changed the ancient trade. On one side the precepts
of Christianity were spread among barbarians, and the doctrine of equal
rights, to which nature and a future life entitle all human beings,
without the least exception, made the slave trade gradually to cease.
On the other hand, the importation of slaves, and all traffic of this
nature, was severely prohibited[22]; Besides, a doctrine was established
by the clergy, that eternal salvation would be the surest reward for the
emancipation of slaves[23]; nay, the Christian priests and confessors
frequently obliged their penitents, who had no slaves in their own
possession, to buy some and manumit them in the presence of the people
assembled in the church[24]. The priests themselves set good examples,
they purchased slaves, particularly youths of a good and promising
appearance, received them into orders, and thus made them entirely
free[25].
Before we proceed to the abolition of the slave trade by law, I shall
beg leave to observe, that slaves were among those things which our
heathen ancestors offered to their numerous gods, and stained their
altars with human blood; if we can believe Ditmarus of Merseburg, who
charges the Danes with having in their great sacrifices used no fewer
than ninety-nine slaves[26]. St. Bonifacius tells us, that the newly
converted Germans sold their slaves to their infidel neighbours for the
above-mentioned purpose, which at length was stopped by Gregory the
second, who made the offender guilty of a capital offence[27]. Charloman
ordered in the synod of Leptin, in the year 743, that a man, who sold
his slave to an infidel, should be infamous; and excommunicated in the
same manner as a murderer, if the slave thus sold was intended to fall
a victim to the gods. And in Norway it was absolutely forbid to sell a
slave out of the kingdom, unless he had committed an enormous crime[28].
With a view to promote the abolition of this savage custom, which
proved to be fatal to persons of the most exquisite beauty[29] and the
most exalted character; it was wisely enacted, that the ceremonies of
emancipation among the Christians should resemble the form of the heathen
sacrifices, and engage in the same way the imagination both of the
Christians and the heathens. Thus happily did the slaves obtain chance
of liberty; thus were they often brought to the church, placed on the
altar, and symbolically sacrificed to the true God[30].
The national assemblies of the heathens commenced with the bloody
worship; and the Christians passed a law, that on such occasions a slave
should be made free, and the expence of the feast, at which he obtained
his liberty, defrayed by the public[31].
It had through ages been the custom of all the heathen nations, to
exercise an arbitrary power over their new-born children, for it was left
to their own pleasure, whether they chose to have the trouble of nursing
these harmless beings, or destroy them[32]. The laws of nature, deeply
engraved in the breasts of the human race could not always be suppressed,
and an action abhorred even by the brutes, awaked feelings which at
length brought mankind back to the dictates of reason. Many nations found
it more advantageous, instead of depriving the poor infants of their
lives, to sell them into slavery: thus were many lives preserved, and the
parents had the gratification of seeing their unhappy offspring have a
chance of aspiring to a better fortune.
The liberty of a mans selling into slavery his own children, was of
course restrained to certain rules. They begun by enacting that the
child, which was sold for a slave, should recover its liberty, by paying
the sixth part of the purchase money to the master. And it was further
ordered, that no such slave should be exported out of his native country.
At length the duration of this kind of slavery was reduced to the
certain term of seven years[33], or as the Icelandic law more equitably
ordered it, till the purchase money, and expences made on the slave, were
reimbursed[34]. The learned lawyer Eusebe de Lauriere, observing that the
ancient Germans were accustomed to sell their children, has stated, that
they exercised the Roman Jus Vitæ et Necis[35]; though I agree with him
herein[36], yet I cannot forbear observing, that a very extraordinary
reason might sometimes give birth to a trade which makes every heart
ache. The ancients, wherever they lived, were perpetually harrassed, as
well with domestic as foreign wars, and consequently experienced all
those evils which arise from neglected agriculture, dreadful scarcity and
famine. Therefore, if the parents did not chuse to see the dear fruits
of their mutual love pining and starving before their eyes, they were
obliged to sell their children to a purchaser, who had it in his power
to preserve the lives of these unhappy victims, though at the expence of
their liberty[37].
From the scarcity, so frequent in these times, originated a law, which
was passed by the republic of Iceland[38], which had not the least
respect to _jus vitæ et necis_. The law was, “that the children being
unable of themselves to support their poor parents, should be obliged, in
order to maintain them, to sell themselves into slavery;” which slavery,
however, was to last no longer than the urgent necessity continued.
It is difficult to fix the certain æra when the emancipation of slaves
was universally introduced in Europe; for though Bodin points out the
year 1250, in his Book de Republica, yet we know that slavery lasted
much longer in some countries. The abolition of the slave trade was a
very serious object of the legislative power through more than four
centuries, for we find no council of the middle age without one canon at
least relative to this business. The civil government gave every support
they could afford to so pious and so benevolent endeavours of the church;
and both agreed, that the undertaking could only be accomplished by
slow degrees. The steps adopted for this purpose were on one side, to
forbid the exportation of slaves, to throw the slave trade into the hands
of Christians, who ought to know their common duties, and to make some
regulations concerning a humane treatment of the slaves. On the other
hand, laws were passed, that opposed the home traffic, and rendered it as
difficult as possible.
In the year 779, Charles the Great passed a law, that no slave should be
exported out of his dominions[39]; and in the council at Reims, it was
enacted, that the slave trade should only be carried on by Christians;
and that a man who sold his slaves either to a Jew or a Heathen, should
be excommunicated, and that the contract be void[40]. Kidnapping was
however very frequent among the Christians, particularly in Nordalbingia
(the present dukedoms of Schlesweg and Holstein) who used to force
those Christians, who had fled to them from their Heathen neighbours,
to re-enter the slavery, and suffer themselves to be resold to their
former masters; till at length St. Anschar, archbishop of Hambourgh,
prevailed[41] on them to abolish this disgraceful custom, and to issue
a law, “that whoever should be accused of kidnapping in time to come,
should clear himself by _the judgment of God_ (so the ordeal was then
called) and should be excluded from the rights of producing witnesses, or
taking his oath prescribed by the common law: a law which bordered very
near upon that of the Jews (Exod. chap. xxi.); and he that stealeth a
man, and sell him, or if he be found in his hand, he shall surely be put
to death.” What Charles the Great, and the synodes in different parts of
Germany, France, and Italy, had enacted, with respect to the slave trade,
was followed by other princes. For Canute the Great, king of England,
passed a law, “that no Christian should be sold for exportation[42];” by
such means the foreign slave trade decreased, and could only be carried
on by fraudulent means[43], and by a description of persons, who were
carefully watched by the bishops, whom a synode had authorized to enquire
throughout their respective dioceses, “whether slaves were exported;
whether a Christian were ever sold, either to a Jew or a Heathen; or,
whether a Jew dealt in slaves who profess the Christian religion.”
The famous market at Bristol[44], where the slaves were imported from
all parts of England, and there sold to Irish merchants, was much
depressed and diminished by St. Wulfstan, whose example was imitated
by the second synode of London, which enacted, “Nequis illud nefarium
negotium, quod hactenus in Anglia solebant homines sicut bruta animalia
venundari deinceps ulla tenus facere præsumat.” I find, however, remains
of this inhuman trade still disgrace much later ages; and how could it
be abolished, as long as the kings themselves sold their prisoners for
money?[45]
Thus the Irish continued to buy slaves from England during the reign of
king John[46].
In Norway, few steps were taken towards the abolition of the slave trade
before the year 1270[47]. The law, which till that time guided all
civil business, was passed by king Hacon, who began his reign in the
year 1222, and died in the year 1263. In this law much is spoken of the
slaves, who seem to have been happier in Norway than in any other part
of Europe; for the slave could obtain his liberty by a prescription of
twenty years[48], and the law guarded his life against the master, who,
for having killed his slave, was liable to be punished as a murderer[49].
The slave who destroyed his infant child, was considered as one of the
greatest offenders, but as they had no capital punishments in Norway at
that time, the punishment was being sold for exportation. The slave had
some property accruing from his own industry[50], when not employed in
his master’s service; a property which sometimes enabled a skilful slave
to recover his liberty. The master of a slave could not refuse him his
liberty, when offered the purchase money; nay, it was sufficient if half
the sum was delivered[51]. The manumission prescribed in the said law
is particularly curious: “If a slave takes land and settles, then shall
he give an entertainment, called the _Feast of Liberty_, the expences
of which shall be nine bushels of malt and a ram. A free-born man shall
cut off the head of the ram, and the master shall unlock the collar[52]
surrounding the slave’s neck. If the master refuses to grant the slave
leave of giving the feast of liberty, then shall the slave request it
before two witnesses, and in their presence invite his master, with five
friends of his. The slave then shall prepare the entertainment, and let
the uppermost seat be ready to receive his master and mistress. Thus the
slave shall recover his liberty, which recovery he shall prove by those
who were present at the feast, against all attempts, which his master may
pursue for the future.” Such was the state of slavery in Norway, when
it was totally abolished in the year 1270, by king Magnus, called the
Reformer of the Law.
The Danish law of King Eric Menved, who died in the Year 1319, shews,
that slavery then was very common, notwithstanding the kings themselves
had joined their efforts with the clergy, and aimed constantly at the
destruction of it. According to the Scanish law, servitude was the
certain fate of a criminal offender[53]; of a captive[54]; of the
offspring of a female slave. The captives belonged to the king, and
offenders were slaves to the public[55]. With respect to birth, the rule
well known by the Romans, _partus sequitur ventrem_, was so carefully
observed, that if a slave happened to be father of a child, whose mother
was born free, the child had the strongest claim to liberty[56]: nay,
that a free-born man who had married a woman not knowing her to be a
slave, had right to sue for divorce, and marry another as he pleased[57].
During the slavery in Denmark, it resembled much the Roman slavery; and
it is uncertain how or when the Danish slaves were emancipated.
The state of Slavery in Sweden fell and rose in the same degree as it
did among her neighbours. In Upland, the servitude was abrogated by King
Byrger in the year 1295; and King Eric Magnuson spread the blessing of
liberty over the rest of that kingdom in the year 1335, for the purpose,
as he said, of _following God, who has rescued the whole mankind from
Slavery_[58].
It was but late that Slavery was abolished in Scandinavia, yet I am
happy to say, that the consequences were entirely different from those
in most other countries. Every where but in Norway, Iceland, and Sweden,
a new class of human beings called _Glebæ adscripti_ arose, who were
nothing more than Slaves, except that they could not be exchanged and
sold as brutes, or without the land, with respect to which, they were
considered as cattle. This description of people were likewise stiled
_Villani_. Therefore, when the ancient laws and historians of the middle
age speak of the abolition of slave trade, it is not to be understood as
if all servitude ceased at once; that supposition is directly contrary
to the testimony of a multitude of authentic records, and other faithful
accounts. The truth is, that an absolute slavery was changed into a
limited one, in which human beings were secured from the arbitrary
disposal of a capricious master.
From the preceding extracts it appears, that Slavery is a necessary evil
attending upon nations in a state of uncivilization and barbarism; and
that very great efforts, for a continued length of time, are required
to extirpate it. Europe would never have attempted, much less have
effected, the happy alteration that has universally taken place within
her own borders, unless she had first received the humane doctrines of
Christianity. This however was the work of centuries, and of men who
sacrificed their own ease to the good of mankind. And we may reasonably
conclude, that without the knowledge of true morality, and of that
philanthropy which is best taught by the Gospels, without a settled life
employed in agriculture and arts, in science and manufactures, it is
impossible for the inhabitants of the Gold Coast to live free from those
evils which introduce Slavery, or what is worse, the horrid murders of
their captives by the sword or the fire, to glut revenge, or appease
superstition. It will not be an easy matter for all the states of Europe
to agree in passing a general law for the abolition of the Slave Trade;
but it will be still more difficult to prevent the African shores from
reeking with the gore of young and old taken captive by an enemy, who,
when the Slave Trade has ceased, will have no other effectual method of
securing his dreaded foe[59].
For these reasons it appears to me that the abolition of the Slave Trade
is by no means adviseable, with a view to Christian duty and benevolence,
as it also appears impracticable in the light of political interest. How
can Europe, who divides her regards between philanthropy and commercial
interest, see her plantations neglected and restored to their natural
wildness for want of hands to cultivate them? can she give up with
indifference those millions whom she might save from brutal tyrants, and
place in a state of servitude comparatively happy?
I myself hate every branch of Slavery, yet I wish that of the Negroes to
be still continued, under the eyes of government, whose duty it is to
demand accounts of the treatment of the slaves during their voyage to the
West Indies. Here let the purchasers be restrained in their bargains to
a certain term of years, after which the slave to be free: in the mean
time forbid the master to have power over the lives of his slaves, and
give him not the smallest right to mutilate or torture them[60]. Let
the master be obliged to indulge his slaves in certain leisure hours
to attend the teachers of the gospel, who shall instruct them in the
established religion; for here, I believe the missionaries will do more
good than in Africa, at least this is the first object. Let the slaves
have what the Romans call Peculium, a small property, to be cultivated
when they are not employed in their masters service. Let the propagation
of the slaves be encouraged by premiums to be divided between the
parents and the master. Let all children of slaves born in a Christian
country be free, and let them be educated at the public expence, as in
the Foundling Hospital and the Workhouses. But if this be too much to
attempt, let such children serve only a certain number of years, to
repay their master the expence their support has brought upon him. By
humane treatment, and assiduous instruction in divine and moral truths,
the Danish missionaries, and the Moravian brethren, have been of great
comfort and utility to the Danish Negroes: these slaves become virtuous
by the aid of such preachers, and the hope of certain liberty, appears to
influence their minds with such principles as are an ample recompence to
themselves, and a source of unstained riches to the public.
FINIS.
FOOTNOTES
[1] Vita Zachariæ Papæ Rom. in the year 747.
[2] Wilhelm. Malmesbur. in the Life of St. Wulfstan. Wharton’s Anglia
Sacra, Vol. II. p. 258.
[3] Helmoldi Chronic. Slavic., libr. i. p. 9. Adam of Bremen calls it
Magnopolis, a great town at that time near Wismar.
[4] Snorro Sturleson’s History of Norway in many places; and Thorm.
Torfæi, Hist. Rer. Norvegic, t. 2. p. 332.
[5] Laxdæla Saga; or, the history of the county of Laxardal, in Iceland,
during the 10th century, MS. confer. I. Reenhielm Observations on the
Life of king Oluff Treggvason. Upsal, p. 127. This curious manuscript is
now, among many other, in the possession of the British Museum, owing to
the public spirit and unrivalled liberality of Sir Joseph Banks, baronet,
president of the Royal Society, &c.
[6] Epistola inter Bonifacianas, C.
[7] Schannati Codex Traditionum Fuldensium Charta, ccxix. Lipsiæ, 1724.
[8] Adami Bremensis, Hist. Eccles. lib. i. p. 35. Vita Sancti Remberti in
Langebech’s Script. Rer. Danic. t. ii. p. 140-41.
[9] Jornandes de Rebus Geticis, cap. xxvi. p. 647. Edit. Grotii.
Amstelod. 1655.
[10] Laxdæla Saga, l. c.
[11] Leges Wallicæ. Edit. Wotton. lib. iii. p. 206. Hero eadem est
potestas in servum suum ac in jumentum, & libr. iv. p. 324. Compensatio
pro cæde servi præfinitur nulla, excepto quod pretium ejus domino
solvitur prout animalia occisa compensari debent. This is determined
in the second chapter to be one mark (libra), if the deceased had been
native, but one mark, one hundred and twenty pences if foreigner of
birth. See p. 205.
[12] The forms are preserved in Marculfi Formulæ, xxi. xii.
[13] Leges Scanicæ, l. vi. c. 5.
[14] H. Goldasti Constitutiones Imperiales, t. i. p. 210.
[15] Will. Malmesbur. in vita St. Wulfstani.
[16] Du Chesne Scriptor. Rer. Francicar, t. i. p. 628.
[17] Helmoldi Chronic. Sclaver, libro ii. c. 12.
[18] Carsamatium vocant Græci. Amputatis virilibus et virga eunuchum,
quos Verdunenses ob immensum lucrum facere solent & in Hispanianas
ducere. Vid. Du Chesne Glossar. ad Script. mediæ et infimæ. Lat. t. ii.
p. 363. Paris, 1733.
[19] Baluzius, t. i. p 62. where St. Agobard’s Letters are complaining of
the Jewish Insolence.
[20] Anastas. in vita St. Zachariæ, P. R. ad ann. 747. Contigit plures
Venetorum, hanc Romanam advenisse in urbem negotiatores et mercimonii
nundinas propagantes multitudinem _Christianorum_ mancipiorum virilis
scilicet et feminini sexus emere visi sunt, quos et in Africam ad
paganam gentem nitebantur deducere.
[21] Dandul. in Chronic. year 878.
[22] There is no council held, says Hildebrand in his _Historia
Conciliorum_, where the abolition of slave trade has not been a serious
object.
[23] Otto bishop of Bamberg’s legation into Denmark in the year 1228. In
acta sanctor. Julii, t. i. p. 443.
[24] l. c. Confr. The Norwegian law called Gulethings Law, the chapt. on
emancipation—“The slave shall be brought into the church, and the Holy
Bible laid on his head, which being done, he shall be free.”
[25] Vita Sancti Anscharii by Rembert, cap. vii. in Langebech’s Script.
Rer. Danicar, t. iv. p. “Cœperunt curiose pueros querere, quos emerent,
ut ad Dei servitium educarent. Et. cap. xiv. Cœpit quoque ex gente
Danorum et Slavorum nonnullos emere pueros, aliquos etiam ex captivitate
redimere, quos ad servitium Dei educaret. capite xxxi. Multos redemit
captivos, quos et libertate donavit, nonnullos tamen eorum, qui ad hoc
apti esse poterunt, &c. conf. Jordani Origines Slavicæ, Part iv. p. 298.”
“Sanctus Wenceslaus pueros gentilium in servitute genitos emens fide
Christi præditos dabat libertati. De Pueris Anglis Romæ eandem ob causam
publice emptis vid. St. Gregorii et St. Augustini Vitas in Mabillonii
Acta Sanctorum, t. i. p. 391, 405, 426, 504.”
[26] Ditmarus Merseburgensis in Leibnitii Scriptores Rer. Brunsvigicar,
t. i. p. 327. Conf. Step. Joh. Stephanii notas ad Saxon. Grammatici
Histor. Danic, p. 92. Soræ 1644-45, fol. and J. Grupens Origines Livoniæ.
[27] Baronii Annal. Ecclesiastici, in the year 731.
[28] The Norwegian law, called Gulathing’s Law of King Hacon Haconson,
Part 13.
[29] Adam of Bremen. De Situ Daniæ, Præterea relatum est nobis in eodem
ponto esse Estland insulam ubi Dracones adorant cum volucribus, quibus
etiam vivos litant homines, quos a mercatoribus emunt diligenter omnino
probatos, _ne maculam in corpore habeant_, pro qua refutari dicuntur, a
Draconibus. In Sweden the same practice was not less common, where, on
urgent occasion, kings and princes were sacrificed, particularly in the
times of scarcity and famines. Nay the Swedes boasted once of having
immolated five kings in one day.
[30] Acta Sanctorum Julii, tom i. pag. 439. Mezlaus Princeps gravi
suspirio frendens in semet ipso, Deum ait, testem invoco—quod hunc pro
honore Dei omnipotentis et amore Domini mei Episcopi absolvo. Statimque,
missis satellitibus suis, ergastulo eum tenebroso produxit, et manibus
suis altari superimponens, holocaustum eum in odorem suavitatis obtulit
domino, et mox vincula ejus solvi mandavit. Conf. Sefridi Vitam Ottonis
Episcopi Bambergensis Acta Sanct. Julii, t. i. p. 418. seq.
[31] The ancient Norwegian law before the year 1222. Part i. c. 3. “We
shall manumit a slave in our annual assembly at Gula; each member shall
emancipate his slave by turn; and the whole assembly shall pay six ounces
of silver, in order to defray the expences of the Feast of Liberty.
Whoever does neglect to procure a slave in his turn, shall be fined in
xii ounces of silver to the Bishop, and the assembly shall be obliged to
buy a slave at their own expence, for the above-mentioned purpose.”
[32] With respect to the Greeks, see Henr. Aug. Zeibickii Commentat.
Academica ad Euripidis Jonem Witeb. 1732; and concerning the Romans,
Gerh. Noodtii Julium Paullum & Cornelii Bynkershoekii Opuscula de jure
occidendi, vendendi, et exponendi liberos; and with respect to the
northern nations, see Johan. Erici Dissertatio de Expositione Infantum
Havniæ, 1756.
[33] Baluzii Capitularia Regum Francor. libr. vi. c. 4.
[34] The Icelandic Law, called _Gragas_, which prevailed from the year
928 till the year 1267.
[35] Glossaire du droit Francois, t. ii. p. 171. et t. i. p. 378, in
the words “Mise hors de pain, & homme et femme mariez sont tenus pour
emanciper.”
[36] In order to be convinced of the ancient Germans having exercised
over their children that which is called “Jus Vitæ & Necis,” it is only
necessary to have recourse to J. G. Heineccii Elementa Juris Germanici
Antiqui, libr. ii. tit. 29. Halæ 1746. Corpus Juris Germanici Antiqui,
cura J. G. Heineccii, et Petri Georgisch, Halæ 1738 in 4. p. 418.
[37] Vita Sancti Juniani apud Labbe in Bibliotheca Manusc. t. ii. p.
573. Cumque puer velociter jussa patris explessit renuntiavit patri
dicens. Mulier paupercula adest, cui et panis deficit, nec unde emat,
habet quo audito jussit eam in conspectu suo adstare, hilari vultu et
paterno affectu interrogans, cur tanto ejulatu fleret, et clamoribus eum
inquietaret? At illa respondet: Veri dei famulæ et sacerdos, scias me
fame periclitari, Panis deest, emptio nulla, fames quotidie invalescit,
et ecce prægnans morior, quamobrem tuam ad vi clementiam, ut si me de
periculo famis eripueris, sim tibi perpetuo ancilla, et filius, quem
utero gesto servus sempiternus, quem cum enutriero, tuis manibus, et
jugiter servire instituam, tantum adjuva ne peream.
[38] The law of the Republic of Iceland, called Gragaas, in the Book
relative to the poor, c. i.
1st. “Be it enacted, That the son maintain his mother in preference to
his other relations.
2d. “That he support his kindred, as long as he can afford it, in the
following order; first his father, then his own children, and next after
them his cousins.
“That the claims of his other kindred be relative to his right of coming
to the inheritance of them. If the son has no fortune, then shall he sell
himself into slavery for the support of his father; who, on the mother’s
situation being more aggravated, shall give up his place to her, and he
shall be supported by his nearest relations.
“The father has the alternative of selling himself and his children into
slavery, on account of their education.
“If a person aforesaid be found to beg, then shall he, who ought and
could support that person, pay a fine to the public.”
[39] Baluzii Capitularia, t. 1. p. 144.
[40] Synodus Aurelianensis, iv. c. 50.
[41] Rembertus in vita Sancti Anscharii, cap. xxxii. Insuper ne
ulla fraus in futurum pro eadem re obtenderetur conventionem talem
fecerunt, ut non juramento nec testibus se ullus eorum, qui in prædicta
rapacitate mulctati fuerant defenderet, sed judicio omnipotentis Dei,
se committeret, aut ipse, qui pro tali scelere impetebatur, aut certe
captivus, qui alium impetebat.
[42] “Præcipimus ne Christiani passim in exilium mittantur vel in
gentilitatem, ne forte pereant animæ.” This same law had been enacted
before, viz. in the Synode of Enham, in the year 1009, Ne Christiani et
innocentes extra Patriam vendantur. Confer. Wilkins, Concilia. Magnæ
Britann. t. 1. p. 235. 287. 293. 295 et Leges Anglo Sax. pag. 107. 120.
134.
[43] Regino de Disciplina Ecclesiastic. libr. ii. cap. 41.
[44] Wilhelm. Malmesbur. in Wharton’s Anglia Sacra, t. ii: p. 258.
in the life of St. Wulfstan, libro ii. c. 20. “Vicus est maritimus
Brichstow dictus, a quo recto cursu in Hiberniam transmittitur, ideoque
illius barbariei accommodus. Hujus indigenæ cum cæteris ex Anglia causa
mercimonii sæpe in Hiberniam navigant.—Videres et gemeres concatenatos
funibus miserorum ordines et utriusque sexus adolescentes; qui liberali
forma, ætate integra barbaris miseratione essent, cotidie prostitui,
cotidie venundari, ancillasque prius ludibrìo lecti habitas iamque
prægnantes venundabant. Facinus execrandum, dedecus miserabile nec
belluini affectus memores homines necessitudines suas, ipsum postremo
sanguinem suum servituti addicere. Hunc tam inveteratum morem et a
proavis ad nepotes transfusum Wulfstanus paulatim delevit, sciens
pervicacitatem illorum, non facile flecti. Sæpe circa eos duobus
mensibus, sæpe tribus mancitabat omni dominica eo veniens et divinæ
prædicationis semina spargens.”
Sancti Lupi Sermo ad Anglos, in Præfatione Epistolari ad G. Hichesii
thesaur. linguar. Septentional. p. 99. 106. “Pauperes autem et egeni
gravissime quidem seducuntur, et circumventi sunt crudeliter per insidias
et e terra venales missi sunt longe in exilium, et infantes e cunabulis
minimo furti pretio plerumque per hanc gentem ac sævissime contra
leges sunt mancipati, et jus libertatis est abreptum, & jus mancipii
coangustatum—et permulti ex hac regione venundantur Christiani.”
[45] Chronicon Saxonicum in the Cottonian Library, Tiber. B. v. In the
year 1036, Harold, King of England, having imprisoned the attendants of
Prince Alfred, sold them as slaves in a public market. Conf. Encomiastes
Emmæ Reginæ in J. Langebeck’s Scriptor. Rer. Danicar. t. ii. p. 498.
[46] Chronicon. Hiberiæ, or the Annals of Phil. Flatesburg, in the
Cottonian Library. Domitian. A. xviii. Super his Hiberniæ miseriis et
ab Anglis periculis convenit apud Ardmachum (Anno 1172) plurima hominum
multitudo præcipue clericorum, qui concluserunt, eo hæc mala inflicta
esse Hiberniæ, quod olim Anglorum pueros a Mercatoribus ad se advectos
in servitutem emerant contra jui Christianæ libertatis. Angli enim olim
pauperes ut necessitatem supplerent vel proprios filios vendere soliti
sunt. Unde cum omnium consensu per totam Hiberniam servi Angli libere
abire permissi sunt.
[47] The ancient law of Norway, called Gulething’s Law, commonly
attributed to King Hacon Haraldson. The book on liberty, chap. v.
[48] Frostathing’s Law of King Hacon Haconson, part iv. chap. xv.
[49] Gulething’s Law, l. c.
[50] Snorro Sturleson’s Historia Rer. Norvegicar. Havn. 1777. vol. ii.
in the Life of King Oluf. The king dissatisfied with some great men in
the county of Thrundhem, which then laboured under scarcity, forbid
the inhabitants of the southern parts of Norway to give even the least
relief to their brethren in the north. A near relation of the famous
Einar Thambeskielfer came to him, and asked for corn; Einar having fully
explained the impropriety of complying with desires contrary to the
proclamation of their royal master, said, “My slaves, for whose actions
I am by no means legally bound, possess corn in plenty; it is their
property, and they can dispose of it according to their own pleasure.” It
seems as if the slaves in Denmark have enjoyed the same privilege, for
Elnoth, in the life of Saint Canute the king, says, “Servos manumissos
et _proprii sudoris labore pretio acquisito redemptos_ libertati publicæ
adjudicavit.” See J. Langebeck’s Script. Rer. Danicar. t. iii. p. 352.
[51] Frostathing’s Law of Hacon Haconson, part i.
[52] On this occasion the author remembers to have seen in the Museum of
the Antiquarian Society at Edinburgh a metal collar, constructed with a
ring for receiving a padlock, with the following inscription:—
“Alexander Stewart found guilty of death, for theft at Perth, the 5th of
December 1701, and gifted by the Justiciary as a perpetual servant to Sir
John Erskine of Alva.” This collar was lately found in the grave of the
deceased, in the burial ground at Alva.
[53] The Scanish Law, libro vi. c. 9. libr. vii. c. 15.
[54] L. c.
[55] L. c.
[56] L. c. This was reverse according to the English law. See Bracton.
libr. vi. tract. i. c. 21-22.
[57] The laws of Sæland passed by King Eric Menved, book v. ch. 3.
[58] The West Gothic Law.
[59] The cruelty with which Roger Hoveden and the author of the life of
St. Elphege charge the Danes, is owing to the above-mentioned reason. The
Danes had no market for slaves in England; and they could neither give
a share of their provisions to their captives, nor detach a body of men
from the army, to keep in order such an immense number of slaves, whom
they knew would undertake any thing which might restore them to liberty,
and enable them to harrass their enemy. Under such circumstances, the
Barbarians had no other alternative than to put their captives to
death;—death was perhaps far preferable to a diseased life consumed in
a horrid dungeon, which often has been the case. Vita Sancti Elphegi in
Whartoni Anglia Sacra. Igitur ex omni numero, qui ad octo millia hominum
prætendebatur, quatuor solummodo monasticæ professionis octingentos autem
inferioris ordinis viros remansisse accepimus, quos primum beneficii
gratia computatos, deinde verberibus acriter exaratos, aut pecuniaria
redemptione dignos judicaverunt, aut servilibus mancipandos operibus
secum abduxerunt. Roger Hoveden, fol. 247. b. Grex monachalis et turba
virilis, sed et muliebris necnon infantilis decimatur, _novem trucidantur
decimus vitæ reservatur_ quatuor monachis et octingentis decimatorum
summa perficitur.
[60] Capitulare. Libr. vi. c. 14. Si percusserit quispiam oculum servi
sui aut ancillæ, et luscos eos fecerit, dimittat eos liberos pro oculo
quem eruit. Dentem vero si excusserit servo vel ancillæ simili sententia
subjacebit.
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