The Avalon Project

The Avalon Project is a website sponsored by the Yale Law School containing hundreds of primary source material from history, government, and diplomacy. It is an excellent way for students to supplement class lectures and other reading material with first-hand accounts of important events. Here is the link: http://avalon.law.yale.edu/

How Common Has Slavery Been in World History?

In this post, I would like my African American History students to assess the practice of slavery in different cultures throughout the world over time. How common was the practice? Was it the exception or the rule? Is there something different about the enslavement of Africans compared with the enslavement of others? Also, for how long was slavery practiced in other parts of the world? Did other cultures abolish slavery and if so based on what principles?