E X T E N S I O N SLAVERY Slavery existed in ancient times. People captured1 in wars became slaves but also people captured by pirates could become slaves. Parents sometimes sold their children to pay their debts2. Slaves were property of their masters3. Generally they had a different nationality, religion or race from their masters. Slaves worked for their masters. They were not paid but received room, food and clothing. The most common types of slave work were: domestic service, agriculture, mineral extraction, industry and commerce. The European nations which started the slave trade were Portugal and Spain in the 16th century. France, Britain, Holland, Denmark and Sweden followed in the 17th century because they had colonies in America or the Caribbean. The slaves worked in mines4 or on plantations of tobacco, sugar, coffee or cotton. In the United States of America, black African slaves worked on cotton and tobacco plantations. From 1654 until 1865, slavery was legal in the Southern United States which had ninety-five percent of black slaves against 5% in the North.Twelve million black Africans were shipped5 to the Americas from the 16th to the 19th centuries. Slaves were often treated with brutality and the use of violence was common. As a punishment slaves were whipped6.They were like objects and their owners could sell them when they wanted, for profit, punishment or to pay debts. After the Civil War (1861-65), slavery was abolished: the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution ended it formally. 1. captured: caught and kept as prisoners. 2. debts: sums of money that a person owes someone else. 3. masters: men who have people working for them. 4. mines: holes under the ground where minerals like gold etc. can be found. 5. shipped: transported by ship. 6. whipped: hit with a long piece of rope or leather. 26