Okuzeka
History vocabulary · Social History

Slavery

Meaning in history, with examples

/ˈsleɪvəri/nounCore term

In history, slavery means: A system in which people are legally owned by others, forced to work without pay and denied basic freedoms, or the condition of being enslaved.

In Turkish: kölelik

How it is used

Historians study ancient, medieval and modern forms of slavery, the transatlantic slave trade and abolition, the ending of slavery by law. Many writers now prefer enslaved people to slaves, to stress that slavery was imposed on people.

Example sentences

  1. The British Parliament passed the Slavery Abolition Act in 1833.

  2. Her research looks at slavery on the farming estates of the Roman countryside.

Common collocations

  • the abolition of slavery
  • the transatlantic slave trade
  • enslaved people
  • chattel slavery
  • the legacy of slavery
  • social classA group of people in a society who share a similar economic position, such as wealth, occupation or education, and often similar status and opportunities.
  • colonialismThe policy or practice of a state taking control of other territories and peoples, settling or ruling them, and using their land and resources for its own benefit.
  • peasantA person who lives in the countryside and farms a small piece of land with family labour, often paying rent, taxes or labour services to a landowner or the state.
  • serfIn medieval and early modern Europe, a peasant who was legally bound to a lord's land, owed labour and dues, and could not leave without permission.

More terms: Social History

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: