Saturday, February 14, 2009
Slavery
Yesterday was our big discussion on The Imperial Harem. One of the most controversial issues we discussed was slavery. Its interesting to compare slavery of the Americas and Slavery in the Ottoman Empire. I tend to feel that the only reason we compare the two is because of the term "slavery." The slavery in the Americas was different than the slavery in the Ottoman Empire. Yes both were technically against the will of the two parties, but the situations of the two were completely different. The slavery in the Ottoman Empire was a life of luxury and opportunity. Even though it was required for these women to live in the Harem and do their duties there it allowed for success and opportunity. If these women were capable of receiving education and wealth then it doesn't seem so bad to me. Looking at the slavery in the Americas there was no opportunity for luxury or advancement in society. Everything in American slavery was forced labor and much harsher conditions than those of the Ottoman Empire. I don't believe they are comparable, yes they were both called slavery but I find it hard to believe that these women were very upset about being in the Harem. These women did it for their children as well. I think slavery is the wrong term for the women of the Harem, maybe another term would be more accurate for their situation.
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I agree, and that was one of the points made in class. The word "slavery" is a term associated with something awful in America, but this does not mean that it is as awful in the rest of the world and throughout history other than American history. We have seen this example of slavery many times througout the course, not just with the Harems but with the Jannisaries and the Mamluks as well.
ReplyDeleteI dont think that what these women went through was slavery at all. They did not live a bad life at all they actually lived a pretty good life because there was a lot of good that came out of living with the Harems. If that form of slavery entered America I have a feeling that the civil war may have never occurred and slavery may have never been found unconstitutional.
ReplyDeleteI agree for the most part. I do believe that it could be considered slavery because they were against their free will, but I also agree that this was a life of luxury. In American there was nothing good at all about slavery and in this case it can actually be argued that these women were better off than most people around them at the time.
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