[ExI] Gradual Extinction of Slavery

[Lee Corbin]

Mirco wrote (in The Rationality of Belief is Relative 8:33AM)

painlord2k at libero.it wrote:

>> Prior to the last five or six
>> hundred years, there were only a few people
>> who had much sympathy at all for slaves, (I
>> mean beyond the natural human empathy we all
>> have for some of those not as well off), and
>> vanishingly few who looked at it as immoral...
> 
> I would contest that "few people".
> Slavery was near completely eradicated
 > by the customs of Europe around
> the XI century. It lasted only around
 > the bleeding borders with another
> civilization that finds nothing
 > unnatural with slavery.

Do you know why, about a millenium ago, slavery
in Europe gradually ceased? (I do believe, from
a book I'm reading "The Discovery of Mankind",
that contrary to the stereotype, the Catholic
Church's behavior really was strongly affected
(sometimes) by its highly theoretical doctrines,
even if this meant less power. Perhaps this is
why?)

(Evidently slavery was also slated for extinction
in the U.S., probably by the end of the 19th
century, but there only for purely economic
reasons.)

Or were the reasons not connected to the Church?

Lee

> It returned in the Americas, away from the social control of the 
> Catholic Church.
> 
> In other places, it exist until today. Mauritania abolished it a couple 
> of years ago, and probably many 100k's people are slaves today, there.
> It is not strange that many recent cases of slavery in US have as 
> defendant people of not European background that come and bring with 
> them a slave maid or two. The slave maids, usually, think of themselves 
> "lucky" to be with a wealth man, family that feed them and only ask for 
> 12-15 hour work every day. It is only when they start to understand the 
> world around them (often after the police intervene) that they change 
> their mind and understand how wrong was their condition. There is a 
> "built in" acceptance of their status, as they think it is the natural 
> order of things. When their status is raised and their "owners" status 
> is lowered, they start changing their attitude.
> 
> Mirco
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> 
> No virus found in this outgoing message.
> Checked by AVG - www.avg.com 
> Version: 8.5.339 / Virus Database: 270.12.36/2128 - Release Date: 05/22/09 06:03:00
> 
> 
> 
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> 
> _______________________________________________
> extropy-chat mailing list
> extropy-chat at lists.extropy.org
> http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat