mmm^ . ! '¦:*!''¦'¦-'¦ l''rt.^,ft'Ii^t.£4-^ :;t.-E:lrf:t^ti|;:t-.r- .tl-'vL-i' t^ii^f^i Jilt riS YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY Gift of Abel Gary Thomas I'm THE HISTORY OS" SLAVERY AND THE SLAVE TRADE, ANCIENT AND MODERN. THE FORMS OF SLAVERY THAT PREVAILED IN ANCIENT NATIONS, PARTICULARLY IN GREECE AND ROME. THE AFRICAN SLAVE TRADE AND THE POLITICAL HISTOEY OF SLAVEEY IN THE UNITED STATES COMPILED FROM AUTHENTIC MATERIALS BY W. 0. BLAKE. COLUMBUS, OHIO: PUBLISHED AND SOLD EXCLUSIVELY BY SUBSCRIPTION BY H. MILLER. 1860. Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1857, BY J, & H, MILLER, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern District of Ohio. Cb15.73wc 6TEKE0TTPED AND PRINTED BT OSGOOD & PEAKCB, COLDMBnS o. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I, Preliminary Sketch. — Ancient Slavery. Barly existence of Slavery in tho world. — The Mosaic institutions in regard to Slav ery. — Hebrews, how reduced to servitude. — The Jubilee. — Distinction between native and foreign Slaves. — Voluntary Slave? : the Mercenarii of the Eomans ; the Prodigals or debtor Slaves ; the Delinquents ; the Enthusiasts, — Involuntary Slaves ; prisoners of war, and captives stolen in peace, "vrith the children and de scendants of both. — Voluntary Slavery introduced by decree of the Roman Sen ate. — Slavery in Rome : condition of the Slaves ; cruelty to the old and sick ; prisons for Slaves; Sicily: servile war and breaking up of the prisons, — Piracy esteemed honorable by the early Gfreeks. — Piratical expeditions to procure Slaves. — Cpuaes of the gradual extinction of Slavery in Europe, — Origin of the African Slave Trade by the Portuguese, — Followed by most of the maritime na tions of Europe 17 CHAPTER TL Sla"very in Greece. — Athenian Slaves. '^^rly existence of Slavery in Greece, — Proportion of Slaves to Freemen. — Their numbers in Athens and Sparta, — Mild government of Slaves in Athens — ^the re verse in Sparta, — Instances of noble conduct of Slaves towards their masters, — Probable origin of Slavery, prisoners of war. — Examples in history of whole cities and states being reduced to Slavery : Judea, Miletos, Thebes, — Slaves obtained by kidnapping and piracy. — The traffic supposed to be attended by a curse, — Certain nations sell their own people into Slavery, — Power of masters over their Slaves ; the power of Life and Death, — ^The Chians, the first Greeks who engaged in a regular Slave-trade. — ^Their fate in being themselves finally reduced to Slavery, — • First type of the Maroon wars, — The Chian Slaves revolt, — The hero slave Dri- raacos, — His history, — Honors paid to his memory, — Servile war among the Sa- mians, — Athenian laws to protect Slaves from cruelty, — Slaves entitled to bring an action for assault, — Death penalty for crimes against Slaves, — Slaves entitled to purchase freedom. — Privileges of Slaves in Athens, — Revolt of Slaves working in Mines, — The temples a privileged sanctuary for Slaves who were cruelly treated. Tyrannical masters compelled to sell their Slaves. — Slave auctions, — Diogenes, — Price of Slaves, — Pubiio Slaves, their employment, — Educated by the State, and intrusted with important duties, — ^Domestic Slaves ; their food and treatment, — The Slaves partake in the general decline of morals. — History and Description of Athens 23 IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER IIL Slaves of Sparta, Crete, Thessalt, &o.— The Helots. The Helots:— leading events of their History summed up.— Their Masters de scribed.— The Spartans, their manners, customs and constitutions.- Distinguish ing traits : severity, resolution and perseverance, treachery and craftiness.— Mai- _ riage.-Treatment of Infants.- Physical Education of Youth.-Their endurance of hardships.— The Helots: their origin; supposed to belong to the State ; power of life and death over them; how subsisted; property acquired by them ; their military service.— Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates, Plutarch and other writers convict the Spartans of barbarity towards them; the testimony of Myron on this point; instances of tyranny and cruelty.- Institution of the Crypteia; annual massacre of the Helots.— Terrible instance of treachery.— Bloody servile wars.— Sparta en gaged in contests with her own vassals,— EeUes upon foreign aid,— Earthquake, and vengeance of the Helots.— Constant source of terror to their masters,— Other classes of Slaves,— Their privileges and advancement,— Slavery in Crete : classes and condition,— Mild treatment,— Strange privileges during certain Festivals,— Slaves of Syracuse rebel and triumph, — ^The Arcadians 38 CHAPTER IV. Slavery in Rome, Slavery under the kings and in the early ages of the Eepublic. — Its spread, and efi'ect on the poorer class of Freemen, — The Licinian law, — ^Prevalence of the two extremes, immense wealth and abject poverty, — Immense number of Slaves in Sicily, — They revolt, — Eunus, their leader, — Their arms, — Horrible atrocities committed by them. — The insurrection crushed. — Fate of Eunus, — Increase oi Slaves in Eome, — Their employment in the arts, — Numbers trained for the Am phitheatre. — The Gladiators rebel. — Spartacus, his history. — Laws passed to re strain the cruelty of masters, — Efieots of Christianity on their condition, — Their numbers increased by the invasion of northern hordes, — Sale of prisoners of war into slavery, — Slave-dealers foUow the armies. — ^Foreign Slave-trade, — Slave auc tions, — ^The Slave markets, — Value of Slaves at diflerent periods, — Slaves owned by the State, and their condition and occupations. — Private Slaves, their grades and occupations, — ^Treatment of Slaves, pubUo and private, — Punishment of of fenses. — Fugitives and Criminals, — Festival of Satumus, their pri"nleges, — ^Thetr dress, — Their sepulchres. — The Gladiators, their combats 16 CHAPTER V. Slavery in Rome. — Continued. Abstract of the laws in regard to Slavery. — Power of Life and Death. — Cruelty ol Masters. — ^Laws to protect the Slave. — Constitution of Antoninus : of Claudius. — Husband and Wife could not be separated ; nor parents and children. — Slave could not contract marriage, nor own property. — His peculium, or private prop erty, held only by usage. — Regulations in respect to it. — ^Master liable for damages for wrongful acts of his Slave. — The murderer of a Slave, liable for a capital ofienSe, or for damages. — Fugitive Slaves, not lawfully harbored : to conceal them, theft. — Master entitled to pursue them. — Duties of the authorities, — Slave hunters, — Laws defining the condition of children bom of Slaves. — La"ws to reduce free CONTENTS, V persons to Slavery. — How the state of Slavery might be terminated ; by manu mission ; by special enactments ; what Slaves entitled to freedom. — Practice of giving liberty to Slaves in times of civil tumult and revolution. — Effects of Slav ery under the Republic, and tmder the Empire 5f CHAPTER TI. Christian Slavery in Northern Africa. Barbary — ^the Carthaginians, the Romans, the Vandals. — Northern Africa annexed to the Greek Empire. — Conquered by the Saracens. — The Spanish Moors pass over to Africa. — Their expeditions to plunder the coasts of Spain, and carry off the Christian Spaniards into Slavery. — Cardinal Ximenes invades Barbary, 1509, to release the captives. — Barbarossa, the sea-rover, becomes king of Algiers, — The Christian Slaves build the mole, — Expeditions of Charles V. against the Moors.— Insurrection of the Slaves. — Charles releases 20,000 Christians from Sla very, and carries off 10,000 Mohammedans to be reduced to Slavery in Spain. — The Moors retaliate by seizing 6000 Minorcans for Slaves. Second expedition of Charles — its disastrous termination — his army destroyed — prisoners sold into Slavery, — The Algerines extend their depredations into the EngHsh Channel. — Condition of the Christian slaves in Barbary — treated with more humanity than African slaves among Christians. — ^Ransom of the Slaves by their countrymen, — British Parliament appropriates money for the purpose, — The French send bomb vessels in 1688. — Lord Exmouth in 1816 releases 3000 captives, and puts an end to Christian Slave.y in Barbary 68 CHAPTER YII. African Slave Trade from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Negrolaud, or Nigritia, described, — Slavery among the Natives, — Mungo Park's esti mate of the number of Slaves, — The Portuguese navigators explore the AfricanI toast. — Natives first carried off in 1434. — Portuguese establish the Slave-Trade on^ the Western Coast — followed by the Spaniards. — America discovered — colonized by the Spaniards, who reduce the Natives to Slavery — they die by thousands in consequence. — The Dominican priests intercede for them. — Negroes from Africa substituted as Slaves, 1510, — Cardinal Ximenes remonstrates, — Charles V, en courages the trade. — Insurrection of the Slaves at Segovia. — Oth^r nations colo nize America. — ^First recognition of the Slave-Trade by the English government in 1562, reign of Elizabeth. — First Negroes imported into Virginiain a Dutch ves sel in 1620. — The French and other commericial notions engage in the traffic, — ^The great demand for Slaves on the African coast, — Negroes fighting and kidnap-1 ping each other, — Slave factories established by the English, French, Dutch,' Spanish, and Portuguese, — Slave factory described, — How Slaves were procured*. in the interior 93 CHAPTER VIII, Slave Traffic of the Levant — Nubian Sla"ves. The Mohammedan slave-trade, — Nubian slaves captured for the slave market of the Levant. — Mohammed Ali. — Grand expeditions for hunting, — Annual tribute of VI CONTENTS. slaves. — The encampment, — ^Attack upon the villages, — Courage of the Natives. — Their heroic resistance, — Cruelty of the "victors, — ^Destruction of viUages, — The captives sold into slavery. ^^^ CHAPTER IX, African Slave Trade in the Eighteenth Century, England first engages iu the Slave-Trade in 1562 — Sir John Hawkins' voyages, — British first establish a regular trade in 1618, — Second charter granted in 1631. — Third charter in 1662, — Capture of the Dutch Forts, — Retaken byDe Ruyter, — Fourth charter in 1672 ; the King and Duke of York shareholders, — Monopoly abolished, and free trade in Slaves declared, — Flourishing condition of the Trade. — Numbers annually exported. — Public sentiment aroused against the Slave-Trade in England. — Parliament resolve to hear Evidence upon the subject. — ^Abstract of the Evidence taken before a Select Committee of the Honse of Commons in 1790 and 1791. — ReveaUng the Enormities committed by the Natives on the persons of one another to procure Slaves for the Europeans. — ^War and Kidnapping — imput ed Crimes. — ^Villages attacked and burned, and inhabitants seized and sold. — African chiefs excited by intoxication to seU their subjects 106 CHAPTER X. African Slave Trade in the Eighteenth Centuet, continued The Middle Passage. Abstract of Evidence before House of Commons, continued. — The enslaved Africans on board the Ships — their dejection. — ^Methods of confining, airing, feeding and exercising them.— Mode of stowing them, and its horrible consequences. — Inci dents of the terrible Middle Passage— shackles, chains, whips, filth, foul air, dis ease, suffocation.— Suicides by drowning, by starvation, by wounds, by straug- Ijng.- Insanity and Death.— Manner of selling them when arrived at their desti nation .—Deplorable situation of the refuse or sickly Slaves.— Mortahty among Seamen engaged in the Slave-Trade.— Their miserable condition and sufferings from disease, and cruel treatment j26 CHAPTER XI. Slavery in the West Indies, 1750 to 1790. Abstract of Evidence continued.— Slavery in the West Indies from 1750 to 1790,— General estimation and treatment of the Slaves.— Labor of Plantation Slaves— tteir days of rest, food, clothing, property.— Ordinary punishment by the whip ' ahd co-wskln.— Frequency and severity of these Punishments.— Extraordinary Punishments of various kinds, for nominal offenses.— Capital offenses and Pun- ishments.-Slaves turned off to steal, beg, or starve, when incapable of labor.- Slaves had Uttle or no redress against iU usage I43 CHAPTER XII. Early Opponents of African Slavery in England and America, Period from 1660 to 1760 ; Godwin, Richard Baxter, Atkins, Hughes, Bishop War- CONTENTB. VU burton. — Planters accustomed to take their Slaves to England, and to carry them back into slavery by force. — Important case of James Somerset decided, 1772. — John Wesley. — ^Motion in House of Commons against Slave-Trade, 1776. — Case of ship Zong. — Bridgwater Petitions. — The Quakers in England oppose Slavery. — Resolutions of the Quakers, from 1727 '.o 1760. — They Petition House of Com mons. — First Society formed, 1783.^-Tho Quakers and others in America. — ^Ac tion of the Quakers of Pennsylvania from 1688 to 1788. — Benezet "writes tracts against Slavery. — His letter to the Queen, - Sentiment in America favorable to Africans, 1772. — ^House of Burgesses of Viigi, ia addresses the King. — Original draft of Heclaration of Independence. — First Society formed in America " for Pro moting AboUtion of Slavery," 1774, — Opposition to the SLive-Trade in America,, 158 CHAPTER XIII. Mo"vements in England to Abolish the Slave Trade. Thomas Clarkson, the historian of the AboUtion of the Slave-Trade. — ^Devotes his Ufe to the cause, 1785, — PubUshes his Essay on Slavery, — His coadjutors,-^ WU Uam Wilberforce, parliamentary leader in the cause. — Middleton, Dr. Portens, Lord Scarsdale, GranviUe Sharp, — Clarkson's first visit to a slave-ship, — ^Associa tion formed — Correspondence opened in Europe and America. — Petitions sent to ParUament. — Committee of Privy Council ordered by the King, 1788. — Great ex ertions of the friends of the cause, — Clarkson's interview with Pitt 179 CHAPTER XIV. Parliamentary History, — The T"wenty Years' Struggle. Mr. Pitt introduces the subject of the Abolition of the Slave-Trade into the House of Commons, May 9, 1788, — Speech of Mr, Pitt on the occasion. — Parliamentary action in 1789.— Debate of 12th of May.— Speech of WiUiam Wilberforce.— Trav els and exertions of Clarkson. — Sessions of 1791 and 1792. — Debates in the Com mons. — Speeches of Wilberforce, Pitt, Fox, BaiUe, Thornton, "Whitbread, Dundas, and Jenkinson. — Gradual abolition agreed upon by House of Commons 188 CHAPTER XV. Parliamentary History. — Slave Trade Rendered Illegal. Action of the House of Lords in 1792. — Clarkson retires from the field from iU health, in 1794, — Mr, Wilberforoe's annual motion, — Session of 1799, — Speech of Canning, — Sessions of 1804 and 1805, — Clarkson resumes his labors, — Death of Mr, Pitt, January, 1806, — ^Administration of GranviUe and Fox. — Session of 1806. — Debate in the House of Lords. — Speeches of Lord Granville, Erskine, Dr, Por- teus, Earls Stanhope and Spencer, Lords HoUand and EUenborough. — Death of Fox, October, 1806, — Contest and triumph in 1807, — ^Final passage of the BiU for the AboUtion of the African Slavo-Trade. — Slave-trade declared felony in 1811, and declared piracy in 1824, by England. — England aboUshes slavery in her colonies, 1833. — Prohibition of Slave-Trade by European governments. — Slavery aboUshed in Mexico, 1829 — In Guatemala and Colombia 237 VUI CONTENTS, CHAPTER XVI. Indian and African Slavery in St. Domingo. — The Insurrections. Discovery and settlement of the island by the Spaniards. — ^The natives reduced to slavery. — Cruelty of the Spaniards towai-ds them. — Great mortality in conse quence. — Their numbers replenished from the Bahamas. — The Dominicans be come interested for them. — Las Casas appeals to Cardinal Ximenes, who sends commissioners. — They set the natives at Uberty. — The colonists remonstrate against the measure, and the Indians again reduced to slavery.— Las Casas seeks a remedy. — The Emperor aUows the introduction of Africans. — Guinea slave- trade estabUshed. — The buccaneers. — The French Colony. — ^Its condition in 1789. — Enormous slave-population, — The Mulattoes. — The French Eevolution — its ef fect on the Colonists. — First Insurrection. — Terrible execution of the leaders. — Second Insnri'ection — massacre and conflagration — nnparaUeled horrors. — Burn ing of Port-au-Prince, — ^L'Ouverture appears, the spirit and ruler of the storm. — French expedition of 25,000 men sent to suppress the Insurrection. — Toussaint sent prisoner to France — dies in prison. — The slaves establish their freedom. — In dependence of Hayti acknowledged by France 252 CHAPTER XVII. African Sla"ve Trade after its Nominal AsoLiTio^f. State of the slave-trade since its nominal aboUtion, — ^Numbers imported and losses on the passage, — Increased horrors of the trade. — Scenes on board a captured slaver in Sierra Leone, — ^The Progresso. — Walsh's description of a slaver in 1829. — ^The trade in 1820, — The slave-trade in Cuba — officers of govemment interested iu it, — ^Efforts of Spain insincere. — Slave barraooons near Governor's palace — con duct of the inmates. — The Bozals.— Bryan Edwards' description of natives of Gold Coast — ^their courage and endurance, — ^Number of slaves landed at Rio in 1838 — barracoons at Eio — govemment tax, — Slave-trade Insurance — Courts of Mixed Commission — their proceedings at Sierra Leone in 183S. — ^Joint stock slave-trade companies at Rio, — The Cmisers— intercepted letters, — Mortality of the trade, Abuses of the American fiag. — Consul Trist and British commissioners. — Corre spondence of American Ministers to Brazil, Mr, Todd, Mr, Profit, Mr, Wise. Ex tracts from Parhamentary papers.- FuU Ust of Conventions and Treaties made by England for suppression of Slave-trade 280 CHAPTER XVIII, Efforts to Suppress the Slave-Trade— Operations of the Cruisers. Treaty between England and the United States, signed at Washington in 1842.- U. S. African Squadron under the treaty,— The Truxton captures an American slaver, the Spitfire, of New Orleans,- The Yorktown captures the Am, bark Pons, with 896 slaves on board,— Commander BeU's description of the sufferings of the slates —they are lauded at Monrovia and taken care of,— Squadron of 1846.— Capture . of tho Chancellor,— Slave estabhshment destroyed by the EngUsh and natives A slaver's history— embarkation and treatment of slaves.- How disposed of in Cuba.— Natural scenery of Africa.— Excursion to procure slaves— their'horror at the prospect of slavery.— Passage from Mozambique— the smaU-pox on board More horrors of the Middle Passage,— The Estrella— revolt of negroes on board. . 303 CONTENTS. IX CHAPTER XIX. Operations of the Cruisers under the Ashburton Treaty, The American Squadrons from 1847 to 1851, — More captures. — U. S. brig Perry cruises off the southern coast. — Capture of a slaver with 800 slaves, by an Ejjg- Ush cruiser. — Abuses of the American flag. — The Lucy Ann captured. — Case of the Navarre. — Capture by the Perry of the Martha of New York — her condemna tion. — Case of the Chatsworth — of the Louisa Beaton. — The Chatsworth seized and sent to Baltimore — is condemned as a slaver. State of the slave-trade on the southern coast, — Importance of the squadron, — The BraziUan slave-trade dimin ishes 344 CHAPTER XX. Historical Sketch of Sierra Leone and Liberia. Colony of Sierra Leone founded by the English, 1787. — Free negroes colonized. — Present extent and condition of the colony. — Estabhshment of Engliah factories on the slave coast, — Treaties with the African chiefs. — Scheme of African Coloniza tion agitated in 1783 — by Jefferson and others. — Movements iu Va., in 1800 and 1805. — Formation of the American Colonization Society in 1816. — Its object "to colonize the free people of color." — Cape Mesurado purchased and colonized in 1821. — Defense of the infant settlement from an attack by the natives. — MortaUty among the early settlers. — Increase of the colony in 1835. — State colonization societies estabUsh settlements. — ConsoUdation of the state colonies, and estab lishment of the Commonwealth. — Governor Buchanan's efforts to suppress the slave-trade. — His death, 1841. — RepubUc of Liberia estabUshedin 1847, — Joseph J, Eobei-ts fcoloredj first President. — Its independence acknowledged by European powers. — The Republic attacks the slave establishments. — Natural resources of Liberia — its cUmate, soil, productions, exports, schools, churches, &o, — Settle ments and population. — The Maryland settlement at Cape Pahnas 358 CHAPTER XXI. History of Slavery in the North American Colonies. Early existence of Slavery in England. — Its forms. — The Feudal System. — Serf dom. Its extinction. — African Slavery introduced into the North American Colo nies 1620. — Slavery in Virginia. — Massachusetts sanctions N.-trro and Indian slavery, 1641: Kidnapping declared unlawful, 1645. — Negro and Indian slavery authorized in Connecticut, 1650. — Decree against perpetual slavery 'u Rhode Isl and 1652. — Slavery in New Netherland among the Dutch, 1650 — Its uild form. — First slavery statute of Virginia, 1662. — In Maryland, 1663, against amalgama tion. .Statute of Virginia, conversion and baptism not to confer freed, m ; other provisions, 1667, — Maryland encourages slave-trade. — Slave code of Virginia, 1682 fugitives may be kUled. — ^New anti-amalgamation act of Maryland, 1681 — Set tlement of South Carolina, 1660. — Absolute power conferred on masters.^Law of Slavery in New York, 1665. — Slave code of Virginia, 1692: ofienses of slaves, how punishable, — Revision of Virginia code, 1705 : slaves made real estate. — Pennsylvania protests against importation of Indian slaves from CaroUna, 1705. — New act of 1712 to stop importation of negroes and slaves, prohibition duty of JE20, Act repealed by Queen. — First slave l^w of CaroUna, 1712. — Its remarka- X CONTENTS. ble provisions.— Census of 1715.— Maryland code of 1715— baptism not to confer freedom. — Georgia colonized, 1732 : rum and slavery prohibited. — Cruel delusion in New York: plot falsely imputed to negroes to bum the city, 1741. — Slavery legaUzed in Georgia, 1750.— Review of the state of Slavery in aU the colonies in 1750. Period of the Eevolution. — Controversy in Massachusetts on the subject of slavery, 1766 to 1773.— Slaves gain their freedom in the courts of Massachu setts. Court of King's Bench decision. — Mansfield declares the law of England, 1772. Continental Congress declares against African slave-trade, 1784 369 CHAPTER XXII. Slavery under the Confederation. — Emancipation by the States Number of Slaves in the United States at the period of the declaration of Independ ence. — Proportion in each of the thirteen States. — Declaration against slavery in the State Constitution of Delaware. — Constitutions of Massachusetts and New Hampshire held to prohibit slavery, by Supreme Courts, 1783. — Act of Pennsyl vania Assembly, 1780, forbids introduction of slaves, and gives freedom to all persons thereafter born in that State. — A similar law enacted in Connecticut and Rhode Island, 1784. — Virginia Assembly prohibits farther introduction of slaves, 1778, and emancipation encouraged, 1782. — Maryland enacts simUar laws, 1783. — Opinions of Washington, Jefferson, and Patrick Henry. — New York and New Jer sey prohibit further introduction of slaves. — North Carolina declares further in troduction of slaves highly impoUtic, 1786. — Example of other States not foUowed by Georgia and South CaroUna, — ^Action of Congress on the subject of the Terri tories, 1784. — Jefferson's provision excluding slavery, struck out of ordinance, — Proceedings of 1787, — Ordinance for the govemment of the territory north-w«^t of the Ohio, including Jefferson's provision prohibiting slavery, passed by unAni- mous vote 388 CHAPTER XXIIL Formation of the Constitution — Sla"very Compromises. Convention assembles at Philadelphia, 1787. — Proceedings in reference to the slav» basis of representation, the second compromise of the Constitution. — Debate.^ Remarks of Patterson, Wilson, King, Gouvemeur Morris, aud Sherman.- Debate ou the Importation of slaves, by Rutledge, Ellsworth, Sherman, C. Pinckney. Denunciation of slavery by Mason of Virginia. — The third Compromise, the con tinuance of the African slave-trade for twenty years, and the unrestricted power of Congress to enact Navigation laws , 395 CHAPTER XXIV. Political History of Slavery in the United States from 1789 to 1800 First session of First Congress, 1789.— Tariff bill— duty Imposed on imported slaves. — The Debate — views of Roger Sherman, Fisher .imes, Madison, &c. — Eeview of the state of slavery iu the States iu 1790 -Second session,— Petitions from the Quakers of Pennsylvania, Deleware aud New Y'ork, — Petition of Pennsylvania Society, signed by Franklin, — Exjiiiug debate — power of Congress over slavery , Census of 1790. — Slave population. — Vermont the first State to abolish and pro- CONTENTS. XI Mbit slavery, — Constitution of Kentucky — ^provisions iu respect to slavery. — Ses sion of 1791. — Memorials for suppression of slave-trade, from Virginia, Maryland, New York, &c. — The Right of Petition discussed. — ^First fugitive slave law, 1793. First law to. suppress African Slave Trade, 1794. — ^The Quakers again, 1797 — their emancipated slaves reduced again to slavery, under expost facto law of North Carolina. — ^Mississippi territory — slavery clause debated, — Foreign slaves prohi bited, — Constitution of Georgia — importation of slaves prohibited, 1798 — provi sions against cruelty to slaves. — New York provides for gradual extinguishment of slavery, 1799. — Failure of similar attempt iu Kentucky. — Colored citizens of Pennsylvania petition Congress against Fugitive Slave law and slave-trade — their petition referred to a conuhittee ; biU reported and passed, 1800 403 CHAPTER XXV. Political History op Slavery in the United States, from 1800 to 1807. Slave population in 1800. — Georgia cedes territory — slavery clause. — Territory of Indiana — attempt to introduce Slavery in 1803 — Petition Congress — Com. of H. E, report against it, — Session of 1804, committee report in favor of it, Umited to ten years. — No action on report. — Foreign slave-trade prohibited with Orleans Terri tory, 1804, — South CaroUna revives slave-trade ; the subject before Congress, — New Jersey provides for gradual extinction of slavery, 1804, — ^Attempt to gradu- .oUy aboUsh slavery in District of Columbia, unsuccessfnl in Congress, — Renewed attempt to introduce slavery into Territory of Indiana, 1806, unsuccessful, — ^Leg islature of Territory in favor of it, 1807 — Congressional committee report against it. — Jefferson's Message — recommendation to aboUsh African slave-trade — the subject before Congress — ^biU reported — the debate — Speeches of members — Act passed 1807, its provisions 430 CHAPTER XXVI. Political History op Slavery in the United States from 1807 to 1820. Slave population in 1810. — Period of the war. — John Randolph's denxmciations. — Proclamation of Admu-al Cochrane to the slaves. — Treaty of Peace — arbitration on slave property. — Opinions of the domestic slave-trade by southern statesmen. — Constitution of Mississippi — slave provisions. — ^The African slave-trade and fugitive law. — ^Missouri appUes for admission — ^proviso to prohibit slavery. — De bate — speeches of FuUer, Tallmadge, Scott, Cobb, and Livermore. — Proceedings, 1820. — ^BUl for organizing Arkansas Territory—proviso to prohibit slavery lost. — Excitement in the North. — ^PubUc meetings. — Massachusetts memorial. — Resolu tions of state legislatures of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Kentucky. — Congress — ^the Missouri struggle renewed. — ^The compromise. — Proviso to exclude slavery iu territory north of 36° 30' carried. — Proviso to pro hibit slavery in Missouri lost. — Opinions of Monroe's cabinet. — Eefiections of J. Q. Adams. — State Constitution of Missouri — final straggle. — ^Missouri admitted as a slave state 447 CHAPTER XXVII. Period from 1820 to 1825. — Political History of Slavery. Census of 1820. — Session of 1824-5. — Gov. Troup's demonstrations, — Georgia legis- XU CONTENTS. lature — Secession threatened, — Slaves in Canada — ^their surrender refused by Eng land. — Citizens of District of Columbia petition for gradual abolition. — Census of 1830 — ^Anti-slavery societies formed in the north— counter movements_nor1^ and south. — The mail troubles, — ^Manifesto of American Anti-slavery Society, — Peti tions to congress — ^Discussion on the disposal of them. — BiU to prohibit the circu lation of Anti-slavery pubUcations through the mails.— Calhoun's report — Meas ure opposed by Webster, Clay, Benton, and others, — ^Buchanan, Tallmadge, &o,, favor it — BUl lost.— Atherton's gag resolutions passed 498 CHAPTER XXVIII. Period from 1835 to 1842. — Political History. Free territory annexed to Missouri, 1836. — Texas appUes for annexation. — ^Remon strances. — ^Preston's resolution in 1838, in favor of it, debated by Preston, Johu Quincy Adams aud Henry A. Wise. — The Amistad — Captives liberated. — Censn? of 1840. — Session of 1841-2. — ^Mr. Adams presents petition for dissolntion of the Union, — ^Excitement in the honse. — Resolutions of censure, advocated by Mar shall. — Eemarks of Mr. Wise and Mr. Adams. — Resolutions opposed by Under wood, of Kentucky, Botts, of Virginia, Arnold, of Tennessee, and others. — ^Mr, Giddings, of Ohio, presents a petition for amicable division of the Union — resolu tion of censure not received, — Case of the Creole, — Censure of Mr, Giddings ; he resigns, is re-elected 51] CHAPTER XXIX, Period from 1842 to 1849. — Annexation op Texas. Object 'of the acquisition set forth by Mississippi, Alabama and Tennessee legisla tures, and by Mr, Wise and Mr, GUmer, 1842, — Tyler's treaty of annexation — re jected by the senate. — ^Presidential campaign of 1844. — Clay and Van Buren on annexation, — Calhoun's Letter, — Session of 1844^5 ; joint resolution passed, and approved March 1, 1845. — Mexican minister protests, — War with Mexico, ^The $2,000,000 bUl,— Wilmot Proviso. — Session of 1847-8,— BUl to organize Oregon territory, — Power of Congress over slavery in the territories discussed, — ^Dix and Calhoun. — Mr. CaUioun controverts the doctrines of the Declaration of Indepen dence. — Cass' Nicholson letter 53I CHAPTER XXX, PouTiOAi History of Slavery. — Compromises of 1850, Message of President Taylor— Sam. Houston's propositions— Taylor's Special Message. —Mr. Clay's propositions for arrangement of slavery controversy.— His resolutions. Resolutions of Mr. BeU,— The debate on Clay's resolutions, by Eusk, Foote, of Mis sissippi, Mason, Jefferson Davis, King, Clay, and Bntler,— Eemarks of Benton, Calhonn, Websteiv^geffiwd, and Cass,— Eesolutions referred,^^^^port of Com mittee.— The omnibus biU.— CaUfomia admitted,— New Mexico organized,— Tex as boundaiy estabUshed,— Utah organized.— Slave-trade iu the District of Co lumbia abohshed: — Fugitive Slave law passed ggo CONTENTS. XUl CHAPTER XXXI. Repeal of Missouri Compromise. — Kansas and Nebraska Organized The platforms, slavery agitation repudiated by both parties, — Mr, Pierce's Inaugu ral and Message denounce agitation. — Session, of 1853-4: — the storm bursts forth. — Proposition to repeal the Missouri Compromise. — Kansas-Nebraska biU, — Mr. Douglas' defense of the bill — Mr, Chase's reply — Remarks of Houston, Cass, Seward, and others. — Passage of the biU in the house. — Passed by senate, and approved, — The territories organized 60S CHAPTER XXXII, Affairs of Kansas. — Congressional Proceedings. Session of 1855-6, — ^The President's special message referred, — ^Report of committee by Mr. Douglas. — Emigrant Aid Societies. — Minority report by Mr. CoUamer, — Special Committee of the House sent to Kansas to investigate affairs. — Eeport of the Committee. — Armed Missourians enter the territory and control the elections. — Second foray of armed Missourians, — Purposes of Aid Societies defended. — Mob violence. — Legislature assembles at Pawnee. — Its acts. — Topeka Constitutional Convention, — Free State Constitution framed. — Adopted by the people, — Election for State officers, — ^Topeka legislature, — The Wakarnsa war, — Outrages upon the citizens, — Etfbberies and murders, — Lawrence attacked, — Free state constitution submitted to Congress, — BiU to admit Kansas under free state constitution passes the house. — Douglas' bill before the senate. — Trumbull's propositions rejected,— Amendments proposed by Foster, CoUamer, Wilson and Seward, rejected, — BUl passed by senate, — Dunn's bill passed by house. — Appropriation bills. — Proviso to army biU. — Session terminates. — Extra session. — President stands firm, house firmer, "wn^ite firmest, — The army biU passed without the proviso 643 CHAPTER XXXIII. FlSTOJilT OF THE TROUBLES IN KANSAS, CONTINUED. Judge Lecompte's charge to Grand Jury — Presentments. — Official correspondence. — Attack on Lawrence. — Free State bands organized — attack pro-slavery set- tlement.1. — Fights at Palmyra, Franklin, and Ossawattamie. — Murders, — Shannon removed, — Atchison's ai^y retreat,^ Geary appointed governor, — Deplorable condition of the territory, — Letter to Secretary Marcy. — Inaugural address and pro clamations, — Atchison's caU upon the South, — ^Woodson's proclamation. — ^Armed bands enter the territory, — Lawrence doomed to destruction, — Gov, Geary's deci sive measures, — Army dispersed and Lawrence saved. — Hickory Point— capture of Free State company, — Dispatch to Secretary Marcy, — Murder of Buffum, — Geary and Lecompte in coUision,*— Official documents, — ^The Judiciary, — Enmors of Lane's army, — Eedpath's company captured — released by governor, — Capture of Eldridge's company, — Official correspondence. — ^AssembUtg of Topeka legisla ture — Members arrested, — ^Territorial Legislative Assembly convened. — Inaugural — Vetoes of the governor, — The "Census Bill" — ^its provisions for forming State Constitution, — Constitution not to be submitted to the people, — Gov. Geary's prop osition rejected. — He vetoes the bill — Bill passed, — Disturbances in th» capital, — Geary's requisition for U, S, troops refused, — His application for money refused. — Difflculties of his situation — he resigns — his fareweU address, — Robert J. Xiv CONTENTS, Walker appoiated his successor, — Secretary Stanton. — Fraudulent apportion ment.— Walker's Inaugural— his recommendation to have Constitution submitted to the people.— This measure denounced at the South.— Cpnvention assembles September, 1857.— Adjourns to October 26th, 1867 CHAPTER XXXIV. Constitutional Convention at Lecompton.— Appointment of Delegates.— Pro-slavery Majority.— Provisions of the Constitution,— Constitution not to be submitted to the People— Sent to Congress.— Admission of Kansas under it urged bythe President. Northem Democrats oppose it. — Amendments to the biU offered in the House and Senate.— Defeat ofthe biU.— Committee of Conference.— EngUsh biU passed. — Con stitution rejected by the People of Kansas, — President removes Gov. Walker and Secretary Stanton. — ^Medary of Ohio appointed Governor, — EepubUcan Legislature elected in Kansas,— Provide for a Constitutional Convention.— New Constitution framed— Eatified by the People.— State Officers elected under it, — Sent to the President 807 CHAPTER XXXV. Statistical Tables constructed from the Census of 1850. Teeeitoet— Area of Free states; area of Slave States. — Population — Free colored in Free states; Free colored in Slave States ; Slaves.— Amalgamation ; Mulattoes of Free States; Mulattoes of Slave States ; Proportion to VThites. — Manumitted Slaves ; Fugitive Slaves ; Occupation of Slaves ; Number of Slave Holders ; Proportion to Non-Slave Holders. — Representation — Number of Eepresentatives from Slave States. — ^Number of Eepresentatives from Free States ; Basis in numbers and classes, — Moeal and Social — Churches, Church Property, CoUeges, PubUc Schools, Private Schools ; Number of Pupils ; Annual Expenditure ; Persons who cannot read and write; Lands appropriated by General Govemment for Education ; Peri odical Press ; Libraries, — CHAErriES — Pauperism in Free States ; in Slave States, — CsmiNALS — ^Number of Prisoners. — Ageicultuke — ^Value of Farms and Imple ments in Free and Slave States. — ^Manufactuees, Mnrato, Mechanic Abts — Cap ital invested; Annual Product, — Rail Eoads and Canals — Number of Miles Cost, — ^ToTAL Eeal and Peesonal Estate, — ^Value of Eeal Estate in Free States ; in Slave States; value of Personal in Free States; in Slave States, including and excluding Slaves. — ^MisceUaneous 826 CHAPTER XXXVI. The Insueeection at Habpee's Feeet , 842 Appendix — Dred Scott decision , £52 PREFACE This book is intended for general reading, and may also serve as a b^ok of reference. It is an attempt to compile and present in one volume the histori cal records of slavery in ancient and modern times — the laws of Greece .and Rome and the legislation of England and America upon the subject — and to exhibit some of its effects upon the destinies of nations. It is compiled from what are conceded to be authentic and reliable books, documents, and records. In looking up material for that portion of the book which treats of slavery in the nations of antiquity, the compiler found small encouragement among the historians, " There is no class so abject and despised upon which the fate of nations may not sometimes turn ;" and it is strange that a system which per vaded and weakened, if it did not ruin, the republics of Greece and the empire of the Cassars, should not be more frequently noticed by historical writers. They refer, only incidentally, to the existence of slavery. An insurrection or other remarkable event with which the slaves are connected, occasionally re minds the reader of history of the existence of a servile class. The historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire devotes but two pages to what he describes as " that unhappy condition of men who existed in every province and every family, exposed to the wanton rigor of despotism," and who, accord ing to his own account, numbered, in the age of the Antonines, sixty millions ! Yet " slavery was the chief and most direct cause of the ruin of the Roman Empire," if we may credit the assertions made in the legislature of Virginia shortly after an insurrection in that state. How few of the historians of Eng land refer to the existence in that country of a system of unmitigated, hope less, hereditary slavery. Yet it prevailed throughout England in Saxon and Norman times. In the time of the Heptarchy, slaves were an article of ex port. " Great numbers were exported, like cattle, from the British coasts." The Roman market was partially supplied with slaves from the shores of Brit ain. Pope Gregory the Great, struck with the blooming complexions and fair hair of some Saxon children in the slave market, sent over St, Augustine from Rome to convert the islanders to Christianity, In the time of Alfred, slaves were so numerous that their sale was regulated by law. As a general thing, however, feudalism strangled the old forms of slavery, and both disappeared in England in the advancing light of Christianity. The historians of the United States, also, with the exception of Hildreth, seldom .reftr to the sub ject of slavery. They perhaps imagine that they descend below the dignity of history if they treat of any thing but " battles and seiges, and the rise and fall of administrations." Yet the printed annals of congress, from the foun dation of the government to the present time, are filled with controversies upon xvi PREFACE. the ever prominent "slavery question ";_ and every important measure seems to have had a " slavery issue " involved in it,, ^; Meantime, and while awaiting the advent of a regular " philosoptuca*^ historian of slavery, we present an imperfect, but, we trust, useful compuafcon. The greater part of the volume is devoted to the Political History of blavery in the United States. The legislation of congress upon subjects embracing questions of slavery extension or prohibition, has been faithfully rendered from the record ; and the arguments used on both sides of controverted ques tions have been impartially presented. The parliamentary history of the abolition of the African slave-trade has been made to occupy considerable space, chiefly in order to lay before themder the views upon the subject of slavery entertained by that class of unrivaled statesmen which embraced "the names of Pitt, Fox, Burke, and others not unknown to fame. The history of the legislation of our own country upon subjects in which slavery issues were involved, will also bring before the reader another array of eminent .statesmen, with whose familiar names he is accustomed to associate the idea of intellectual power. Chapters upon slavery in Greece and Rome have been introduced into the book, as various opinions seem to prevail in regard to the forms, features, laws, extent and effects of ancient slavery. Some point with exultation to the prosperity of imperial Rome with her millions of slaves ; others with equal exultation point to her decay as the work of the avenging spirit of slavery. Others, again, contend that slavery was confined to but a small portion of the empire, and had small effect upon its prosperity or ad versity. To gratify a class of readers to whom the relation of exciting incidents is of more interest than the details of legislative action, we have devoted a space to the abominations of the old legalized slave traffic, and to the increased hor rors of the trade after it had been declared piracy by Christian nations. It ia a fearful chapter of wrong, violence and crime. "According to an enlightened philosophy," we quote from the Conversations Lexicon, " each human being retains inherently the right to his own person, and can neither sell himself, nor be legally bcrand by any act of aggression on his natural liberty. Slavery, therefore, can never be a legal relation. It rests entirely on force. The slave being treated as property, and not allowed legal rights, cannot be under legal obligations. Slavery is also inconsistent with the moral nature of man. Each man has an individual worth, significance, and responsibility ; is bound to the work of self-improvement, and to labor in a sphere for which his capacity is adapted. To give up this individual liberty is to disqualify himself for fulfilling the great objects of his being. Hence, political societies which have made a considerable degree of advancement do not allow any one to resign his liberty any more than his life, to the pleasure of another. In fact, the great object of political institutions in civilized na tions is to ena,ble man to fulfill most perfectly the ends of his individual be ing. Christianity, moreover, lays down the doctrine of doing as we would be done by, as one of its fundamental maxims, which is wholly opposed to the idea of one man becoming the property of another. These two principles of mutual obligation, and the worth of the individual, were beyond the compre hension of the states of antiquity, but are now at the basis of morals, politics, and religion," HISTOEY OF SLAVERY. CHAPTER I. PRTtT.TMTNABY SKETCH. — ^AnCIENT SlAVEBY. Early existence of Slavery in the world. — The Mosaic institations in regard to Slav.:rT. — Hebrevrs, how rednced to servitude. — ^The JubUee. — ^Distinction between native and for eign Slaves. — Voluntary Slaves : the Hercenarii of the Eomans ; the Prodigals or debtor Slaves ; the DeUnquents ; the Enthusiasts. — Involuntaiy Slav^ : prisoners of war. and captives stolen in peace, "with the children and descendants of both. — ^Volnniarv Slavery introduced by decree of the Soman Senate. — Slavery in Borne : condition of the SLaves ; cruelty to the old and sick ; prisons for Slaves ; SicUy : servUe war and breaking np of the prisons. — Piracy esteemed honorable by the early Greeto. — ^Pirati cal expeditions to procure Slav^. — Causes of the gradual extinction of Slavery in Enrope. — Origin of the African Slave Trade by the Portuguese. — ^FoUowed by most of the maritime nations of Enrope. I T is certainly a curious feet, that so far as we can trace back the historr of the human race, we discover the existence of Slavery. One of the most obvi ous causes of this, is to be found in the almost incessant wars which were car ried on in the early periods of the world, between tribes and nations, in which the prisoners taken were either sladn or reduced to slavery. The Mosaic institutions were rather predicated upon the previous existence of slaverv in the surrounding nations, than designed to establish it for the first time ; and the provisions of the Jewish law upon this subject, effected chmges and modifications which must have improved the condition of slaves among that peculiar people. There were various modes by which fhe Hebrews might be reduced to servitude. A poor man might sell himself; a father might sell his children ; debtors might be delivered as slaves to their creditors ; thieves, who were unable to make restitution for the property stolen, were sold for the benefit of the sufferers. Prisoners of war were subjected to servitude ; and if a Hebrew captive was redeemed by another Hebrew from a Gentile, he might be sold by his deliverer to another Israelite. At the retum of the year of jubilee all Jewish captives were set free. However, by some writers it is stated that this did not apply to fore^n slaves held in bondage ; as over these the master had entire controL He might sell them, judge them, and even pun ish them capitally without any form of legal process. The law of Moses pro vides that "if a man smite his servant or his maid with a rod, and he die under 2 18 ANCIENT SLAVEEY. his hand, he shall be surely punished ; notwithstanding if he continue a day oi two he shall not be punished, for he is his money."' This restriction is said, by some, to have applied only to Hebrew slaves, and not to foreign captives who were owned by Jews. In general, if any one purchased a Hebrew slave, he could hold him only six years. Among other provisions, the Mosaic laws declared the terms upon which a Hebrew, who had been sold, could redeem himself, or be redeemed by his friends, and his right to take "with him his wife and children, when discharged from bondage. Among those who were denominated#Iaves in the more lax or general use of the term, we may reckon those who were distingnished among the Romans by the appeUation of "mercenarii," so called from the circumstances of their hire. These were free-bom citizens, who, from the various contingencies of fortune, were under the necessity of recurring for support to the service of the rich. A contract subsisted between the parties, and most of the dependents had the right to demand and obtain their discharge, if they were ill-used by their mas ters. Among the ancients there was another class of servants, which consisted wholly of those who had suffered the loss of libeity from their own impradence. Such were the Grecian prodigals, who were detained in the service of their creditors, until the fruits of their labor were equivalent to their debts ; the delinquents, who were sentenced to the oar ; and the German enthusiasts, mentioned by Tacitus, who were so addicted to gaming, that when they had parted with every thing else, they staked their liberty and their persons. " The loser," says the historian, "goes into a voluntary servitude ; and though younger and stronger than the person with whom he played, patiently suffers himself to be bound and sold. Their perseverance in so bad a custom is styled honor. The slaves thus obtained are immediately exchanged awaiy in commerce, that the winner may get rid of the scandal of his victory." The two classes now enumerated comprehend those that may be called the Voluntary Slaves, and they are distinguished from those denominated Involuntary Slaves, who were forced, without any previous condition or choice, into a situation, which, as it tended to degrade a part of the human species, and to class it with the bratal, must have been, of all situations, the most "wretched and insupportable. The class of involuntary slaves included those who were "prisoners of war," and these were more ancient than the voluntary slaves, who are first mentioned in the time of Pharaoh, The practice of reducing prisoners of war to the condi tion of slaves existed both among the eastern nations and the people of the west ; for as the Helots became the slaves of the Spartans merely from the right of conquest, so prisoners of war were reduced to the same situation by the other inhabitants of Greece. The Romans, also, were actuated by the same principle ; and all those nations which contributed to overtum the empire, adopted a similar custom ; so that it was a general maxim in their polity that those who fell under their power as prisoners of war, should immediately be reduced to the condition of slaves. The slaves of the Greeks, were gener ally barbarians, and imported from foreign countries. ANCIENT SLA"VEEY, 19 " By the civil law the power of making slaves is esteemed a right of nations, and follows, as a natural consequence of captivity in war," This is the first origin of the right of slavery assigned by Justinian. The conqueror, say the civilians, had the right to the life of his captive ; and having spared that, has the right to deal with him as he pleases. This position, taken generally, is denied by Blackstone, who observes that a man has a right to kill his enemy, only in cases of absolute necessity for self-defense ; and it is plain this absolute necessity did not exist, since the victior did not kUl him, but made him prison er. Since, therefore, the right of making slaves by captivity depends on a supposed right of slaughter, that foundation failing, the consequence drawn from it must fail likewise. Farther, it is said, slavery may begin "jure civili," when one man seUs himself to another ; but this, when applied to strict slavery, in the sense of the laws of old Rome or modem Barbary, is also impossible. Every sale impUes a price, an equivalent given to the seller in Ueu of what he transfers to the buyer ; but what equivalent can be given for Ufe and liberty, both of which, in absolute slavery, are held to be at the master's disposal ? His property, also, the very price he seems to receive, devolves to Ms master the instant he becomes his slave : and besides, if it be not la"wful for a man to kill himself, because he robs his country of his person, for the same reason he is not aUowed to barter his freedom; — the freedom of every citizen constitutes a part of the public Uberty. In this case, therefore, the buyer gives nothing, and the seller receives nothing ; of what validity, then, can a sale be, which destroys the very principle upon which all sales are founded ? Lastly, we are told, that besides these two ways, by which slaves may be acquired, they may also be hereditary ; the children of acquired slaves being, by a negative kind of birthright, slaves also ; but this being founded on the two former rights, must faU together "with them. If neither captivity, nor the sale of one's self, can, by the law of nature and reason, reduce the parent to slavery, much less can they reduce the offspring.* Voluntary slavery was first introduced in Rome by a decree- of the senate in the time of the emperor Claudius, and at length was abrogated by Leo. The Romans had the power of life and. death over their slaves ; which no other nations had. This severity was afterwards modified by the laws ofthe emper ors ; and by one of Adrian it was made capital to kill a slave without a cause. The slaves were esteemed the proper goods of their masters, and aU they got belonged to them ; but if the master was too crael in his domestic corrections, he was obliged to sell his slave at a moderate price. The custom of exposing old, useless or sick slaves, in an island of the Tiber, there to starve, seems to have been very common in Rome ; and whoever recovered, after having been so exposed, had his liberty givep him, by an edict of the emperor Claudius, in which it was likewise forMdden to kiU any slave merely for old age or sickness. Nevertheless, it was a professed maxim of the elder Cato, to sell his superannn- ¦*Blackstone's Com. : Montesquieu's Spirit of Laws. 20 ANCIENT SLA"VEEY. ated slaves at any price, rather than maintain what he deemed a useless burden. The dungeons, where slaves in chains were forced to work, were common aU over Italy. Columella advises that they be buUt under ground ; and recom mends the duty of having a careftd overseer to caU over the names of the slaves, in order to know when any of them had deserted. Sicily was full of these dungeons, and the soU was cultivated by laborers in chains. Eunus and Athenio excited the servUe war, by breaking up these monstrous prisons, and giving liberty to 60,000 slaves. In the ancient and uncivilized ages of the world, "Piracy" was regarded as an honorable profession ; and this was supposed to give a right of making slaves. " The Grecians," says Thucydides, " in their primitive state, as weU as the cotemporary barbarians who inhabited the sea coast and islands, addicted themselves whoUy to it; it was, in short, their only profession and support." The "writings of Homer estabUsh this account, as they show that this was a common practice at so early a period as that of the Trojan war. The reputa tion which piracy seems to have acquired among the ancients, was owing to the skill, strength, agility and valor which were necessary for conducting it with success ; and these erroneous notions led to other consequences immediately connected with the slavery of the human species. Avarice and ambition availed themselves of these mistaken notions ; and people were robbed, stolen, and even murdered, under the pretended idea that these were reputable adven tures. But in proportion as men's sentiments and manners became more refined, the practice of piracy lost its reputation, and began gradually to disappear. The practice, however, was found to be lucrative ; and it was continued "with a view to the emolument attending it, long after it ceased to be thought honora- able, and when it was sinking into disgrace. The profits arising from the sale of slaves presented a temptation which avarice could not resist ; many were stolen bv their 0"wn countrymen and sold for slaves ; and merchants traded on the different coasts in order to facilitate the disposal of this article of com merce. The merchants of Thessaly, — according to Aristophanes, who never spared the vices of the times, — were particularly infamous for this latter kind of depredation ; the Athenians were notorious for the former ; for they had practiced these robberies to such an extent, that it-was found necessary to enact a law to punish kidnappers with death. From the above statement it appears that there were among the ancients two classes of involuntary slaves : captives taken in war, and those who were privately stolen in peace ; to which might be added, a third class, comprcliend- ing the children and descendants of the two former. The condition of slaves and their personal treatment were sufficiently humiliating and grievous, and may weU excite our pity and abhorrence. They were beaten, starved, tortured, and murdered at disP^tion ; they were dead in a civil sense ; they had neither name nor tribe ; they were incapable of judicial process ; and they were, in short, without appeal. To this cruel treatment, however, there were some exceptions. The Egyptian slave, though perhaps a ANCIENT SLAVEEY. 21 gr£ater dradge than any other, yet if he had time to reach the temple of Her cules found a certain retreat from the persecution of his master ; and he derived additional comfort from the reflection that his life could not be taken with im punity,* But no place seems to have been so favorable to slaves as Athens. Here they were aUowed a greater liberty of speech; they had their convivial meetings, their amours, their hours of relaxation, pleasantry and mirth ; and here, if persecution exceeded the bounds of lenity, they had their temple, Uke the Egyptians, for refuge. The legislature were so attentive as to examine into their complaints, and if founded in justice, they were ordered to be sold to another master. They were aUowed an opportunity of working for themselves ; and if they earned the price of their ransom, they could demand their freedom forever. To the honor of Athens and Egypt, and the cities of the Jews, their slaves were considered "with some humanity. The inhabitants of other parts of the world seemed to vie with each other in the oppression and debasement of this unfortunate class. A modern "writer, to whom the cause of humanity is under inexpressible obligations, proceeds to inquire by what circumstances the barbarous and in human treatment of slaves were produced. The first of these circumstances which he mentions, was "commerce;" for if men could be considered as possessions, if like cattle they might be bought and sold, it will be natural to suppose that they would be regarded and treated in the same manner. This kind of commerce, which began in the primitive ages of the world, depressed the human species in the general estimation ; and they were tamed Uke brutes by hunger and the lash, and the treatment of them so conducted as to render them docUe instruments of labor for their possessors. This degradation of course depressed their minds ; restricted the expansion of their faculties ; stifled almost every effort of genius, and exhibited them to the world as beings endued with inferior capacities to the rest of mankind. But for this opinion of them there seems to have been no foundation in trath and justice. Equal to their fellow men in natural talents, and aUke capable of improvement, any apparent, or even real difference between them and others, must have been 0"wing to the treatment they received, and the rank they were doomed to occupy. This commerce of the human species commenced at an early period. The history of Joseph points to a remote era for its introduction, Egypt seems to have been, at this time, the principal market for the sale of human beings. It was indeed so famous as to have been known, within a few centuries from the time of Pharaoh, to the Grecian colonies in Asia and to the Grecian islands. Homer mentions Cypras and Egypt as the common markets for slaves, about the time of the Trojan war. Egypt is represented in the book of Genesis as a market for slaves, and" infBxodus as famous for the severity of its servitude. *Herodotns, 22 ANCIENT SLAVEEY. Tyre and Sidon, as we leam from the book of Joel, were notorious for the pro secution of this trade. TMs custom appears also to have existed in other States. It traveled aU over Asia. It spread tMough the Grecian and Roman world. It was in use among the barbarous nations that overtumed the Roman empfre ; and was therefore practised at the same period tMoughout Europe. However, as the northern nations were settled in thefr conquests, the slavery and commerce of the human species began to decline, and were finaUy aboUshed. Some "writers have ascribed tMs result to the prevalence of the feudal system ; wMle others, a much more numerous class, have maintained that it was the natural effect oi Christianity. The advocates of the former opinion allege, that " the multitude of Uttle states which sprung up from one great one at tMs era occasioned in finite bickerings and matter for contention. There was not a state or seignory that did not want aU the men it could muster, either to defend thefr o"wii right or to dispute that of their neighbors. Thus every man was taken into service : whom they armed they must trast ; and there could be no trust but in free men. Thus the barrier between the two classes was thrown down, and slavery was no more heard of in the west." On the other hand, it must be aUowed that Christianity was admfrably adapted to tMs purpose. It taught " that aU men were originaUy equal ; that the Deity was no respecter of persons ; and that, as aU men were to give an account of their actions hereafter, it was necessary that they should be free." These doctrines could not fail of having their proper influence upon those who first embraced CMistianity fr-om a conviction of its trath. We find them ac cordingly actuated by these priociples. The greatest part of the charters which were granted for the freedom of slaves, many of wMeh are stiU extant, were granted "pro amore Dei, pro mercede animse." They were founded in short on reUgious considerations, " that they might procure the favor of the Deity, which they had forfeited by. the subjugation of those who were the objects of divine benevolence aild attention equally with themselves," These considerations began to produce thefr effects, as the different nations were con verted to Christianity, and procured that general Uberty at last, which at the close of the twelfth century was conspicuous in the west of Europe, But stiU we find that within two centuries after the suppression of slavery in Europe, the Portuguese, in close imitation of those pfracies which we have mentioned as existing in the unciviUzed ages of the world, made their descents upon Africa, and committing depredations upon the coast, first carried the wretched inhabitants into slavery. This practice, thus inconsiderable in its commencement, soon became general, and we find most of the maritime Chris tian nations of Europe following the piratical exampl^ Thus did the Europeans, to thefr etemal infamy, revive a custom, which their fwn ancestors had so lately exploded from a consciousness of its impiety. The unfortunate Africans fled from the coast, and sought in the interior part of the country a retreat from the persecution of thefr invaders. But the Europeans stiU pursued them ; thev SLAVEEY IN ATHENS. 23 entered their rivers, saUed up into the heart of the country,, surprised the Afiicans in their recesses, and carried them into slavery. The next step wMch the Europeans found it necessary to take, was that of settling in the country ; of securing themselves by fortified posts ; of changing their system of force into that of pretended Uberality ; and of opening, by every species of bribery and corruption, a communication witii the natives. Accordingly they erected thefr forts and factories; landed their merchandize, and endeavored by a peaceable deportment, by presents, and by every appearance of munificence, to allure the attachment and confidence of the Africans. The Portuguese erected thefr first fort in 1481, about forty years after Alonzo Gonzales had pointed out to Ms countrymen, as articles of commerce, the southern Africans. The scheme succeeded. An intercourse took place between the Europeans and Africans, attended with a confidence MgMy favorable to the views of am bition and avarice. In order to render tMs intercourse permanent as well as lucrative, the Europeans paid thefr court to the African chiefs, and a treaty of peace and commerce was concluded, in which it was agreed that the kings, on their part, should sentence prisoners of war, and convicts, to European servi tude ; and that the Europeans should in retum supply them "with the luxuries of the north. Thus were laid the foundations of that nefarious commerce, of wMch, in subsequent chapters, we intend to give the details.* CHAPTER II. Slavery in Greece. — Athenian Sla"yes. Early existence of Slavery in Greece. — Proportion of Slaves to Freemen. — Their numbers in Athens and Sparta. — Mild government of Slaves in Athens — ^the reverse in Sparta. Instances of noble conduct of Slaves towards their masters. — Probable origin of Slavery, prisoners of war. — ^Examples in history of whole cities and states being reduced to Slavery : Judea, Miletos, Thebes. — Slaves obtained by kidnapping and piracy. — The traffic supposed to be attended by a curse. — Certain nations seU their own people into Slavery, — Power of masters over their Slaves ; the power of Life and Death. — The Chians, the first Greeks who engaged in a regular Slave-trade, — Their fate in being themselves finally reduced to Slavery. — First type of the Maroon wars. — The Chian Slaves revolt, — The hero slave Drimacos.— His history, — Honors paid to his memory, ServUe war among the Samians. — Athenian laws to protect Slaves from cruelty. — Slaves entitled to bring an action for assault. — ^Death penalty for crimes against slaves. Slaves entitled to purchase freedom. — Privileges of Slaves in Athens. — Revolt of Slaves working in Mines. — The temples a privileged sanctuary for Slaves who were cruelly treated. — ^Tyrannicalmasters compelled to seU their Slaves, — Slave auctions, — Diogenes. Price of Slaves. — PubUc Slaves, their employment. — Educated by the State, and in trusted "with important duties, — Domestic Slaves : their food and treatment. — The Slaves partake in the general decline of morals. — History and Description of Athens. r N Greece, slavery existed from the earliest period of her history. Before the days of Homer it generally prevailed. The various states of Greece had * Slavery and Commerce of the Human Species : Encyclopedia Britt.: Antiquities of Gh:eece and Rome, 24 SLAVEEY m ATHENS, different codes of laws, but in all of them the slaves were a majority of the people. The proportion of slaves to freemen probably varied in different states, and in the same state at different times. A historian states the propor tion to have been at one period as 400 to 30, In Athens, another writer states, there were three slaves to one freeman. In Sparta, the proportion of slaves was much greater than in Athens, • The greatest "writers' of antiquity were, on tMs subject, perplexed and un decided. They appear to have comprehended the extent of the evU, but to have been themselves too much the slaves of habit and prejudice to discover that no form or modification of slavery is consistent "with justice. Most per plexing of all, however, was the Laconian Heloteia ; because in that case the comparatively great number of the servUe class rendered it necessary, in the opinion of some, to break thefr spirit and bring them do"wn to thefr condition by a system of severity which constitutes the infamy of Sparta. * The discredit of subsisting on slave labor was, to a certain extent, shared by all the states of Greece, even by Athens, But in the treatment of that unfortunate class, there was as much variation as from the differences of national character might have been inferred. The Athenians, in tMs respect, as in most others, are represented as the antipodes of the Spartans ; inasmuch as they treated thefr slaves with humanity, and even indulgence, "j" We read, accordingly, of slaves whose love for thefr masters exceeded the love of broth ers ; they have toiled, fought, and died for them ; they have sometimes sur passed them in courage, and taught them, in situations of imminent danger, how to die. An example is recorded of a slave, who put on the disguise of his lord, that he might be slain in his stead. These examples, however, do not prove that there is any thing ennobling in servitude. On the contrary, the inference is, that great and noble souls had been dealt with unjustly by fortune. As soon as men began to give quarter in war, and became possessed of prisoners, the idea of employing them and rendering their labors profitable, naturally suggested itself. When it was found that advantages could be de rived from captured enemies instead of butchering them in the field, their lives were spared. At the outset, therefore, it is argued, siaveiy sprang from feel ings of humanity, A distinguished historian remarks : " When warlike peo ple, emerging from the savage state, first set about agriculture, the idea of sparing the lives of prisoners, on condition of thefr becoming useful to the conquerors by labor, was an obvious improvement upon the practice of former times, when conquered enemies were constantly put to death, not from a spirit of cruelty, but from necessity, for the conquerors were unable to maintain them in captivity, and dared not set them free,"| ¦* Manners and Customs of Ancient Greece. fHerodes Atticus lamented the death of his Slaves as if they had been his relatives. and erected statues to their memory iu woods, or fields, or beside fountains, X Mitford's History of Greece. SLAVEEY IN ATHENS 25 Possibly the practice was borrowed from the East, where the mention of slaves occurs in the remotest ages. In later times, the Queen of Persia is represented to have urged Darius into the Grecian war, that she might possess Athenian, Spartan, Argive and Corinthian slaves. The practice was, when a number of pri?oners had been taken, to make a division of them among the chiefs, generally by lot, and then to sell them for slaves. Examples occur in antiquity of whole cities and states beiog at once sub jected to servitude. Thus the inhabitants of Judea were twice carried away captive to Babylon, where their masters, not perhaps from mockery, required of them to sing some of their national songs ; to which, as we learn from the prophet, they replied, " How can we sing the songs of Zion in a strange land ? " The citizens of MUetos, after the unsuccessful revolt of Aristagoras, were carried into Persia, as were those also of other places. lake the Israelites, those Greeks long preserved in captivity their national manners and language, though surrounded by strangers, and urged by every inducement to assimilate themselves to their conquerors. A simUar fate overtook the inhabitants of Thebes, who were sold into slavery by Alexander. As the supply produced by war seldom equaled the demand, the race of kidnappers alluded to in a former chapter, sprang up, who, partly merchants and partly pirates, roamed about the shores of the Mediterranean, as similar miscreants now do about the slave coasts of Africa, Neither war, however, nor piracy, sufficed at length to furnish that vast multitude of slaves which the growing luxury of the times induced the Greeks to consider necessary. Com merce, by degrees, conducted them to Caria and other parts of Asia Minor, particularly the southern coasts of the Black Sea, those great nurseries of slaves from that time until now. The first Greeks who engaged in this traffic, which even by the Pagans was supposed to be attended by a curse, are said to have been the Chians. They purchased thefr slaves from the barbarians, among whom the Lydians, the Phrygians and the natives of Pontes, with many others, were accustomed, like the modern Circassians, to carry on a trade in their own people. Before proceeding farther with the history of the traffic, it may be weU to describe the ^wer possessed by masters over their domestics during the heroic ages. Every man appears then to have been a king in his own house, and to have exercised Ms authority most regaUy. Power, generaUy, when unchecked by law, is fierce and inhuman ; and over their household, gentlemen, in those ages, exercised the greatest and most awful power, that of life and death, as they afterwards did at Rome. When supposed to deserve death, the slaves were executed ignominiously by hanging. This was regarded as an impure end. To die honorably was to perish by the sword. The Qhians, as before observed, are said to have been the first Grecian peo ple who engaged in a regular slave-trade. For although the Thessalians and Spartans possessed slaves at a period much anterior, they obtained them by different means ; the latter by reducing to subjection the ancient Achaean in- 26 " SLAVEEY IN ATHENS. habitants ; the former by their conquests over other nations. But the CMans possessed only such slaves as they had purchased with money ; in wMch they resembled the slave-holding nations of modem times. Other circumstances strongly suggest the paraUel. We have here, perhaps, the first type of the Maroon wars, though on a smaUer scale, and marked by fewer outbreaks of atrocity.* It is not, indeed, stated that the females were flogged, though throughout Greece the males were so corrected ; but whatever the nature of the severities practiced upon them may have heen, the yoke of bondage was found too gaUkig to be borne, and whole gangs took refuge in the mountains. Fortunately for them, the interior of the island abounded in fastnesses, and was in those days covered vrith forest. Here, therefore, the fugitives, erecting themselves dwellings, or taking possession of caverns among the almost inaccessible cliffs, successfully defended themselves, subsisting on the plunder of their former owners. Shortly before the time of the writer, to whom we are indebted for these detaUs, a bondsman named Drimacos, made his escape from the city, and reached the mountains, where, by valor and conduct, he soon placed Mmself at the head of the servUe insurgents, over whom he raled like a king. The CMans led several expedi tions against him in vain. He defeated them in the field with great slaughter ; but at length, to spare the useless effusion of human blood, invited them to a conference, wherein he observed, that the slaves being encouraged in thefr revolt by an oracle, would never lay down their arms, or submit to the drudgery of servitude. Nevertheless, the war might be terminated, " for if my advice," said he, "be followed, and we be suffered to enjoy tranquiUty, numerous advantages will thence accrae to the state." There being little prospect of a satisfactory settlement of the matter by arms, the Chians consented to enter into a truce, as with a public enemy. Humbled by their losses and defeats, Drimacos found them submissive to reason. He therefore provided Mmself with weights, measures, and a signet, and exhibit ing them to his former masters, said : " When, in future, our necessities require that I should supply myself from your stores, it shall always be by these weights and measures ; and having taken the necessary quantity of provisions, I shall be careful to seal your warehouses with this signet. With respect to such of your slaves as may fly and come to me, I wUl institute a rigid exami nation into thefr story, and if they have just grounds for complaint, I will pro tect them — ^if not, they shall be sent back to thefr owners," To these conditions the magistrates readily acceded ; upon wMch the slaves *Maroons ; the name given to revolted negroes in the West Indies and in some parts of South America, The appeUation is supposed to be derived from Marony, a river sep arating Dutch and French GJuiana, where larges numbers of the fugitives resided. In many oases, by taking to the forests and mountains, they have rendered themselves formidable to the colonies, and sustained a long and brave resistance against the whites. When Jamaica was conquered by the English, in 1655, about 1600 slaves retreated to the mountains, and were called Maroons. They continued to harass the island tiU the end of the last century, when they were reduced, by the aid of blood-hounds, ("See DaUas's History of the Maroons,^ SLAVERY IN ATHENS, 27 who stUl remained with thefr masters grew more obedient, and seldom took to flight, dreading the decision of Drimacos, Over Ms own foUowers he exer cised a despotic authority. They, in fact, stood far more in fear of him, than, when in bondage, of their lords ; and performed his bidding without question or murmur. He was severe in the punishment of the unruly, and permitted no man to plunder and lay waste the country, or commit any act of injustice. The pubUc festivals he was careful to observe, going round and collecting from the proprietors of the land, who bestowed upon him both wine and the finest vic tims ; but if, on these occasions, he discovered that a plot was hatching, or any ambush laid for him, he would take speedy vengeance. Observing old age to be creeping upon Drimacos, and rendered wanton ap parently by prosperity, the govemment issued a proclamation, offering a great reward to any one who should capture Mm, or bring them his head. The old chief, discerning signals of treachery, or convinced that, at last, it must come to that, took aside a young man whom he loved, and said, " I have ever re garded you with a stronger affection than any other man, and to me you have been a brother. But now the days of my life are at an end, nor would I have them prolonged. With you, however, it is not so. Youth, and the bloom of youth, are yours. What, then, is to be done ? You must prove yourself to possess valor and greatness of soul : and, since the state offers riches and free dom to whomsoever shaU slay me and bear them my head, let the reward be yours. Strike it off, and be happy !" At first the youth rejected the proposal, but ultimately Drimacos prevaUed. The old man fell, and his friend, on presenting his head, received the reward, together with his freedom ; and, after burying his benefactor's remains, he saUed away to his own country. The Chians, however, underwent the just punishment of thefr treachery. No longer guided by the "wisdom and authority of Drimacos, the fugitive slaves re tumed to thefr original habits of plunder and devastation; whereupon, the Chians, remembering the moderation of the dead, erected an hereon upon his grave, and denominated him the propitious hero. The 'insurgents, also, hold ing his memory it veneration, continued for generations to offer up the first fruits of thefr spoU upon his tomb. He was, in fact, honored with a kind of apotheosis, and canonized among the gods of the island ; for it was believed that Ms shade often appeared to men in dreams, for the purpose of revealing some servile conspfracy, whUe yet in the bud ; and they to whom he vouchsafed these warning visits, never faUed to proceed to his chapel, and offer sacrifice to his manes. In process of time the Chians themselves were compelled to drain the bitter cup of servitude. For, as we find recorded, they were subjugated by Mithri dates, and were delivered up to thefr o"wn slaves, to be carried away captive into Colchis. TMs, Athenceus considers the just punishment of their wicked ness in having been the first who introduced the slave trade into Greece, when they might have been better served by freemen for hire. 28 SLAVERY IN ATHENS. The servile war which took place among the Samians had a more fortunate issue, though but few particulars respecting it have come down to us. It was related, however, by Malacos in his annals of the Siphnians, that Ephesos was first founded by a number of Samian slaves, who, having retfred to a mountain on the island to the number of a thousand, infiicted numerous evUs on their former tyrants. These, in the sixth year of the war, ha"ving consulted the oracle, came to an understanding with their slaves, who were permitted to depart in safetj from the island. They saUed away, and became the founders of the city and people of Ephesos, In Attica the institution of slavery, though attended by innumerable evUs is said to have exhibited itself under the mUdest form which it any where as sumed in the ancient world. With their characteristic attention to the iater- ests of humanity, the Athenians enacted a law, in virtue of which, slaves could indict their masters for assault and battery. Hyperides observed in his oration against Mantitheos, " our laws, making no distinction in this respect between freemen and slaves, grant to all alike the privilege of bringing an action against those who insult or injure them." To the same effect spoke Lycurgus in his first oration against Lycophron. Plato was less just to them than the laws of thefr country. If, in his imaginary state, a slave kUled a slave in self-defense, he was judged innocent ; if a freeman, he was put to death like a parricide. But Demosthenes has preserved the law which empowered any Athenian, not laboring under legal disabUity, to denounce to the Thesmothetse the person who offered violence to man, woman or child, whether slave or free. Such ac tions were tried before the court of Helisea, and numerous were the examples of men who suffered death for crimes committed against slaves. Another priv Uege enjoyed by the slave class in Attica was that of purchasing thefr own freedom, as often as, by the careful management of the peculium secured them by law, they were enabled to offer their 0"wners an equivalent for thefr services. At Athens, with some exceptions, every temple in the city appears to have been open to them. Occasionally, certain of thefr number were selected to accompany their masters to consult the oracle at Delphi, when they were per mitted, like free citizens, to wear crowns upon thefr heads, which, for the time, conferred upon then? exemption from blows or stripes. Among thefr more se rious grievances was their liabUity to personal chastisement ; which was too much left to the discretion of their owners. In time of war, however, this privilege was not practised, since the flogged slaves could go over to the ene my, as sometimes happened. They are said, besides, to have worked the mines in fetters ; probably, however, only in consequence of a revolt, in which they slew the overseers of the mines, and taking possession of the acropolis of Su- nium, laid waste, for a time, the whole of the adjacent districts- This took place simuftaneously with the second insurrection of the slaves in SicUy, in the quelling of which neariy a mUlion of thefr number were destroyed. We find from contemporary writers, that except in cases of incorrigible perverseness, slaves were encouraged to marry; it being supposed they wonld SLAVEEY IN ATHENS. 29 thus become more attached to their masters, who, in retum, would put more trast ia slaves bom and brought up in the house, than in such as were pur chased. We have seen that slaves were protected by the laws from grievous insults and contumely ; but if, in spite of legal protection, thefr masters found means to render thefr lives a burden, the state provided them "with an^sylum in the temple of Theseus and the Eumenides. Having there taken sanctuary, their oppressors could not force them thence "without incurring the guilt of sacrilege. Thus in a fragment of Aristophanes' Seasons, we find a slave deliberating whether he should take refuge in the Theseion, and there remain untU he could procure his transfer to a new master ; for any one who conducted himself too harshly towards his slaves, was by law compelled to sell them. Not only so, but the slave could institute an action against Ms lord and master, or against any other citizen who behaved unjustly or injuriously towards him. The right of sanctuary was, however, limited, and extended from the time of the slave's flight to the next new moon, when a periodical slave auction appears to have been held. On this occasion the slaves were stationed in a circle in the market place, and the one whose turn it was to be sold, mounted a table, where he exhibited Mmself and was knocked down to the best bidder. The sales seem to have been conducted precisely like those. of the present day in Richmond, Charles ton, New Orleans and other cities of the south. The Greek auctioneer, or slave-broker, however, was answerable at law if the quality of the persons sold did not correspond "with the description given of them in the catalogue. It appears that, sometimes, when the articles were lively, or "witty, they made great sport for the company, as in the case of Diogenes, who bawled aloud — " whoever among you wants a master, let Mm buy me." Diogenes, of Sinope, flourished about the fourth century before Christ, and was the most famous of the Cynic philosophers. Having been banished from his native place with his father, who had been accused of coining false money, he went to Athens, and requested Antisthenes to admit Mm among his disci ples. That pMlosopher in vain attempted to repel the importunate supplicant, even by blows, and finally granted his request. Diogenes devoted himself, with the greatest dUigence, to the lessons of Ms master, whose doctrines he extended stiU further. He not only, like Antisthenes, despised aU pMlosopM- cal speculations, and opposed the corrupt morals of his time, but also carried the application of his doctrines, in his own person, to the extreme. The stem austerity of Antisthenes was repulsive ; but Diogenes exposed the foUies of Ms contemporaries with wit and humor, and was, therefore, better adapted to be the censor and instructer of the people, though he really accomplished little in the way of reforming them. At the same time, he applied, in its fullest extent, Ms principle of divesting himself of all superfluities. He taught that a wise man, in order to be happy, must endeavor to preserve Mmself independent of fortune, of men, and of Mmself: in order to do tMs, he must despise riches, 30 SLAVERY IN ATHENS. power, honor, arts and sciences, and aU the enjoyments of life. He endeavor ed to exhibit, in Ms own person, a model of Cynic yfrtue. For tMs purpose he subjected himself to the severest trials, and disregarded all the forms of polite society. He often struggled to overcome his appetite, or satisfied it with the coarsest food ; practised the most rigid temperance, even at feasts, in the midst of the greatest abundance, and did not even consider it beneath Ms dignity to ask alms. By day, he walked tMough the streets of Athens bare foot, without any coat, with a long beard, a stick in his hand, and a wallet ou Ms shoulders ; by night, he slept in a tub, though tMs has been doubted. He defied the inclemency of the weather, and bore the scoffs and insults of the people "with the greatest equanimity. Seeing a boy draw water with his hand, he tMew away his wooden goblet as an unnecessary utensil. He never spared the foUies of .men, but openly and loudly inveighed against vice and corruption, attacking them "with satfre and irony. The people, and even the higher classes, heard him "with pleasure, and tried thefr wit upon Mm. When he made them feel his superiority, they often had recourse to abuse, by wMch, however, he was little moved. He rebuked them for expressions and actions which violated decency and modesty, and therefore it is not credible that he was guUty of the excesses with wMch Ms enemies have reproached Mm, His rudeness offended the laws of good breeding rather than the principles of morality. Many anecdotes, however, related of this singular person, are mere fictions. On a voyage to jEgina, he fell into the hands of pirate's, who sold him as a slave to the Corinthian Xeniades in Crete, The latter emancipated Mm, and intrusted him with the education of his chUdren. He attended to the duties of Ms new employment with the greatest care, commonly living in summer at Corinth, and in "winter at Athens. It was at the former place that Alexander found Mm on the road-side, basking in the sun, and, astonished at the indifference with which the ragged beggar regarded Mm, entered into conversation "with him, and finaUy gave him permission to ask for a boon, " I ask nothing," answered the philosopher, "but that thou wouldst get out of my sunsMne." Surprised at this proof of content, the king is said to have exclaimed, " Were I not Alexander, I wonld be Diogenes." At another time, he was carryuig a lantern through the streets of Athens, in the daytime : on being asked what he was looking for, he answered, "I am seeking a man." Thmking he had found, in the Spartans, the greatest capacity for becoming such men as he wished, he said, " Men I have found nowhere ; but chUdren; at least, I have seen at Lace- dajmon." Bemg asked, " What is the most dangerous animal?" his answei was, " Among wild animals, the slanderer; among tame, the flatterer." He died 324 B. C, at a great age. When he felt death approacMng, he seated liimself on the road leading to Olympia, where he died with philosopMcal calmness, in the presence of a great number of people, who were coUected around him. Slaves of little or no value, were contemptuously called " salt bought," from a custom prevalent among the inland Thracians, of bartering their captives foi SLAVEEY IN ATHENS! 31 salt; whence it may be inferred that domestics from tnai part of the world were considered inferior. Respecting the price of slaves, a passage occurs in the MemorabUia, where Socrates inquires whether friends were to be valued at so much per head, like slaves ; some of whom, he says, were not worth a demimina, while others would fetch two, five, or even. ten minae ; that is, the price varied from ten to two hundred dollars, Nicias bought an overseer for Ms sUver mines at the price of a talent, or about twelve hundred dollars. Exclusively of the fluctuations caused by the variations in the supply and demand, the market price of slaves was affected by their age, health, strength, beauty, natural abilities, mechanical ingenuity, and moral qualities. The mean est and cheapest class were those who worked in the mills, where mere bodUy strength was requfred, A low value was set upon slaves who worked in the mines — a sum equal to about eight dollars. In the age of Demosthenes, ordi nary house slaves, male or female, were valued at about the same price. De mosthenes considered two minse and a half, fifty doUars, a large sum for a person of this class. Of the sword cutlers possessed by the orator's father, some were valued at six minae, others at five, wMle the lowest were worth above three. Chafrmakers sold for about two minae, forty dollars. The wages of slaves, when let out for lure by thefr masters, varied greatly, as did the profit derived from them. Expert manufacturers of fine goods produced thefr o"wn- ers much larger retums than miners. Slaves at Athens were divided into two classes, private and public. The latter, who were the property of the state, performed several kinds of service, supposed to be unworthy of freemen. They were, for example, employed ,is vergers, messengers, scribes, clerks of public works, and inferior servants of the gods. Most of the temples of Greece possessed a great number of slaves, or serfs, who cultivated the sacred domains, exercised various humbler offices of religion, and were ready on all occasions to execute the orders of the priests. At Corinth, where the worsMp of ApModite chiefly prevaUed, these slaves con sisted almost exclusively of women, who, having on certain occasions burnt frankincense, and offered up public prayers to the goddess, were sumptuously feasted witMn the precmcts of her fane.* Among the Athenians, the slaves of the republic, generally captives taken Ln war, received a careful education, and were sometimes infrusted "with ira portant duties. Out of thefr number were selected the secretaries, who, in time of war, accompanied the generals and treasurers of the army, and made exac t minutes of the expenditure, in order that, when, on thefr retum, these officers should come to render an account of their proceedings, their books might be compared "with those of the secretaries. In cases of difficulty, these unfortu- * Apheodite, the Goddess of Love among the Greeks, synonymous with Aphrogeneia, that is, born of the foam of the sea. Aphrodisia was a festival sacred to Venus, which was celebrated in various parts of Ghreece. but with the greatest solemnity in the island If Cyprus. 32 SLAVERY IN ATHENS. nate individuals were subjected to torture, in order to obtain that kind of evi dence which the ancients deemed most satisfactory, but wMch the modems regard with extreme uncertainty. .^sop, the oldest Greek fabulist, was a native of Phrygia, and a slave, untU he was set free by Ms last owner. He lived about the middle of the" sixth cen tury B. C. He inculcated rules of practical morality, drawn from the habits of the inferior creation, and thus spread his fame through Greece and all the neighboring countries. Croesus, king of Lydia, invited .^sop to his court, and kept him always about Ms person. Indeed, he was never absent, except dur ing his journeys to Greece, Persia and Egypt, Croesus once sent him to Del phi to offer sacrifice to Apollo ; whUe engaged iu tMs embassy, he "wrote Ms fable of the Floating Log, wMch appeared terrible at a distance, but lost its terrors when approached. The priests of DelpM, applying the fable to them selves, resolved to take vengeance on the author, and plunged Mm from a preci pice. Planudes, who "wrote a miserable romance, of wMch he makes JEsop the hero, describes him as excessively deformed and disagreeable in Ms appeai- ance, and given to stuttering ; but this account does not agree with what Ms contemporaries say of Mm, The stories related of ^Esop, even by the an- - cients, are not entitled to credit. A collection of fables made by Planudes, wMch are still extant under the name of the Grecian fabulist, are ascribed to him "with little foundation ; thefr origm is lost in the darkness of antiquity. A very significant a,nd pleasant custom prevaUed when a slave newly pur chased was first brought into the house. They placed Mm before the hearth, where Ms future master, mistress and fellows ervants poured baskets of ripe fruit, dates, figs, filberts, waMuts, &c., upon his head, to intimate that he was come into the abode of plenty. The occasion was converted by his fellow slaves into a hoUday and feast ; for custom appropriated to them whatever was cast upon the new comer. Thefr food was commonly, as might be expected, inferior to that of their masters. Thus the dates grovra in Greece, wMch ripened but imperfectly, were appropriated to their use ; and for their drink they had a thin wine, made of the husks of grapes, laid, after they had been pressed, to soak in water, and then squeezed again. A drmk precisely simUar is now made in the wine dis tricts of France. They generally ate barley bread ; the citizens themselves frequently did the same. To give a reUsh to thefr plain meal of bread, plain broth and salted fish, they were indulged with pickles. In the early ages of the commonwealth, they imitated the frugal manner of their lords, so that nc slave, who valued his reputation, would be seen to enter a tavem ; but in latei times they naturaUy shared largely in the general depravity of morals, and placed their greatest good iu eating and drinking. Their whole creed, on this point, has been summed up in a few words by the poet Socian, " Wherefore " exclaims a slave, " dole forth these absurdities ; these ravings of sophists, prating up and down the Lyceum, the Academy, and the gates of the Odeion ? In all these there is nothmg of value. Let -is drink—let us drink deeply SLAVEEY IN ATHENo. 33 Let us rejoice, whilst it is yet permitted us to deUght our souls. Enjoy thyself, 0 Manes 1 Nothing is sweeter than eating and drinking. Vfrtues, embassies, generalships, are vain pomps, resembling the plaudits of a dream. Heaven at the fated hour wiU deliver thee to the cold grasp of death, and thou wilt bear with thee nothing but what thou hast drank and eaten 1 All else is dust, like Pericles, Codros and Cimon." The employment of household slaves necessarily varied according to the rank and condition of their lords. In the dweUings of the wealthy and lux urious, they were accustomed to fan thefr masters and mistresses, and drive away the flies with branches of myrtle. Among the Roman ladies, it was customary to retain a female slave, for the sole purpose of lookmg after the Melitensian lap-dogs of their mistresses, in wMch they were less ambitious than that dame in Lucian, who kept a pMlosopher for tMs purpose. Female ' oup-bearers and ladies' maids were Ukewise slaves ; the latter were initiated in aU the arts of the toilet. There seems to have been a set of men who eamed their subsistence by initiating slaves in household labors. In the bakers' business, Anaxarchos, a philosopher, introduced an improvement, by wMch modem times may profit, — to preserve Ms bread pure from the touch, and even from the breath of the slaves who made it, he caused them to knead the dough with gloves on thefr hands, and to wear a respirator of some gauze-Uke substance over their mouths. Other individuals, who grudged their domestics a taste of their delicacies, obliged them to wear a broad collar like a wheel around thefr necks, wMch prevented them from bringing their hands to their mouths. This odious prac tice, however,' could not have been general. Besides working at the miU and fetching water, both somewhat laborious employments, we find that female slaves were sometimes engaged in wood cut ting upon the mountains. Towards the decUne of the commonwealth, it became a mark of wealth and consequence to be served by black domestics ; as was also the fashion among the Romans and the Egyptian Greeks. Cleopatra had negro boys for torch-bearers ; and the Atheman ladies, as a foil, perhaps, liked to be attended by black waiting maids. When men have usurped an undue dominion over their feUows, they seldom know where to stop. The Syrians, themselves enslaved politically, and often sold into servitude abroad, affected when rich a peculiarly luxurious manner : female attendants waited on their ladies, who, when mounting their carriages, required them to bend on all fours, that they might make a footstool of their backs. We append to our notice of slavery in Athens, a description of the splendors of that celebrated city, from whence the light of intellectual cultivation has spread for thousands of years down to our own time. TMs capital of the old kingdom of Attica, and of the more modern democracy, was founded by Cecrops, 1550 years before Christ. The old city was built on the summit of some rocks, which Ue in the midst of a iride and pleasant plain, which became 3 34 SLAVERY m ATHENS. fiUed with buUdings as the inhabitants increased ; and tMs made the distinction between Acropolis and Catapolis, or the upper- and lower city. The citadel or Acropolis was 60 stadia in circumference, and included many extensive buildings. Athens lies on the Saronic gulf, opposite the eastern coast of the Peloponnesus. It is built on a peninsula formed by the junction of the Ceph- issus and lUssus. From the sea, where its real power lay, it was distant about five leagues. It was connected, by walls of great strength and extent "with three harbors — the Pireeus, Munychia and Phaleram. The first was con sidered the most convenient, and was one of the emporiums of Grecian com merce. The surrounding coast was covered with magnificent buUdings, whose splendor vied with those of the city. The walls of "fough stone, wMch con nected the harbors with the city, were so broad, that carriages could go on their top. The Acropolis contained the most splendid works of art of which Athens could boast. Its chief ornament was the Parthenon, or temple of Minerva. This magnificent building, which, even in ruins, has been the won der of the world, was 217 feet long, 98 broad, and 65 high. Destroyed by the Persians, it was rebuilt in a noble manner by Pericles, 444 years B. C. Here stood the statue of Minerva by Phidias; a masterpiece of art, formed of ivory, 46 feet high, and richly decorated with gold, whose weight was estimated at from 40 to 44 talents (2000 to 2200 pounds), wMch, if we reckon, accord ing to Barthelemy, the silver talent at 5t00 U"vres, and the ratio of gold to silver as 1 to 13, would make a sum of 2,964,000, or 3,260,400 Uvres (523,700, or 516,004 doUars). The Propylaeum, built of wMte marble, formed the entrance to the Parthenon. This building lay on the north side of the Acrop- oUs, close to the Ereetheum, also of wMte marble, consisting of two temples, the one dedicated to PaUas Minerva, and the other to Neptune ; besides an other remarkable buUding, called the Pandroseum. In the cfrcle of Minerva's temple stood the oUve-tree, sacred to that goddess. On the front part of the AcropoUs, and on each end, two theatres are visible, the one of Bacchus, the other, tbe Odeum ; the former for dramatic exhibitions, the latter for musical competitions, also built with extraordfaiary splendor. The treasury is also in the back part of the temple of Minerva. In the lower city were many fine specimens of architecture, viz : the PoiMle, or the gallery of historical paint ings ; besides the temple of the Winds, and the monuments of celebrated men. But the greatest pieces of architecture were without the city — the temples of Theseus and Jupiter Olympius, one of which stood on the north, the other on the south side of the city. The first was of Doric architecture, and resembled the Parthenon. On the metopes of tMs temple the famous deeds of old heroes and kings were exceUently represented. The temple of Jupiter Olympius was qf Ionic architecture, and far surpassed aU the other buildings of Athens in splendor and beauty. Incalculable sums were spent on it. It was from time to time enlarged, and rendered more beautiful, untU, at length, it was finished by Adrian. The outside of tMs temple was adorned by nearly 120 fluted columns, 60 feet high, and 6 feet in diameter. The inside was neariy half a DESCEIPTION OF ATHENS, 35 league in cfrcumference. Here stood the renowned statue of the god made by Phidias, of gold and ivory. The Pantheon (sacred to all the gods) must not be forgotten. Of this the Pantheon at Rome is an exact copy. Besides these wonderful works of art, Athens contains many other places which must always be interesting, from the recoUections connected with them. The old pMlosophers were not accustomed, as is weU known, to shut up their scholars in lecture-rooms, but mingled "with them on the freest and pleasantest terms, and, for this purpose, sought out spots wMch were still and retired. Such n spot was the renowned academy where Pldto taught, lying about six stadiii north of the city, forming a part of a place called Ceramicus. TMs spot, originaUy marshy, had been" made a very pleasant place, by planting rows of trees, and turning through it streams of fresh water. Such a place was the Lyceum, where Aristotle taught, and which, through him, became the seat of the Peripatetic school. It lay on the bank of the Ilissus, opposite the city, and was also used for gymnastic exercises. Not far from thence was the less renovraed Cynosarges, where Antisthenes, the founder of the Cynic school, taught. The sects of Zeno and Epicurus held thefr meetings in ¦ the city. Zeno chose the weU-known PoikUe, and Epicuras estabUshed himself in a garden witMn the waUs, for he loved both society and rural quiet. Not only literary, but political assemblies gave a particular interest to different places in Athens. Here was the court of areopagus, where that illustrious body gave their decisions ; the Prytaneum, or senate-house ; the Pnyx, where the free people of Athens deliberated. After 23 centuries of war and devastation, of changes from civilized to savage masters, have passed over this great city, its ruins stiU excite astonishment. No inconsiderable part of the Acropolis was lately standing. The Turks have surrounded, it with a broad, irregular waU. In tMs wall one may perceive the remains of the old wall, together with fragments of ancient pillars, which have been takeh from the ruins of the old to construct new edifices. The right wing of the Propylaenm, built by Pericles at the expense of 2012 talents, and which formed the ancient entrance, was a temple of victory. The roof of this building stood as late as 1656, when it was destroyed by the explosion of some powder kept there. In a part of the present wall, there are fragments of excellent designs in basso relievo, representing the contest of the Athenians with the Amazons. On the opposite wing of the Propylaeum are six whole columns, ."with gate-ways between them. These pillars, half covered on the front side by the wall buUt by the Turks, are of marble, white as snow, and of the finest workmauship. They consist of three or four stones, so artfully joined together, that, though they have been exposed to the weather for 2000 years, yet no separation has been observed. From the Propylaeum we step into the Parthenon. On the eastern front of this building, also, there are eight columns standing, and several colonnades on the side. Of the pediment, which represented the contest of Neptune and Minerva for Athens, there is nothing remaining but the head of a sea-horse, and the figures of two women without heads ; but in all we must admire the highest 36 DESCRIPTION OP ATHENS. degree of trath and beauty. The battle between the Centaurs and Lapithse is better preserved. Of all the statues with which it was adorned, that of Adrian alone remains. The inside of this temple is now changed into a mosque. In the whole of this mutUated buUding, we find an indescribable expression of grandeur and sublimity. There are also astonishing remains to be seen of the Ereetheum (the temple of Neptune Erectheus), especially the beautiful female figures called Caryatides, and which form two arch-ways. Of both theatres there is only so much of the outer walls remaining, that one can estimate thefr former condition and enormous size. The arena has sunk down, and is now planted with corn. In the lower city itself, there are no vestiges to be found of equal beauty and extent. Near a church, sacred to Santa Maria Maggiore, stand three very beautiful Corinthian columns, which support an architrave. They have been supposed to be the remains of a temple of Jupiter Olympius, but the opinion is not well grounded : probably, they are the remains of the old PoikUe. The temple of the Winds, built by Andronicus Cyrrhestes, is not entire. Its form is an octagon : on each side it is covered "with reliefs, which represent one of the principal "winds : the work is excellent. The preservation of this edifice is owing to its being occupied by the dervises as a mosque. Of the monuments of distinguished men, with wMch a whole street was filled, only the fine one of Lysicrates remains. It consists of a pedestal surrounded by a colonnade, and is surmounted by a dome of CorintMan architecture. TMs has been supposed to be the spot which Demosthenes used for Ms study, but the supposition is not well supported. Some prostrate walls are the only remains of the splendid gymnasium built by Ptolemy. Outside of the city, our wonder is excited by the lofty ruins of the temple of the Olympian Jupiter. Of 120 pUlars, 16 remain ; but none of the statues are in existence. The pedestals and inscriptions are scattered here and there, and partly buried in the earth. The main body of the temple of Theseus has remained almost entfre, but much of it, as it now stands, is of modern origin. The figures on the outside are mostly destroyed, but those which adom the frieze within are well preserved. They represent the actions of the heroes of antiquity. The battle between Theseus and the Centaur is likewise depict^. On the Mil where the famous court of areopagus held its sittings, you find steps hewn in the rock, places for the judges to sit, and over against these the stations of the accuser and the accused. The hiU is now a Turkish burial-ground, and is covered with monu ments. The Pnyx, the place of assembly for the people, not far from the Areopagus, is very nearly ia its primitive state One may see the place from which the orators spoke hewn in the rock, the seats of the scribes, and, at both ends, the places of those officers whose duty it was to preserve sUence, and to raake kno"wn the event of public deliberations. The niches are stiU to be seen, where those who had any favor to ask of the people deposited their petitions. The paths for running are stiU visible, where the gymnastic exercises were per formed, and which Herodes Atticus built of wMte marble. The spot occupied by the Lyceum is only known by a quantity of faUen stones, A more modern DESCRIPTION OF ATHENS, 37 edifice stands in the garden in the place of the academy. In the surrounding space, the walks of the Peripatetics can be discerned, and some olive-trees of Mgh antiquity stUl command the reverence of the beholder. The long walls are totally destroyed, though the foundations are yet to be found on the plain. The Pfraeus has scarcely any thing of its ancient splendor, except a few rained pUlars, scattered here and there : the same is the case with the Phalerum and Munychia. It appears probable, that, in the time of Pausanius, many monu ments were extant wMch belonged to the period before the Persian war ; because so transitory a possession as Xerxes had of the city, scarcely gave him time to finish the destruction of the walls and principal public edifices. In the restor ation of the city to its former state, Themistocles looked more to the useful, Cimon to magnificence and splendor ; and Pericles far surpassed them both in Ms buildings. The great supply of money which he had from the tribute of the other states, belonged to no succeeding ruler. Athens at length saw much of her ancient splendor restored ; but, unluckUy, Attica was not an island, and, after the sources of power, which belonged to the fruitful and extensive country of Macedonia, were developed by an able and enlightened prince, the opposing interests of many free states could not long withstand the disciplined army of a warlike people, led by an active, able and ambitious monarch. When Sylla destroyed the works of the Pfraeus, the power of Athens by sea was at an end, and with that fell the whole city. Flattered by the triumvfrate, favored by Adrian's love of the arts, Athens was at no time so splendid as under the An tonines, when the magnificent works of from eight to ten centuries stood in view, and the edifices of Pericles were in equal preservation with the new buUdings. Plutarch Mmself wonders how the structures of Ictinus, of Menes- icles and PMdias, wMch were built with such surprising rapidity, could retain such a perpetual freshness. Probably Pausanius saw Greece yet unplundered. The Romans, from reverence towards a religion approaching so nearly to thefr own, and wishing to conciliate a people more cultivated than themselves, were ashamed to rob temples where the masterpieces of art were kept as sacred, and were satisfied with a tribute of money, although m Sicily they did not abstain from the plunder of the temples, on account of the prevalence of Carthaginian and Phoenician influence in that island. Pictures, even in the time of Pausa- nias, may have been left in thefr places. The wholesale robberies of collectors, the removal of great quantities of the works of art to Constantinople, when the creation of new specimens was no longer possible. Christian zeal, and the attacks of barbarians, destroyed, after a time, in Athens, what the emperors had spared. We have reason to think, that the colossal statue of Minerva Promajhos was standing in the time of Alaric. About 420 A. D., paganism was totally annihUated at Athens, and, when Justinian. closed even the schools of the phUosophers, the recollection of the mythology was lost. The Parthe non was turned into a church of the Virgin Mary, and St. George stepped into the place of Theseus. The manufactory of silk, wMch had hitherto remained, was destroyed by the transportation of a colony of weavers, by Roger of 38 SLAVEEY IN SPARTA. SicUy, and, iu 1456, the place fell into the hands of Omar. To complete its degradation, the city of Minerva obtained the privilege (an enviable one in the East) of being governed by a black eunuch, as an appendage to the harem. The Parthenon became a mosque, and, at the west end of the Acropolis, those alterations were commenced, which the new discovery of artUlery then made necessary. In 1687, at the siege of Athens by the Venetians under Morosini, it appears that the temple of Victory was destroyed, the beautiful remains of liich are to be seen hi the British museum. September 28, of tMs year, a ^.omb fired the powder magazine kept by the Turks in the Parthenon, and, with illis buUding, destroyed the ever memorable remains of the genius of Phidias. Probably, the Venetians knew not what they destroyed ; they could not have intended that their artUlery should accomplish such devastation. The city was surrendered to them September 29. They wished to send the chariot of Vic tory, wMch stood on the west pediment of the Parthenon, to Venice, as a tro phy of thefr conquest, but, in removing, it fell and was dashed to pieces. AprU, 1688, Athens was agam surrendered to the Turks, in spite of the remonstrances of the inhabitants, who, with good reason, feared the revenge of thefr return ing masters. Learned travelers have, since that time, often visited Athens ; .ind we may thank thefr relations and drawings for the knowledge wMch we have of many of the monuments of the place.* CHAPTER III. Slaves op Sparta, Crete, Thessaly, &o. — The Helots. The Helots : — leading events of their History summed up. — Their Masters described. — The Spartans, their manners, customs and constitutions. — Distinguishing traits : se verity, resolution and perseverance, treachery and craftiness. — Marriage. — Treatment ' of Infants. — Physical Education of Youth. — Their endurance of hardships. — The -He lots : their origin ; supposed to belong to the State ; power of life and death over them ; how subsisted ; property acquired by them ; their military service. — Plato, Aristotle, Isocrates, Plutarch and other writers convict the Spartans of barbarity towards them ; the testimony of Myron on this point ; instances of tyi-anny and cruelty. — Institution of the Crypteia; annual massacre of the Helots. — Terrible instance of treachery. — Bloody servile wars. — Sparta engaged in contests -with her o"vra vassals. — ReUes upon foreign aid. — ^Earthquake, and vengeance of the Helots. — Con stant source of terror to their masters. — Other classes of slaves. — Their privileges and advancement. — Slavery in Crete : classes and condition. — Mild treatment. — Strange l^i ivileges during certain Festivals. — Slaves of Syracuse rebel and triumph. — T^ie Ar cadians. 1. HERE seems to be a diversity of opinion among modern writers, as to the f :ii(litiQii of the Spartan Helots, The American Encyclopedia, iu giving * Encyclopedia Americana, THE HELOTS. 39 briefly the prominent events of thefr history, states, that the name is generaUy derived from the to"wn of Helos, the inhabitants of which were carried off and reduced to slavery, by the Heraclidae, about 1000 B. C. They differed from the other Greek slaves in not belonging individually to separate masters ; they were the property of the state, which alone had the disposal of their freedom. They formed a separate class of inhabitants, and their condition was, m many respects, simUar tp that of the boors in some countries of Europe. The state assigned them to certain citizens, by whom they were employed in privstte labors, though not exclusively, as the state still exacted certain services from them. Agriculture and all mechanical arts at Sparta were in the hands of the Helots, since the laws of Lycurgus prohibited the Spartans from all lucrative occupations. But the Helots were also obliged to bear arms for the state, in case of necessity. The barbarous treatment to which they were exposed often excited them to insurrection, Thefr dresS) by which they were contemptuously distinguished from the free Spartans, .consisted of cat's-sMn, and a leather cap, of a peculiar shape. They were sometimes liberated for their services, or for a sum of money. If thefr numbers increased too much, the young Spartans, it is said, were sent out to assassinate them, Thefr number is uncertain, but Thucydides says that it was greater than that of the slaves in any, other Gre cian state. It has been variously estimated, at from 320,000 to 800,000. They several times rose against their masters, bnt were always finally reduced. Before we proceed "with the Mstory of the Spartan Helots, it "wUl be well enough to digress, in order to understand the character of thefr masters, who were, in; many respects, a peculiar people. Sparta, or Lacedaemon, the capital of Laconia and of the Spartan state, lay on the west bank of the river Eurotas, and embraced a circuit of six raUes. The ruins are still seen nearly a league to the east of Misistra, and are known by the name of Palaeopolis, or "ancient city." The Spartans were difetin- guished among the people of Greece by thefr manners, customs and constitu tion. Their kings ruled only through the popular wiU, as they had no other privileges than those of giving thefr opinion first in the popular assemblies, acting as umpfres in disputes, and of commanding the army : thefr only other advantages were a considerable landed estate, a large share of the spoils, and the chief seat in assemblies and at meals. The Spartans, that is, the descend ¦ ants of the Dorians, who acquired possession of Laconia under the Heraclidae, were occupied only with war and the chase, and left the agricultural labors to the Helots ; but the Lacedaemonians, or Perioeci (the ancient inhabitants of the country), engaged in commerce, navigation and manufactures. Although the Spartan conquerors were superior in refinement , and cultivation to the LacedaBmonians, the arts of industry flourished only among the latter. They gradually intermingled with the Spartans, whom they exceeded in number, and formed one people. Both people constituted one state, with a national assem bly, to which the towns sent deputies. The mUitary contributions in money and troops formed the principal tribute of the free Lacedaemonians to the 40 THE SPAETANS, Spartans (Dorians). The former were sometimes divided by jealousy from the latter, and in the Theban war several towns withdrew their troops from the Spartans, and joined Epaminondas. The distinguisMng traits of the Spartans were severity, resolution and perseverance. Defeat and reverse never discouraged them. But they were faithless and crafty, as appears from their conduct in the Messenian wars, in which they not only bribed the Arca dian king, Aristocrates, to the basest treachery towards the Messenians, but also corrupted the Delphic oracle, of which they made use to the prejudice of the Messenians. The age at which marriage might be contracted was fixed by Lycurgus at thirty for men and twenty for women. When a Spartan woman was pregnant, it was required that pictures of the handsomest young men should be hung np in her chamber, for the purpose of producing a favorable effect on the fruit of her womb. The other Greeks washed the new-born infants with water, and afterwards rubbed them over vrith oU; but the Spartans bathed them in wine, to try the strength of their constitution. They had & notion that a wine bath produced convulsions or even death in weakly cMl- dren, but confirmed the health of the strong. If the infant proved vigorous and sound, the state received it into the number of citizens ; otherwise it was thrown into a cave on mount Taygetns, In the other Grecian states, the exposition of children was a matter of custom ; in Sparta it was forbidden by law. The Spartan children were early inured to hardship and accustomed to freedom. Stays, which were in use among the other Grecians, were unkno"wn to the Spartans. To accustom the children to endure hunger, they gave them but Uttle food ; and, if they stood in need of more, they were obliged to steal it ; and, if discovered, they were severely punished, not for the theft, but foi their awkwardness. Every ten days, they were required to present themselves before the ephori, and whoever was found to be too fat, received a flogging. Wine was not generally given to girls in Greece, but was commonly allowed to boys from earliest childhood. In Sparta, the boys were obliged to wear the hair short, untU they attained the age of manhood, when it was suffered to grow. They usually ran naked, and were generally dirty, as they did not bathe and anoint themselves, like the other Greeks, They took pride in hav ing the body covered with marks of braises and wounds. They wore no outer garment, except in bad weather, and no shoes at any time. They were obliged to make their beds of rashes from the Eurotas, Till the seventh year, the child was kept in the gynasceum, under the care of the women ; from that arevelation from hdaven, SicUy had been divided into a few great plantations ; and now 1 the voice of a leader, joining the fanaticism of reUgion to the enthusiasm for freedom, \ with the hope of Uberty awakened the slaves, not in Sicily only, but in Italy, to the use ' arm; What need of dwelling on the horrors of a servUe war ? Cruel overseers were ^"tabbed with pitchforks ; the defenseless were cut to pieces by scythes ; tribunals, hith erto unheard of, were estabUshed, where each famUy of slaves might arraign its master, and, counting np his ferocities, adjudge punishment for every remembered wrong, WeU may the Roman historian blush as he relates the disgraceful tale, Quis aequo animo ferat in prinoipe gentium populo beUa servorum ? The Eomans had fought their alUes, yet had fought with freemen ; let the queen of nations blush, for she must now contend with victorious slaves. Thrice, nay, four times, were the Eoman armies defeated ; the insurrection spread into Italy ; four times were even the camps of Eoman praetors stormed and taken ; Eoman soldiers became the captives of their bondmen. The army of the slaves increased to 200,000, It is said, that in this war a miUion of Uves were^ lost ; the statement is exaggerated ; but SicUy suffered more from the devastations of the servUe, than of the Carthaginian war. Twice were Eoman consuls unsuccessful. At length, after years of defeat, the benefits of discipline gave success to the Eoman forces. The last garrison of the last citadel of the slaves disdained to surrender, and could no longer resist ; they escaped the ignominy of captivity by one universal suicide. The conqueror of slaves, a new thing in Eome, retumed to enjoy the honors of an ovation. The object of Tiberius Gracchus, continued by his eloquent and eqnaUy unhappy brother, who moreover was the enUghtened and energetic advocate of a system of in temal improvement in Italy, aimed at ameUorating the condition of the indigent free men. The great servile insurrection was designed to effect the emancipation of slaves ; I and both were unsuccessful. But God is just and his laws are invincible. Slavery next made its attack directly on the patricians, and foUowing the order of Pro"vidence in the govemment of the moral world, began with sUent but sure influence to cormpt the ., virtue of famiUes, and even to destroy domestic Ufe, It is a weU ascertained fact, that . slavery diminishes the frequency of marriages in the class of masters. In a state V where emancipation is forbidden, the slave population wiU perpetually gain upon the numbers of the free. We wUl not stop to develop the three or four leading causes of this result, pride and the habits of luxury, the facilities of Uoentious indulgence, the circumscribed Umits of productive industry ; some of whioh causes operate exclusively, and aU of them principally, on the free. The position is certain and is universal ; no where was the principle more amply exemplified than in Rome, The rich alavehftl^eis preferred luxury and indulgenoe-.to .jnarriage ; and ceUbacy became so general, that the ^ > aristocracy was obUged by law to favor the institution, which, in a society where aU are free, constitutes the solace of labor and the ornament of Ufe. A Eoman censor could in a pubUc address to the people, stigmatize matrimony as a troublesome companion ship, and recommend it only as a patriotic sacrifice of private pleasure to pubUc duty. Hie depopulation of the upper class was so considerable, that the waste required to he BuppUed by emancipation; and repeatedly there have been periods, when the majority of the Romans had once been bondmen. Emancipation was essential to the preservation of a class of freemen, who might serve as a balance to the slave population. It was this extensive celibacy aud the consequent want of succession, that gave a pecuUar ,character to the Roman laws relating to adoption. The continued and increasing deleterious effects of slavery on Eoman instUutions, J e SLAVERY IN EOME. 61 may be traced through the changes in the character of that majority of the citizens, I whom it left "withoub the opportunity or the fruits of industry. Even in the time of the ' younger Gracchus, they retained dignity enough to hope for an ameUo'ration of their ; condition by the action of laws, and the exercise of their own franchises. Failing in this end through the firmness of the nobles, the free middling class was entirely de stroyed ; society soon became divided into the very rich and the very poor ; and sla"ves, ' who performed aU the labor, occupied the intermediate position between the two classes. The first step in the progress of degradation constituted the citizens, by their o"wn vote, a, class of.jRaupe^,„JI!hey.-aalled on the state, to. feed- them -fiom.the "pubUc grana- r ' rie^. But mark the difference between the pauper system of England, or America, and *t£at of Rome. We cheerfully sustain in decent competence the aged, the -widow, the cripple, the sick and the orphan ; Rome supplied the great body of her citizens. Eng land, who also feeds a large proportioffTjf lief laboring class, entrusts to her paupers no elective franchises. Rome fed with eleemosynary corn the majority of her citizens, who retained, even in their condition of paupers, the privileges of electing the govem ment, and the right of supreme, ultimate legislation. Thus besides the select wealthy idlers, here was a new class of idlers, a multitudinous aristocracy, having no estate but their citizenship, no inheritance but their right of suffrage. Both were a burden upon the industry of the slaves ; the senate directly from the revenues of their plantations, , , the commons indirectly, from the coffers of the Commonwealth. It was a burden greater - than the fruits of slave industry could bear ; the deficiency was supplied by the plunder of foreign countries. The Romans, as a nation, became an accompUshed horde of robbers. ..^ This first step was ominous enough ; the second was stiU more alarming. Ajjama- Aj--^ gogtie -appeared, and gainjngjffica,. and jthe_oonduot of a war, organized J;hese paupeir eleators into a regular army. Thejiemagogue was'Marius ; the movement was "STTe vo lution. Hitherto the senate had exercised an exclusive control over the brute force of the Commonwealth ; the mob was now armed and enroEed, and led by an accomplished (J, i chieftain. Both partiesTTe'ing thus possessed of great physical force, the civil wars be tween the wealthy slaveholders and the impoverished freemen, the select and the mul titudinous aristocracy of Rome, pouldnot but ensue. Marius ahd SyUa were the respective leaders ; the streets of Rome and the fields of Italy became the scenes of massacre ; and the oppressed bondmen had the satisfaction of beholding the jarring parties, in the na tion whioh had enslaved them, shed each other's blood as freely as water. This was not all. The slaves had their triumph. SyUa selected ten thousand from their number, and to gain influence for himself at the polls, conferred on them freedom, • and the elective franchise. Of the two great leaders of the opposite factions, it has been asserted that SyUa had a distinct purpose, and that Marius never had. The remark is true, and the reason is obvious, SyUa was the organ of the aristocracy ; to the party which already possessed aU the wealth, he desired to secure aU the poUtical power. This was a definite object, and in one sense was attainable. Having effected a revolution, and ha"ving taken ven geance on the enemies of the senate, he retired from office. He could not have retained perpetual authority ; the forms of the ancient repubUc were then too vigorous, and the party on which he rested for support, would not haye tolerated the usurpation. He established the supremacy of the senate, and retired into private Ufe, Marius, as the leader of the people, was met by insuperable difficulties. The existence of a slave pop ulation rendered it impossible to elevate the character of his indigent constituents ; nor were they possessed of sufficient energy to grasp poUtical power "with tenacity. He could therefore only embody them among his soldiers, and leave the issue to Providence, His partisans suffered from evils, whioh it required centuries to ripen and to heal ; Marius could have no plan. 62 " SLAVERY IN EOME. Thus the institution of slavery had been the ultimate cause of two poUtical revolu tions. The indigence to which it reduced the commons, had led the Gracchi to appear as the advocates of reform, and had encouraged Marius to become their miUtary leader. In the murder of the former, the senate had displayed their success in exciting mobs ; and in resistance to the latter, they had roused up a defender of their usurpations. The slaves, also, who had found in Eunus an insurgent leader, were now near obtaining a Uberator, The aristgcrAcy was •sattSfi'Sdr-with itsjtriumpha^--«ie-impOverisBed' m-ar(T3ii!y, now accustomed, to ihMr_abjectness, made only the additional -demand of amusements at"ffie pubUc expense; and were "also ignobly satisfied. The slaves alone .murmnjed, an)3_iii_Spatig53JS7T5ire" of their niim'ber, they found a^man of genius and courage, capa ble of becoming their leader. Roman legislation had done nothing for them ; the legis lation of their masters had not assuaged one pain, nor interposed the shield of the law against cruelty. The slaves determined upon a general insurrection, to be foUowed by emigration. The cry went forth from the plains of Lombardy, and reached the rich fields of Campania, and was echoed through every vaUey among the Appennines. The gladiators burst the prisons of their keepers ; the field-servant threw dewn his manure- basket ; Syrian and Scythian, the thraU from Macedonia and from Carthage, the wretches from South Gaul, the Spaniard, the African, awoke to resistance. The barbarian, who had been purchased to shed his blood in the arena, remembered his hut on the Danube ; the Greek, not yet indifferent to freedom, panted for release. It was an insurrec tion, as solemn in its object, as it was fearful in its extent, Eome was on the brink of ruin. Spartacus pointed to the._AlES j_beypnd., their .heiglits— were^ fields, where the fvigitives_might ..plaHt--tKeic__qolony..i,ther.e_they might jevive the_^r^2ie2Ei£fidom ; there the oppressed might found a new state on the basis of benevolence, and in the spirit of justice. A common interest would unite the bondmen of the most remote Uneage, the most various color, in a firm and happy republic. Already the armies of four Eoman generals had been defeated ; already the immense emigration was on its way to the Alps, If the mass of slaves could, at any moment, on breaking their fetters, find themselves capable of establishing a Uberal government, if they cotUd at once, on being emancipa ted or on emancipating themselves, appear possessed of civic "virtue, slavery would be deprived of more than half its horrors. But the circumstance which more than any other renders the institution execrable, is this : that whUe it binds the body, it corrupts the mind. The outrages which men commit, when they first regain their freedom, furnish the strongest argument against the system of bondage. The horrible inhumanity of civil war, and slave insurrection, are the topics of the loudest appeal against the con dition, which oan render human nature capable of committing such crimes. Idleness and treachery and theft, are the vices of slavery. The followers of Spartacus, when the j pinnacles of the Alps were almost "within their sight, turned aside to plunder ; and the j Eoman army, which could not conquer in open battle the defenders of their personal I freedom, was able to gain the advantage, where the fugitive slave was changed from a defender of Uberty into a plunderer. The struggle took place prioisely at a moment when the Eoman State was most en dangered by foreign enemies. But for the difficulties in the way of communication, which rendered a close coalition between remote armies impossible, the Roman State would have sunk beneath the storm ; and from the shattered planks of its noble ruins the slaves alone would have been able to buUd themselves a Uttle bark of hope, to escape from the desolation. Slaves would have occupied by right of conquest the heri tage of the Caesars, They finally became lords ; but it was in a surer, and to human nature and Roman pride, in a more humiliating manner. The suppression of the great insurrection of Spartacus brings us to the age of the SLAVEEY IN EOME. 63 trium"virs, and the approaching career of JuUus Caesar. To form a proper judgment of hig designs, and their character, we must endeavor to gain some distinct idea of the condition of the inhabitants of Italy during his time, as divided into the classes of the nobles, the poorer citizens, and the slaves. The vast capacity for reproduction, which the laws of society secure to capital in a greater degree than to personal exertion, displays itself no where so clearly as in slave- holding states, where the laboring class is but a portion of the capital of the opulent. As wealth consists chiefly in land and Slaves, the rates of interest are, from universaUy' optative causes, always comparatively high ; the diffloiUty of advancing with borrowed capital proportionably great. The smaU land-holder finds himself unable to compete with those who are possessed of whole cohorts of bondmen; his slaves, his lands, rapidly pass, in consequence of his debts, into the hands of the more opulent. The large plantations are constantly swaUo'wing np the smaUer ones ; and land and slaves soon come to be engrossed by a few. Before Csesar passed the Eubicon, this condition existed in its extreme in the Eoman State, The akistocragt owned the soil and its cultivators, A free laborer was hardly known. The large proprietors of slaves not only tiUed their immense plantations, but also indulged their avarice in training their slaves to every species of labor, and letting them out, as horses from a Uvery stable, for the performance of every conceivable species of work. Four or five hundred slaves were not an uncommon number in one family ; fifteen or twenty thousand sometimes belonged to one master. The wealth of Crassus was immense, and consisted chiefiy in lands and slaves ; on the number of his slaves we hardly dare hazard a conjecture. Of joiners and masons he had over five hundred. Nor was this the whole evil. The nobles, having impoverished their lands, became usurers, and had their agents dispersed over aU the provinces. The censor Cato closed his career by recommending usury, as more productive than agriculture by slave labor ; and such was the prodigality of the Roman planters, that, to indulge their fondness for luxury, many of them also mortgaged their estates to the money-lenders. Thus the lands of Italy, at best in the ha;ids of a few proprietors, became virtuaUy vested in the hands of a stiU smaller number of usurers. No man's honse, no man's person, was secure. NuUie est certa domus, nullum sine pignore corpus. Hence, corruption readUy found its way into the senate ; the votes of that body, not less than the votes of the poorer citizens, were a merchantable com modity. Venalis Curia patrum. The wisdom and the decrees of the senate were for sale to the highest bidder. Thus there was in aU Italy no yeomanry, no free labor, no free manufacturing class ; and thus the wealth of the great landed proprietors was whoUy unbalanced. The large plantations, cultivated by slave labor, had already mined Italy. Verum confitentibus, latifundia ItaUam perdidemnt. The FREE CITIZENS, who still elected tribunes and consuls, and were stiU sometimes convened in a sort of town-meeting, were poor and abject. But the right of suffrage in sured them a maintenance. The petty offices in the Commonwealth were fiUed from their number, and such as retained some capacity for business found many a lucrative job, in return for their influence and their votes. The custom houses, the previnoes, the intemal poUce, offered inviting situations to moderate ambition. The rest clamored for bread from the pubiio treasury, for tickets for the theatre at the national expense, for gladiatorial shows, where men were butchered at the cost of the office-seeking aris tocracy, for the amusement of the majority. But there existed no free manufacturing establishments, no free farmers, no free laborers, no free mechanics. The state possessed some of the forms of democracy ; but the Ufe-gi"ring principle of a democracy, prosper ous free labor, was wanting. The third class was the class of slaves. It was three times as numerous as both the 64 SLA"VEKY IN EOME. others ; though, as we have already observed, the whole body belonged almost exclusively to the few very wealthy. Their numbers excited constant apprehension ; bnt care was taken not to distinguish them by a pecuUar dress. Their ranks were recruited in various ways. The captives in war were sold at auction. The good Cicero, in the Uttle wars in which he was commander, sold men enough to produce, at half price, half a mUUon doUars, When it was told in Eome that Csesar had invaded Britain, the people, in the tme spirit of robbers, could not bnt ask one another what plunder he could hope to flnd there, ' There is not a semple of sUver, ' said they, ' in the whole island ; ' neque argenti scrupulum in iUa insula, 'Yes, ' it was truly answered, ' but he "wiU bring slaves. ' The second mode of supplying the slave market was by commerce ; and this supply was so uniform and abundant, that the price of an ordinary laborer hardly varied very much for centuries. The. reason is obvious. The slave merchant gets his cargoes from kidnappers, and the first cost, therefore, is inconsiderable. The great centres of this traffic were in the harbors bordering on the Euxine ; and Scythians were often stolen. Caravans penetrated the deserts of Africa, and made regular hunts for slaves. Blacks were in high value ; they were somewhat rare, and therefore both male and female negroes were favorite articles of luxury among the opulent Eomans, At one period, Delos was most remarkable as the emporium for slavers. It had its harbors, chains, prisons, every thing so amply arranged to favor a brisk traffic, that ten thousand slaves could change hands and be shipped in a single day. Such was the character of the ItaUan population over which a government was to be instituted, at the time when Caesar appeared "with his army on the borders of the Rubi con, In the contest which foUowed, it was the object of Pompey to plunder, to devas tate, and to revenge. There did not exist any armed' party in favor of a democratic re public. The spirit of the democracy was gone ; and its shade only moved, with powerless steps, through the forum and the temples, which had once been the scenes of its glory, JuUus Caesar was a great statesman, not less than a great soldier. His ambition was in every thing gratified ; the noise of his triumphs had filled the shores of England, the swamps of Belgium, and the forests of Germany. Any distinction in the Roman State was within his reach. He was childless ; and therefore his ambition hardly seemed to require a subversion of the Roman Commonwealth. And yet, with aU this, he deliber ately perceived that the continuance of popular Uberty was impossible, in the actual condition of the Roman State ; that a wasting, corrupt, and most oppressive aristocracy was preparing to assume the dominion of the world ; that this aristocracy threatened ruin to the pro"vinces, perpetual cruelty to the slaves, and hereditary, intolerant con tempt for the people. Democracy had expired ; and the worst form of aristocracy, like that of the Venetian nobles of a later day, could be prevented only by a monarchy, Julius Caesar coolly resolved on the establishment of a monarchy. This was the third great revolution prepared by slavery. Slavery having impoverished, but not whoUy corrupted the free citizens, Gracchus had endeavored to restore the democracy by creating an independent yeomanry, and had failed from the opposition of the nobles. The nobles, perceiving the increase of the evil, the great degradation of the electors, and the multiplication of slaves, and being firmly resolved on maintaining the system of slave labor, endeavored to effect a revolu tion, by substituting a strong aristocracy for the democracy. The plan faUed, owing to he strength of the democratic forms, which had survived the democratic spirit. Caesar came, and finding the evil excessive, could devise no cure ; but he clearly saw that a monarchical form of government was the only one which would endure in Rome, Had Caesar possessed the virtues of Washington, the democracy of Jefferson, the legislative genius of Madison, he could not have changed the course of events. The condition of the Roman population demanded monarchy,. SLAVERY IN EOME. 65 Tiiere remained no mode of establishing a fixed govemment in Rome, but by vesting til power in the hands of one man. In Italy, no opposition whatever was made to Caesar, on the,$art of the people or of the slaves. The only opposition proceeded from the aris tocracy, and they could offer resistance only in the remoter subjected districts, with the aid of hireling troops, sustained by the revenues of the provinces, which were stiU un der the control of the senate. The people conferred on Caesar aU the power whioh he could desire ; he was created dictator for a year, that he might subdue his enemies, and consul for five years, that he might confirm his authority. The inviolability of his per son was secured by his election as tribune for life. What would have been the poUcy of Julius Caesar, had he remained in power, cannot be safely conjectured. To say that he had no plan is absurd ; every step in his progress was marked by consistency. The estabhshment of monarchy was already an alternative to slavery. Caesar did more. He issued an ordinance, not indeed of immediate aboUtion, but commanding that one-third part of the labor of Italy should be performed by free hands. The command was rendered inoperative by the assassination of Caesar, the greatest misfortune that could have happened to Rome. For who were his murderers ? Not the people, not the insurgent bondmen ; but a portion of the aristocracy, to whom the greatest happiness of the greatest number was a matter of supreme indifference. The great majority of the conspirators have never found a eulogist. Every ancient writer speaks of them "with reprobation and contempt. Cassius, one of the chief lead ers, was notoriously selfish, ' violent, aud disgracefuUy covetous, not to say dishonest. He is universaUy represented as envying injustice rather than abhorring it, and his con duct has ever been ascribed to personal malevolence, and not to patriotism. But Brutus ! History never manufactured him into a hero, till he had made himself an assassin. Of a headstrong, unbridled disposition, he never displayed coolness of judgment in any part of his career. It was his misfortune to have been the son of an abandoned woman, and to have been bred in a home which adultery ancj. wantonness had defiled. The vices of early indulgence may be palUated by his youth and the Ucentiousness of his time ; but Brutus, whUe yet young, was notorious as a merciless and exorbitant usurer, at the rate of four per cent, a month, or forty-eight per cent, a year. When his debtors grew unable to pay, he obtained for his agent an appointment to a military post, and extorted his claims by martial law. The town of Salamis, in the isle of Cjprus, owed him money on the terms we have mentioned. He caused the members of its bankrupt municipal govemment to be confined in their town-haU, in the hope that hunger would quicken their financial skiU ; and some of them were starved to death. Such was Bru tus at that ingenuous period of life, when benevolence is usuaUy most active. Brutus hated Pompey, yet after deUberating, he joined the party of that leader, and remained true to it, so long as it seemed to be the strongest ; but no sooner was the battle of Pharsalia won, than Bruiius gave in his adhesion to Caesar, and to confer a value ou his conversion, he betrayed the confidence of the fugitive, whose cause he had abandoned ! In the plot against Caesar, Brutus was the dupe of more sagacious men. The admirer transfers his own enthusiasm for Uberty to those who claimed to be the champions of the republic; and reverences the crime of inconsiderate passion, as the exercise of righteous vengeance. Caesar had received the senate sitting ; this insult required immediate vengeance. They murdered Caesar, not from pubUc spirit, but from mortified vanity and angry dis content. The people, who had been pleased with the humiUatiou of their oppressors, were indignant at the assassination, and the assassins themselves had no ulterior plan. Slavery had poisoned the Eoman State to the marrow ; a,nd though the conspirators had no fixed Une of poUoy, yet the condition of the population of Italy led immediately to monarchy. The yoimg Octavian owed his elevation, not to his talents, but to the 5 .> 66 SLA"VEEY IN EOME. state of the times. Nothing but monarchy was tolerable. The evUs that foUowed ser vitude made Augustus emperor. 1 — 'Thus slavery, by impoverishing the majority of the citizens, rendered the reform of Gracchus necessary to the preservation of the democracy, and at the same time rendered i fhat reform impossible. In a word, slavery subverted the Eoman democracy. The same t cause, corrupting the citizens, occasioned the attempt of SyUa, which Pompey would have renewed, to found an aristocratic govemment, where there already existed an aris- t tocratio class ; a result which the combined interests of the slaves and the people defeated. Slavery was the moving cause of the third revolution ; and monarchy was j estabUshed by the common consent of the people, and to the sure benefit of the slave. j In-4.he emperor the slave wonld have a friend. *^ Slavery prepared one more revolution, before it expired. It introduced Oriental des potism into Europe ; not by force of arms, bnt by the sure results of causes that were perpetuaUy in action. Slavery impoverished the soU of Italy. Tlie careless culture wore ont even the rich fields of Campania. Large districts were left waste ; other large tracts were turned into pastures ; and grazing was substituted for tUlage. The average crops of Italy hardly ever retumed fourfold increase. Nam frumenta majore quidem parte ItaUae, qnando cum quarto responderint, "vix meminisse possumus. It is the confession of the eulogist and the teacher of agrictUture. Italy was naturaUy a very fertUe country ; but slave labor could hardly wring from it a retum one-half, or even one-third, so great as free labor gets from the hUls and vales of New England.*' This impoverishment of the soU impoverished the spirit of its inhabitants.! The owners of slaves, disdaining the use of the sickle and the plow, crept within the waUs of Eome, abandoning the cares of agri culture to the vUest of their bondmen. Slavery prepared the way for Oriental despotism by enoeugagmglnxuiy. The genius of the Romans was inventive ; but it was only to de"vise new pleasures of the senses; The retinue of servants was unexampled; and the caprices, to which men 'and women were subjected, were innumerable. The Roman -writers are so fuU of it, that it is un necessary to draw the picture, which would indeed represent humanity degraded by the subserviency of slaves, and by the artificial desires and vices of their masters. This detestable excess extended through the whole upper class. Women ceased to blush for -vices which, in other times, render men infamous. Benefioium sexus sni vitUs perdid emnt, et quia foeminam exuerunt, damliatae sunt morbis virUibus. At Eome, the gout was a common disease in the circles of female dissoluteness and fashion. The rage of luxury extended also, in some sort, to the people. For them, tens of thousands of gla diators were sacrificed without concem ; for them the enslaved Jews raised the gigantic walls of the CoUseum, the most splendid monument of human infamy ; for them actual navies engaged in actual contests ; and the saUors, as they prepared for battle, received only an avete, on their way to death. In Uke manner, the effect of slavery became visible on pubiio morals. Among the slaves there was no such thing as the sanctity of marriage ; dissoluteness was almost as general as the class. The slave was ready to assist in the corruption of his master's family. The virtues of self-denial were unknown. But the picture of Eoman immo- raUty is too gross to be exhibited. Its excess can be estimated from the extravagance of its remedy. When the Christian reUgion made its way through the oppressed classes pf society, and gained strength by acquiring the affections of the miserable, whose woes it solaced, the abandoned manners of the cities could be forcibly reproved, only by the voice of fanaticism. When domestic Ufe had almost ceased to exist, the universal lewd ness could be checked only by the most exaggerated eulogies of absolute chastity. Con vents and nunneries grew up, when more than half the world were excluded from the SLAVEEY IN EOME, 67 rites of marriage, and condemned bythe laws of the empire to promiscuous indulgence. Vows of -virginity were the testimony which religion bore against the enormities of the times. Spotless purity could alone put to blush the shamelessness of artificial excess. As in raging diseases, the most violent and unnatural remedies need to be appUed for a season, so the transports of enthusiasm and the revolution of fanaticism sometimes appear necessary to stay the infection of a moral pestilence. Thus riot produced asceti cism ; and monks, and monkish eloquence, and monastic vows grew out of the general depravity of manners. The remedy was demanded, since pnbUo vice was threatening the Southern world with depopulation. The gradual decay of the class of ingenuous freemen had ever been a conspicuous result of slavery. The corruptions of Ucentiousness spared neither sex of the Roman people ; and the consequence was so certain, that emancipation alone could supply tho void. Nor was it long before the majority of the cohorts, of the priesthood, of the tribes, of the people, nay of the senate itself, came to consist of emancipated slaves. But the sons of slaves could have no capacity for defending freedom ; and despotism was at hand, when, besides the sovereign, there were few who were not bondmen or the chil dren of bondmen. Freedom, to exist securely, must be locked fast in hereditary affec tions, and confirmed as a mortmain inheritance from long generations. The govemment of Eome was sufficiently degraded, when the makers of au emperor, stumbling upon Claudius, the wisest fool of the times, proclaimed hint the master of the Eoman empire. Slavery now enjoyed its triumph, for a slave becapie prime minister. Io Saturnalia, shouted the cohorts, as Narcissus attempted to address them. But the consummation of evil had not arrived. The husband of Messalina had, naturally enough, taken np a prejudice against matrimony ; but the governors of the weak emperor, who managed him as absolutely as Buckingham managed James I., insisted upon his marry ing Agrippina. He did so ; and Agrippina, assisted by freedmen and slaves, disinherited his B6n, murdered her husband, and placed Nero on the throne. Slaves gave Nero the purple. The accession of Nero is the epoch of the virtual establishment of the fourth revolu tion. The forms of ancient Rome still continued, but Nero was the incarnation of tyran ny ; the triumph of human depravity ; the very name by which men are accustomed to express the fury of unrestrained maUgnity, Bad as he was, Nero was not worse than Rome. Eome had no right to complain ; Eome had but her due. Nay, when he died, the rabble and the slaves crowned his statues "with garlands, and scattered flowers over his grave. And why should they not 1 Nero never injured the rabble, never oppressed the slave. He murdered his mother, his brother, his wife. But Nero was only the tyrant of the wealthy; the terror of the successful. He rendered poverty sweet, for. poverty alone was secure ; he rendered slavery tolerable, for slaves alone, or slavish men, were promoted to power. In honoring his tomb, they honored their avenger. The reign of Nero was the golden reign of the populace, and the. holiday of the bondman. The death of Gracchus was now avenged on the descendants of his murderers. The streams in Heaven, it is truly said, run up hill ; and slavery, in producing its perfect results, had brought the heaviest curse on the heads of its supporters. Despotism now became thS government of the Roman empire. Yet, there was such a vitality in the forms of liberty, that they were still in some degree preserved. Two centuries passed away, before the last vestiges of repubUcan simpUcity disappeared ; two centuries elapsed, before the Eastern diadem could be introduced "with the slavish cus toms of the East. Up to the reign of Diocletian, a diadem had never been endured in Europe. Hardly had this emblem of servility become tolerated, when language also began to be corrupted ; and, within the course of another century, the austere purity of the Greek and Eoman tongues, the languages of Demosthenes and of Gracchus, became for the first time famiUarized to the *brms of Oriental adulation. * Your imperial 68 CHRISTIAN SLA"VEEY Highness, your Grace, your Excellency, your Immensity, your Honor, your Majesty, then first became current in the European world ; men grew ashamed of a plain name ; and one person could not address another without foUowing the custom of the Syrians, and caUing him Rabbi, Master. It is a calumny to charge the devastation of Italy upon the barbarians. We say again, the large Roman plantations, tilled by slave labor, were the ruin of Italy, Verum con fitentibus, latifundia ItaUam perdidere. From the days of Gracchus, morals, courage, force of character, and agriculture had been declining. The productiveness of the country was constantly diminishing ; Italy, for centuries, had not produced com enough to meet the wants of its inhabitants. Rome was chiefly suppUed from Sicily and Africa, and the largest number of its inhabitants had, for centuries, been fed from the pubUc magazines. The barbarians did not ruin Italy. The Eomans themselves ruined it. Slavery had made it a waste and depopulated land, before a Scythian or a Scandinavian had crossed the Alps. When Alaric led the Goths into Italy, even after the conquest of Eome, he saw that he could not sustain his army in the beautiful but desert territory, unless he could also conquer Sicily and Africa, whence alone daily bread could be obtained. His successor was, therefore, easily persuaded to abandon the unproductive region, and invade the happier France, • AttUahad no other object than a roving pUgrimage after plunder; and as his cupidity was Uttle excited, and the cUmate was ungenial, the wUd, unlettered Cahnuck was easily overawed by the Eoman priesthood, and diverted from the indigent Italy to the more prosperous North, Eome stiU remained an object for plunderers, bnt none of the bar- barianj were tempted to make Italy the seat of empire, or Eome a metropoUs, Slavery had destroyed the democracy, had destroyed the aristocracy, had destroyed the empire ; and now at last it left the traces of its ruinous power deeply furrowed on the faee of nature herself.' CHAPTER VI. Christian Slavery in Northern Africa. Barbary — the Carthaginians, the Eomans, the Vandals. — ^Northern Africa annexed to the Greek Empire. — Conquered by the Saracens. — The Spanish Moors pass over to Africa — Their expeditions to plunder the coasts of Spain, and carry off the Christian Span iards into Slavery. — Cardinal Ximenes invades Barbary, 1509, to release the captives. — Barbarossa, the sea-rover, becomes .king of Algiers. — The Christian Slaves build the mole. — Expeditions of Charles V. against the Moors. — Insurrection of the Slaves. — Charles releases 20,000 Christians from Slavery, and carries off 10,000 Mohammedans to be reduced to Slavery in Spain. — The Moors retaliate by seizing 6000 Minorcans for Slaves. — Second expedition of Charles-^its disastrous termination — ^his army destroyed — prisoners sold into Slavery.-*The Algerines extend their depredations into the Eng lish Channel. — Condition of the Christian slaves in Barbary — treated with more human ity than African slaves among Christians. — Eansom of the slaves by their countrymen, — British ParUament appropriates money for the purpose, — The French send bomb ves sels in 1688. — Lord Exmouth in 1816 releases 3000 captives, and puts an end to Chris tian Slavery in Barbary. B ARBART is the general and somewhat vague denomination adopted by Europeans to designate that part of the northem coast of Africa which, bound ed on the south by the desert of Sahara, is comprised between the frontiers of IN NORTHERN AFEICA, 69 Egypt on the Mediterranean, and Cape Nun, the westem spur of the lofty At las range, on the Atlantic. Imperfectly known even at the present day, in an cient legend it was peculiarly the land of mystery and fable. It was there the Grecian poets, giving thefr afry nothings a local habitation and a name, placed the site of the delightful gardens of Hesperides, whose trees bore apples of the purest gold ; there dwelt the terrible Gorgon, whose snaky tresses turned all living things into stone ; there the Lavincible Hercules "wrestled and overtMew the mighty Antseus ; there the weary Atlas supported the ponderous arch of heaven on Ms stalwart shoulders. Almost as mytMcal and mysterious is the little we know of the Phoenicians, the greatest maritime people of antiquity, who planted their most powerful colony, the proud city of Carthage, on these fertile shores of Northem Africa. Of the Carthaginians, we can glean a lit tle from the Greek and Roman historians. We know that in turn becoming the rulers of the seas, they explored and founded colonies and trading-depots . in what were at that time the most distant regions ; extending thefr commer cial relations from the tropical banks of the Niger to the frost-bound beach of the Baltic. A powerful people ere Rome was built, they long enjoyed their supremacy ; at last, the thfrst of territorial conquest brought the two great na tions into rivafry, and the rich temples of Carthage fell a prey to the legions of Scipio. For a short period after the destruction of Carthage, the energetic subtlety of Jugurtha prevented the conquerors from extending their dominion ; but in a few years, the whole coast, as far as the waves of the Atlantic, became a Roman province. It remained so till about the year 428 of the Christian era, m the reign of the Emperor Honorius, when Genseric, king of the Van dals, crossed over to Africa, conquered the Roman territory, and founded a dynasty wMch reigned for about 100 years. The Greek emperor Justinian then sent Belisariusto reconquer the country; he defeated the Vandals, made thefr Mng prisoner, and added Northern Africa to the Greek Empire. History presents us with a series of conquering races, followmg each other as the waves upon the sea-beach, each washing away the impression made up on the sand by its foremnner, and each learing a fresh impression to be washed out by its successor. The frruption of the Saracens foUowed hard upon the conquering footsteps of Belisarius. Swarm after swarm of the Arabs came up out of Egypt, tUl Northern Africa was under the rule of the caliphs, ex cepting a smaU part of the sea-coast held bythe Spanish Goths. They at last were driven ont by Musa, about the year 110 ; and then Tarik, Musa's lieuten- , ant, crossing the narrow straits, carried the war mto Europe, defeated Rod erick, the last Gothic king, and laid the foundation of Arab dominion in Spain. The ruthless spirit of religious fanaticism which inspfred the followers of Mo hammed, destroyed everythmg it could not change. Romans, Vandals, Greeks, Goths, their laws, literature, and religions, all have disappeared in Northern Africa ; the recollection of the most powerful of them is only preserved in the word Romi — a term of reproach to the Christians of all nations. Of their more material works, the learned antiquary still finds some traces of Roman 70 CHEISTLiN SLA"VEEY edifices, and the remams of a sewer are supposed to mdicate the site of Car thage. The warUke enthusiasm of the Saracens was better adapted for makmg conquests than for preservmg them. The great distance from the seat of em pfre, the revolutions caused by rival houses contending for the caliphate, the ambitious projects of the viceroys mclining them to league with native cMefs, led to a dissolution of the Arabian power in Northern Africa. Consequently, when the dawn of modern Mstory begins to throw a clearer Ught upon the scene, we find the territory divided mto a number of petty sovereignties. The Saracens in Africa mtermixing with the barbarous native tribes, never reached the high position in the arts of peace and civilization attained by their bretMen, the conquerors of Spain, The devastatmg instmct of Islamism seems to have yielded to a more benign influence, as soon as it entered Europe. When Spain was thorougUy subdued, the natives were permitted, with but few restrictions, the fuU enjoyment of thefr own laws and reUgion ; and the Arabs, enjoying almost peaceable possession for nearly tMee centuries after the con quest, devoted thefr fiery energies to the acquisition of knowledge. Enriched by a fertUe soU and prosperous commerce, they blended the acqufrements and refinements of inteUectual culture with Arabian luxury and magmficence ; the palaces of thefr princes were radiant with splendor, thefr colleges famous for leammg, their libraries overflowing with books, thefr agricultural and manufac- turmg processes conducted with scientific* accuracy, when aU the rest of Europe was buried in midnight barbarism. To those halcyon days of comparative peace succeeded four centuries of bitter conflict between the invaders and the invaded, exhibiting one of the grandest romances of mUitary Mstory on record. It was long doubtful on wMch side the hopors of victory would descend. At last, the ardor and audacity of the Mussulraan succumbed to the patriotic cour age of the CMistian, and the reluctant Moor was compeUed to abandon the lovely region he had rendered classical by the *ixercise of Ms pecuUar taste and genius. Immediately after the fall of Granada in 1^955, about 100,000 Spanish Moois passed over into Africa with their unfortunate king, Boabdil. Some ruined aud deserted cities on the sea-coast, the remains of Ca-rthaginian and Roman power and enterprise, were allotted to the exUes ; for though of the same religion, and almost of the same race and language as the people they sought refuge amongst, yet they were strangers in a strange land ; the African Moors termed them Tigarins (Andalucians) ; they dwelt and intermarrz-ed together, and were loug kno"wn to Europeans, in the lingua franca of the Mediterranean, by the ap peUation of Moriscos. At the period of this forced migration, the Barbary Moors knew nothing of navigation ; what little comn»erce they had was cai-ried on by -the ships of Cadiz, Genoa, and Ragusa. But the Moriscos, confined to the sea-coast, and debarred from agriculture, had no sooner rendered the an cient ruins habitable, than they turned their attention to naval affairs. Build- mg row-boats, carrying from fourteen to twenty-six oars, tJiey boldly put to sea, and incited by feelmgs of the deadliest enmity, revenge^ t-heiip-plves ou tlw IN NOETHEEN AFRICA. 71 hated Spaniard, at the same time that they plundered for a livelihood. Cross ing the narrow channel wMch separates the two continents, and lying off out of sight of the Spanish coast durmg the day, they landed at night — not as strangers, but on the shores of thefr native land, where every bay and creek, every path and pass, every village and homestead, were as well known to them as to the CMistian Spaniard. In the morning, mangled bodies and burning houses testified that the Moriscos had been there ; whUe all portable plunder, - ; every captured Christian not too old or too young to be a slave, was in the row-boat, speeding swiftly to the African coast. The harassed Spaniards kept watch and ward, wmter and summer, from sunrise to sunset, and sometimes succeeded in cutting off small parties of the pfratical mvaders ; yet such was the audacity of the Moriscos, and so well were thefr mcursions planned, that frequently they plundered rillages mUes in the interior. Then ensued the hasty flight and hot pursuit ; the freebooters retreatmg to the boats, driving before them, at the lance's point, unfortunate captives, laden with the plunder of thefr o"wn dweUings ; the pursuers, horse and foot, foUowing into the very water, and firing on the retiring row-boats till their long oars swept them out of gunshot. The Barbary Moors soon joined the Moriscos in those exciting and profitable adventures ; and thus originated the atrocious practice, which being subse- ' 'Quently recognized in treaties made by various European powers, became, ac- i cording to the laws of nations, a legally organized system of CMistian slavery. J In 1509, Ferdinand the CathoUc, anxious to stop the Morisco depredations on the Spanish coast, sent a considerable force, under the celebrated Cardinal Ximenes, to invade Barbary. During tMs expedition, the Spaniards released 300 captives, and took possession of Oran and a few other unimportant plac;es on the coast. One of those was a small island, about a mUe from the main, lying exactly opposite the town since known as Algiers, but previously so little recognized by Mstory, that it is not certam when it received the name. In all probabUity, it acquired the Mgh-sounding appeUation of Al Ghezire (The In vincible) at a subsequent period. Carefully fortifymg tMs insulated rock, the Spaniards, by the superiority of thefr artUlery, held possession of it for several years, as a sort. of outpost, and a curb upon the pfratical tendencies of the na tive powers. One of those extraordinary adventurers, who/ rising from nothing, carve out kingdoms for themselves with the edge of thefr sabres, and gleaming at inter vals on an astonished world, vanish mto utter darkness, like comets in their erratic orbits, appeared at this time, and changed the destinies of the greater part of Northern Africa. The son of a poor Greek potter in the island of Mitylene worked with his father till a younger brother was able to take his place in assisting to support the famUy ; then going on board a Turkish war vessel, he signified Ms desfre to become a Mussulman, and enter the service. His offer was accepted, he received the Turkish name of Aroudje — ^his previous appellation is unknown — and in a short time, his fierce intrepidity and nautical skUl raised him to the command of a vessel belonging to the sultan. Intrusted 72 CHEISTIAN SLAVEEY with a considerable sum of money, to pay the TurMsh garrisons in the Morea, he saUed from Constantmople, and having passed the Dardanelles, he mustered his crew, and declared his intentions of renouncing allegiance to the Porte. He told them that, if they would stand by him, he would lead them to the western waters of the Mediterranean, where prizes of all nations might be captured in abundance, where there were no knights of Rhodes to contend against, and where they would be completely out of the power of the sultan. A project so much in unison with the predilections of the rude crew, was received with en thusiastic acclamations of assent. Aroudje then steered for Ms native island of Mitylene, where he landed, and gave a large sum of money to Ms mother and sisters ; and being joined by his brother, who, becoming a Mohammedan, assumed the name of Hayraddin, he weighed anchor, and turned his prow to the westward. Arrivmg off the island of Elba, he fell m with tVvo portly ar gosies under papal colors. Pfracy m these western seas having previously been carried on in the Morisco row-boats only, the CMistians were not alarmed, but believmg Aroudje to be an honest trader, permitted him to run alongside, as he seemed to wish to communicate some information. They were quickly unde ceived. Boarding the nearest one, he immediately took possession of her, and then dressmg Ms men in the clothes of the captured crew, he bore down upon her unsuspecting consort, ' She was captured also, "with scarcely a blow ; and Aroudje found himself in possession of two ships, each much larger than his own, with cargoes of great value, and some hundreds of prisoners. The fame of tMs bold action resounded from the southern shores of Europe to the oppo site coast of Africa, Such captives as were ransomed, when describing the ap pearance of Aroudje, did not fail to recount the ferocious aspect of Ms hug« red beard, so unusual an appendage to a nativ« of the south, and thus he ob tained the name of Barbarossa (Redbeard), so long the terror of the Mediter ranean. Taking his prizes to Tunis, one of the small states that had once been part of the great Saracen Empire in Barbary, Aroudje was well received by the king, who allowed Mm to use the island and fort of Goleta as a naval de pot, on condition of pa-ying a certain percentage on all prizes. Adding daUy to his wealth and fleet, the daring sea-rover had no lack of foUowers. Turk ish and^ Moorish adventurers eagerly enrolled themselves under his fortunate banner. The precarious position of the petty Barbary states, tMeatened by the Ber bers and Bedouins of the interior on the land-side, and menaced by the Span- ards on the sea-board, was highly favorable to the ambitious aspfrations of the potter's son. The district of JijU being attacked by famine, he seized the com- ships of SicUy, and distributed the grain freely and without price among the starving indabitauts, who gratefuUy proclaimed him thefr king ; and m a few years his army equaled in magnitude his stiU increasing fieet. The fort built by the Spaniards on the island off Algiers was a great annoyance to Eutemi, the Moorish king of that little state. Unwisely, he applied to Barbarossa for aid to evict the Spaniard, and eagerly was the request granted. W)tl\ '>000 m NOETHEEN AFEICA. 73 men, the pirate chief marched to Algiers, where the people haUed him as a de liverer; Eutemi was murdered, and Aroudje proclaimed king. The tMone thus usurped by audacity, he established by policy ; profusely liberal to his friends, ferociously crael to his enemies, he was loved and dreaded by all Ms subjects. His reign, however, was short, being defeated and kUled in battle by the Spaniards, only two years after he ascended the tMone. In such esti mation was tMs rictory held, that the head, sMrt-of-maU, and gold-embroidered vest of the slain warrior were carried on a lance, in triumphant procession, tMough the principal cities of Spain, and then deposited as sacred trophies in the church of St. Jerome at Cordova. Hayraddin, who is styled by the old Mstorians, Barbarossa IL, succeeded his brother, but, feeling Ms position inse cure, he tendered the sovereignty of Algiers to the Grand Seignior, on condi tion of being appointed viceroy and receivmg a contingent of troops. Sultan Selim, gladly accepting the offer, sent a firman creating Hayraddin pacha, and a force of 2000 janizaries. ^From that period, the Ottoman supremacy over the Moorish and Morisco inhabitants of Algiers was firmly established. Piracy upon all CMistian nations was stiU rigorously carried on from Tunis and other ports of Barbary ; but the harbor of Algiers bemg commanded by the island fort in possession of the Spaniards, was deprived of that nefarious source of wealth. This island was long the ' Castle Dangerous ' of the Span ish service ; nor was it tUl 1530, that, betrayed by a discontented soldier, it fell into the hands of Hayraddin. Don Martin, the Spanish governor, who had long and nobly defended the isolated rock, was brought a wounded captive be fore the truculent pacha. " I respect you," said Hayraddin, " as a brave man and a good soldier. Whatever favor you may ask of me, I wUl grant, on con dition that you will accede to whatever I may request." " Agreed," replied Don Martin. " Cut off the head of the base Spaniard who betrayed his countrymen. " The wretch was immediately brought in, and decapitated on the spot. "Now," rejoined Hayraddin, "my request is that you become a Mussul man, and take command of my army." "Never I" exclaimed the chivalrous Don Martin ; and immediately, at a sig nal from the enraged pacha, a dozen yataghans leaped from their sheaths, and the faithful Christian was cut to pieces on the floor of the presence-chamber. The island, so long a source of danger and annoyance to the Algerines, was now made their safest defense, Hayraddin conceiving the bold idea of uniting it to the mamland by a mole and breakwater. This really great undertaking, which -stiU evinces the engineering and mechanical skill of its promoters, was the work of thousands of wretched CMistian slaves, who labored at it inces santly for three years before it was completed. Thus the Algerines obtained a commodious harbor for their shipping, secure against all storms, and, at that time, impregnable to all enemies. In 1532, the people of Tunis rebellmg, deposed their king, andmvitedthe wil ling Hayraddin to become their raler. With this increase of power his bold- 74 CHRISTIAN SLAVEEY ness increased also. Out of Ms many darmg exploits at tMs period, we need mention only one. Hearing that JuUan Gonzago, the "wife of Vespasian Co lonna, Count ofl Fondi, was the most beautiful woman in Europe, Hayraddin made a descent in the night on the town of Fondi ; scaUng the walls, the fierce_ Moslems plundered the to"wn, and carried off numbers of the inhabitants mto slavery. Fortunately, the countess escaped to the fields m her night-dress, and thus evaded the clutches of the pfrate, who, 4(? revenge his disappointment, ravaged the whole Neapolitan coast before he returned to Tunis. The eyes of aU Europe were now turned imploringly to the only power con sidered capable of contending with this 'monstrous scourge of CMistendom.' The Emperor Charles V. eagerly responded to the appeal, and summoned forth the united strength of his vast dominions to equip the most powerful armada that had ever plowed the waves of the Mediterranean ; the Low Countries, Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Genoa, fiimished thefr bravest veterans and best appointed sMps ; the Knights of St. John supplied a few vessels, small, yet formidable from the well-kno"wn valor of the chevaUers who served m them ; > the pope contributed his blessing ; and the immense armament, inspfred with all the enthusiasm of the Crusades, but dfrected to a more rational and legiti mate. object, rendezvoused at Cagliari — a convenient harbor of Sardinia. Hayraddin, aware of the object and destination of tMs vast armament, en- 1 ergetically prepared to give it a suitable reception. Night - and day the mis erable CMistian slayes, rivetting thefr own fetters, were employed in erectmg new, and strengthening old fortifications ; and as a last resource, in case of defeat, the shrewd pacha sent eighteen saU of his best sMps to Bona. In July, 1537, the emperor's fleet was descried from the towers of Tunis ; and Hayrad din made the last dispositions for defense by placing Ms treasure, seraglio, and slaves in' the citadel, under a strong guard, with the intention of retreatmg tMther if the city and port were taken. Charles, after landmg Ms troops, commenced a simultaneous attack by land and sea. Hayraddin, with much inferior force, yet greater advantage of po- 0 sition, conducted the defense with skUl and determmation. But in the heat of the conflict, the CMistian slaves, distracted with suspense, and excited to frenzy by the thunder of the cannonade, burst thefr bonds, overpowered thefr guards, and turned the guns of the cUadel upon their Moslem masters. Hayraddin, then seemg that the day was irrecoverably lost, fled with the remnant of his . army to the sMps at Bona. Charles reinstated the deposed Mng of Tunis as his vassal, and on condition, that for the future, all Christians brought as cap tives to Tunis should be liberated without ransom. With 20,000 CMistians released from slavery by the power of his arms — the noblest trophy conqueror ever bore — Charles returned in triumph to Europe. Not only did he restore these unfortunate captives to liberty, but he furnished aU of them with suita ble apparel, and the means of returning to their respective countries. Such munificence spread the fame of Charles over aU the world ; for though it en- taUed on him immense expense, he had personally gained nothing by the con IN NOETHEEN AFEICA. 75 quest of Tunis : dismterestedly he had fought for the honor of the Christian name, for Christian security and welfare. Yet we regret to have to add one fact, Mghly characteristic of the age : when Charles left Africa, he also carried 0 off 10,000 Mohammedans to be slaves for life, chained to the oars in the gal leys of Spain, Italy, and Malta. We must now return to Hayraddin, the second Barbarossa, whom we left in full retreat to Bona, where herkad sagaciously sent his sMps to be out of harm's way at Tunis. As soon as he arrived at Bona, he embarked Ms men, and put to sea, * " Let us go to the Levant," said Ms officers, " and beg assistance from the sultan," " To the Levant, did you say ?" exclaimed the incensed pfrate. " Am I a man to shew my back ? Must I fly for refuge to Constantinople 1 Depend upon it, I am far more likely to attack the emperor's dominions in Flanders. Cease your prating ; follow me, and obey orders." Steering for Mmorca, he soon appeared off the well-fortified harbor of Port Mahon. The mcautious Minorcans believing the pfrates utterly extermmated, and that the gallant fleet entering thefr harbor was retuming from the conquest of Turns, ran to the port to greet and welcome the supposed victors. Not a gun was loaded, not a bat tery manned, when Hayraddin, swooping like an eagle on its prey, sacked the town, carried off an immense booty in money and mUitary stores, and with 6000 O captive Minorcans, returned in triumph to Algiers, This was Ms last exploit that falls witMn our province to relate. Earnestly solicited by the sultan, he relinquished the pachalic to take supreme command of the Ottoman fleet. After a life spent in stratagem and war, he died at an advanced .age ; and still along the CMistian shores of the Mediterranean, mothers frighten thefr unraly chUdren with the name of Barbarossa, Hassan Aga, a Sardinian renegade, was next appomted to the rice-royalty. A corsafr from Ms youth, he was well fitted for the office, and during Ms rale the piratical depredations increased in number and audacity. The continuous line of watch-towers that engfrdle the southern coast of Spain, and have so picturesque an effect at the present day, were built as a defense agamst Has san's craisers. Once more all Europe turned to the emperor Charles for relief and protection Pope Paul III. wrote a letter imploring Mm "to reduce Al giers, which, since the conquest of Tunis, has been the common receptacle of aU the freebooters, and to extermmate that lawless race, the implacable ene mies of the Christian faith. " Moved by such entreaties, and thfrstmg for glory, Charles equipped a fleet equal in magnitude to that with wMch he had con quered Tunis. A navy of 500 sMps, an army of 27,000 picked men, and 150 Knights of Malta, "with noblemen and gentlemen volunteers of all nations, many of them EngUsh, saUed on this great expedition. To oppose such a powerful force, Hassan had only 800 Turks and 5000 Moors and Moriscos. Ou arriving at Algiers, Charles summoned the pacha to surrender, but received a most contemptuous reply. The troops were immediately disembarked, though 76 CHRISTIAN SLAVEEF with great difficulty, owing to stormy weather ; and the increasmg gale cutting off communication with the fleet, before sufficient stores and camp equipage could be landed, Charles and Ms army were left with scanty provision, and ex posed to torrents of rain. A night passed in tMs miserable condition. The next day, the tempest increased. The next night, the troops, exhausted by want of food and exposure to the elements, were unable to Ue down, the ground bemg knee-deep m mud. Hassan was too vigUant a warrior not to take ad vantage of this state of affafrs. Before daybreak, on the second moming, "with a strong body of horse and foot, he saUied out upon the CMistian camp. Weak from hunger and want of rest, benumbed by exposure to the cold and rain, thefr powder wet, and thefr matches extinguished, the advanced dirision of Charles's army were easUy defeated by Hassan's fresh and rigorous troops The mam body advanced to the rescue, and after a sharp contest, Hassan's small detachment was repulsed, and driven back into the city. The Knights of Malta, among whom a cMvalrous emulation existed vrith respect to which of them would first stick Ms dagger in the gate of Algiers, rasMy foUowing the retreating Hassan, led the army up to the city, where they were mowed do"wn m hundreds by the fire from the waUs. Retreatmg in confusion from this false position, the-y were again charged by Hassan's impetuous cavafry, and the Knights of Malta, to save the whole army from destruction, drew up in a body to cover the rear. Conspicuous by thefr scarlet upper garments, embroidered ¦with a wMte cross, they served for a short time as a rallying-point ; but it was not till Charles, armed "with sword and bucMer, jomed Ms troops, and stimu- latfed them to fresh exertions by fighting in thefr ranks, that the Algerines were compelled to return to thefr strongholds. In tMs desperate conflict, the Knights of Malta were nearly all kiUed. Only one of them. Ponce de Salignac, the standard-bearer, had reached and stuck his dagger in the gate, but, pierced with innumerable wounds, he did not live to enjoy the honor of the foolhardy feat. Another night of tempest and privation foUowed tMs discouraging bat tle ; hundreds of the debilitated troops were blo'wn down by the riolence of the wind, and smothered in the mud. When the day broke, Charles saw 200 of Ms war-ships and transports, contaming 8000 men, driven on shore, and such of thefr crews as were not swallowed up by the waves, led off into captirity by the exulting enemy. The rest of the fleet sought shelter under a headland four mUes off, and thither Charles followed them ; but Ms famished troops, con tinually harassed by the enemy, were two days in retreating that short distance. With great difficulty, Charles, and a small remnant of Ms once powerful army, reached the ships, and made sail from the inhospitable coast. So many cap tives were taken, and such was their enfeebled condition, that numbers were sold by the captors for an onion each. " Do you remember the day when your countryman was sold for an onion ?' was for years afterwards a favorite taunt of the Algerine to the Spaniard. Enriched with slaves, valuable military and naval stores, treasure, horses, costly trappings — all brought to their own doors— the pride of the Algerines knew no bounds, and they sneeringly said that IN NOETHEEN AFEICA, ' 77 Charles brought them this immense plunder to save them the trouble of gomg to fetch it. Hassan generously refused to take any part of the spoU, saying that the honor of defeating the most powerful of CMistian princes was quite sufficient for Ms share. After this great victory, the Algerines, confident of the impregnability of thefr city, turned their attention to increasing thefr power on sea. The ves sels hitherto used for warlike purposes in the Mediterranean were galleys, prin cipally propelled by oars rowed by slaves ; and in quickness of manoeuvre and capability of being propelled during a calm, were somewhat analgous to the steam-boat of the present day, and had a decided advantage over the less easily managed sailing-vessels. Not constructed to mount heavy ordnance, the sys tem of naval tactics adopted in the galleys was to close with the enemy, when ever eligible, and then the battle was fought with small-arms — arrows, and even stones, being used as weapons of attack and defense. The Algerines, how ever, labormg in thefr vocation, as Falstaff would have said, captured many large ships of Northern Europe, buUt for long voyages and to contend with stormy seas. Equipping these with cannon, they were enabled to destroy the galleys before the latter could close with them ; and thus introducing a new system of naval warfare, they gained a complete ascendancy in the waters of the Mediterranean, Nor did they long confine thefr depredations to that sea. In 1574, an Algerme fleet surprised the tunny fishery of the Duke of Medina, near Cadiz, and captured 200 slaves ; but one of the pfratical vessels running ashore, a large number were retaken by their countrymen. In 1585, Morat, a cele brated corsaii', landed at night on Lancelote, one of the Canary Islands, and carried off a large booty, with 300 prisoners ; among whom were the wife, mother, and daughter of the Spanish governor. Standing out to sea the next morning, until out of gun-range, the pirate hove-to, and showing a flag of truce, treated for the ransom of Ms captives ; and afterwards, eluding, by sea- mansMp and cunning, a Spanish fleet waiting to intercept Mm at the mouth of the straits, exultmgly retumed to Algiers. In the following century, pushing their piracies still further, the English Channel became one of their regular cruising-grounds. In 1631, the town of Baltimore, in Ireland, was plundered by Morat Rais, a Flemish renegade, and 237 men, women, and cMldren, " even to the babe in the cradle," carried off into captivity. Aware of the strong family affections of the Irish, we can weU believe Pierre Dan, a Redemptionist monk, who saw those poor creatures in Algiers. He says : " It was one of the most pitiable of sights to see them exposed for sale. There was not a CMistian in Algiers who did not shed tears at the lamentations of these cap tives in the slave-market, when husband and wife, mother and child, were sep arated.* Is it not," indignantly adds the worthy father, "maMng the Al mighty a bankrupt, to sell His most precious property in tMs manner ?" About the same time, two corsafrs, guided by a Damsh renegade, proceeded as far as "^ At a later period, the Algerines did not separate slave-famUies, 78 CHEISTL!lN sla-veey Iceland, where they captured no less than 800 persons, a few of whom were ransomed several years afterwards by Christian IV., king of Denmark. The existence of such an organized system of pfracy may well excite our wonder at the present day ; but the truth is, that since the time of the Vikings, to the latter part of the last century, the Mgh seas were never clear of pfrates belonging to one nation or another. Besides, the commercial jealousies and almost continual wars of the European nations, prevented them from uniting to crush the Barbary rovers. The English and Dutch maintained an extensive commerce with the Algerines, supplying them vrith gunpowder, arms, and na val stores ; and found it more profitable to pay their customers a heavy tribute for a sort of half-peace, than to be at open war "with them. De Witt, the fa mous Dutch admiral and statesman, in his Interest of Holland, thus. views the question: "Although," he says, "our ships should be well guarded by con voys against the Barbary pirates, yet it would by no means be proper to free the seas from those freebooters — because we should thereby be put on the same fboting as the French, Spanish, and Italians ; wherefore it is best to leave that thom in the sides of those nations." An English statesman, in an official pa per written in 1671, aimongst other objections' to the surrender of Tangier, urges the advantage of making it an open port for the Barbary pfrates to seU their prizes and refit at, in the same manner as they wcpe permitted to do in the French ports. It is an actual fact that, m the seventeenth century, when England and France were at peace, Algerine cruisers frequently landed their English captives at Bordeaux, whence they were marched in handcuffs to Mar seille, and there reshipped in other vessels, and taken to Algiers. This pro ceeding was to avoid the risk of recapture in the Straits of Gibraltar, and also to allow the pirates to remain out longer on their craise, enencumbered with prisoners. Numeftus instances of the complicity of European powers with this nefarious system might be adduced. Sfr Cloudesley Shovel, in 1703, pro tected a Barbary pfrate from receiving a weU-merited chastisement from a Dutch squadron ; but that need not surprise the reader, for at the same time the gallant admiral had power under the Great Seal to visit Algiers, Tunis, and Tripoli, make the usual presents, and 'if he could prevail with thera to make war against France, and that some act of hostility was thereupon committed, he was to give such further presents as he should think proper. ' The political system of the Algerines requires a few words. The authority of the Porte was soon shaken off, and then the janizaries, or soldiers, forming a kind of aristocratic democracy, chose a governor from their own number, un der the familiar title of Dey (Uncle) ; and raled the native Moors as an infe rior and conquered race. Neither Moor nor Morisco was permitted to have any Voice in the government, or to hold any office under it ; the wealthiest na tive, if he met a janizary in the street, had to give way to let the proud soldier pass. The janizaries were all either Turks or renegades (slaves who had turned Mohammedans) : so strictly was this rule carried out, that the son of a jani zary by a Moorish woman was not aUowed the privileges of his father, though IN NOETHEEN AFRICA. , 79 the offspring of a janizary and a CMistian slave was recognized as one of the dominant race. The janizaries were in number about 12,000 ; thefr ranks were annually recruited by renegades and adventurous Turks from the Levant ; they served by sea as well as by land, and were employed m controlling the tribu tary native cMefs of the interior, and saUmg in the pfratical cruisers. Pfracy being the basis of this system, the whole foreign policy df the Algerines con sisted m claimmg the right of maintaming constant war vrith all CMistian na tions that did not conciliate them by tribute and treaties. When a European consul arrived at Algiers, he always carried a large present to the dey, and as the latter would, in a short time, quarrel "with and send away the consul, in ex pectation of receiving the usual present with his successor, it was found more convenient to make an o6casional present, than incur the trouble and risk of a continual change of consuls. In course of time, these occasional presents be came a tribute of 17,000 dollars, regularly paid every two years. The miseries of Algerine bondage have long been proverbial over all the Christian world, yet they appear light when calmly examined and contrasted with other systems of slavery. Most travelers in Mohammedan countries have remarked the general Mndness with wMch slaves are treated. General Eaton, consul of the United States at Tunis in 1799, writes thus : " Truth and justice demand from me the confession, that the CMistian slaves among the barbarians of Africa are treated with more humanity than the African slaves among the CMistians of civiUzed America." John Wesley, when addressing those con nected vrith the negro slave-trade, said : " You have carried them into the vilest slavery, never to end but with life — such slavery as is not to be found with the Turks at Algiers." In fact, the creed of Islam, not recognizing per petual and unconditional bondage, gave the slave a right of redemption by purchase, according to a precept of the Koran. This right of redemption was daily claimed and acknowledged m Barbary ; and though it was only the richer class that could immediately benefit by it, yet it was a great alleviation to the general hardsMp of the system ; and numbers of the poorer captives, by exer cise of thefr various trades and professions, realized money, and were in a short time able to redeem themselves. Again, no prejudice of race existed in the mind of the master against Ms unhappy bondsman. The meanest Christian slave, on becoming a Mohammedan, was free, and enrolled as a janizary, hav ing superior privileges even to the native Moor or Morisco, and he and his descendants were eligible to the highest offices in the state. Ladies, when captured, were invariably treated with respect, and, till ransomed, lodged in a buildmg set apart for that purpose, under the charge of a Mgh officer, simUar to our mayor. The most perfect toleration was extended to the exercise of the Christian religion ; the four great festivals of the Roman Church — CMist- mas, Easter, and the nativities of St. John and the Virgin — were recognized as hoUdays for the slaves. We read of a large slaveholder purchasing a priest expressly for the spiritual comfort of his bondsmen ; and of other masters who regularly, once a week, marched thefr slaves off to confession. The Algerines o 80 CHRISTIAN SLAVERY were sMewd enough to prefer a reUgious slave to his less conscientjouB fellows. "Christianity," they used to say, "was -better for a man than na'religion at aU." Nor were they zealous to make adult converts. "A bad 'Christian," they said, "can never make a good Mussulman." It was only slaves of known good character and conduct who were received into the Moslem community. ChUdren, however, were brought up Mohammedans, adopted in families, and became the hefrs of their adopters. Captured ecclesiastics were treated with respect, never set to work, but aUowed to join the religious houses estabUshed in Algiers. One of the greatest alleviations to the miseries of the captives was the hos pital founded for their benefit, by that noble order of monks, the Trinitarian Brothers of Redemption. TMs order was instituted m 1188, during the pon tificate of Innocent III. Its founder, Jean Matha, was a native of Provence, and, according to the old cMonicles, a samt from his birth ; for when a baby at the breast, he voluntarily abstained every fast-day I Having entered the priesthood, on performmg his first mass, an extraordinary vision was "witnessed by the congregation. An angelic being, clothed in white raiment, appeared above the altar, with an implormg expression of countenance, and arms cross ed ; his hands were placed on the heads of two fettered slaves, as if he wished to redeem them. The fame of tMs miracle soon spread to Rome. Journey ing thither, Matha said mass before the pope ; and the wonderful apparition being repeated. Innocent granted the requisite concessions for instituting the order of Redemptionists, whose sole object was to coUect alms, and apply them to the relief and redemption of Christian slaves. With whatever degree of suspicion such conventual legends may be regarded, it is gratifymg to find that the order was truly a blessed charity, and that Englishmen were among the earliest and most zealous of its members. Within a year from its institution, Brother John, of Scotland, a professor at Oxford, and Brother WiUiam, of England, a priest m London, departed on the first voyage of redemption, and after many dangers and hardships, returned from the East vrith 1286 ransomed slaves. It was not, however, tUl 1551, that the order was enabled to form a regular estabhshment in Algiers. In that year, Brother Sebastian purchased a large building, and converted it into an hospital for sick and disabled slaves. As neither work nor ransom could be got out of a dead slave, the masters soon perceived the benefit of the hospital, and they levied a tax on all Christian vessels frequenting the port to aid in sustaining it. Among so many captives, there were always plenty of experienced medical men to perform the requisite duties ; and no inconsiderable revenue to the funds ofthe institution was derived by dispensmg medicines and advice to the Moslems. A Father Administrator and two brothers of the order constantly T»aided in Algiers to manage the affairs of the hospital, which from tim^- to time was- extended and iraproved, till it became one of the largest and finest buildings in the city. The owners of slaves who received the benefit of this charity, contributed nothing towards it, but on each slave being admitted, his proprie- oWwI— I w Ht-H > COl> <1 fe^ W' tdW to> f. IN NORTHERN AFRICA, 81 tor paid one doUar to the Father Adnunistrator, wMch, if the patient recover- eil, was retmned to the master, but if he died, was kept to defray Ms funeral expenses. For a long period, there was no place of interment aUotted to the captives ; thefr dead bodies were tMo"wn outside the city waUs, to be devoured by the hordes of street-dogs wMch infest the towns of Mohammedan countries. At length, by the noble self-denial of a private individual, whose name, we regret to say, we are unable to trace, a slave's burial ground was obtained. A CapucMn friar, the friend and confessor of Don John of Austria, natm-al so of the Emperor Charles V., was taken captive. Kiiowing the esteem m which he was held by the prince, an immense sum was demanded for Ms ransom. The money was immediately forwarded , but instead of purchasmg his freedom, the dismterested pMlantMopist bought a piece of ground for a burial-place for Christian slaves, and, devoting Mmself to solace the spfritual and temporal wants of Ms unhappy co-reUgionists, uncomplainingly passed the rest of Ms life m exUe and captirity. A few years after the founding of this House of the Spanish Hospital, as it was termed, another CMistian reUgious establishment, the House of the French Mission, was planted in Algiers, A certain Duchess d'EguiUon, at the sug gestion of the celebrated phUantMopist Vincent de Paul, who had Mmself been an Algerine captive, commenced tMs good work by an endowment of 4,000 livres per annum. These two reUgious houses were exempted ft'om aU duties or taxes, and mass was performed m them daUy with all the pomp and splendor of the Romish ChurcM There was also a chapel in each of the six bagnes — the prisons where the slaves were confined at mght — in wMch service was performed on Sundays and hoUdays. The Greek Church had also a chapel and smaU establishment in one of the bagnes. Brother Comelin, of the order of redemption, tells us, in his Voyage, that they celebrated CMistmas in the Spamsh Hospital " with the same liberty and as solemnly as in CMistendom. Midmght mass was chanted to the sound of trumpets, drums, flutes, and haut boys ; so that in the stillness of night the infidels heard the worsMp of the trae God over aU thefr accursed city, from ten at mght tiU two in the morning." Such was Mohammedan toleration in Algiers, at the period, too, we should recoUect, of the Mgh and palmy days of the Inquisition. We may easUy con ceive what would have been the fate of the infidels if they, by any chance, had invaded the midnight sUence of Rome or Madrid with the sounds of thefr worsMp. The only exceptions to the general good treatment and respect be stowed upon Christian ecclesiastics in Algiers was, when inspfred by a furious zeal for martyrdom, they openly insulted the Mohammedan reUgion ; or when the populace were excited by forced conversions and other intolerant cruelties practiced upon Mussuhnan slaves in Europe. We shaU briefly mention two instances of such occurrences. One Pedro, a brother of Redemption, had traveled to Mexico and Pera, and coUected in those rich countries a vast amount of treasure for the order. He then went to Algiers, where he employed half the money m ransoming 6 82 CHRISTIAN SLAVEEY captives, and the other half in repairing and increasing the usefulness of the hospital, where he resided, constantly attendmg and consoling the sick slaves. At last, thfrstmg for martyrdom, he one day rushed into a mosque, and, with crucifix m hand, cursed and reviled the false Prophet Mohammed. In aU Mohammedan countries, the penalty of this offense is death. But so much were the piety and good works of Pedro respected by the Algerine govem ment, that they anxiously endeavored to avoid inflicting the punishment of thefr law. Eamestiy they soUcited Mm, "with promise of free pardon, to ac knowledge that he was intoxicated or deranged when he committed the rash act, but in vain, Pedro was burned ; and one of his leg-bones was long care fuUy preserved as a holy reUc in the Spanish Hospital. In 1612, a young Mohammedan lady, fifteen years of age, named Fatima, daughter of Mehemet Aga, a man of Mgh rank in Algiers, when on her way to Constantinople to be married, was captured by a CMistian cruiser, carried into Corsica, and a very large sum of money demanded for her ransom. The distressed father speedUy sent the money by two relatives, who were fumished with safe-conduct passes by the brothers of Redemption. On thefr arrival in Corsica, they were informed that the young lady had become a CMistian, was cMistened Maria Eugema, and married to a Corsican gentleman ; and that the money brought for her ransom must be appropriated as her do"wry. The rela tives were permitted to see Maria ; she declared her name was stiU Fatima ; and that her baptism and mairiage were forced upon her. The retum of the relatives "without either the lady or the money caused great excitement in Al giers, By way of retaUation, the brothers of Redemption were loaded with chains, and tMown mto prison, and compeUed to pay Mehemet Aga a sum equal to that wMch he had sent for his daughter's ransom. In a short time, however, they were released, and permitted to resume thefr customary duties. When retummg from a successful cruise, as soon as an Algerine corsafr ar rived "witMn sight of the harbor, her crew commenced firing guns of rejoicing and triumph, and contmued them at mtervals untU she came to anchor. Sum moned by these signals of success, the mhabitants would flock in numbers to the port, there to leam the value of the prize, the cfrcumstances of its capture, and to congratulate the pfrates. Morgan, a quamt- old "writer, many years attached to the British consulate, says : " These are the times when Algiers very risibly puts on a quite new countenance, and it may well be compared to a great bee-Mve. AU is hurry, every one busy, and a cheerful aspect succeeds a strange gloom and discontent, like what is to be seen everywhere else, when the complaint of duUness of trade, scarcity of business, and stagnation of cash reigns universal ; and wMch is constantly to be seen in Algiers during every interval between the taking of good prizes." The dey received the eighth part of the value of aU prizes, for the serrice of the government, and had the priv Uege of selecting Ms share of the captives, who were brought from the vessel to the court-yard of Ms palace, where the European consuls attended to claim any of their countrymen who might be considered free m accordance "with the IN NOETHERN AFRICA, 83 terms of prerious treaties. In many instances, however, little respect was paid by the strong-handed captors to such documents. The following reply of one of the deys to a remonstrance of the EngUsh consul, contains the general an swer given on such occasions : "The Algerines being bom pfrates, and not able to subsist by any other means, it is the Christians' business to be always on their guard, even in time of peace ; for if we were to observe punctUios vrith all those nations who purchase peace and liberty from us, we might set fire to our shipping, and become degraded to be camel-drivers." When the newly made captives were mustered in the dey's court-yard, their names, ages, coun tries, and professions, were minutely taken down by a hojia, or government secretary, appointed for the purpose ; and then the dey proceeded to make his selection of every eighth person, and of course took care to choose such as, from thefr appearance and description, were likely to pay a smart ransom, or those acquainted with the more usefhl professions and the mechanical arts. After the dey had taken his share, the remamder of the prisoners, bemg the property of their captors, were taken to the bestian, or slave-market, and ap praised, a certain value being set upon each indiridual. From the slave-market the unfortunates were then led back to the court-yard, and there sold by public auction ; and whatever price was obtained higher than the valuation of the slave-market, becarae the perquisite of the dey. The government, or, iu other words, the dey, was the largest slaveholder in Algiers. All the slaves belonging to the government were termed deyUc slaves, and distinguished by a smaU ring of iron fastened round the wrist or ankle ; and excepting those who were employed in the palace, or Mred out as domestic servants, were locked up every night in six large buildings called bagnes. Rude beds were provided in the bagnes, and each deylic slave received three small loaves of bread per day, and occasionally some coarse cloth for clothing. AU the carpenters, blacksmiths, masons, ropemakers, and others among the deylic slaves who worked at trades connected with house and ship-building, received a third part of what they earned, when hfred out to private persons, and even the same sum was paid to them when employed on government works. Besides, both at the laying down of the keel and launch of a new ship, a hand some gratuity was given to all the slave-mechanics employed upon her. Indeed, aU the work connected with ship-building was performed by Christian slaves. The janizaries never condescended to do any kind of work ; the native Moors were too lazy and too ignorant ; and the Moriscos being forbidden, by the jealous policy of the dominant Turkish race, to practice the arts they brought "with them from Spain, sank, after the first generation, to a level with the native Moor. Shipwrights were consequently well treated, many of them earning better wages than they could in their own countries. Numbers were thus en abled to purchase their freedom ; but many more, seduced by the sensual de baucheries so prevalent wherever slavery is recognized, preferred remaining in Algiers as slaves or renegades, to retuming as freemen to their native lands. Deylic slaves, when hired out as saUors, received one thfrd of thefr Mre, and 84 CHRISTIAN SLAVERY ' one-third of a freeman's share in the prize-money. Invariably at the hour of prayer termed Al Aasar, aU work was stopped for the day, and the remaining tMee hours between that time and sunset were aUowed to the slaves for thefr own use ; on Friday, the Mohammedan Sabbath, they were never set to work ; and besides the CMistian holidays already mentioned, they had a week's rest during the seasom of Ramadam. Such of the deylic slaves as were employed at the more laborious work of drawmg' and carrying timber, stone, and other heavy articles, were dirided mto gangs, and taken out to work only on alternate days. Many slaves never did an hour's work durmg thefr captirity ; for by the payment of a montMy sum, equivalent to about seventy cents of Our money, any one might be exempted from labor ; and even those who could afford to fee thefr overseers only "with a smaller sum, were put to the Ughtest description of toU. Slaves when in treaty for ransom were never requfred to work ; and as no person was permitted to leave Algiers m debt, money was freely lent at moderate interest to those whose circumstances entitled them to hope for ran som. Money, also, was readily obtained tMough the Jews, by drawing bUls of exchange on the various mercantUe cities of Europe. Many slaves, how ever, by workmg at trades and other means, were enabled to pay the tax for immunity from public labor, and support themselves comfortably m the bagnes. Of tMs latter class were taUors, shoemakers, and, strange to say, a good many managed to live well by theft alone. In each bagne were five or six licensed vrine-shops, kept by slaves. TMs was the most profitable business open to a captive — a wine-shop keeper frequently making the price of his ransom m one year ; but, preferring wealth to liberty, these persons generally remained slaves until they were able to retfre with considerable fortunes. As there was constantly free mgress and egress to and from all the bagnes during the day, the wine-shops were always crowded with people of aU nations ; and though Hommally for the use of the slaves, yet the renegades, who had not forgotten thefr relish for wme, drank freely therein ; and even many of the " turbaned Turks," forgetting the law of their Prophet, copiously indulged m the forbidden beverage. The Moslem, however, was, like Cassio, choleric in his drmk, and frequently, brandishmg Ms weapon, and tMeatening the lives of aU about him, would refuse to pay Ms shot. As no CMistian dare strike a Mussulman, an ingenious device was resorted to on such occasions. A stout slave, regularly employed for the purpose, would, at a signal from the landlord, adroitly drop a short ladder over the reelmg brawler's head ; by this means, "without striMng a blow, he was speedUy brought to the ground, where he was secured tUl his senses were restored by sleep ; and then, if found to have no money, the land lord was entitled to retain Ms arms untU the reckoning was paid. The largest private slaveholder in Algiers was one AUi Pichellin, Capitan Pasha, or High-Admfral of the fleet, who flourished about the middle of the seventeenth century, and holds a conspicuous position m the Algerme history of the period. He generally possessed from 800 to 900 slaves, whom he kept IN NORTHERN AFRICA, 85 in a bagne of Ms own. Emanuel d'Aranda, a Flemish gentleman, who was for some time Pichellin's slave, gives a curious account of bagne-life as he wit nessed it. The bagne resembled a long narrow street, "with Mgh gates at each end, wMch were shut every evening after the slaves were mustered at sunset, and opened at sunrise every morning. Though the deylic slaves each received three loaves of bread per day for their sustenance, Pichellin never gave any food whatever to his slaves, unless they were employed at severe labor ; for he said that " a man was unworthy the name of slave, if he could liot earn or steal between Al Aasar and Al Magrib,'' (the tMee hours before sunset allowed to the slaves,) "sufficient to support Mm for the rest of the day." We may ob serve here, that a Moor, Morisco, or Jew, if detected m a theft, was punished by the loss of his right hand, and by being opprobiously paraded through the streets mounted upon an ass. At the same time, neither Moor nor Jew dare even accuse a janizary of so disgraceful a crime. Slaves, however, might • steal from Moor or Jew with open impunity ; for even if caught in the act, neither dare strike a slave ; and if complaint was made to the dey, he would merely order the restitution of the stolen goods, refusing to inflict punishment on the foUowing grounds ': " That as the Koran did not condemn a man who stole to satisfy his hunger, and as a slave was not a free agent, but compelled to depend upon his master for food, he could not legally be punished for theft." Under such circumstances, we may readily believe that the bagnes, and espe cially that of Pichellin, were complete dens of tMeves, Every evening, as soon as the gates were closed, the plunder of the day was brought forth and sold by auction ; the sale being conducted, to the great amusement of the slaves, with all the Turkish gravity and formality of the slave-market. Articles not thus disposed of were left in the hands of one of the captives, who made it his business, for a small commission, to negotiate between the loser and the tMef, and accept ransom for the stolen property. An Italian in Pichellin's bagne, named Fontimana, was so expert and confident a thief, that without possessing the smallest fraction of money m the morning, he would invite a party of friends to sup with Mm in the evening, trusting to his success in thieving through the day to provide the materials for the feast. Of course no satisfaction was obtained when the sufferers complained to Pichellin. "The Christians," he would say, "are aU pilfering rascals. I cannot help it. You must be more careful for the future. Have you yet to learn that all my slaves wear hooks at the ends of their fingers ? " Indeed, he seems to have recog nized the slaves' right of theft so fully, that he was not angry when he himself became the victim. On one occasion, Fontimana stole and sold the anchor of his master's gaUey. "How dare you seU my anchor, you CMistian dog ? " said Pichellin. " I thought," replied the thief, " that the galley would saU better "without the additional weight." The master laughed at the impudent reply, and said no more on the subject. Another characteristic anecdote is recorded of Pichellin and a Portuguese slave, his confidential steward and chamberlain. One day, when cruising off the coast of Portugal, the Capitan 86 CHRISTIAN SLAVERY Pasha ran his vessel close in towards the land, and having ordered the smaU boat to be lowered, caUed the slave, and pointing to the beach, said : " There is your native country. You have served me faithfoUy for seventeen years. I now give you your freedom." The Portuguese, faUing on his knees, kissed the hem of his late master's robe, and was profuse m his thanks ; but PicheUin stopped him, cooUy saying : " Do not thank me, but God, who pat it into my heart te restore you to Uberty." WMle the boat was being prepared to land him, the Portuguese, apparentiy overpowered with feelings of joy, descended into the cabin, as if to conceal his emotions, but in reaUty to steal PicheUin's most valuable jewels and other portable property, wMch he quickly concealed round his person. As soon as the boat was ready, PicheUin ordered him to be set ashore, and not long after discovered his loss when the wUy Portuguese was far out of Ms reacM PicheUm had some rough virtues : he prided him self on being a man of his word. A Genoese, who had made a fortune by trade at Cadiz, was returning to his native country with his only chUd, a gfrl nme years of age, when his vessel was taken on the coast of Spain by Pichel lin's cruiser. Not being far from land, the crew of the Christian vessel escaped to the shore, the terrified Genoese going "with them, leaving his daughter in the hands of the pirates. Immediately, when he saw that Ms cMld was a cap tive, he waded into the water, and waved Ms hat as a signal to the Algerines, who, thinking he might be a Moslem captive about to escape, sent a boat for him. On reaching the cruiser, PicheUm, seeing a Christian, exclaimed; "What madman are you that voluntarily surrenders^ himself a slave ? " " That gfrl is my daughter," said the Genoese : " I could not leave her. If you wiU set us to ransom, I wUl pay it ; if not, the satisfaction of having done my duty wUl enable me to support the hardsMps of slavery." PicheUin appeared struck, and after mnsing a moment, said ; "I wUl take fifteen hundred doUars for the ransom of you and your daughter." "I wiU pay it," repUed the Genoese. " Hold, master I " exclaimed one of PicheUin's slaves ; " I know that man weU: he was one of the richest merchants ia Cadiz, and can afford to pay ten times that amount for ransom." •¦SUence, dog I" said the old pfrate. "I have said it : my word is my word." PicheUm was further so accommodating as to take the merchant's bUl for the money, and set him and Ms daughter ashore at once. Each slave who, fr-om poverty, ignorance of a trade, or want of cunnmg, was compeUed to work m the gangs, always carried a bag and a spoon — the bag, to hold anytMng he might chauce to steal ; the spoon, m case any char itable person, as was frequently the case, should present him with a mess of pottage. Only those, however, worked in the gangs who could not by any possibUity avoid it ; aud numberless were the schemes adopted by the slaves to raise money to support themselves and secure thefr exemption from that description of labor. Some, at the risk of the bastinado, smuggled brandy — a strictiy forbidden article — into the bagnes, and sold it out in smaU quantities to such as wanted it. Scholars were weU employed by thefr less learned ffl IN NOETHEEN AFRICA. 87 low-captives, to correspond with friends in Europe. Latin was tile language preferred for tMs correspondence, because it was unintelUgible to the masters ; and the letters frequently contained allusions to property, family affairs, and other circumstances, wMch, if known, would raise the price of ransom. The great object of aU the captives whose wealth entitled them to hopes of ransora, was to simulate poverty, concealing their real circumstances or station in life as much as possible ; and not unft-equently the Algerines, deceived by those professions, permitted persons of wealth and consequence to redeem themselves for a triflmg sum. On the other hand, persons m much poorer cfrcumstances were often detained a long time in slavery, ill treated, and held to a high ran som, on the bare suspicion of their bemg wealthy. The Jews, though not permitted to possess slaves, had, through their commercial ramifications in Europe, means of obtaming correct inteUigence respecting the property and affafrs of many captives, which they did not fail to profit by, receiving a per centage on the mcreased ransom gained by their information. In a simUar way, some artful old slaves, of various countries, lived well by maMng friends with new captives, treating them at the wine-shops, and, under the pretext of adrismg them how to act, inducing them to reveal thefr trae cfrcumstances, wMch the spy immediately communicated to his master. A grave Spanish cavalier made Ms living by settling quarrels among Ms countrymen, and decid ing all disputes respectmg rank, precedence, and the code of honor ; a small fee being paid by each of the parties, and his decision invariably respected. A French gentleman contrived to live, and dress well, and give frequent dinner parties, by a curious financial scheme he invented and practiced. Knowing many of the French renegades, he borrowed money from them for certain periods at moderate interest ; and as one sum fell due he met it by a loan from a new creditor. TMs system, at first sight, would not appear to be profitable ; but the renegades being constantly employed m the cruisers, as in a state of continual warfare, some of the creditors were either MUed or captured yearly, and having no heirs, the debts were thus canceled in the French cap tive's favor. " In fine," says D'Aranda, to whom we are indebted for the pre ceding peculiarities of bagne-life, " there can be no better university to teach men how to sMft for their livelihood ; for all the nations made some sMft to Uve save the English, who, it seems, are not so shiftful as others. Durihg the win ter I spent in the bagne, more than twenty of that nation died from pure want." It is clear that the unfortunate captives here alluded to must have been persons unfit for labor, and unable to procure ransom ; and thus, being of no service to thefr brutal master, were suffered to live or die as it might happen. There can be no doubt that the English and Dutch captives, of the reformed churches, suffered more privations than any others at that period, ere knowledge and intercourse had duUed the fiery edge of reUgious bigotry. All the public charities for slaves were founded by the Roman Church, and their bounties exclusively bestowed on its foUowers. No reUef was ever given to a heretic unless he became a convert ; and it is an exceedingly curious iUustration of 88 ' CHRISTIAN SLA'VERY tMs religious hatred, that it was as rife and virulent in the breasts of the ren egades who had adopted Mohammedanism, as it was amongst those who remained CMistians. Another great disadvantage wMch the English captives must have labored under, was their ignorance of the language. The lingua franca spoken in Algiers was a compound of French, Spamsh, and Italian, with a few Arabic words ; consequently, any native of those countries could acquire it in a few days, while the unfortunate Briton might be months before he could express Ms meaning or understand what was said to him. The hardships of slavery were, m all truth, insufficient to extinguish the religious and national animosities of the captives. Dreadful conflicts fre quently occurred between the partisans of the eastern and westem churches — Spaniards and Italians uniting to batter orthodoxy into the heads of scMsmatic Greeks and Russians. Nor were such disturbances queUed until a strong body of guards, armed with ponderous cudgels, vigorously attacking both parties, beat them into peaceful submission. Life was not unfrequently lost in these contests. A most serious one, in which several hundred slaves took part on both sides, occurred during D'Aranda's captivity. At the feast of the As sumption, the altar of one of the churches was decorated with the Portuguese arms, with the motto : " God will exalt the humble, and bring down the haughty.'' The Spaniards, conceivmg this to be an insulting reflection on thefr national honor, tore down the obnoxious decoration, and trampled it under their feet. The Portuguese immediately retaliated, and a battle ensued between the captives of the two nations, which lasted a considerable time, and cost several lives. The ringleaders were severely bastinadoed by their mas ters, who tauntingly told them to sell their lands and purchase their freedom, and then they might fight for the honor of their respective countries as long and as much as they liked. It is pleasing, however, after readmg of such scenes, to find that the slaves frequently got up theatrical performances. One of their favorite pieces was founded on the history of Belisarius. The negotiations for ransom were either carried on through the Fathers of Redemption, the European consuls, or by the slaves themselves. When a province of the order of Redemption had raised a sufficiently large sum, the resident Father Administrator in Algiers procured a pass from the dey, per mitting two fathers to come from Europe to make the redemption. The rule of the order was, that young women and children were to be released j first ; then adults belonging to the same nation as the ransomers ; and after tliat, if the funds permitted, natives of other countries. But, in general, the fathers brought with them a list of the persons to be released, who had been recom mended to their notice by political, ecclesiastical, or other interest. Slaves, who had earned and were wiUing to pay part of their ransom, found favor in the eyes of the fathers ; and slaves with very long beards, or of singular emaciated appearance, were purchased with a view to future effect, in the grand processional displays made by the Redemptionists on thefr return to Europe. From a published narrative of a voyage of Redemption made in 1720, we m NORTHERN AFRICA. 89 extract the foUowing amusing account of an interriew between two French Redemptionists and the dey. The fathers had redeemed thefr contemplated number of captives with the exception of ten belonging to the dey, but he, piqued that his slaves had not been purchased first, demanded so high a price for each, that they were unwillingly compelled to ransom only three — a French gentleman, his son, and a surgeon. " These slaves being brought in, we offer ed the price demanded (3,000 dollars) for them. The dey said he would give us another mto the bargain. This was a tall, well-made young Hollander, one of the dey's household, who was also present. We remonstrated with the dey, that this fourth would not do for us, he being a Lutheran, and also not of our country. The dey's officers langhed, and said, he is a good Catholic. The dey said he neither knew nor cared about that. The man was a Christian, and that he should go along vrith the other three for 5,000 doUars." After a good deal of fencing, and the dey having reduced his demand by 500 doUars, the father continues : " We yet held firm to have only the three we had offered 3,000 doUars for. 'All this is to no purpose,' said the dey; 'I am going to send all four to you, and, wUling or not wUling, you shall have them at the price I specified, nor shall you leave Algiers until you have paid it,' But we stUl held out, spite of all his threats, tellmg him that he was master of his own dominions, but that our money falling short, we could not purchase slaves at such a price. We then took leave of him, and that very day he sent us the three slaves we had cheapened, and let us know we should have the other on the day of our departure." The reader will not be'^sorry to leam that the fathers were ultimately compelled to purchase and take away with them the "young Lutheran Hollander." The primary object of the Redemptionists being to raise money for the ran som of captives, every advantage was taken to appeal successfully to the sym pathies of the Christian world, and no method was more remunerative than the grand processions which they made with the liberated slaves on thefr retum to Europe. Father Comelin gives us full particulars of these proceedings. The ransomed captives, dressed in red Moorish caps and white bomouses, and wearmg chains — they never wore them in Algiers — were met at the entrance of each town they passed through by all the clerical, ciril, municipal, and mil itary dignitaries of the place.- Banners, wax-candles, music, and "angels covered with gold, silver, and precious stones," accompanied them m grand procession through the town ; the cMef men of the district carrying silver salvers, on which they collected' money frdm the populace, to be applied to future redemptions. The first general ransom of British captives was made by money apportion ed by parliament for the purpose, during the exciting events of the civil war. The first vessel dispatched was unfortunately burned in the Bay of Gibraltar, and the treasure lost. A fresh sum of money was agam granted ; and in 1646, Mr. Cason, the parliamentary agent, arrived at Algiers. In Ms official dis patch to the " Committee of the Navy," the agent states that, counting renegades, there were then 750 English captives in Algiers ; and proceeds to 90 CHRISTIAN SLAVERY say that " they come to much more a head than I expected ; the reason is, there be many women and cMldren, which cost £50 per head, flrst penny, and might sell for £100, Besides, there are divers wMcTi were masters of ships, calkers, carpenters, sailmakers, coopers, and surgeons, and others who are highly es teemed." The agent succeeded m redeeming 244 EngUsh, Scotch, and Irish captives at the average cost of £38 each. From the official record of their several names, places of birth, and prices, it appears that more was paid for the females than the males. The tMee Mghest sums on the list are £75, paid for Mary Braster, of Youghal ; £65, for AUce Hayes, of Edinburgh ; and £50, for Elizabeth Mancor, of Dundee, The names of several natives of Baltimore — m all probabUity some of those carried off when that town was sacked fifteen years before— are in tMs list of redeemed. It "will scarcely be believed, that strong opposition was made by the mercantUe interest agamst money being granted by parliament for the ransom of those poor captives — on the ground, as the opposers' petition expresses : " That if the slaves be re-. deemed upon a public score, then seamen "wUl render themselves to the mercy of the Algerines, and not fight m defense of the goods and sMps of the mer chants." A more curious mstance of wisdom in relation to this subject, occurred durmg the profligate reign of the second Charles. A large sum of money appropriated for the redemption of captives havmg been lost, somehow, between the Navy Board and the Commissioners of Excise, it was gravely proposed : " That whatever loss or damage the EngUsh shall sustam from Algerines, shall be required and made good to the losers out of the estates of the Jews here in England, Because such a law may save a great expense of Christian treasure and blood 1 " The first attempt to release English captives by force from Algiers was made in 1621, after the project had been debated m the privy council for nearly four years. With the exception of rescuing about thirty slaves of varions nations, who swam off to the English sMps, this expedition turned out a perfect fail ure. In 1662, another fleet wag sent, a treaty was made "with the dey, and 150 captives ransomed with money raised by the English clergy in thefr several parishes. In 1664, 1672, 1682, and 1686, other treaties were made with the Algerines : the frequent recurrence of those treaties shows the little attention paid to them by the pfrates. -^"In 1682, Louis XIV. determined to stop the Algerine aggressions on France; and at the same time to try a new and terrible invention in the art of war. Renau d'EUcagarry had just laid before the French government a plan for building ships of sufficient strength to bear the recoU caused by firing bombs from mortars. Louis, accordmgly, sent Admiral Duquesne with a fleet and some of the new bomb-vessels to destroy Algiers. The expedition was unsuc cessful, the bombs proving nearly as destructive to the French as to their enemies. The next year, Duquesne retumed, and, taught by experience, suc ceeded in firing all his bombs into the pirate city. The terrified dey capitulated, and surrendered 600 slaves to the fleet'; but sixty-four of those unfortunate captives being discovered by the French officers to be Englishmen, were sent IN NORTHERN AFRICA. 91 back to the dey 1 "WTiUe a treaty was in preparation, the janizaries, indignant at the loss of thefr slaves, murdered i He dey, elected another, and manmng thefr forts, commenced firing upon the French. Dnquesne's bombs being aU expended, he was obliged to sheer off and retum to France. In 1688, Mar shal d'Estr6es, "with a powerful fleet, arrived off Algiers. The bombs told vrith terrible effect, and the dey soon sued for peace ; but d'Estr6es replied that he came not to treat, but to punish. On tMs occasion, 10,000 bombs were tMown mto Algiers ; the city was reduced to rains, and the humbled pfrates compelled to sign a treaty dictated by the conqueror. In a few years, how ever, the demolished fortifications were reereeted stronger than ever, and the incorrigible Algerines busy at thefr old trade of piracy, Algerine slavery at last came to an end. At the close of the long European war m 1814, the cMvafrous Sfr Sidney Smith proposed a union of all orders of knighthood for the abolition of