Talk:Timeline of abolition of slavery and serfdom

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This is just a start - should include appropriate legislation etc for all countries and UN - please help especially with links etc.

The article confuses the serfdom of European peasantry (villein) and the slavery

Peasant serfs the villeins were not slaves. I suggest two separate articles for abolition of European villeins/serfdom and abolition of slavery --Pharaph (talk) 18:43, 24 July 2023 (UTC)

539 BCE

Cyrus abolished slavery after conquering Babylon in 539bce. That should definitely be on here. 204.148.73.182 (talk) 02:42, 6 August 2023 (UTC)

We have no genuine evidence that Cyrus abolished slavery and considerably evidence to the contrary, that it was not abolished under Cyrus or his successors (there are numerous slave sale contracts preserved from Achaemenid times, some of which reference direct involvement of the Achaemenid bureaucracy in facilitating (and taxing) such sales: see for example Stolper, Registration and Taxation of Slave Sales in Achaemenid Babylonia).

What you are likely thinking of, as discussed on the Cyrus Cylinder page of this encyclopedia, is a modern forgery purporting to be a translation of the Cyrus Cylinder, which claims to abolish slavery along with other human rights initiatives and which has circulated widely on the Internet (and is not infrequently encountered, and subsequently cited in good faith, by people unaware that it is fake). Aithiopika (talk) 19:05, 16 March 2024 (UTC)

This is not true. Many human rights organisations recognise the Cyrus cylinder as a human rights charter. It might not be as full fledged as modern versions of human rights legislation, but it is an example of the earliest form of human rights law. The fact that the burden placed on the Cyrus cylinder is so high is just a matter of racism and there being a higher burden of proof placed on non-white people and their historical artifacts/events.

We have no evidence of chattel slavery in Persia, even with the link you provided. So based on that, we can conclude that chattel slavery has been abolished, and Persia should also be on the list.

I mean, even with your link, it is debatable as to what slavery is. Slavery is a spectrum, and even the modern worker today could be considered to be a wage slave in capitalist society. From my perspective, when I think of a slave, I think of the old school chattel slave that made up the bulk of labour of societies like Greece and Rome. This was simply not present in Persia. Most of the agriculture or labour was made from the labour of free people.

It is based on this concept, that Persia should be included in that list.

I will continue to undo your changes based on this. TwoArms225 (talk) 03:45, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

You also undid a change that was undeniable. 50,000 Jews were freed upon the conquest of Babylon. That is a fact. Your table includes examples of other rulers that freed slaves (even if it wasn't state policy to abolish slavery or wasn't enforced by the state). Why can't we include the people that were free'd by Cyrus the great? TwoArms225 (talk) 03:48, 2 July 2024 (UTC)

1222/1236

Slavery banned in the Mandé upon foundation of the Malian empire 71.234.121.74 (talk) 14:07, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

sources : Kouroukan Fuga; Hunters' Oath of 1222; Manden Charter of 1236 (oral texts) 71.234.121.74 (talk) 14:08, 10 October 2023 (UTC)

Venice

Are these final abolitions or does this list include abolitions that were later reinstated? Slavery was alive and well in Venice in the 15th century:

source: The Human Swarm (M.W. Moffett), Domestic Slavery in Renaissance Italy (Sally McKee) Twistybrastrap (talk) 15:38, 14 January 2024 (UTC)

About slavery and forced penal labor

I feel like slavery of convicted prisoners is ultimately ignored in this article. When slavery is banned with explicit exemption of prisoners is the case in many countries, we should place more emphasis on that fact when saying “all countries have abolished slavery”. 2603:8000:FA00:5020:1578:B1E8:40CD:73FA (talk) 03:52, 5 February 2024 (UTC)