Thank you for raising this point John. As many will know I have spent over two decades researching Africans in Asia. Regarding pre-1500 I can say the following: 1) Slavery was endemic in the Indian Ocean World. 2) There was domestic/household, local/within one cultural sphere slavery and trans-oceanic slavery. 3) slavery was not limited to any denomination (Hindu, Buddhist, Jewish, Christian or Muslim) but the nuances of treatment and manumission varied. 4) Those enslaved could be of any ethnicity, but Africans were the majority in the western Indian Ocean, and there are records of Armenian slaves into the 19th century. 5) Enslaved people were a commodity and labour force and the Iberian (and later Dutch, French and British) role was an extension of a pre-existing system, enhanced by better military and shipping technology, and the “discovery” of new areas of sourcing and application of the institution of slavery. Pardon typos, I am travelling and sending this from my phone.
Sent from my iPhone On 11 Oct 2024, at 10:54 AM, John de Figueiredo <[email protected]> wrote: The medieval Dharmashastras allowed the sale of oneself or one’s dependents, especially during famines. A case could be made that the Hindu caste system reduced some people to things. In the 16th century in Goa and elsewhere it was believed that in some cases, slavery was justified, the so-called “just slavery”. Until 1569 every religious order in Goa had slaves. My question is this: if the Goans, Christians and Hindus, had slaves, what grounds have the Goans to criticize the Portuguese for having slaves? The Portuguese did not introduce slavery in Goa and they were doing what everybody else was doing. Even Pombal could not abolish slavery in Brazil. What is regrettable is that centuries went by before slavery was viewed as it had been all along, an abomination, and the evil of human trafficking continues to this date in various parts of the world. John M. de Figueiredo Sent from my iPhone On Oct 6, 2024, at 2:50 PM, 'Pedro Mascarenhas' via Goa-Research-Net <[email protected]> wrote: John( ..........In fact, the Island of Chorão, where many of them lived, was known as “Ilha dos Fidalgos” (Island of Nobility........). On the island of Chorão, the Portuguese colonizers had Goan and African slaves. They were self-proclaimed aristocrats who left Portugal where poverty was rampant. True aristocrats would never leave their land to go to Goa and lose their lives and possessions knowing that the Mughals and Marathas would attack whenever they could. Nuno(............The Portuguese difference was the willingness of mixing with other ethnic groups, from the casual sexual intercourse to marriage and to the ability to "go native"...........) The English did not mix in India because they were from the upper middle and upper class. Most of the Portuguese were from the lower class and illiterate. They raped many women and abandoned them and their mixed race children. Here is a report that clearly explains what happened in a certain colony, where even many Goans were settled: https://acervo.publico.pt/mundo/noticia/quantos-milhoes-morreram-na-saga-do-colonialismo-1724884 -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/1173903945.13467151.1728137663385%40mail.yahoo.com<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/1173903945.13467151.1728137663385%40mail.yahoo.com?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/40C7DB77-6F78-4AC5-BFD2-31FB8FEC2F84%40sbcglobal.net<https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/40C7DB77-6F78-4AC5-BFD2-31FB8FEC2F84%40sbcglobal.net?utm_medium=email&utm_source=footer>. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Goa-Research-Net" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web, visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/goa-research-net/TYVPR01MB113664D4C3808C53B013A145CBB792%40TYVPR01MB11366.jpnprd01.prod.outlook.com.
